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HAND TOOLS
← BEST MARKING TOOL
DuraMark Chalk Shot $12
We admit this small pneumatic
marking tool is a bit esoteric,
in that it’s primarily intended
for carpenters and masons who
spend a lot of time marking
out locations of building com-
ponents. But man, is it handy.
Rotate the nozzle to the unlock
position, and then place its tip
where you want to mark. Press
down on the pneumatic con-
tainer to leave a bright green
X mark. We tried it on wood,
metal, concrete, asphalt, and
drywall, both shiny and dirty.
The results were all the same: a
nice, crisp X with each push.12A craftsman once told us that no matter how
good your saw is, you’ll need a hand plane,
because no sawn edge will ever compare to
one that’s been surfaced by a sharp plane.
A hand plane leaves a glass-smooth sur-
face behind it. While that may be true, our
tests indicate that manufacturers continue
to close the elusive gap between hand-tool
perfection and machine precision. We find
that newer saws and saw blades are leav-
ing cleaner and better edges. Of course, it’s
also true that the better your sawn edge,
the more refined your own perception of
it is and the more demanding you become.
And this may bring you back to using a hand
plane after it’s all said and done—or sawn.THE ELUSIVE GOAL OF
CRAFTSMANSHIP
- BEST ALLEN WRENCHES
Craftsman CMHT26161V $65
Each of these eight T-handle
Allen wrenches has grooves
in two of the f lats, near the
tip, which Craftsman calls
“X-Tract” technology. The
brand claims that these enable
the wrenches to remove a
socket-head Allen screw that’s
been half ground away from
removal, retightening, or
abuse. With the 5mm wrench,
we removed a badly rounded
fastener on one of our bikes in
a jiffy. Bonus: The handles are
superbly comfortable. - BEST WRENCH SET
Craftsman
CMMT87350V $80
Craftsman put a 72-tooth
ratchet with a 5-degree swing
at one end and an open-end
wrench at the other, then cov-
ered the tool with a thick,
polished chrome plating. But
wait, there’s more, as they say
on TV. Spanning the tool is a
nicely dished beam handle.
The raised Craftsman V let-
tering on it provides a nice
grip, while the hinged storage
rack keeps the eight wrenches
in the kit securely stowed.
74 March/April 2022