hand tools that stand up to daily use?

Please reply to this topic of hand tools you have used that stand up to daily use without falling apart.

Im looking for wire crimpers, strippers, DMMs, handheld scopes, and other tools you have personally used and would recommend. Im tired of stripping wires only 3 times before the handle falls off... or probing wires with DMM leads and the lead collapsing into the plastic.

Brand names and model #s would be helpful.

Thanks!

I am using a 12 year old craftsman dmm with snap on leads, 12 year old Klein crimps and strips, and the head on my ball peen hammer belonged to my great grandfather when he was a kid. no brand on that one...

+1 on the fluke comment though.

I like craftsman tools in general... Klein makes excellent crimpers and stripers.. I like snap-on sockets because the walls are thinner, but that only helps in tight places (airplane mechanics love them!).... Thats my 2cents worth...

for crimpers my weapon of choice is thomas and betts wt 112m. i like these over the klein crimpers because the head is thicker on them where it actually crimps meaning more of the connector is crimped with the wire. the klein ones are very narrow and can break the wire because it is much easier to apply more force since you are crimping less. these will crimp insulated/non insulated connectors. expect to pay $40-$50 depending on who your tool guy is.

for wire strippers i use the pyt 4 automatic wire strippers. these are adjustable for tension and have a wire cutter built in and they come with an extra set of "teeth". these will normally run you around $10 bucks. both of these tools get abused in my shop by all my installers and have lasted being dropped from boats semi's, being run over, etc. etc. etc. and these strippers dont have the cheap plastic handles that tend to break on the knock off versions.

can't beat craftsman or fluke multimeters. a good reliable multimeter from craftsman will run you about $40 bucks. its small, has a diode check and continuity beep and has standard bannana plugs for the test leads. this meter with fluke interchangeable test leads are a good reliable combo that will allow you to change tips to suit your needs.

for a handheld scope the options arent as great since these things typically go upwards of a thousand bucks,  you can find some cheaper ones but the quality is not the same, mainly the resolution on the screen. the one i use at work is a velleman hps10. the screen and refresh rate is the only things i dont like about this one but other than that it works perfect for adjusting gains and watching cool wavy lines on a screen! and for $170 i can't complain. the hps1 20 is a little bit more (can't remember how much) but it allows connection with pc or laptop for data logging and visual  on  a much larger screen.

Fluke meters are nice, but I wouldn't recomend them for car audio, they just cost too much.

When I was installing I used a 'cheap' Craftsman meter daily, and kept my Fluke 189 tucked away in my box where it wouldn't get lost or damaged.  I only pulled it out when I needed a meter that could read fast pulses (<0.3s).  I found that the Fluke would read short pulses fairly accurately while my Craftsman meter would just flash and never display a voltage. 

You can even get cheap Craftsman meters with built in frequency meters, great for finding tach wires (and much more accurate then using  a meter set to AC).

Other then that, I used mostly Craftsman tools because of their price and convenience (I hated waiting for the Snap on guy to come whenever I needed something).  Craftsman are not the best tools, but they are more then good enough to get the job done.

I have a Bluepoint Meter, and I mix and match my leads.  For in car wire hunting I have an off brand ground lead from the snap-on truck that has a magnetic disconnect a few inches from the test probe that saves a ton of profanity and anger when looking for a ground, no more looking for something that fits inside the jaws of an alligator clip.  (I love that lead more than life itself)   for my positive I have pomona lead that has a slightly funkier probe tip interchange but the long insulated sharp probe is amazing so I use that for the serching and the magnet for the ground.    When doing anything that requires more acuracy or confidence in my leads I use the pomona set for both.

My Sku is an actual "SKU" brand right angle piece I have never had any issues with it and its been around for about 3 years now.... and I will never return to milwakee after seeing what it did to my old seniors hand when the plastic gears locked up while mounting a rear speaker in a camry.  (I know it says no power tool use on the box but I'm not trying to self tap anything by hand)  

I use Kleins for my cutter/crimper, only because the wider ones off the snap-on truck are too expencive to lose like I do and now that I've been using them for 7 years I sorta like the narrow jaws.    

I have bluepoint and snap-on panel popper sets and both have their strong points but never had any quality issues with either.

I have all snap-on ratchets for quality reasons, but my socket sets are all S&K and some craftsman for my 1/2" drive stuff I almost never use.

For screw drivers I have a few snap-on sets at different lengths and sizes because I'm a sucker for trays and the name on the handle but I've been using the Husky Pro series they have black rubber handles and red writing. I bought it as a 20 something piece set for $19.95 a few years ago and they are killer, the tips last a while and they are comfortable to use. I've bought 4 of the sets to date and I think the last one was $28.00 but thats $110.00 less than my snap-on set with 15 more tools.