Tools in Gear

Only Tools: the latest headlines first, then BRO’s own Tools stories and video. All of Gear →

Latest news · Tools

New York Post59m ago
Last chance to drill into DeWalt tool deals before October Prime Day ends
PJ Media16h ago
Trump’s $84 Billion Fine Crackdown May Have Moved Faster Than the Law
Canada Free Press · Opinion5d ago
Artificial Intelligence—Demon or Angel—Then Come the Angels

GuideDean Shaw23 Sept 20265 min

Lifetime gear only pays off in four categories

Steel, leather, cast iron and wood will outlive you. Foam, batteries and membranes won't, no matter what the marketing says.

Buy-it-for-life should mean repairable, not expensive

A four-question test for whether a thing will actually last, plus the categories where the cheap one is the correct answer.

GuideWes Dunbar22 Sept 20266 min

Build Your Toolkit One Job at a Time

Skip the 200-piece set. Buy the tool the job demands, learn what it does, and end up with a box that's all useful.

Ask BRO

Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

Ask it

GuideWes Dunbar22 Sept 20265 min

Buy the cheap pry bar. Never buy the cheap ladder.

A working rule for which tools you can buy off the bottom shelf, and which ones cost far more than the money you saved.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

PartnerGermProof.com

6 min read

The Pocket Knife You'll Still Be Carrying In Ten Years

Steel gets all the attention. Weight, pocket manners and whether you can take it apart are what decide if a knife survives a decade.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

GuideDean Shaw22 Sept 20266 min

The truck kit that handles almost every roadside problem

Four failures cause most breakdowns. Build for those, spend where it matters, and leave the rest on the shelf.

GuideDean Shaw17 Sept 20262 min

Where "buy cheap, buy twice" is true — and where it's nonsense

Some tools genuinely justify the money. Plenty don't, and the difference is usually how often you use it.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

PartnerCoconut.com

The Weekend Rate Isn't a Personal Challenge

What you learn standing in the Saturday line for a floor sander, and the lesson inside every line you'll hear before your name gets called.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next fortnight.

GuideAutosDean Shaw6 Oct 20266 min

Changing your own oil in the driveway, the way it really goes

The video says twenty minutes. Plan on ninety, a shower and one trip back to the parts store. You'll still come out ahead.

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

The first ten minutes after something hits your eye

Flush it, shield it, or drive. Knowing which one applies to a metal chip, a chemical splash or a wire bristle is the whole game.

Ask BRO

What should I wear to this?

Ask it

StoryTools & OrganizingDean Shaw7 Oct 20265 min

What Gets Said in Aisle Nine Before the Coffee Kicks In

A breaker labeled with a question mark, a paint chip called "wall color," and the real lessons hiding behind every line at the Saturday counter.

PartnerWhackAWoke.com

GuideAutosDean Shaw3 Oct 20267 min

The spark plug job is easy until the last quarter turn

Gapping, torque and the hand-start habit that keep a simple plug change from ending with a stripped aluminum head and a tow truck.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

GuideGadgetsDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

Gadgets Worth Owning That Nobody Writes About

The stud finder that actually finds studs, the battery tester that ends the drawer of maybes, and seven more tools that never make the roundups.

GuideTools & OrganizingDean Shaw6 Oct 20265 min

How to Build Flat-Pack Furniture and Still Be Speaking Afterward

The box says two hours and one person. It's wrong about both, and the argument usually starts at step one, not step nine.

Dude.com — 16 advisers who listen, talk and pray with you

PartnerDude.com

GuideGroomingTobias Reed23 Sept 20265 min

Buy The Metal, Skip The Story

Three grooming upgrades that pay for themselves within a year, three that are just a nicer box, and the test that tells them apart.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

Autos5 min

Start With a Weekend Project, Not a Barn Find

Tools & Organizing6 min

The Battery Shuffle, and the One Drill Grandpa Still Plugs In

Ask BRO

Pressure-test my business idea

Ask it

GuideWoodworkingDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

The workbench your grandkids will still be flattening

Mass, real joinery and a top you can plane flat again. Skip the screws and the polyurethane and this bench outlives everyone who uses it.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

PartnerDelicious.com

Style6 min read

Sneakers that work with real clothes

Running shoes are tools. Here's which sneakers actually hold up under jeans, chinos and a jacket, plus the fit fixes nobody tells you.</title> <dek>Running shoes are equipment. These are the sneakers that hold up under jeans, chinos and a jacket, plus the fit fixes nobody mentions.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

Older articles

Tools in Gear

Latest news · Tools

Lifetime gear only pays off in four categories

Size the generator for the fridge, not the whole house

The axe you need and the hatchet you probably don't

The cheap earplugs beat the expensive muffs you didn't wear

You're not buying a drill, you're buying a battery mount

Buy the cheap drill. Never buy the cheap jack stands.

Buy-it-for-life should mean repairable, not expensive

Build Your Toolkit One Job at a Time

Buy the cheap pry bar. Never buy the cheap ladder.

The Pocket Knife You'll Still Be Carrying In Ten Years

The truck kit that handles almost every roadside problem

Where "buy cheap, buy twice" is true — and where it's nonsense

The Weekend Rate Isn't a Personal Challenge

Changing your own oil in the driveway, the way it really goes

The first ten minutes after something hits your eye

What Gets Said in Aisle Nine Before the Coffee Kicks In

The spark plug job is easy until the last quarter turn

Gadgets Worth Owning That Nobody Writes About

How to Build Flat-Pack Furniture and Still Be Speaking Afterward

Buy The Metal, Skip The Story

Start With a Weekend Project, Not a Barn Find

The Battery Shuffle, and the One Drill Grandpa Still Plugs In

The workbench your grandkids will still be flattening

Sneakers that work with real clothes