Although I am embarrassed about owning a HF portable aluminum air tank and die grinder, if I were starting a collection of hand tools I would suggest estate sales, flea markets and garage sales. One can often find top quality American made hand tools at these sales for pennies on the dollar. Why buy new offshore tools of suspect quality when for even less money you can find top quality tools that will last a lifetime? I’m pretty sure those Pittsburgh branded tools aren’t actually made in Pittsburgh!
-Don
For sure, Don. Don't get me wrong, I'm all in on scrounging through the used places and finding quality tools. I'm just saying if I were starting over - looking back at how I was from the vantage point I'm at now - I can't really nuke young guys buying the cheaper stuff. (It used to be Craftsman, but then Craftsman was decent, made in USA tools). I'd also recommend they hunt for good vintage tools, but, guys who need a starter set can't wait 6-12 months to "find" that good set. Maybe people like fatfillup who sell tools would be somewhere we could recommend beginners go get a set of tools that aren't foreign?
I don't know how the noobies do it these days. Even in HVAC - I just can't see how techs just starting out do it with the demand for electronic everything and the prices companies charge. And even the long-standing companies who've been making AC tools for years and still making those tools have dropped the quality while raising the price. I don't know how the young guys do it. Maybe because they don't know any different they just accept it. Gosh I'd love to get 3 or 4 young people and teach them the old way with real tools and established procedures. Not just plugging in some electronic thing and it telling them what's wrong.