Adam Savage is one of the godfathers of the maker movement. He is most known for co-hosting the tv series Mythbusters on Discovery Channel. More recently, he hosts his own Youtube channel Adam Savage's Tested.

In an ask me anything (AMA) on the r/maker subreddit, Adam Savage proposed the following tool when buying tools:

"Buy cheap tools until you know what you really need from that tool, then buy the best version you can afford."

This rule has been shared all over the internet since by people looking for a sustainable way of finding good tools without spending a fortune.

Why should I follow this rule?

This rule is great advice for multiple reasons. First, it can avoid buying expensive items that you might not use a lot. Nobody wants to spend a lot of money on something that might be used just once. It might not even work for your usecase at all.

On top of this, not all cheap products are of poor build quality or will fail after using them once. If you are purchasing something for light use, a cheaper version might very well suffice for you.

Finally, when you decide to make the jump and buy a more expensive version, you will have a better idea of what you are looking for. In this sense it can also save you a lot of money by not buying a very expensive tool that is not what you need.

Finding the right tool for you

Finding the right tool for your needs is not always an easy task. It often requires significant research into what you need and what is available. Most of the time you might not want to spend hours and hours before making a purchase.

In one of his videos, Adam Savage also talks about this problem. He mentions that this is especially though on the internet due to vendors pushing to get their tools top ranked with Search Engine Optimization. He nicely puts this as:

"The signal-to-noise ratio of determining whether the quality of a tool fits your needs is a nightmare."

The only way to really know if tools are worth their money and are what you need is by reading good testimonials. To avoid fake testimonials, look for independent blogs, review sites, or forums online.

Critique on this advice

While this is generally good advice, there are some cases where it might not be a good idea to follow this rule. For some products, lower quality may result in less satisfactory results when using them. Think about a terrible lawn mower which forces you to bring out your scissors to finish the job or a backpack which makes your back hurt from just looking at it.

Some other points of criticism are also valid. First, in some cases it is just more wasteful to buy the cheap tool which will break. If you know for sure you will use a tool often, it might make sense to invest immediately. Next to this, you should also be mindful of the ethical aspect when buying cheap stuff. Chances are that it was creating in a suboptimal working environment or it required shipping from across the globe while you could get one made next door.

Overall, I find this great advice. In my opinion, it sometimes even extends beyond just tools to other categories as well.

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What is the BIFL Movement?

BIFL or Buy It For Life is a community of people who are looking to buy products manufactured to last you for the rest of your life.

Written by dazf3865
June 23, 2024