tools, which ones are good?

[undersuspicion]

Hey guys,
looking to buy some new tools. Tossing up between kinchrome and sidchrome. Looking for sockets, spanners and a few other bits and pieces.
Any one got any opinions on either brands? Open to suggestions of other brands.
Thanks in advance.

[Cameron P]

sidchrome or snap on mate.. lifetime warrenty, for i know snap on does anyway

[undersuspicion]

yeah snap on is a bit out my price range mate, hence looking at either sidchrome or kinchrome. Used sidchrome before with no issues, just wondering if anyone else had opinions on other brands

[F l a k]

I've got an SP Racing socket set and an SP Racing spanner set. They are easily the nicest tool's I've ever used. Look awesome, tough as, lifetime warranty, and seem a lot nicer and arguably of higher quality the the Sidchrome and Kinchrome ones. They probably are more expensive though.

[undersuspicion]

I've got an SP Racing socket set and an SP Racing spanner set. They are easily the nicest tool's I've ever used. Look awesome, tough as, lifetime warranty, and seem a lot nicer and arguably of higher quality the the Sidchrome and Kinchrome ones. They probably are more expensive though.

where can you buy sp racing tools from? Will have a look at them mate.

[borgie1979]

Got kinchrome mate and i think they are excellent , good value for money

[undersuspicion]

cheers for the input borgie

[Tom_1569]

If you want a ratchet that sounds like a D7 turning around on Conrete then Sidchrome is for you. If you want a ratchet that sound like a ratchet, then get Kincrome.

Go into bunnings or the like and try both side by side, thats what I did and it was an easy decision to buy Kincrome. Not sure if some punk put snad in the Sidcrome ratchet but it felt and sounded shit house.

[304runner]

I have both Kinchrome and Sidcrome and I rate my Sidchrome set higher then the Kinny's. I had a mate borrow my 3/8th ratchet which he used on a wheel nut (dopey). After standing on the ratchet it broke, so I just took it back into bunnings and they gave me a new one with no recept and no questions asked. Lifetime warranty

Kincrome=7/10

Sidcrome=8/10

But on a side note, the only bad point I can find with the Sidchrome is you can sometimes find a false neutral from switching between L & R.

[glenn l]

most of my personal tools are snap-on that i have bought over the last 17 years, great tools but the only reason i buy them is you can pay them off.
the tolls in our work shop are mainly total tools and they have had a very hard life for over 8 years now and appart from breaking a breaker bar and a swivel socket (through abuse) i have not got a problem with them except the laser etched sizing on the spanners have worn off and are hard to see. i think most of the brands mentioned above are good, if you look after them and dont abuse them and only use them now and again you shouldnt have a problem.

[undersuspicion]

cheers for the input fellas. Waiting for some junk mail to come to have look and see if there are any on special.

[Reaper]

Sidcrome, kincrome are pretty much on a par. Sidchrome changed from a lifetime warranty a few years back now. I have had a good run with both. Snap-on are pretty much the rolls royce of tools and are beautifully made. As a budget alternative I have the generic "Total Tools" brand. Made under license by sidchrome and are excellent value for money. I haven't broken anything yet and have done a lot of work with them over the 3 or so years since I bought them.

Reaper

[undersuspicion]

Sidcrome, kincrome are pretty much on a par. Sidchrome changed from a lifetime warranty a few years back now. I have had a good run with both. Snap-on are pretty much the rolls royce of tools and are beautifully made. As a budget alternative I have the generic "Total Tools" brand. Made under license by sidchrome and are excellent value for money. I haven't broken anything yet and have done a lot of work with them over the 3 or so years since I bought them.

Reaper

i did have a whole snap on chest, it got stolen a couple of years ago and i have never really bothered to buy more. Will keep an eye out and see if i can get either sidchrome or kinchrome on special.

[ari666]

sidchrome used to be good, now they are just cheap crap. kingchrome all the way for me. ive had a couple of rathcet sets of theirs through bursons and no problems so far, 3 years later.

[undersuspicion]

lol @ your new display pic ari. Cheers for the input mate.

[304runner]

Sidchrome changed from a lifetime warranty a few years back now.

Still stands.... Always will

Sidchrome - FAQs

[acarmody]

I personally think that Kincrome used to be great but now are just a mainstream brand. They make $50 hydraulic jacks, $69 torque wrenches, etc. They now cater to the everyday person.

If you want an awesome warranty and live near a Repco, just get one of their socket sets. They have a lifetime warranty and if you manage to break a piece you just take it in to the nearest store and they will replace it on the spot. Don't have to take your whole socket set in and ship it of to Kincrome or anything.

[acarmody]

Apparently these KC Tools stuff is pretty good, quite a few people saying they cop some heavy abuse and keep going strong.

OP I don't know if you live near these guys but maybe worth checking out, http://www.transquip.com.au/products.php?product=KC-Tools-43-PCE-1{47}2-DVE-SOCKET-SET-AF{47}MET-W{47}BANJO-RATCHET.

[F l a k]

where can you buy sp racing tools from? Will have a look at them mate.

I bought all my SP stuff at Bursons. The quality seems comparable to Snap On.

[ari666]

and live near a Repco, just get one of their socket sets.

actually i have to say that a mate has 2 of their spanner sets and i am VERY impressed. very good price and really nicely made spanners.

you can tell the cheap crap ones when they dont fit properley on 13mm and 7mm. the repco ones are perfect.

[undersuspicion]

i live near repco so i will definitely have a look. What are their socket sets and spanner sets worth roughly? F l a k unfortunately we dont have bursons here in WA otherwise i would be have a look at SP range. Thanks for the link arcarmody, looks like a quality set reasonably cheap.
Still open to ideas and suggestions guys.

[ute boy]

i work for repco so i can shed some light on their tools.
our main brand was sidchrome untill we had problems with warrenties and sidcrome not covering them (because of 'abuse')
we run sidchrome still but have droped our instore range majiorly but if u got a part number of a box they can get them in.
orignaly when we got repco tools they were avarage but we have changed brands and their now higher quality. their now trade quality and a fair bit cheaper than sidchrome/kingchrome.
lifetime warrenty aswell and if u got a problem u walk in with it and walk out with a new one.
some of our trade customers still use the brand name ones because of the 'name' but some of the personaly owned guys are startin to get repco tools.
go in and have a look at the tools also their should be a tool catalog next to the tool cabnet but if not just ask.
also ask if they got the "2011 mega tool cataloge" which has everthin from spanners to hoists. (not all repco branded haha) have a look in it as it has a few more tools.

one thing i wouldnt suggest to get repco branded is the specialest tools eg tourqe wrenches because they have been known to de-calibrate dont work as well.

best thing to do is find out wat tools u like and feel comfertable using.
with specials repco/bersons/supercheap has some specials here and there with the kits but arnt usualy really cheap so pic your time.
if u can wait till next year do so and wait till sidchrome/kingchrome offers their specials for the tradies.
when your in repco and gettin prices ask for trade and they should be able to (not heaps but ocassinaly something)
another thing repco has 20% of for nrma members this month (excludes battreys, sat navs, engines and that sort of s**t) so if u get in quick u could save a bit =D
heres the link: http://www.repco.com.au/CA2571B70016...&3=~&REFUNID=~
mitch

[kcpwns]

Just my two cents...love my king chrome shifters and the ratchet set goes alright...
Id recommend kingchrome

[FusionX]

best thing to do is find out what tools you like and feel comfortable using.

+1 to this. Have a look in the shops and see which spanners/ratchets/other tools feel good in your hand and are comfortable to work with. So are a bit better designed ergonomically then others and are easier to use, which is why I have a bit of every brand in my toolbox.

[Darren_L]

If you want a ratchet that sounds like a D7 turning around on Conrete then Sidchrome is for you. If you want a ratchet that sound like a ratchet, then get Kincrome.

Go into bunnings or the like and try both side by side, thats what I did and it was an easy decision to buy Kincrome. Not sure if some punk put snad in the Sidcrome ratchet but it felt and sounded shit house.

Sidchrome ratchets sound the way they do because they have a much heavier duty ratchet mechanism. Kinchrome ratchets might sound nice, but they break internally.

having said that, Sidchrome is nothing like it used to be nor is it's lifetime warranty. Once Stanley took them over things went downhill. But having owned both Sidchrome and Kinchrome tools myself, I would choose Sidchrome over Kinchrome without a second thought. Particularly when it comes to ratchets.