How to Choose Quality Hand Tools

A common buying mistake is a full kit bought before any project needs it. Start from the work you will actually do next; the table maps common kinds of work to the tools they require and the ones that can wait.

Some tools are references: other work is measured or cut against them, so their errors are copied into everything. Spend care, and money if needed, on these. Others only need to do their job robustly, and can be simple.

• Precision matters in layout tools, especially the square — Starrett states an accuracy of 0.0015 in over 12 in for its 12 in combination square; in the sole of a plane, which Lie-Nielsen grinds flat to 0.0015 in; in the back of a chisel, which is its reference when paring; and in a saw’s plate, which must be straight to track a line.
• Simple is fine for a mallet, winding sticks, bench hooks and shooting boards, which can be shop-made; for a card scraper, which is a plain piece of steel; and for clamps and holding devices, which need only to hold.

• Fit your hand. A handle that is too small or too large tires the hand and reduces control. Handle a tool before buying it where you can.
• Adjustability is a trade-off. More adjusters make a tool more versatile but give you more to set and more to go wrong. For a first tool, a simple, reliable adjustment is worth more than many options.
• Know the consumables. Some parts wear by design: saw teeth are resharpened or blades replaced, scraper hooks are renewed every few minutes of use, plane irons and chisels are sharpened away over years, and stones must be flattened. Choose tools whose consumables you can get and maintain.
• Budget for maintenance. Every edge tool needs sharpening equipment; iron and steel need wax or oil against rust.

A good tool can be kept working. Check whether the maker sells replacement parts and publishes instructions: Lie-Nielsen offers repairs and replacement parts for its planes, and Veritas publishes instruction sheets for its tools. For older tools, the question is whether parts are still made: replacement irons for Stanley and Record bench planes, Nos. 2 to 8, are widely available, though Veritas warns that an older plane’s lateral lever may need filing to fit its irons.

• Sets give matching tools at once but often include sizes or types you will not use. Buying single tools lets you match each to the work; see the chisel buying guide for how this plays out with chisels.
• Used tools can be good value where the design has not changed and parts are available — many older saws and planes fall into this group — but they need inspection and often setup. The hand plane buying guide lists what to check on a used plane.
• New tools usually need less setup and come with the maker’s documentation and parts.

• A router plane, until you cut enough housings or tenons that a chisel is no longer quick or accurate enough; the router plane guide explains when a chisel will do.
• A mortise chisel, until you chop mortises regularly — though, as the mortise chisel guide explains, a bench chisel is not built to be levered in a deep mortise.
• Specialty chisels, such as fishtail and corner chisels, which the chisel guide describes as additions to a set of bench chisels, not substitutes for one; and specialty planes, such as a shoulder plane, until the joints you cut need them.
• A full set of anything, until you know which sizes your work uses.

For the three families most projects need first, the detailed buying guides go further: handsaws, chisels and hand planes.