Last week’s article on gardening tools vibed with a calming Aloha feel, you could almost smell the earth and feel the soft touch of the flower petals as we spoke about hand trowels and pruners. It felt like a spring Sunday afternoon in a lush garden with an overpowering smell of roses and orchids. Forget all that.
We are moving on to the badass noisy boys from here on - DIY tools. We cover the DIY essentials, and then move on to the rip-roaring power tools for the grand finale.
START WITH THE TOOLS YOU HAVE
When It's DIY, Learning Is Key
Most of us are geared with the most basic tools whether you're into DIY or not. When I bought my house, I didn't know it had come with a treasure trove of DIY tools that stayed hidden for years before I decided to explore the storeroom. So, before you run to Home Depot or Lowe’s, make a list of things you already own. It's a great idea to list your tools, to begin with (#DiyLesson # 1).Knives
It's not because we’re in the business of the best tactical knives that we begin with man's most trusted tool. The knife has been man's most trusted DIY tool since the beginning of time. We found 1.5 million-year-old stone-cut knives from lower Africa. And some of the best automatic knives are hovering in space at the NASA space station.
Pocket Folding Knife - A quality folding EDC (Everyday Carry) pocket knife can assist you in every DIY job. This is a toolbox essential and you should have one (or more) in your shed. Take a look at some of the best DIY pocket folding knives here.
Automatic Knife - A handyman's favorite tool as it allows one-handed operation with ease and speed. You can fire open the blade at lightning speed and retract it back into the handle with the press of a button or lever. The best automatic knives have a safe locking mechanism that prevents the blade from accidentally jumping out.
Fixed Blade Knife - You're going to need one of these for the heavy-duty DIY. These are full-tang blades meaning it's a monolithic steel structure with no moving parts.
You can find some of the best folding, fixed, and automatic knives for DIY here.
Tape measure - Whether you want to cut, resize, or just want to figure out how big your new fridge should be, you'll need this. Forget about inaccurate app measurements. A measuring tape is absolutely essential. Any will do but again find something that offers smooth, easy one-handed operation.
Hammer - Whatever the task is, this tool helps hammer it home easy. When you have the right hammer, you can save a ton of your hard-earned dough by doing it yourself. I suggest investing in an entire set of quality hammers.
Screwdriver & Wrench Set - Some have never used one of these but these are those tools that all handymen swear by. You can get an adjustable wrench if you're trying to save some space and money. However, you may find it hard or impossible to maneuver behind the pipes and other small nooks and corners.
Get a set of good-quality screwdrivers with both regular and diamond tip ones. There's no working around this one. Buy screwdrivers that come with a magnetic tip as they stop the screws from screwing around (falling off and moving around).
In part 3, we move on to the big boys, the power tools. However, this will get you started nicely. Welcome to the world of handymen. Don't miss our next blog as we wrap up with the real badass tools.
