Hand tools of the trade

Do-it-yourself is a lot of fun now with all the new and smart hand-tools in the market. Anand Sankar checks out the drills and saws.

I crawl out from under the kitchen sink. The sweat glistens on my forehead. I wipe it off with a grimy palm. My torso is soaked and I am reeking of that awful damp smell that comes from decaying kitchen crumbs. There is a pool of water to be mopped up, but the sense of accomplishment is writ large in the grin that stretches from ear to ear. I fixed the leaking sink all by myself.

The joy of DIY (do-it-yourself) is known only to the true enthusiast. And if there is anything the enthusiast guards more zealously, it is his motley assortment of spanners, screwdrivers, pipe wrenches and other such tools.

The sheer low cost of a handyman's time and skills have meant DIY skills have never held pride of place in India. As a consequence DIY enthusiasts have had to make do with chinks in their armoury "" local tools. But now there is a reason to learn DIY skills or probably even indulge yourself.

There was a time when an uncle back from a visit to Europe or the US got you an impossibly engineered ratchet drive or a power drill; it was something to look forward to. You don't have to wait for that any more because, well, the best hand-tools from around the world are now available in your own bazaars and at prices that mostly won't make you think twice.

The primary driver of the buzz in the hand-tools sector has been the infrastructure boom. The global market for hand-tools is said to be $10 billion and the market in India is pegged at $160 million by consulting firm Frost and Sullivan.

With the market projected to grow at about 15 per cent annually, it's no wonder marquee hand-tool manufacturers such as Stanley, Goot, Jtech, Unoair, Paladin, Kaymo, Bosch, Hitachi, Prokit, Wiha and Dayton are making their appearance on shop shelves, leaving one spoilt for choice.

The trend has also seen the mushrooming of speciality stores in all the major cities, taking the retailing of hand-tools to an entirely new level. First off the block was Goodwill Enterprises, one of Bangalore's oldest hardware stores, which launched its Tools Super Store. It was the brainchild of Murtuza Lokhandwala who was inspired by massive aisles filled with hand-tools at department stores abroad. Lokhandwala was soon copied in Mumbai, Chennai and New Delhi.

Gaping at the array on the shelves, one needs to keep a firm grip on the wallet. Catching the eye immediately are umpteen varieties of power drills, hammers, wrenches, spanners, saws and screwdrivers. The unmistakable yellow and black of Stanley is hard to miss.

The manufacturer is quite a cult in the US with its claim that almost "every tool kit" contains one Stanley component. You get exquisitely forged and chromed vanadium alloy spanners.

Then you have ratchet drives that have a reassuring click to them regardless of the torque you subject them to. The impact drives live up to their name and everything, including the humble measuring tape and level gauge, comes with ISO and ANSI certification.

For carpentry enthusiasts there are saws with blades made of steel and some even come coated with ceramic or diamond dust. Even in the humble hammer, you get innovations such as nail drives that ensure your nails always go in straight.

The kings are the power tools, a segment long dominated by Bosch. But do try the Japanese. The Hitachi packs quite a punch with brushless motors and there are even variants with their own battery power for outdoor use. For both the Bosch and Hitachi you get ceramic- or diamond-tipped drill bits. The prices, depending on the kit you choose, start from Rs 3,000.

The best buys for a DIY enthusiast are the tool kits on offer. A simple 24-piece drive socket set by Stanley will set you back by about Rs 2,500. Or you can even go for the "Home Use" or "Must Have" sets which contain a hammer, set of screwdrivers, torch, measuring tape, blade and pliers.

There are specific auto-maintenance kits which even come with their own emergency flashlight and a caution reflector. Prices of these kits start from about Rs 1,600. But if you have a little extra, check out the German Kaymo tools which have an exquisite powder-coat finish, or (a cheaper option) the Taiwanese JTech.

Often while fiddling around, the lack of illumination is a big headache. But you can now find a variety of energy-efficient diode torches to high-powered ones with halogen bulbs, some of which come with their own tripods for ease of use.

To keep up with the demand, Stanley has set up an arm in India. Though right now catering to enterprise buyers through specialist tool stores, the company says it is keen to bring its products to retail chains, in line with its collaboration with Walmart in the US. The company says the DIY market is almost non-existent in India, but it has big hopes for it.

For now though, DIY enthusiasts have never been more spoilt for choice. But remember the golden rule, if you do make a mess of the kitchen sink, it often costs quite a bit to professionally fix it.