I have an old Craftsman ratchet that I like a lot. The Snap On man tells me that it was made by Snap On.

For me, Snap On is worth the extra money, especially when trying to do things like loosen an old rusted nut with an open end wrench. It may be my imagination, but my Snap On wrenches seem to grip nuts and bolts better than other brands. I think they are less likely to buggar up the work. Snap On tools also look nice and feel good in your hand.

When I set out to rebuild my 50 HP Perkins diesel engine, I figured there was no point in using mediocre torque wrenches. I had a pair of SK torque wrenches that didn't hold their calibration, so I went ahead and got a pair of Snap On torque wrenches. They were unbelievably expensive, but I bet I never need to replace them. I am about to send them in for re-calibration after two years of light use. I would hope that they won't need adjusting, but it will be interesting to see.

By the way, the Perkins is up to 15 hours on the hour meter and it hasn't blown up yet. Imagine that.