Recommendations you can check.
Founder and editor of ToolGuyd, a tool review site covering power tools, hand tools and workshop gear.
4 things
PB Swiss hex keysHardware PB Swiss Tools
I have had great experiences with PB Swiss Tools over the years, especially their hex keys.
Thinking-aloud post about replacing his workshop hex key set, in which he talks himself out of Wera and back toward PB Swiss.
2026-07-22·toolguyd.com ↗
W.Steps Prime telescoping ladderHardware W.Steps
I pulled out my W.Steps Prime telescoping ladder test sample today, and realized that I've grown to really like it.
Review of a Swedish-designed telescoping ladder supplied to him as a test sample.
2026-05-28·toolguyd.com ↗
Makita XGT LED worklightHardware Makita
While I only spent a couple of minutes with the new Makita worklight, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
First impressions of a cordless XGT worklight Makita sent him for review consideration.
2026-07-14·toolguyd.com ↗
Synergy Alpha Elite dumbbell rackHardware Synergy Custom Fitness
Summary: Shipping damage. Residue on some of the components. Loud pings and pops from the assembled weight rack. A design that looked great and saved space but was painfully unusable. Restocking fee. Non-refunded shipping fees. Ghosted me about the refund.
A wholly negative review of a US-made dumbbell rack he bought for the site.
2026-05-27·toolguyd.com ↗
Every entry is a verbatim quote and a link to the public post it came from. Nothing is paraphrased. If it is not on record somewhere public, it is not here.
The verdict is what they actually said: loved and liked are explicit; recommended means they told others to get it; uses means they only say they use it; read is a book on their public shelf with no verdict; mixed and disliked are kept too.
A dashed affiliate link, sponsored or their own label means the post disclosed a relationship. It is shown, never hidden.
The shading behind a date shows how dated a recommendation is for its kind of thing.
The shading behind a date shows how dated a recommendation is, for its kind of thing. Fully green is recent. It drains a quarter at a time as the post gets older, and is empty once it reads as dated.
What counts as old depends on the thing. A laptop praised four years ago has been replaced twice; a book loved twenty years ago is probably still loved. The shading is gone after about:
Stripes mean the post carries no date and the date shown is an estimate. No date at all, no shading.