Tool you have owned the longest and still use regularily

[CopperNick]

The first tools I bought for myself were my S-K 3/8ths drive sockets and ratchet. Lost the ratchet but managed to replace it and complete the set along with adding a matching set of wrenches from E-Bay. They stay in the basement. My first wrenches and screwdrivers were Westwards. Still have them too.

My second kit was a set of 3/8ths and 1/2 inch Proto Challengers, sockets, ratchets, wrenches and screwdrivers all loaded into a blue Proto tote box. Had to carry the whole thing home from the dealer on foot; weighed about as much as my skinny *ss could carry at that point. Still have and use them a half century later; they have a home in my General roller tool box out in the shop.

My 1/4 drive stuff is a mixture of Craftsman and Napa Ultrapro. I do have some Challenger items but that kit is missing stuff that needs to be located and acquired.

The third set is a legacy that came to from my Dad. They were his tools for working on his 37 sedan. Added a contemporary ratchet to that kit as the original was sort of like a gear wrench that you used a separate drive pin with and flipped over to reverse direction.



Nick

 

[pagrunt]

My first full Craftsman tool set I bought back in '93 dispite loosing a few sockets over the years.

The ones that mean the most to me were given to me by my cousin that was only a few years older, but passed away from cancer in 2020. Every time I use them I’m reminded of him. Amazing how simple hand tools can mean so much.

I understand that, one other long haul tool I use alot is my grandfather's Craftsman 1/2" drive ratchet that doesn't have the release button but has a oiler point in the head. I got it years before he passed & was one of the very few I was able to "save" as my uncle (his son-in-law) took all of his '50's/'60's Craftsman tools along with his body tools from his days as a Greyhound bodyman. He was the one to get me hooked on Craftsman when they were worth something.

 

[PBGBodyFan]

Oldest tools I have that I still have and use, that I can think of, are a Craftsman floor jack that is probably from 2000/2001 and a Craftsman timing light from probably the same rough time frame. I’m sure a few tools are owned a little longer but that’s when I started working on cars and building my tool collection, so nothing too exciting or old.

 

[mikester]

Back when I was 17 or 18 my dad bought me my first socket set. It was an SK 1/2" drive set that came in a flat metal box. Had a few 6pt shallow sockets and the rest were 12pt. I think there were 6 deep sockets with it. Ratchet, breaker bar and a 6" extension. He bought it at a Firestone tire place right on Main St in the town I grew up in. It was a Christmas present.
I have at least six 1/2" ratchets but to this day I still use that as my first choice. Still have every one of the sockets except for one deep that my friend cracked trying to take a bolt out with my breaker bar and a piece of pipe. Theyre on a rail in my socket drawer. The chromes worn off a few of the well used sockets and theres some worn areas on the ratchet head. I guess thats expected. Ive been using them for 51 years. LOL
My next favorite was a Utica torque wrench that I bought in the mid-late 70s. It finally stopped working two years ago. Theres a few places that fix them and recalibrate them but the cost was kinda high so I bought a new one from Gear Wrench. Downside is the new one is a lot longer. Its still in my box though. Maybe one day I'll send it out for a repair.

 

[Bonnewagon]

The oldest tools I still use are some Model A open end wrenches that came with the car. The wrenches fit almost everything serviceable on a Model A. My Grandfather had the A and in our family NOTHING gets thrown away unless it is completely destroyed. I can't believe how many things I need those for as they are very big odd sizes. I also have tons of old Williams, Craftsman, Blue Point, Husky, Lisle, MAC, Snap-On, S-K, in fact every brand under the Sun. My family knows to give me all tools when they clean house so I have enough for three lifetimes and I use them all.

 

[hangar401]

Still have my socket set I bought when I was 18when we were building our late model stock car am now 72 and still use it

 

[Cauterize]

Of the tools I purchased and not family heirlooms from my great grandfather. It's probably my "beater" Klein flatblade screwdriver. My conduit reamer is seized on the shank I've had it and beat guts out of it for nearly 20 years.

 

[CurtisP]

Craftsman 8 in 1 wrench - I bought when I was 10 years old because I didn’t have enough money to buy a whole set of wrenches

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Still in my toolbox at the shop and actually just used it on Thursday doing a clutch in a MF165

 

[olds307 and 403]

Something I use quite often is the Grey 1" drive swing bar and 1 1/8" socket for turning over my Olds V8 by hand. It was Dad's and probably older than my 46 years on this planet. I have and have used my Grandfather's Carpentry hand saw. Bought in Scotland and used for 10 years in South Africa where he worked as a Carpenter after the Boer War and then brought to Canada. Talking circa 1900.

 

[airboatgreg]

I bought a large used Snap on tool box 46 years ago and still have it full of tools that i bought upwards of 50 years ago. Getting ready to move it from the garage to my new barn. Browsing through the tool box is like a trip down memory lane. I used it many years as a drivability tech