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What's a tool that you will never replace it with its modern counterpart?


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Hello, I'm doing a blog about differences in modern tooling and their vintage counterparts and why people would rather use them than the modern equivalents. The reverse also applies, if you have a modern tool that you would never replace with an older model what would that tool be and what type of use do you preform with the tool?

Background: I'm a college student and for a class I decided to do a project about hand tools. One of my requirements for this project is to do a digital campaign, which I have chosen to do my campaign on tooling. I have a passion for learning about tools and what the differences that go through each iteration of their new life cycle as they are "improved".

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A third option is keeping your older tools ,like ratchets and upgrading them with new parts...SK does this a lot. They just recently came out with new ratchets,but you can buy just the gear assembly and install it in your old SK ratchet....

   Cordless tools are almost always better new, first gen 1 then wait for gen 3...generally gen 2 will be marginally better.

    Shop tools are generally more reliable from older models, they won’t have the bells and whistles but usually work well...you can’t beat an older Wilton vise. 

  Some of the best hand tools are still the older styles.....

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  • 3 weeks later...

I am a new tool kind of guy with quality in mind. When I went to construction school I wasn't much into tools yet. I basically went to the store and went cheap on the tools I needed. I have replaced a few of those tools due to being insufficient for the job/not working well/breakage but the rest of them have yet to become unusable. Now days if I need a tool I like to research my options so I can try and get a quality option from a pro or higher brand. If I need a tool quick but haven't done any research, I go to the store and do a quick research of whats is available at the store on my phone then buy a good option. Most of the time I research online about a type of tool I need/want then order the one I decide I want. I tend to avoid any brand less than pro because I don't want to take my chances.

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On 4/14/2018 at 4:41 PM, Jronman said:

I am a new tool kind of guy with quality in mind. When I went to construction school I wasn't much into tools yet. I basically went to the store and went cheap on the tools I needed. I have replaced a few of those tools due to being insufficient for the job/not working well/breakage but the rest of them have yet to become unusable. Now days if I need a tool I like to research my options so I can try and get a quality option from a pro or higher brand. If I need a tool quick but haven't done any research, I go to the store and do a quick research of whats is available at the store on my phone then buy a good option. Most of the time I research online about a type of tool I need/want then order the one I decide I want. I tend to avoid any brand less than pro because I don't want to take my chances.

 

I have a similar mentality, though I am not a tradesman and do not use my tools professionally.  As a mechanic, I knew that Snap-On, Mac, and Matco were THE brands to go to, but since I couldn't afford them new, I made due with Craftsman as I gradually bought trade-ins and other used tools.  Maybe it's rubbed off on me, but with a much higher income these days, I find myself going for professional quality--or at least proven USA made--brands whenever possible.  Klein, Channellock, and other brands come to mind for sheer quality versus cost.

 

To answer the OP's question, though, I think about the only hand tool I wouldn't replace with a modern version is my True Temper 4 lb. engineer hammer.  Thinking about it, it is hard to imagine using the tools I've owned for over twenty years if given the option of using something less demanding.  Hand tools in general are usually replaced where possible with a power tool: my impact driver is used instead of a ratchet, for example, and my 8v or 12v Max screwdriver replaces standard drivers for most tasks.  When I turned wrenches for a living, racheting box ends were not that common; if I were to go back to such a job, I'd readily choose one of my GearWrench tools over my tried-and-true (but slow as hell) Snap-On combination wrenches.  I still have some perfectly serviceable Craftsman tape measures (yellow ones, from when they still warrantied the blades), but don't dig one out when I have a plethora of other brands at hand.

 

So, yeah, hammers...  I could see getting a titanium hammer, or one of the newer designs, but I couldn't fathom replacing my old 4 lb sledge with an extra long handle.  It can destroy things with ease and shows the wear from decades of hard use (long before I bought it).  If and when the handle breaks, I'll add another; my fiberglass handled 4-pounders will stay in the tool box for most jobs.

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One tool I'd never go back to for sure would be a miter box. Sweet Jesus what a pain in the yam bag a miter box is compared to a sliding compound miter saw. Same goes for pneumatic finish nailers. I'll drive nails by hand framing a lot, but I cannot imagine putting up crown with a hammer and finish nails. 

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  • 1 month later...

Just found this forum, saw this post and had to jump in....

For my money, the many examples of vintage tools being superior to their modern counterparts are what define the history of hand tool manufacturing. In my case, I'd rather use my vintage Craftsman wrenches than their modern equivalents because the quality and durability is far superior, and they were made in the U.S. not China or Taiwan. Stanley hand planes are another example where the modern equivalents were outsourced overseas and the resulting quality bottomed out dramatically. I own and use a dozen different vintage Stanleys and a few Lie Nielsen hand planes, which basically are the modern resurrection of the vintage Stanley Bedrock line, made here in Maine.

When faced with a choice between a vintage hand tool and its modern equivalent, I will always go with the vintage model because the materials are better, the skill and craftsmanship that went into the tool was better, the durability is better, the functionality is better, the fit and finish is better (even when banged up), and they were made by men and women who were paid a living wage for their skills here in the United States - and that matters!

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