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by Eduardo3rd 1272 days ago
High quality tools are absolutely a joy! I love the high end tools that I get to use in my professional life as a mechanical engineer. (less frequently now that I am a manager, but you never get tired of using a well designed Festool, Bosch, or Wera product)

However,I don't need the same level of quality in the things I have at home. I've built, repaired, and otherwise tinkered away on countless projects over the years with things I found/bought on sale/picked up along the way with no issues. I'm not a professional [plumber, carpenter, electrician, mason, machinist, etc] and I don't need the same tools they have to get the job done safely.

There's nothing wrong with choosing to spend your personal money on high end tools. In general I find the attitude around tool ownership to be one of gate keeping though, and I'm more interested in getting started and discovering what I really need with less expensive tools than I am in spending my entire budget on high end equipment only to learn that I don't need specific expensive features after a few uses.
2 comments
D13Fd 1272 days ago
Some people are into creating things, and other people are into tools. As the saying goes, it's a poor craftsperson that blames their tools. But I also think it's a poor craftsperson who tries to improve by improving their tools.

I see it a lot with photography. Some talented photographers pull incredible images out of older digital cameras and lenses, and don't bother to get new cameras/lenses because the reality is that a new camera wouldn't make their images much better.

Other photographers lack that kind of creative skill but still spend their time buying better and better gear, talking about gear online, and taking pictures of test charts—all without improving their skill.

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ce4 1272 days ago
I'd say it depends on the use case.

For example I own a cheap non branded wire stripper (an upgrade to using a knife) instead of the high quality 150€ self adjusting Knipex equivalent (which "only" makes life easier and saves time).

But with safety features I wouldn't budge (eg. saw and grinding tools). For example Bosch blue has anti kickback in certain angle grinders which detects jamming discs and stops the motor.

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