Let a ‘guy’ loose in Sears or WalMart, and like iron particles suspended in liquid, we move toward the magnet which in this case is the tool department.
It was a really cool tape measure, with super-smooth ball-bearing action, wide blade, 1/8 fraction markings, 35 feet long with metric on one side. And I’d had trouble finding a tape measure just the other day when I needed one…
No! This is always how it starts! If you had x-ray vision, you could look around my home and place of work and find a dozen tape measures. Disorganization is the sole reason I can’t find one when I need it.
Here we have a 150-foot fiberglass tape, a 25-foot Lukfin, a 30 footer from Ace Hardware, a 3 Meter Lukfin, a 16-foot Stanley (my favorite), and a 25-foot Irwin. Think that’s all of them? Somewhere I also have a 6-foot folding rule, a green 8-foot Stanley, a 25-foot Stanley (at work), and an antique 12-foot Starrett that once belonged to my father. I use the Starret to check the other tapes; the Stanleys and Lukfins are right, but the Ace is off by a quarter-inch in 12 feet. Apparently Ace is not the place.
Thing is, I really like measuring tools, and calculating machines, and optical enhancements like binocular magnifiers and loupes and such. The lowly tape measure is the most common, even vulger manifestation of this clan, but they’re so damn useful I just hate to put them down.
You should have one of these:
Sabrr
Cool! You got me started on tool design! (picture my friends rolling their eyes – “Oh great, there he goes again”)
Actually I prefer tools with fewer, rather than more features. The Sabrr has a retractable-blade knife, a scribing-device holder, and a massive rubber grip. But like the Swiss Army knife, that means it will perform its primary function less elegantly. According to the blurb it is loaded with “safety features” which in most cases mean you won’t hurt yourself with it, because it will be too annoying to use.
I have also seen tape measures that include a level (a job for which I prefer my accurate Starrett bench level), a laser beam (somewhat useful but a laser transit is better) and even a ‘job calculator’ which is fine except that tape measures are subjected to far too much abuse for electronic dingusus to survive. Plus, a tape measure often needs to be used in tight spaces, so it should be no larger than necessary. That is why the tough, small, accurate & simple Stanley 16’ is my favorite.
The model of usability is my pocketknife; it has one blade… and that’s it. It does what a pocketknife is supposed to do.
Dear sir:
I wondered if you could tell me which are the best ball bearing action tape measures. I lost mine recently and cannot remember its brand and cannot find anything like it.
Much appreciated.
A. miller
To be honest I have not seen that many. When the 30-footer from ACE hardware jammed up, I gleefully tossed it out and bought the one from Wal-Mart described above. It seems pretty nice for an off-brand. It is really smooth-running and has no problem with an 8-foot reach.
It has the ‘AllTrade’ brand name on it; the model was “Wideload XL” and the ball-bearing center is visible through a little clear window. It is made – where else? – in China.
The Korean company “Komelon” seems to take their tape measures pretty seriously. But I can’t find any information that verifies if they use a ball-bearing action.
My Stanley 16-footer remains the one I use most but of course it’s too small if I want to measure a room.
Hello Sir,
After reading your blog I truly find it hard to believe that you actually have a Sabrr Mark & Cut tape measure. For if you did you would truly be singing the praises of this remarkable tool. It would out perform your Stanley 16FT in every aspect of performance. That’s why I know you made a prejudgement on the Sabrr. I have added a link, so that you and your readers can go to and see all the things that your Stanley 16FT could never do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqtDChJCthE
P.S. It would really be “BIG OF YOU” to admit that you possibly rushed to judgement on this one.
God Bless,
SWKAS
I have no doubt it’s a wonderful tool, Swakas, for those who like multifunction tools. I don’t. It is not a foregone conclusion that I would sing praises of an individual example of a whole category of tools that I do not enjoy using. Tool preferences, like clothing or food preferences, are personal.
The reverse is true: people who enjoy multifunction tools would find my tools too limiting. Nothing wrong with that.