Thoughts on iFixIt stuff? I got my screwdrivers from them when I started my CS degree three years ago
So here's the thing, ifixit materialized a long long time ago, and as far as I remember it was quite some time before they started selling tools. When they did, it was in the middle of the big explosion of Maker shenanigans and, long story short, I assumed it was just rollstamped trash, Aliexpress sludge with their name on it, typical swag. ifixit delivers a genuine service, but I had (and continue to have) no idea what their revenue model was, so I assumed they just decided they could bank on their brand recognition to sell some literal garbage.
keeping in mind that the specific things in their toolkits - spudgers, "guitar picks", tiny screwdriver bit sets - were, and are, things that just did not come in a high quality form. they're the sort of thing that can readily be made out of any plastic or alloy that happens to be nearby, no matter how unfit to purpose it is, because most customers either will not notice (because they never get around to actually using it) or will not realize what it means that their "guitar pick" just bent instead of applying force, or their 1/8" PH1 philips bit just turned to goop the third time they tried to use it, or the TPE overmold just peeled off the handle. a lot of people just don't realize how good tools can be if made well, and would not notice that they're just dog shit, and/or would blame themselves.
so, i have to admit: i was astonished by the ifixit stuff. i bought one of their kits a few months ago and, the case openers are made out of the right plastics. the metal spudger is the right kind of stainless. the screwdriver handle doesn't have sharp or flat knurling, it has a goddamn ball bearing I think in the palm cap, it feels good in the hand, it has no stupid TPE overmold, and the bits are not made of cheese.
in addition the bit collection includes a number of things i really like (the little nut drivers, the magnetic pickup bit) which are not commonly included in other kits, and it doesn't include crap just to pad, like security- and non-security versions of torx bits. also, they bothered to machine down the shanks for small bits as far as they could, instead of leaving long pointless hex shafts and then only a little taper at the end, so you have your best chance at getting them into deep recesses.
it doesn't really make sense for ifixit to make a good product but... they seem to. i don't trust it. i'm not sure how to trust it. i've been burned so bad for so long. but in my opinion the kits are a good buy.
