This year, as in previous years, Home Depot’s Holiday 2015 hand tool promos revolved around 3 brands: Dewalt, Milwaukee, and Husky. Even so, there were a couple of notable deals from some other brands.
I already mentioned Home Depot’s Leatherman Skeletool multi-tool deal, and also it might be replaced by a lower priced Rev deal after it sells out. That Skeletool deal is one of the best Home Depot holiday bargains I’ve seen in a while. I of course bought another Skeletool for myself – how could I pass up that good of a price?!
These deals should all last throughout the holiday shopping season, but that depends on whether they sell out early or not.
Advertisement
See Also: Dewalt Hand Tool Deals, Milwaukee Hand Tool Deals, More Holiday Deals
Wiss
You get your pick of Wiss sheet metal-cutting snips, for $10 each. USA-made and every bit as good as you would expect from the Wiss brand.
This deal is a repeat from last year, but that’s not a bad thing.
If you’re not much into metalworking, the straight cutters might be good for general purpose cutting tasks.
Price: $9.97 each
Buy Now(Straight)
Buy Now(Left cutting)
Buy Now(Right cutting)
Buy Now(Set of 3)
Advertisement
Compare(via Amazon)
Want something potentially better, or at least more comfortable? Check out Midwest’s updated snips.
Zircon
Don’t have a stud finder?
There’s a new Zircon HD55 StudSensor bundle, which comes with a free mini level, for $20.
I’ve owned a Zircon stud finder for quite a few years now, and it’s been accurate and reliable, at least to the best of my knowledge. I’m quite happy with it.
This model is a little less featured than the one I have, but it looks to be a good choice for basic homeowner use. The freebie level won’t turn any heads, but might make the difference when it’s the only one you could fit into a small tool bag.
Price: $20
Compare(via Amazon)
Bessey
9 spring clamps for $10? Not bad.
It looks like you get 4 small clamps (XM3), 3 medium clamps (XM5), and 2 large sized clamps (XM7). If you add up the retail prices of the individual components, you’d come up with a price a lot higher than $10.
Price: $10
We recently talked all about this deal, back in June, which offers you 6 Bessey 6-inch clutch-style bar clamps for $25. That’s a little over $4 per clamp, which is a nice and low price for some decent clamps.
Buy Now (via Home Depot)
The same clamp is on sale for $7.60 each at Woodcraft, or $10 each at Amazon.
Compare(via Woodcraft)
Compare(via Amazon)
Did you find another non-Dewalt, non-Milwaukee, and non-Husky Holiday 2015 hand tool deal at Home Depot that’s worth mentioning?
Adabhael
Does a jig count as a hand tool? I remember noting that the Kreg R3 was $39.88 (about the normal street price, see Rockler, Lowes and Amazon ) BUT Home Depot was throwing in a face clamp that is usually not included, and retails at about $20. There is a slightly buried reference to that on the product page, which says:
It is not clear if that works online, or only in stores. Seems like the clamp is key (not that other clamps would not work, of course) and I am tempted to have this be my entry into pocket-holes. Thoughts?
Stuart
I considered the Kreg R3 to be a power tool accessory, and so it’ll appear in a later post. Maybe it would have been fitting here, but when I first started putting the hand tool post together, there were over 50 tools being mentioned.
I bought a similar set a while ago, and a free locking clamp is definitely icing on top of what’s normally a good starter pocket hole set.
mikedt
Was in HD today and the $40 Kreg R3 jig does include a 3″ clamp. Considering Kreg stuff sells for the exact same price everywhere this is as close as you’re probably going to get to a “sale”.
Gary Ratajczak
HD has a video showing construction of the WISS cutters – very good watch for tool buffs!!
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Wiss-Aviation-Snip-Set-3-Piece-M123R/100273810
Nathan
Had always used the wiss snips but after a coworker brought a pair of Milwaukee snips to the last job i won’t buy another pair. The difference was the proverbial night and day.
Meh-yk
Agreed, but you misspelled the brand, I think. There’s no “-waukee ” in Malco. Hee-haw, jk-whatever works. Has anyone else noticed Goldblatt branded combo pliers are popping up on Amazon that seem awfully identical to Milwaukee pliers hawked via the Home Despot? I mean Home Depoop.
Stuart
I saw them on Amazon, but did not have a chance to look at them very closely yet.
fred
Some of the screwdrivers and utility knives on the Hangzhou Great Star web site also look a bit like the Milwaukee counterparts
http://www.greatstartools.com/en/products_detai.asp?info_kind=001001001002001&ID=114
Mike
Thanks once again for the keen eye, fred. Seems their page has been updated since I wandered over awhile back. Crazy amount of lookalikes/possible OEM contracts with Kobalt, Husky, and Craftsman, maybe Greenlee and others-with utility knives, pliers, various multi-screwdrivers. And some pretty blatant copycat color schemes, give or take, with Hitachi or Japanese market Ryobi power tools. One thing I did notice absent were Milwaukee utility knives…whose snap-offs look a lot like a couple of Stanley’s I own. And my Fastback flipper is my favorite flip-utility, an EDC…and proof I don’t hate Milwaukee products. Though for serious work I prefer snap-off’s, and I’ll go out on a limb here, fred, and guess we both prefer Olfa. Over the last couple of years I’ve thoroughly enjoyed many of your comments, particularly how often my view was in concert with yours, despite 1000+mi and a generation between us.(I believe)
Difficult to actually quantify, but I may have found more value in your comments than the blogs themselves.(<—-pst, don't tell Stuart and Benjamin) Come to think of it, I usually, nearly always, agree with those two-ool guy(d)s as well. Weird, cuz the TIA guys I agree with maybe 50% and they're only 25miles away. Hard to say though cuz they almost never agree with each other. Merry blog-mas, to all.
John
Mike, Milwaukee actually does have a snappoff utility knife like the Olfa like this little gem:
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/hand-tools/utility-knives/48-22-1960
Actually in 6 different forms from 9mm, 18mm, and 25mm sizes:
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/hand-tools/utility-knives
I myself only just noticed the other day at a different Home Depot I went to. It seems kinda hit and miss which specifics each Home Depot stocks as these Milwaukee hand tools only recently came out and they are seriously eating shelf space from other competitors Home Depo may still be feeling out what sells, is popular, and won’t sit too long.
Mike
Thanks, John. I saw those on ToolGuyd one time. Closely compared the 18mm to my 18mm Olfa. Very similar, but not the exact same. The detents on top and bottom are different in quantity, shape, and angle. The inner sleeve has a different profile at the business end, and the lock dials are definitely distinct. I don’t think Olfa is the OEM, but I’m not sure. Mine is 10+yrs old, maybe they’ve changed. My main concern would be the plastic itself-the Olfa has been extremely durable, resilient, and comfortable. Also, the premium black blades for Milwaukee are Made in USA(who’d a thunk’ it) and I -think- Olfa black blades(which have a reputation as the best) are COO Japan. Still good that Milwaukee snap’s have the features they do. Look decent, unlike IMHO many of their other hand tools(drivers, locking and non pliers, snips, etc) which may be OK or good-ish but cost as much as tried and true brands which are quality.(Grip-On, Klein, Midwest, Knipex, Wiha, etc)
Will say though I like the nut drivers with pass-through function. Good idea.
Also, upon closer inspection, the Milwaukee knives(48-22-1961) with rubber overmold handle are distinct from the Stanley 10-480, lacking the thumbwheel lock at the front of the knife. Functions more like Olfa.
I’m mildly impressed by Milwaukee’s non-power tools which do seem to be made in-house. Knives, tapes, the new parts organizer, this sort of stuff. Hopefully the new launch of bits are better too. Their ph2’s have been not great, just like DeWALT. I am much more satisfied with Makita gold, or especially Bosch extra-hard USA insert bits, if available.
Another example is Milwaukee 48-22-1996. Lots of details similar to Kershaw Blur tanto, but clearly not the same. I’m betting Kershaw does NOT make knives for Milwaukee. Who knows.
Mike
Why bother? HD/Milwaukee pliers prices just exploit customer ignorance of Knipex.(or NWS I suppose) I’ve mildly ribbed once or twice about your NWS over Knipex preferences, Stuart…but to those who’ve used both, clearly both brands got the juice. We’ve all heard of the least worst decision process. With brand comparisons like Knipex vs. NWS…is there such a thing as most best? It’s easier to pick Snap-On vs. Mac vs. Matco for me. Actually that’s an easy one. Wright is the best. No, no S-K. Maybe Proto. Though Gearwrench has good value. And Armstrong too. Some pretty nice Blackhawk sets out there. And Hazet and Heyco too, oh my. Damn these tool blogs! side note: they’re very rare tools but Wiha insulated ratchet-wrenches have the least slop I’ve ever encountered in a rat-wren. Zero offset, non-flex, non-reverse but tip-top tolerances, better than USA Proto’s even. Different beasts I suppose.
Stuart
Here’s the thing – NWS and Knipex pliers start at what, $25?, and they go way up from there.
This time of year, you’ll find some discounts on higher tiers of tools, but even then they’re priced above what a lot of professionals and DIYers need or could budget for.
While it’s easy to say “I wish I bought these from the start,” we tend to forget our earlier purchasing decisions.
I remember debating about whether to buy a $10 set of 3 Stanley pliers, or less for a different brand’s 2-pack. I have more demanding needs and can afford more premium tools (within reason) these days, but I still remember searching for the best bang for the buck.
I even bought a $10 socket set on sale once, maybe from Radio Shack, and thought it was a great deal at the time. Only when my needs grew more sophisticated did I realized I had to step up to a better quality ratchet and socket set.
Mike
Sure. I once picked up five pairs of 7″ Husky locking pliers with comfort grips for $2.50ea and a pair of 10″ Husky adjustable wrenches for(I swear to God) $.99 ea. Both tools have held up pretty well. As long as new tools don’t promptly fail when used as designed, I have no qualms. And I hear ya on NWS prices, but IIRC the Milwaukee electrician pliers(labeled 6-n-1 maybe?) cost like $26 or $29 or something. I remember returning them cause they were totally disappointing. Same story with the DeWALT push button pump pliers, though those were cheap at least.
Stuart, do you know what ever happened to heavy duty DeWALT’s locking pliers? Seemed to fizzle out with no lauch. I was curious about those. Not enough pull-lever release grips around.
ps What is this “Radio Shack” you speak of? 🙁
Stuart
The last I heard, those Dewalt locking pliers were cancelled.
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/dewalt-vs-milwaukee-at-home-depot/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Scott
Nov 10, 2015
Home Depot had a Husky pick/tweezer set for ~$7 in a sale bin. A quick Google search makes it seem as though this price isn’t anything new. However this seems like a handy set to keep in the house.
MT_Noob
I always almost grab the Wiss snips in the holiday displays, but then I notice they are only for 18 ga and that seems different than the model hanging in the tool section. So it makes me think it is a slightly lesser model than the normal ones.
John G.
Just came back from HD. Bought 2 sets of Bessey spring clamps. Awfully good deal for good clamps. Might go back and buy some more!..seems they were selling out quick!