As a kid of 16 I worked in an Ace hdw that sold the full line of Diamond, Crescent, and Channelock pliers. I bought some of all three. They also exclusively sold Indestro sockets and wrenches. Bought virtually none of the Indestro tools thinking them inferior quality to Craftsman. Sad to admit that, but hey, in my defense I was a 16YO kid and knew no better. Boy do I regret that, however it was 1977-78 and really I didn't have a lot of money to spare being I was only making minimum wage. What adds to my regret is the fact that I got a 50% discount!
Mechanics tools were pretty much not a thing to me until I was in my 20's. At 14, I started mowing and maintaining a lot of my grandmothers house, so it was more hand/house/yard tools. At 17, after my first job went away (owner divorce business closed), I bought a wheelbarrow from the local hardware store (wouldn't fit in the vehicle) and walked it the two miles back to grandma's house. I worked at that hardware store for a couple months, until the owner realized he shouldn't have bought it, and was trying to sell it. But I did learn a lot during that time. (still miss the key cutting machine)
At 16, when I had my first car, I tried to learn/realize what tools I would need, however there were some issues. My parents, especially my father, didn't like me working on my vehicle (you can fix your stuff, when you get your own place to do it). I didn't have a place to store much, so trunk/road tool kit. Also the place that to me was known for tools, had stopped (Montgomery Wards), so the import stuff they sold was what I bought. My tools were nutdrivers (came from a family that did a bunch of electronics work), a five screwdriver set, a made in India wrench set (that I still have most of, that were decent quality), oil filter wrench, and one of those $4.99 socket sets that I thought everyone pretty much had to buy a new one, every new project.
The few good tools were not mine, but grandma's (SK socket set) that stayed there for use on the house stuff. Heck I didn't even have a power drill or saw until in my 20's, as my father was afraid and bad with them.
