Where To Buy Decent Quality Hand Tools?

[oldexplorer]

I´m having a desperate struggle trying to find somewhere to buy reasonable quality hand tools, sockets etc. Nothing I´ve seen or used so far has been remotely acceptable... sockets that are hopelessly oversize, a wheel brace that I can twist with my bare hands if I try to tighten the wheel hard... the list is endless.

PLEASE put me out of my misery and tell me where I can get my hands on a well-made STRONG chrome vanadium socket set in half inch drive or bigger... at this rate I´m going to fly back to the UK to fetch my tool box and my Halfords socket set (which is now looking very good in comparison with what´s available in Thailand)...

I´m in Prachinburi, and pop in to Bangkok every couple of weeks - somewhere in the city?

[sapi]

hello there,

i'm also stay in prachinburi area, around 30 mins from the city. and trust me, i know how you feel.

first rule, dont buy it if it's too cheap.

second rule, buy a well known brand.

my suggestion for the one in prachinburi, try home made (45 mins from town), they sell alot of tools.....decent price and quality.

I never been to big C prachinburi, perhaps they have it.

in Bangkok, try home pro or home works, go to their tools section, choose good quality brand...definitely not made in china or made in thailand.....(pardon me)...they dont last that long.

i bought my tools set, one bit at a time from second hand sellers here in my area, sometimes i got lucky and score good quality tools at decent price.

[Jdietz]

Sorry for the tongue in cheek reply, but no one really says it better than Dave Barry:

Now, you might ask, "How do I get one of those complete home

tool sets for under $4?" An excellent question.

Go to one of those really cheap discount stores where they sell

plastic furniture in colors visible from the planet Neptune and where

they have a food section specializing in cardboard cartons full of

Raisinets and malted milk balls manufactured during the Nixon

administration. In either the hardware or housewares department,

you'll find an item imported from an obscure Oriental country and

described as "Nine Tools in One", consisting of a little handle with

interchangeable ends representing inscrutable Oriental notions of tools

that Americans might use around the home. Buy it.

This is the kind of tool set professionals use. Not only is it

inexpensive, but it also has a great safety feature not found in the

so-called quality tools sets: The handle will actually break right off

if you accidentally hit yourself or anything else, or expose it to

direct sunlight.

-- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw"

[timi2546]

...

in Bangkok, try home pro or home works, .....

homeworks has some

good brands, bought

PERFORMAX-set,

a little expensive but

seems better than tinny bigc

cheap things.

o yeah, black n decker has

chinamade and us-made drills, guess

which one chose

Edited March 31, 2009 by timi2546

[noahvail]

...

in Bangkok, try home pro or home works, .....

homeworks has some

good brands, bought

PERFORMAX-set,

a little expensive but

seems better than tinny bigc

cheap things.

o yeah, black n decker has

chinamade and us-made drills, guess

which one chose

Same thing with Stanley hand tools. The goods ones are still made in the US, and cost a lot. The...uhmmm.... inferior ones are made in China and aren't worth the blister pack they come in. I've only seen the China ones in Home Pro.

[mdechgan]

Well Snap On, SK, craftsman are very hard to find in BKK. The closest I use is SATA. They are made in China but come with a lifetime guarantee. Eventhough they are made in China they are much better than some of the lower U.S. brands out there. There are made from danaher corporation same as Matco tools. Same feel, design and tolerances. I don't use stanley or beta or kingston unless I have no choice. You can get these at a Homeworks (not homepro), severals stores in klongthom also carry them.

This is their Singapore website because a Thai website isn't available. Have a looksy, you might be surprised at the quality.

Sata Tools

Edited April 4, 2009 by mdechgan

[BSJ]

I was lucky as a kid, my dad had bought army surplus stuff including boxes of tools to use on the farm. Only trouble was they where SAE and Whitworth. By the mid 60's they where starting to outlive their usefulness. So we started getting Sidchrome (Au made) stuff which came with a lifetime guarantee. That guarantee came in handy regularly as we used tools to their limits and beyond! I bought Sidchrome myself and later as finances improved Hazet (German). Usually, professional mechanics use these brands and others....not the crap from Wal-Mart or Discount World! Breaking tools gets annoying after a while, even for Thai mechanics!

There must be a source the trade uses. An out of the way little known shop with all the good gear. I'd be surprise if there wasn't. No, make that gobsmaked! In that case turn to the internet. There must be hundreds of companies that can supply quality tools.

Best of luck with it.

[sinewave]

theres plenty of places to get good tools. homepro is the easiest id imagine, ive been using the 'Meta' brand tool set for about 5 years now, without failure...a whole set is about 2000 baht.

For extra hard work 'Kokan' sockets are good.

let us know wha prt of town you will be in, so we can direct you to a store...unless you want to travel across town.

[emanphoto]

I did do a little search and found http://www.cromwell....html#ht. Their hand tool catalog is here and is a 6MB pdf download. I don't know where they are but it's good to know one doesn't necessarily have to buy adult sized children's tools! Others may know where this address is... Cromwell Thailand. 2070 Moo 1, Old Railway Road, Samrong Nua, A. Mueng, Samutprakarn

oops sorry didn't mean to post in an '09 thread!

Edited May 13, 2012 by emanphoto

[CGW]

"True Value" Sukhumvit opposite Outlet Mall has the best quality tools in Pattaya and a good choice..

Just realised you are not in Pattaya! try another branch? http://www.truevalue.co.th/location.php

Edited May 13, 2012 by CGW