Hi Folks!
How many times? In a fit of desperation, we did something we otherwise wouldn't do? Mainly buying cheap tools. Don't feel like I am trouncing anyone, because I have done it too! After having a Tool and Die maker as a foster father, you would think at least I know better, wouldn't you?
Well, it's always not that easy. I was in a particular location and needed an X-Acto knife. Well there's plenty out there, right? Wrong! I thought I had bought an American, Nameless Brand at a Dollar Tree type store where I was. Turned out it was far from a Quality tool. At least if it had said "Made in Japan" It might've stood up to the task.
It said, After I threw it when the chuck broke inside the ferrule, and I Examined it closer, in little bitty letters " Made in China". Boy, that ferrule plastic was so close in appearance I thought it was metal, like others I had acquired over the years! NOPE!
Now there's a Deeper truth to this. We may be short on cash or in a hurry. Even so, Do Not waste your money if you are not sure. Wait till you at least can get to a Hobby Lobby or Michaels. At least the X-Cel brand has a metal Ferrule/Chuck, and although a wee bit thinner with a slightly different point and being stamped Coarser, their blades Will work! The reason for this letter is to remind all of you, that if you get good tools they will last.There is another level here though. Compressors, Air Brushes and Regular tools.
My first Compressor/A.B. combo was a set made by W.R.Brown industries( originally sold in Harbor Frieght stores, I don't know if they still exist.) Hold it! before you say junk, get this.The cheap arsed A.B. and Compressor outlasted all that have come before in that price range. The One I have now, but seldom use is a DeVilbiss Semi-Pro and I have two of their Air Brushes( Two different types)quite expensive! I have some Paasche's I have acquired over time and an old, ornery, won't break, tough as nails Binks!
In my line of work in the beginning, I needed lots of tools, Both S.A.E. and Metric. I bought Snap-On and when I couldn't I bought the Craftsman Brand at Sears. If you bought Sears Brand they didn't have the Craftsman warranty. Remember all the tools that Craftsman and Snap-On had were covered in daily Normal use by a lifetime warranty against failure for any reasonable job. What is the one thing We Americans will do if something is stuck or hard to get loose? Why, grab a hammer of course, and hammer away at that Wrench or take a pair of Channel-Locks to the Screwdriver. That of course breaks the tool. Well, the two above named Companies built above grade tools becuse they understood the habits of even the "Shade Tree" Mechanic/Bodyman.
Good tools aren't cheap. But I wouldn't put them in the same categories as a Diety's digits! Yes, it's a dig at the name, not the tool! "God's Hand" Indeed! And outrageously expensive! I have a Xuron set of Sprue nippers that have to be twenty years old. Still trimming fine, I sharpen or at least check the nipper cutting edges once a quarter. I also have a few that I got from good old H.L. Those I modified for special uses.They still do the job and neatly too! So, if you can, Don't buy cheap!
Besides the cost, look at how you use the tools. Do you find yourself sometimes Abusing the tool. DON'T ! Abusing or Misusing a tool will likely result in it's failure when you need it the most. Then you will curse, rant, snd villify the tool. It's not the tool's fault. Have you ever heard of Cornwall? Not Snap-On by any stretch. I have a full set of their Tools for Marine Engine Rebuilding. By not grabbing that hammer the Cornwall Tools have lasted as long as my Snap-On and Craftsman Counterparts! And Boats Do have a lot more corrosion than cars and trucks do!!
In closing, Spend what you can on a lesser Amount of tools, or a lesser Brand, But, make sure you have the right ones to do the job.Then, Use them properly and carefully. They will, with the right care for what they are , stand the test of time and usage! You can buy cheap and get the results. Just look at the tool carefully, and if you spot something different about it, then Don't use the tool the way you would use a name brand tool, Okay? Sometimes the situation is we go with what we can get. Don't make yourself regret it!