Garrett Wade
This is my favorite source for hard to find tools. Garrett Wade has been around since 1975 as a mail order company selling fancy woodworking tools, but in recent years they offer a marvelous selection of hand and speciality tools of all types. They still have the best selection for wood planes and the classic woodworking stuff, but it's their stock of cool and unusual pliers and saws and drill bits and fantastically weird clamps that make it worth a visit. The modern version of the Yankee screwdriver is a Garrett Wade bestseller. In general their prices are on the high side compared to say discounters like Harbor Freight, but quality is usually up a notch as well (and their prices seem better on the web). They produce a paper catalog, which some folks like. Often a great idea begins with the possibilities suggested by the existence of a tool.
Woodsman's Pal With Leather Handle
Standard US Army issue since 1941. Weighs less than 1-1/2 lbs. If you only work one-handed, this will feel like an extension of your arm.
Very Special Pliers
A modeler's sail rigger tool so unusual, it is really useful for everyone
Imagine having to reach into a very tight space in order to grab something small. Ordinary grippers will be useless, but this unusual tool has its hinge placed way down at the end of a 3" long bent arm. The small mouth opens up 1/4" and will grab whatever you need to retrieve. You'll soon find yourself reaching for it in a variety of situations, and will be mighty glad you have it. Made in India.
Pro Half-Moon Ratcheting Wrench
Professional mechanic's tools. Unique half-moon shape makes it easy to reach around obstructions. And the fine tooth action needs as little as 5° of movement. Has dual access reversing levers. Reach is 4-1/2 to 9-1/2". The 8 SAE sizes are 3/8" to 7/8", and the 10 Metric sizes are 10 to 22mm.
Heavy Duty Nail Pullers
An old standby - and still great today
This serious tool is a huge time and worksaver, and one you simply don't see around much anymore. When you need it, though, it's absolutely fantastic. It's basically a slide hammer with movable jaws. Position the jaws around the nail head and move the heavy sliding handle down briskly. The jaws dig around the nail head, and you can lever back on the 16" long handle to remove long nails quickly. It's for rough, quick work, so some crushing of the wood around the nail head is inevitable. Weighs 5 lbs.
Favorite (15)
Sal
A while back I ordered a set of wooden sawhorses from Garrett Wade. They arrived warped and cracked. But I am not the first person who received them in that condition. How do I know that? Because Garrett Wade was kind enough to include the return slip from the previous customer who also returned them to Garrett Wade for that very reason. They simply ignored the problem and shipped them on to the next unsuspecting customer - me. No thanks, Garrett Wade. You are over priced and dishonest.
Tommy Phillips
Interesting. I would say the sawhorse event was likely the exception. I have ordered a number of things from Garrett Wade. The only thing I ever sent back was just something I changed my mind about, and they gave me no grief over it whatsoever. I am totally satisfied with their customer service.
Are the prices a little high? It depends what you are comparing them to. It is mostly high-grade tools, and if it is something less refined (included because of price or being unusual), the descriptions in the catalog tell you so.
Different strokes, I guess.
Sal
Glad you have had a positive experience. I wish I could say the same. I use and purchase a lot of tools. For almost all items where I can find the exact same tool elsewhere, I invariably find it to be less expensive at the alternate source as compared to Garrett Wade, except for items that are price-controlled by the manufacturer such as Festool. I am not comparing their products to cheaply made knock-offs, but to the exact same tool made by the exact same manufacturer. Sometimes the price differential is substantial. The only items I now purchase from Garrett Wade are tools I need but simply cannot find anywhere else.
SammyBoy
Lee Valley whenever possible; the best combination of quality and price. They are Canadian, but you can't blame them for that. I do though.
Julian Cullan
GW is an enormous rip-off outfit, and should be avoided like the plague!
Lots of other outfits around to get good tools from.
Kevin Kelly
@Julian: Can you give details of your personal experience with GW, and what your alternative is? Thanks.
larry gassan
To mention GW and "Harbor Fright" in the same breath is surreal. Harbor Freight is where crappy tools come to rest, and make the Home Depot Tool crib look like Tiffany's by comparison. Then again, you get what you pay for.
Michael
I second the comment about Lee Valley. I found them to be much more reasonable and stand behind their products.
When I first started woodworking about 12 years ago, I lusted after everything in the GW catalog. After a few mediocre experiences, I found that I was overpaying for a product that was sold elsewhere for less. What GW does really well is make a great catalog. It's filled with beautiful photos (often much better than the manufacturer provides) and well-crafted, compelling copy. It's like a good book in that respect. I've spent hours reading them and posting stickies on my wish-list items. But most "real" woodworkers I know shop elsewhere.
Julian Cullan
I was an Inca dealer early on. Very little dealer support which only eroded over time.
I later invented a product which they marketed, and never paid me for.
Gary Chinn is a thief!
They'e now little more than an overpriced supplier of pouf boutique tools that they sell to piddlers with more money than sense.
Most hand tools I buy nowadays I get directly from the manufacturer, power tools, I shop for the best deal.
Something no longer made whether woodworking or machinist's or blacksmithing- Ebay.
Auriou rasps, http://www.classichandtools.com/acatalog/Auriou-rasps-rifflers.html
Kevin Kelly
@Michael: Where do you shop for unusual tools?
Kevin Kelly
@Julian: Just so I am clear on your review. You were unhappy as a vendor selling stuff TO Garrett Wade, rather than buying things FROM them as a customer. Do I have that right? Did you ever buy anything from them as a customer? (Lots of great companies like Amazon which obsess over customers, often infuriate vendors like yourself.)
Also, you say you now purchase from the manufacturer directly. For those neat offset pliers, or other hard to find tools (which is what I recommend this catalog for) that hit-or-miss activity is neither efficient nor economical. Can you give me an example of where a hand tool in the GW catalog is cheaper (including shipping) when you purchase directly from the manufacturer?
Julian Cullan
I bought a huge amount of stuff from them early on, thousands of dollars in hand tools, as well as seven stand alone machines.
A fair amount of the stuff I bought from them (before I knew better) has proved to be quite UNnecessary.
As others here do as well, I make my living with tools, and I'm only interested in the best.
If one really must have a pair of offset forceps from India, you can get them on ebay.
GW rarely sells the best stuff anymore-
Ebay is the best place know of to get good, inexpensive, quality handtools, if one has patience and restraint-
The BEST way to support small high quality toolmaking concerns is to buy direct from them. Often the bits of information gleaned from them is invaluable. I guarantee you won't get that kind of unpublished information from a someone answering GW orderline at call center...
KimJSCP
I too love Lee Valley and have been very happy with their products, service and prices.
However, in specific response to the nail puller shown, I recommend a Nail Hunter as a better alternative. http://thenailhunter.com/
The primary difference is where the item shown above directs you to "move the heavy sliding handle down briskly", the Nail Hunter actually has a hammer tab on the back so that you can use a hammer to sink the jaws of the tool around an embedded nail.
dex
Bought some tools from GW in the past. Wood chisels were very good. A few of their mini-tools aren't bad. They've got an English-made hand drill based on original 100 year old tooling that's nice.
A few things from them I'd avoid -- some of their Chinese (PRC) made tools aren't up to quality for the price I think.
Sian
Those 'rigging pliers' are just alligator forceps sold as medical supply for as little as $6. Of course it's typical to take standard tools and mark them up for specialty markets like model-making.
Robert
As an added bonus, the heavy Duty Nail Pullers can readily raise the finest blood blister you have probably ever had -- and it's easy, too!
Michael
Another good source: http://www.japanwoodworker.com
Great line of japanese cutting tools.