Are name brand tools worth the extra cost? Is there really a difference between Amazon basic, craftsman, Stanley, dewalt, Milwaukee, wiha, knipex and others.
It all depends on the jobs you want to do and will you get your moneys worth.
For example I have a cheep Chinese made small chainsaw as I seldom use it and normally just for small branches, on the flip side I have an expensive Japanese made strimmer/bush cutter, this gets used a lot I have had quite a few years use out of it which I just got serviced so will have quite a few more years.
If its just a one of job maybe think about hiring.
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I was talking about hand tools like pliers and screwdrivers.
I agree it depends on what you want from the tool. My Dearmei (a Dremel ripoff) has served me pretty well!
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It still applies. I use tools mostly as a home mechanic for bicycles. At a minimum, you want a tool that won’t cause more harm than good. From there, it depends on how much are you going to use it and how much do you appreciate a quality tool. The really expensive ones only make sense for professionals that are going to give them an intense use, and profit from them.
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For hand tools name brand means better metallurgy, meaning they won’t break on you. Even if it’s made in china, name brand will mean better quality control.
But know that china has upped their games, and their quality gap has become smaller in recent years.
For power tools, it depends. I find routers and rotary tools, drills, etc don’t seem to matter as much, but jigsaws matter a lot. Cheap jigsaw is unusable.
This is true, I have a mix of cheep to expensive, I normally start with something basic and see how much I use it, if I end up using a lot I will replace it with something better when the time comes, if it ends up at the bottom of my tool box, then I invested the correct amount.
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I have a Black and Decker rotary tool it does the jobs I need, if it brakes I would stay at the same level. It’s all about balancing usage / cost / durability.
Allen keys and stuff, I buy the cheapest.
Cutting tools is where you need to buy name brand.
I think quality control, warranty, and brand reputation are probably the bigger issues… and much of the rest is just paying extra for the brand. Much of the stuff is likely made in the same factories using essentially the same materials and components too:
Yeah, I’ve just used mine for various occasional odd jobs around the apartment — mostly drilling holes and cutting into metal for whatever reason. I think it cost NT$700 or something including a load of bits, and I’ve definitely gotten more than NT$700 of value out of it!
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I gotten some cheap router and Dremel tools, they work the same as name brand. At the end of the day all universal motors are made the same way.
Jigsaws I had bad experience with however… A cheap jigsaw wanders like crazy, and does not cut straight, even through 1 inch thick ply.
Brands like Milwaukee, Bosch, stihl etc have really gone to shit. Anything with a motor and moving parts, things have been offloaded to chelinese factories and becoming light, plastic geared crap. It’s quite frustrating trying to buy quality now. Craftsman, skill, black an decker etc have been pretty low quality for decades. Buying hebhigher tiers or makita seems alright still, check where they make it, it’s almost always accurate as one would expect. Stihl from Germany is still alright, but smaller ones are gardening tools.
The better end of Bosch and makita I am still willing to buy, but Bosch is soon becoming crappy too 
Hand tools, i havent found a decent one in years. I go through an ax, hammer etc within about 1 hour of starting work when i travel abroad i bring these back in my luggage!
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I always thought craftsman screwdrivers were pretty decent. Pretty much indestructible. The question is if using a more expensive brand reduce the chances of stripping a screw because of the way the tip is made.
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Yes, of course.
It’s a screwdriver. A good one will last a decade or longer.
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so will a cheap one if it never gets used 
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Yeah well — there’s that too.
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Good screwdrivers and pliers are MUCH better than crap ones. How much better you want depends on what you’re doing, how often, how much money you have, and how much you appreciate just having a nice tool. But unless you’re on a serious budget, good wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers aren’t that much (although they can be) while being much kinder on your fasteners.
I have a mishmash of cheap crap, mid end crap, and some wera, wiha, vessel, and snapon. Generally, you can tell the good stuff just by picking it up (alrhough harbor freight - cheap purveyor of cheap Chinese tools in the US - has really stepped up with some really nice (and cheap) composite ratchets (my favorite, over my snapons in fact), and some cheap ass, awesome Japanese style pull saws). I like DeWalt and Milwaukee power tools, but not sure why anyone would pay a premium for their Chinese not premium hand tools.
I hear toptul in Taiwan is really solid, but no idea how much they cost there (not cheap when you can find them in US).
Love my Wera Allen keys and my $8 harbor freight pull saw.
They’re definitely not indestructible. Not even particularly good these days. Screwdrivers are something you either go cheap (not the cheapest… A couple steps up), or go high end - the middle seems to carry a big premium for little benefit, and that’s where Craftsman hand tools fall these days.
Yes… New for new, vessel, snapon, etc is going to bite and hold better. But screwdriver tips are wear items, which means disposable in general; some, you can replace the blade. Screwdriver brag thread? Ok, if you insist. Ha. You can see the craftsmen have been relegated to the bulk bin. Not showing the smaller wihas, etc.
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If you want to power drive philips head screw, use an impact driver, not a drill. Impact driver seems to have a lower chance of the screw slipping, I’m guessing the impact reseats the screwdriver so it never slips. You had to be careful driving in a screw with just torque, have to put a LOT of pressure down or else you can strip it faster than the blink of an eye.
With an impact driver, you can power screw into wood easily, even using those cheap brass colored steel screws that’s made out of butter or something.
Not a good idea to buy things made in Chelina.
You can definitely get slippage with an impact driver.
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