(I’m trying to adjust my shopping habits for quality, long-lasting goods from reputable brands. This isn’t some hailcorporate thing)
I’ll start my own thread with OXO for their kitchen goods. After a decade of dealing with subpar containers and utensils, I’ve slowly started to rebuild my set with OXO stuff and habe yet to be disappointed by anything of theirs.
Seconded with Knipex hand tools. They’re far pricier than the competition you’ll find on the store shelves, but the quality and engineering is better than anything else you can reasonably find (barring boutique toolmakers).
Le Creuset… but there’s a secret… They’re SUPER expensive.
So you find your local outlet store and sign up for their mailing list. You’ll regularly get 30%, 40%, 50% off deals.
2nd trick, they have an outstanding warranty. Bring it in, they swap it out.
There’s plenty of knockoffs brands that seem to be as hardy; might but be worth the premium anymore.
Not everything Le Creuset. They seem to be very similar to other kitchen brands (kitchenaid, Cuisinart, etc) in that they make a few excellent products, but the rest of their line is overpriced stuff that isn’t as good as other brands you could buy. Their Dutch ovens are good, for example, but not their French press so much.
OXO quality has tanked over the last 15 or 20 years since Helen of Troy bought them who source all of their products from Mexico and China using shady subcontractors. They had a lot of innovative designs when they started out, but don’t really invest in that anymore.
Knipex on the other hand is still pretty solid on quality. They’re still family managed and their manufacturing employees are primarily union workers, so they’re able to keep the skilled workers around.
I’ve used my Knipex 5” cobra pliers more than anything else in the toolbox, except maybe a torx set. Solid tools.
They’re great. As a line cook, I used to EDC a pair of the 4" minis in my pocket for taking off burner nozzles for cleaning. By the end of my year there, everyone else I worked with had bought a pair because they were so much better than dealing with the garbage Hart brand pliers the restaurant supplied.
Have you tried their cantilever grips? Thought they’d be a gimmick but I’ve stopped carrying spanners because they’re so good
