Should I get one brand of woodworking tools?
Oscar Wilde is credited with this gem of a saying:
“I have simple tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.”
I would agree with the other answers given - that going with a ‘best in class’ approach will probably stretch your dollars, and expand your capability/skillset, more than brand-loyalty would.
I’m a hand-tool woodworker — and the heyday of handtool manufacturing was… decades before I was born. Lucky for me, there were millions of these tools made before that manufacturing blaze of glory faded, but still, depending on one’s location, some of those tools can prove to be hard to find — and, for hand-tool guys like me… it’s only the collectors that are really interested in ‘brand-loyalty’ when they are in search of completing a collection of Stanley 750 chisels, or some such.
Should I get one brand of woodworking tools? |
The guys who are trying to make stuff, not collect tools learn quick that it’s much less stressful, and much more productive to outfit your shop using these two principle-like guidelines:
Try to buy the best you can afford (note, this is much different than buying the ‘most expensive’! - sometimes the ‘cheapest’ tool can be the most expensive), as you are able/need to. Resist the temptation to ‘cheap out’ on a tool — in many cases that will just prolong the ‘pain’ of using a faulty, under-performing, time-consumptive lump of mediocrity.
When ‘upgrading’, consider replacing the least-liked tool in your shop first. I have my ‘least favorites’ in the shop — anything under that heading I call a ‘procrastinator tool’ because they often convince me to move a task to the bottom of my priority list because just the thought of having to use *that* tool one more time often sucks any joy out of crossing the task off your list.