The Best of The Best

[BITEME]

2006 Toyota Camry i4 engine, 180k miles, several batteries, tires,fan belt,that's it.... I'm the original owner,and it still looks decent. I love this car

 

[Wowbagger]

For the average Joe Channellock pliers are king.
Sure Knipex is supposed to be the top of the line but I've had zero problems with anything Channellock from my grandfather's 1933 #420 to the second new pair of #420 I just bought last week.
The value for dollar ratio is unsurpassed.

Since I picked up a Knipex Pliers wrench out of my old Boss's Snapon Box I've been a Knipex toten Knipex usin' fan boy
But
Got to admit I just finally ordered Channellock's 480 Bigazz. Got tired of waiting for the price to drop below $50 and no stores around me carry it on the shelf. The next size down they carry for ~$29 I know it is going to be fantastically useful ! ! !

the last line of Craftsman pliers made by Western Forge

OMG (and I never use that) . . . Western Forge is about four miles from where I'm sitting. My old, old, boss made enough money working there as an industrial engineer to start his own business in the seventies and he's still going to town ! He taught me a lot !! Smart man !

I'm going to have to get some of those for sure. Fun fact : when you pick up a Craftsman tool and it has a WF forged into the tool that's Western Forge.

so I ponied up the cash. So glad I did.

Tough, comfortable, and they just plain work.

Real rain gear is worth the money and you will have a good laugh if you go back to Gortex (if you don't die from hyperthermia).

Lets see . . . what can I contribute . . .
The Vampliers ! Surprised that one hasn't come up yet. I used them a couple days ago; great product.
and
the best dambed cheep throw away pen on the planet is the BIC Velocity Bold Retractable. I carry one for back up and as a loaner. I've gone years using them as my main pen because I get tired of the BS with higher priced refils that don't work as well. (four dollars / five for one refill ? ? ? and I get a better experience from a Velocity at $8 for twelve pens)
hahahaha I've even gone so far as to cut the ink tube shorter and put it in my other pens including my space pen. I like bold and the Space pen bold can blob. Never the BIC.

To be fair for the last few months I have been pretty much exclusively using my
rOtring Rapid Pro Retractable Ballpoint Technical Drawing Pen, Black Barrel, with I think it has a Parker refill in it and I'm determined to make it run out and it won't . . . yet. It did start skipping / not writing on some paper that had my oily mechanicy thumb print on it (worked on clean paper test).
I grabbed my back up Velocity and finished my notes.
I'm just saying.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Fun fact : when you pick up a Craftsman tool and it has a WF forged into the tool that's Western Forge.

Yes, and that's how I knew these were made by Western Forge.
Those pliers, and this 6" adjustable I bought the other day at the local hardware.

And an M = Vaughan & Bushnell.
They've dropped the ball a little bit on the screwdrivers but I still find them a good value for the money.

 

[dunefan]

Icom radios
Ping rescue woods
Apple products (ipad, iphone and ipod are all first class)

 

[Wowbagger]

For the average Joe Channellock pliers are king.

Got to admit I just finally ordered Channellock's 480 Bigazz.

In case you thought I was kidding here's a photo. With a few of the other Channellocks close to hand. There's more but I didn't want to "over do it" . . . hahahaha. Can you pick out the ones I modded ? Two pair with brass padded jaws I brazed on with brass rod; one pair I cut a lot of the jaws away to get into tight places. All are Channelllock even if they don't have blue grips. A few pocket knives for judging scale : CRK 21, Buck 110, Full size Griptillian and a Mini Grip.

 

[Hickory n steel]

In case you thought I was kidding here's a photo. With a few of the other Channellocks close to hand. There's more but I didn't want to "over do it" . . . hahahaha. Can you pick out the ones I modded ? Two pair with brass padded jaws I brazed on with brass rod; one pair I cut a lot of the jaws away to get into tight places. All are Channelllock even if they don't have blue grips. A few pocket knives for judging scale : CRK 21, Buck 110, Full size Griptillian and a Mini Grip.
View attachment 1226760

Oh I can tell, their rivet and the groove pattern on their pliers is unmistakable.
I've been meaning to get a pair of their little ignition pliers for a while but just haven't gotten around to it.

Those big ones are something I've thought about but I just don't need them and do not consider myself a tool collector, I simply accumulate tools I've convinced myself I actually need and do try to get some use out of most of them.
Everyone needs tools, I just have more than I need but still not every tool I need.

 

[Piso Mojado]

Baraza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

I don't know about the best of the best, but I've used this one daily for a year and it's the cheapest I've owned that grinds well, doesn't strip gears, and doesn't run hot. Easy to clean. It's hard to find discounted or on sale, so wait for a credit card rebate at some big retailer or dodge sales tax in Amazon's Marketplace. There is a Chinese counterfeit.

 

[tiguy7]

Campagnolo bike tools.View attachment 1226970

 

[22-rimfire]

Parker ball point pens for general use. Occasionally a certain one will leak, but usually very good.

 

[leghog]

Best is most often subjective vs measureably objective. I have and use many things I consider best, but you wouldn't. Anything I would post here would be the same.

What I will list is the 2006 Toyota 4Runner. That year model was so good and has such a reputation, people have offered to buy it from us off the street, even just recently.

 

[K.O.D.]

Campagnolo bike tools.View attachment 1226970

My uncle swore by their parts too. He used to bike long distance, and his 1980s Raleigh was completely kitted out with Campagnolo stuff. It's been a long time since he rode though. He's 61, 3 kids, youngest is a senior in high school. No time for it. He bought me my first bike with "speeds" when I was 12. 1991 Nishiki mountain bike, Shimano shifters. It was stolen from my dorm, even with two kryptonite locks on it.

I have a 1998 Schwinn Mesa, but I can't ride anymore. It needs some TLC. Shocks rebuilt, new brakes, etc. I'm hoping by spring to recover more balance so I can ride again. That bike has been through a lot with me, including a very, very nasty injury. The handlebar extensions have the deep gouges to prove it.

There are a lot of good trails around here. It's been probably 8 years since I last rode.

Another company I've been very happy with is Sharp TV.

 

[Idaho Jarhead]

Best of the best? Stihl chainsaws. Husky is great but Stihl is the best. Everything else is second rate.

 

[Mongo]

FILSON.
Needs to be on this thread. I have quite a few Filson products: Coats, vests, hats, boots, briefcase, bags. All will outlast me, and generations beyond me.

 

[plumberroy]

Campagnolo bike tools.View attachment 1226970

Those are junk !! Send them to me for disposal

 

[tiguy7]

In your dreams!

 

[Wowbagger]

Campagnolo bike tools.View attachment 1226970

Ahhhh that is a beautiful sight !
Back in the seventies, eighties and nineties my mentor used to sell the very best in custom steel frame gentlemen's bicycles (besides his day job). Strawberry, Argos, a few others; he did it kind of like an Avon Lady. When he got the frame and the goupo he would prepare the frame with the Campy set.

Remember the thread here : "For those who can never leave anything alone" or some such ? Well he had the handles on the big facers etc., machined to be removable so he could put that tool set in a Gerstner too cabinet.

Very cool !
He rallied sports cars and owned a Lotus Esprit among others.
He was like a second father to me; I was extremely lucky to have met him . . . at a bicycle club . . . I was a little kid and we worked on organizing 100 mile rides together.

PS : I've used more than one set just like that owned by other people.
I've been formally trained by the best on the RIGHT way to go about it.

 

[Wowbagger]

Fun trivia : among the Campy tool user crowd Channellock pliers are known as "The Huffy Tool".

Filson

 

[Wowbagger]

It was stolen from my dorm, even with two kryptonite locks on it.

Once we start hanging bike thieves by the neck from light poles in the streets all that sheeeet will calm right down.

 

[tiguy7]

It’s good to run into mentors who are stretching the envelope. It’s also fun to use the tools that define the state of the art. The bottom bracket taps are double height and doubled spaced to accommodate undersized castings. So one tooth cuts one groove and the adjacent tooth cuts the adjacent groove, and there is room for all the shavings.
I use the tools to fix already built frames. I make my own wheels. I have done many Century (100mi.) rides.
I also modify my tools to improve their utility.

 

[Barman1]

Fun trivia : among the Campy tool user crowd Channellock pliers are known as "The Huffy Tool".

Filson

Years ago I used to attend an annual "Huffy Toss" in Vermont.
An absolute blast mountain biking and at some point the "Huffy's" would get tossed.
The event evolved into something much bigger. I liked the former.