Tools: Cheap and disposable vs. the best you can find/afford?

[Drew Wiley]

Well, I have to admit up front that I recently retired from a role setting up one of the most successful tool distributorships in the Western half of the US, both in terms of sales, profit margin, and most importantly, the positive effect it had on the success of the clients themselves; and it was completely centered around very high quality product, mostly German. People willing to invest in the best up front left the toy addicts in the dust right off the bat due to far higher productivity. Good gear pays for itself fast. But I'm speaking of pros, who depend on tools to make a living. The exceptions would include poorly monitored jobsites where things get stolen on a daily basis, or where idiots instantly break things; but hiring those types would reflect badly on the judgment of the person in charge. With cameras, there a just so many good ones out there that it's almost the opposite kind of problem. You can overthink and overspend without any significant advantage. Better to consider system versatility and maintenance issues relative to your personal applications.

[Jim Jones]

I'm with Jim10219. For long hard service, quality tools, equipment, and are cost effective. For occasional casual use, I sometimes use Harbor Freight stuff. Cost cutting should be done only by people who understand the tools that productive people should be using. In 1960 President Kennedy lured Robert McNamara from Ford to become his Secretary of Defense. McNamara was concerned about military spending. I was a Navy electronics repairman at the time. Gradually our fine Techtronics oscilloscopes were replaced by crap provided by low bidders. I've owned my own Techtronics and a Hewlett-Packard scope, and they were tops. I've also owned three lesser scopes that fell far short. I use one of those now, made in England under Techtronics license. It's like using some of the miscalled "Vice-Grip" pliers that are not made in Dewitt, Nebr. I also occasionally use a Stanley plane made perhaps in the 1870s. The wood body is nearly worn beyond hope and the blade suffers from rust, but it is still useable. Compare that with today's Stanley items.

[Jac@stafford.net]

When I was less than half the age I am now I was a home building framer. Do you know anyone who breaks his main tool, a hammer in my case, at least once a month? And I bought the best.

Then the nail gun came upon the scene, and I left.

[Pfsor]

When I was less than half the age I am now I was a home building framer. Do you know anyone who breaks his main tool, a hammer in my case, at least once a month? And I bought the best.

Then the nail gun came upon the scene, and I left.

That's strange. Yesterday you wrote (Lounge) -"I spent fifty years in computers. I'm retired now". Did you hammer the keyboard of computers??

[Peter Lewin]

I’m still not convinced that the analogy between tools and cameras is the appropriate one. The design of a box wrench or a hammer is pretty well defined, the differences are size and quality. With view cameras, as I tried to show in my early post, there are many design differences (and compromises) in addition to quality, which must be taken into consideration in making a choice.

[mdarnton]

In my field, I buy the best, but the best is often certainly not the most expensive.

[Oren Grad]

I’m still not convinced that the analogy between tools and cameras is the appropriate one. The design of a box wrench or a hammer is pretty well defined, the differences are size and quality. With view cameras, as I tried to show in my early post, there are many design differences (and compromises) in addition to quality, which must be taken into consideration in making a choice.

This. Often, the "best" camera for a given usage isn't the most expensive, or the most overbuilt, or the most prestigious, or the most whatever. And judgment of "best for purpose" typically involves complicated and subjective tradeoffs among competing or even conflicting attributes, not simple situations where all the options offer exactly what's needed, with varying cost and construction quality but all else equal.

[Randy]

Best? I don't even know what that means. There are photographers here on this forum (Austin for instance) who could shoot more creative images with an empty cigar box, some expired film, and a roll of black tape, than I could shoot with the most expensive, well made 4X5 camera and lens(es).

[Pere Casals]

Well, in general the way in what we spend money should optimize the value of what we obtain globally. This is well documented in economics literature.

It doesn't make sense to buy a too expensive camera is later we cannot buy film or glass.

So at the end it depends a bit on the budget we have and market situation.

[Jac@stafford.net]

That's strange. Yesterday you wrote (Lounge) -"I spent fifty years in computers. I'm retired now". Did you hammer the keyboard of computers??

Pfsor, I worked two jobs simultaneously; one daily hours on construction and 7PM to 3AM as a computer programmer. That was possible because I did not require a lot of sleep. There is a story in that fact.