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Snap-On - the holy grail of automotive tools. In quality and price, overall the highest. You definitely get what you pay for here. For example, Snap-On uses a process on their screwdriver tips that make them both highly accurate and virtually indestructible - if you have a screw with a damaged head, your best chance is a Snap-on screwdriver. My favorite ratchet wrench is an old Snap-On "bull" wrench, with a bar handle much thicker and heavier than their usual style.

Mac, Matco - pretty much the same as Snap-On, just less expensive.

Williams - also known as J.H. Williams - heavy, solid and virtually indestructible, Williams has been THE industrial-use tool maker of choice for over 75 years. Williams is now, btw, a division of Snap-On, though I haven't seen any difference in the quality of the tools. Williams "Superratchets" in the -52 and higher series have remarkably fine ratchet mechanisms, which is important if you're in a tight spot with very little wiggle room. Earlier ones, while having coarser mechanisms, are great for heavy duty work. A set of Williams SAE 1/2" drive sockets, with their accompanying ratchet, have been mine for over 25 years, and have never let me down.

Proto, S-K, Napa, New Britain, Allen, KD - Always reliable, never cheap. S-K ratchets have too coarse a mechanism for my taste, but you might like them. I have a suspicion that Allen and KD tools are made in the same factory; I have a pair of otherwise identical 24mm polished combination wrenches from those makers.

Craftsman - I used to think that Craftsman was, bar none, the best value for money. Lately, I'm not so sure. A few years back, Craftsman changed manufacturers, and the newer stuff (compare your old Craftsman sockets to new ones, example) just doesn't seem to be of the same quality or to hold up as well, particularly Phillips-head screwdrivers and cutting tools. The combination sets tend to include their really cheap ratchets, which are coarse, clunky and a pain in the ass. I don't like their line of Companion tools at all.

Gedore - I've had several unhappy experiences with their wrenches . They are coarse, fat and sloppy, which reminded me of my ex-wife, so I kicked them to the curb!

Generic Taiwanese tools - in my experience, usually shoddy, sometimes excellent. Don't prejudge, sometimes an excellent value for money. The better ones will usually be stamped "chrome vanadium".

Generic (mainland) Chinese tools - I don't think so!

Husky and Stanley - a notch or two below the run-of-the-mill Craftsman stuff.

Generic tools trying to look expensive - don't bother. Ever.

Happy wrenching! xyz76qb91z

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