5 Stanley Hand Tools Under $20 That Are Actually Worth Buying

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If you're considering building your own toolkit or expanding your existing collection, there are some important points you need to keep in mind. Quality is essential. When shopping for tools, you should be savvy, but not too bargain-hungry. With that said, a good, cheaper tool may wind up being one of the most trusty items in your toolbox.

The trick is determining which ones these are. Whichever brand you tend to favor, you'll probably have a good selection of tools at the modest $20-or-less price point to choose from. Here, we're taking a look at five very solid sub-$20 items from the range of U.S. tool heavyweight Stanley. 

Broadly speaking, you won't typically find many new power tools at this price point, so this list is going to consider only hand tools from the brand. We'll consider a wide range of different items within that arena, including those priced on the lower and the higher end of that limit. From the Wonder Bar Pry Bar to a very versatile retractable knife, there's probably something here you could use during your next toolkit refresh.

This Stanley trio of pliers costs $18.97 from The Home Depot, which works out to less than $6.33 per pair. DIY enthusiasts simply can't be without a solid set of pliers. They're toolkit essentials, but a good, affordable set isn't necessarily tricky to hunt down. Stanley's set here is made from drop-forged steel, with grips to make them more comfortable to work with. 

There are particular types of pliers better suited to particular jobs, and using the wrong type for a given use case could cause damage to either the tool or the surface. This is why the kit provides users with the most common types of pliers: diagonal, slip joint, and long nose. This provides beginners with a good starter set, while also offering something hard-wearing that should last for seasoned users.

On The Home Depot's online store, where this set is offered, it has garnered an average rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 from hundreds of customer reviews, with 93% of reviewers stating they would recommend the product to others. All in all, this adds up to a solid and popular product, and one that certainly won't break the bank. 

Although it's a set that has a lot of utility with the three different types provided, they're a little on the smaller side and are not a specialized set. Because of this, you've got to consider whether the job at hand calls for something more specialized. If that's the case, larger, individual sets of pliers might be a better fit for your needs. 

Available for $12.97 at The Home Depot, Stanley's 12 in. Wonder Bar Pry Bar is so versatile and helpful that you might find it quickly becomes indispensable in your toolkit. After all, The Home Depot customers have largely raved about it. The bar has a rating of 4.7 stars out of 5, and a whopping 82% of reviewers gave it a full 5 stars. 

At 12 inches long, it's a bar that can access trickier, narrower spaces, while remaining portable and lightweight enough to be easily transported between workplaces. With polished and beveled edges on either side, combined with its distinct curved shape and that bright yellow coloring on one edge, it's designed for prying boards, lifting old flooring, and all sorts of similar tasks you might face over the course of a renovation project. These are the broadly useful items that make Stanley one of the best hand tool brands. 

As with a typical crowbar, it's a brute-force tool for leveraging strength, and a very rugged one, constructed from high-carbon steel. Depending on the projects you have in mind, a different size might be more practical, so a larger variety like the 21-in Wonder Bar X21 Pry Bar from the Stanley range could also be considered. It all depends on your needs and your budget.

From a new garage door to a simple flatpack, there are few home improvement projects that won't call for a tape measure. As a result, of course, you'll usually find yourself spoilt for choice, but one highlight for Stanley customers is the brand's 30 ft. PowerLock Tape Measure.

Available from The Home Depot for $18.97 at the time of writing, its length gives it a lot of versatility, and this is one factor that has led it to become quite popular with Stanley customers. The model has received an average rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 from thousands of reviews, with 88% recommending the product. Of course, a tape measure is far from the most revolutionary of tools, and solid design, reliability, and versatility are the keys.

To hit those notes, this one boasts a measuring length of up to 30 feet, which ensures that it'll be a practical choice for a wide range of measuring tasks. At the same time, though, a longer tape measure poses the risk of becoming quite unwieldy when extended quite far. 

In an effort to improve stability, Stanley has implemented its Secure Blade Lock and Tru-Zero End Hook, which help prevent the tape from creeping during measurement and support accurate readings. The Blade Armor also helps protect it from damage during more intensive jobs. Other sizes are also available, with the 35-foot variant slightly overshooting the sub-$20 limit at $20.97 and ranging down to the 12-foot model at $9.97.

As previously noted, one pitfall that's easy for DIYers to fall into is overspending on their tools. It can be difficult to tell how much use you'll get out of a given product or tool prior to purchase, after all. What's very helpful, then, is to find a solid, reasonably priced all-rounder in a given product range. That's exactly what the Stanley Homeowners Retractable Knife is all about. 

Available for just $4.99 from Acme Tools, it's a hand tool you'll find yourself reaching for at some point during all sorts of projects. Whether slicing open packages and deliveries, cutting away loose edges of materials, or so many other purposes besides, a multipurpose little knife like this is an invaluable partner.

With a budget item, the most important thing is to get those basics right. Though only two Acme customers have reviewed the Stanley Homeowners Retractable Knife, both have awarded it a full 5 out of 5 stars. Having a simple design, of course, means that it's easy to use and handle. It's lightweight, and the three different position options and retractable feature make it versatile and safer to use. 

This is far from the only recommended knife from Stanley's wide range, but a very solid pick all around if you're not looking for something larger. There are solid utility knives for every budget from a range of manufacturers, but it's difficult to find one cheaper than this.  

To round off this selection of worthy budget-friendly purchases from U.S. manufacturer Stanley, we have the brand's 16 oz. White Rubber Mallet. Available for just $9.97 from The Home Depot, it follows the familiar pattern of all the items we've highlighted so far: a practical and highly portable multipurpose hand tool that will probably become a staple of your tool rotation.

 In a lot of home improvement and DIY work, you'll find yourself in need of a means to apply careful yet firm force. For instance, you might be placing flooring, tiles, or other similar items into place. These are cases where precision and restraint are equally essential. For this reason, rubber mallets are soft enough not to cause significant damage while still packing enough force.

Stanley's 16 oz. White Rubber Mallet features a hardwood handle that's 11 inches long, topped with a white rubber head. There's also a version with a black rubber head. This particular model, Stanley claims, was designed to be resistant to any bouncing effect while in use and to avoid marring the work surface at the same time. 

The Home Depot customers have reviewed this item in droves, and of 706 customer reviews, 515 awarded it a full five-star rating. Overall, 80% of those reviewers state that they would recommend the mallet. Though this isn't quite the positive ratio that some other hand tools on this list have received, it's still a considerable vote of confidence. If you've been debating such a tool, there are a wide variety available, but this Stanley effort should serve you well.