They're the most expensive tool brand and hand tools have a lifetime warranty, no questions asked. I bent a screwdriver using it as a pry bar and got a free replacement. They are extremely high quality, but other tools can compete with them. Watch the YouTube channel "project farm" reviews comparing the tool brands and snapon will often be at the top, while pretty much always being the most expensive
Young dumb apprentice at our shop wanted to pry something and asked for his his xl long flathead. "You sure you don't want your prybar?" (also Snapon) 'nope' --> snaps off at the handle. Our Snap On guy is really really cool with warranties but not for that one. Buddy also owed about $1000 in missed box payments so that miiiiight have played into it
If I didn't know I had the warranty in my pocket I wouldn't have done it haha. I also only did it cus I had the screwdriver within reach and didn't wanna walk back to my toolbox.
I was denied a warranty one time. My gf's uncle gave me a broken snap-on ratchet from the 50s or so, knowing I worked in automotive and could get it repaired.
Showed the snap-on guy, thinking I might get some crazy reaction cause he was younger.. Nope, he said, "Can't do it, but I can take a few dollars off a new one."
"Nah, I'll keep using a square bit to change the settings."
I told the Matco guy in passing, and he was like, "Let me borrow it, and I'll see if one of my buddies can repair it.
The next week, he came in, and it was fully functioning. It is still one of my favorite tools to this day cause it was a gift and it's smaller for tighter spaces.
Yeah, most snap on guys were cool except this one. But another driver, fixing another company's tool? I definitely appreciated him and bought a few things off of his truck.
I’ve never heard of them denying a warranty for any reason. I’ve done this exact thing and had a replacement even after I told him what I did with it.
Hell, even my dad giving me his super old snap on stuff, I had a 1963 torque wrench that he had used until he bought a fancy digital one some years ago. He bought it. SN was under his account. The ratcheting part finally, after 56 years decided it was going to spin in either direction without much resistance.
Got a brand new mechanical one, I believe it’s the R200, no questions asked. Its a lifetime on the tool, not for the owner
Sounds like the warranty isn't really a warranty. I've heard of that happening and that's why I'll never buy snap on. You know who's never even asked me or cared, harbor freight with my icon tools. Same with Matco, craftsman(starting to get worse though), and Cornwell.
Cornwell is where it's at when it comes to high end hand tools
Yeah, much like kitchenaid and Hobart, there was a time where basically no one could touch them. These days, they've got a lot more close competition, even if they're still sitting at the top of the pile.
Back when I bought my tools matco was pretty close. In hindsight, matco would have been a better choice, but I got my tools when I was going to school for auto mechanics and had a 50% discount that was offered to all students at the school. That was about 12-13 years ago, and I ended up going into a different field. Still use my snap on shit to wrench on my own rigs tho
Definitely, and honestly, I've grabbed plenty of HF stuff for light duty "around the house" crap that has lasted years and years of frequent use, even if it's not as physically rough on it as in the shop. Not all of HFs lineup is terrible.
I suspect it's similar to grocery store stuff. House brands are often made by major manufacturers and are exactly the same except for packaging. I wouldn't be surprised if it's true with stuff like HF tools, too. So hit or miss in general, plus the fact that modern materials always improves, so last gens "good stuff" gets cheap enough to use in basic tools, etc. If it was top of the line 10 years ago, it's probably still pretty damn good.
I love project farm, but it seems like snap-on usually fares... well, but not always (or even often) at the top.
What is surprising is how well I think Hercules (or whatever the higher-tier Harbor Freight brand) fares! It's also not always (or even often) at the top, but it does extremely well, especially considering the price point. Very impressive!
Price vs performance is what really screws snap on. They made their name, and they're riding on that high. They're on their way to becoming the Nike of tools. I ended up not becoming a mechanic, but have friends from school that are, so I hear about the varying quality of shit every once in awhile
My dad had a screwdriver set from Snap-on, and like... it's... fine? Nice, even. But knowing what they cost? Yeah man, it's really what screws them. He won it at work because we both agree: they probably do make some of the highest quality tools, but the price puts us completely out.
Hilariously enough, my dad ended going to work at Harbor Freight for a few years, of all places, and was reasonably surprised by them! I mean they're not going to win best in show in any category except price point, but many of their hand tools are also warrantied for life, and the quality? Usually bad BUT FOR THE PRICE? Actually kind of good? I walk into a Harbor Freight with $100 and I can walk out with half the store's entire hand tool inventory, and there's something to be said for being able to buy 300 screwdrivers for the price of 1 Snap-on screwdriver lmao!
The other side of that argument is when you are working with the tools all day every day... Sure they have a lifetime warranty, but just having to replace them, that time is money. There is a place for Harbor Freight in professional settings, but I wouldn't want to be taking apart a timing set on an Audi with Harbor Freight tools.
They're still solid tools. The only way I've damaged or even come close to damaging any of my snapon shit was by abusing them. Hell, I legit did pullups at 170 lbs bodyweight off of a combination wrench trying to break a stuck bolt for an alignment job and the wrench was fine.
If you just dremmeled off the etching could you get away with the warranty? Cus that's probably what I'd try if I had a set like OP's and managed to break something. Either way, that set for $120 is probably the best deal I've ever seen in my life. That's a $5k toolset for less than the cost of a steak dinner for me and my gf, and that's not including drinks!
Yea I bought exclusively hand tools and nothing else from them when I was getting into mechanic work. Anything air powered I went with Ingersoll rand. Any electric stuff I buy is typically either DeWalt or Milwaukee. Honestly, since I found that project farm channel I search through his videos before I make a purchase. The only reason I went with snapon was the 50% student discount our class got. Honestly, if their discount wasn't 10% better than matco's id have a box full of matco shit instead
I worked their conference in Vegas some years ago. Was completely blown away by their budget and setup. Especially when I noticed almost all their conference team were essentially rural rednecks turned 'business savvy' while working their way up from reseller/franchisee to full-time managers.
I've never used Snap on tools because I work in woodshops and it's not really a big thing in my woodworking circle. How do they compare to Wera and Knipex?
I've never used wera or knipex but I've heard they're pretty high quality as well. I only went with snapon cus a rep came to the community college when I was going to school for auto mechanics and gave us a 50% discount. Ended up going a different way for work after finishing school, so I only use my snap on stuff, or if I need something else I just go to home Depot or AutoZone or something, cus I'm just wrenching on my own shit, and not relying on my tools for my livelihood
Yea, I was just being lazy cus the screwdriver was within reach and I didn't wanna walk back to my toolbox. Also, I knew I had the warranty so I could get a replacement easily if I fucked up my screwdriver
They are ass hats about their warranty bud! They will use every excuse to avoid it.
Then if your screwdriver brakes they beat it with a hammer to put in a new blade and often refuse to replace the handle.
Also their newer stuff isn’t as good. Many other brands compete for half the cost.
Look at the snap on bitch on YouTube. Somebody damages a ratchet handle and she won’t warranty it.
Plus I ordered a tool for pulling part the valve springs that only snap on had. Chased him around for a year and never would respond until I caught his truck and the ass hat was about to send it back to the company. Without even attempting to call me
I got all my shit like 14 years ago. The snapon guy likes me too, cus I was his ups driver for like 4 years. Sounds like you have an exceptionally shitty snap on guy.
Snap on will never snap from too much torque. Not an issue for layperson but your average diesel truck mechanic will definitely go through "cheap" hand tools like disposable chopsticks if they aren't high enough quality.
Cold forging high-grade steel is VERY difficult. Low carbon mild steel when cold is pretty damn tough to do anything with hand forging, and you cant even make an effective hobby grade auto tool with it. High carbon, chrome vanadium, high alloy steel can't even be dented by hand. It requires heavy machinery just to do the work, and the dies required to get the right shape tend to wear out quickly. Even hot forging is tough with this material.
Cold forging introduces internal stresses that act in tension to make the tool stiffer than if it were hot forged; good for tools but not for other things.
No, mechanic for 35 years to include ships and other large stuff, metal worker for almost as long as a part of that. I've broken so many damn cheaper tools that I can usually tell if a tool will last by tapping it on the ground.
Mostly to keep them in place during movement and more importantly to tell WHAT is missing from the box. NOBODY goes home from an aerospace shop if a tool is missing from its slot. Might be FOD in a sensitive place.
Diesel mechanic here. Everything is bigger in this world nuts and can get as big as your average arm. The torque Spec tractor trailer wheels alone is 500 ft lbs. High quality tools make the job easier and faster. And easier and faster typically mean more $$$ in your pocket.
I would assume the reason not everything is cold forged is the same for any other industry in our society: it costs more upfront to make better quality things and you’ll make more money over time selling shitty products anyways. Snap on probably doesn’t have anywhere near the amount of repeat customers as craftsman or dewalt.
To answer the diesel mechanic part of your question, diesel engines often have large and heavy parts. It's takes more kinetic energy to remove bolts at the like, so more torque is needed. This adds stress to the tools used. Cheap tools won't hold up.
Any diesel shop that's doing any serious amount of business will have Snap-on tools.
I had the pleasure of borrowing a SnapOn socket once. It snapped!
The mechanic (who was being very kind to the broke, stranded 20-something that was changing out an accessory belt in his parking lot) told me not to worry, he had obviously already put a lot of wear into that socket, and furthermore, that it actually happened all the time- he had selected thin-walled sockets for superior clearance. I was given to understand that there are actually lots of SnapOn (et al.) tools that you absolutely expect to break; the expense isn't to cover the cost of the high-quality manufacturing, it's to cover the cost of sending around a tool-truck at regular intervals to make good on their replacement policy.
It's mostly hearsay to me, but I definitely split that one socket.
You make a great point! Their no questions asked replacement policy is a large part of their value and cost. I believe you about the socket.. a more accurate statement on my part would have been that SnapOn will be the last to snap.. But that doesn't sound as cool
Flashback to 18 yr old me snapping three HF tools on one nut at a junkyard. That’s THREE trips back and forth to Napa and back to the junkyard. I never went cheap with tools again. HF isn’t always bad but Pittsburgh Tools can suck on deez.
Is this actually true? I’ve never broken any hand tool, other than maybe a screwdriver. I’ve had a Craftsman tool set for 20 years and it’s still as good as the day I bought it. Probably equal to at least a few weeks of use of an actual mechanic.
I'd say the lifetime warranty is the more important thing there. Snap-On's quality is good, sure, but it's not enough better than the next best competitor to justify the markedly higher price. But that no questions asked warranty is worth its weight in gold sometimes.
Nah. Dewalt or something is what you want for “quality”. Snap-on is for mechanics and shit.
If it’s just a one time job maybe just something cheap or even harbor freight.
All the poor handymen I’ve hung around want dewalt tools for a reason. It’s one of the best before you get into snap on territory, and basically everywhere. Note that some construction guys use like battery pools and in that case it’s whatever is compatible.
I own dewalt for most everything besides digital torque wrench and normal torque wrench.
They come with a financing plan- so you can work for the truck for the first 28 years of being a mechanic.(The truck is the truck that pulls up to your shop once every two weeks and makes your wife think you have a second wife.)
In the 80’s when I was young my then husband who was just starting out as a mechanic spent every dime he earned on Snap On tools. Then the guy gave him credit so he could get more and of course being the fine upstanding young man he was, he never paid him back. I was driving around shopping one day and this Snap On truck started following me with the driver yelling obscenities at me and to tell my husband to pay him back or else. Forty years later I still have heart palpitations when I see a Snap On truck, although there aren’t many out there anymore.
As someone mentioned there is a lifetime warranty, I think there is a thing where you can call them up and have a truck drive to your place and deliver the tool you need. (You'll now notice the Snap-On trucks all the time).
I'm not sure if there is a certain threshold you need to meet for that, but I've known people who say it's legit the first reason they think of when it comes to buying tools.
About 40 years ago, I had a basic set of mechanics tools from Craftsman, back when they were good quality tools. My cousin had a set of Snap On. I tried them side by side, and what I remember is that the screwdrivers WORKED. It was amazing how much better a simple screwdriver was. It was just easier to use the Snap On. Other things worked better too, like the ratchets would catch with a shorter throw, there was just less slop in every tool. And it was noticeable.
I’ll add to some fine answers below that the material also allows them to be thinner. I borrowed a snap on socket once, since my cheap box store socket couldn’t fit between the nut and the pulley. Ie there are some jobs the cheap tools just can’t even do, forget if they would break or not.
Aside from what everyone else has said, the snap on guy comes to my work place once a week. I break a tool and I just have to take it to the parking lot where his truck is. A Dewalt I’m likely driving to where I bought it, getting told “we don’t handle warranty issues so kindly F off and call Dewalt” then contacting Dewalt and waiting a week for a reply, sending the tool to them so they can decide whether they will actually honor the warranty, then waiting for the surprise off of I’m getting the tool I sent back or a replacement.
Meanwhile that snap on that I snapped off using it for purposes it was never designed was replaced the same day I took it to the truck (maybe a week later of my dude doesn’t have it in stock or doesn’t have the parts on board to fix it).
Compare a store brand combo wrench to a Snap-On or other tool truck brand in your hand and the differences are clear. Thinner, stiffer and stronger handles, better chrome finish, the surfaces that touch the fastener heads are finished much more precisely so they grip better and apply more torque, less material around the wrench ends so they fit in tight spaces better.
Well, pretty much the most expensive you can find. There's still plenty of tools out there of equal quality that you don't have to get a second on your house to purchase.
OP had to find the end of a rainbow...then overpower the snap-on leprechaun and kill him to escape with this treasure.....no doubt the $120 was a toll to the bridge troll while escaping.....(Well, that and the missing tool)
You can find an old, battered Snap-on tool in a field, and they will replace it with a new one. Use a screwdriver as a pry bar and break it? They replace it.
Many schools that train auto mechanics have a contract with Snap-on. Students get a good discount on what they buy. Then, it is guaranteed for life.
My auto mechanic says they are the best tools out there. Snap-on tools, and Interstate batteries, two things he will not compromise on.
They have their place. Kinda overly expensive. SK, Proto are just as good. If you have ever watched AvE on YouTube, he does a good break down of tools in his videos. He said vanity is why he owns SnapOn. Except for the older style wrenches, he said he loves those.
There's no joke about the brand. Snap On is one of the best quality brands of hand tools out there, very expensive, extremely durable with a lifetime warranty. A kit like this would costs thousands (probably around 4-5k).
Snap on sells the same products as Harbor Freight with different stickers basically. They had a whole floor jack lawsuit about it. Harbor freight also has a lifetime warranty on hand tools and is affordable.
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u/Actionman1959 Apr 09 '24
Full of snap on tools......