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Gifts for The Handyman in Your Life: Essential Tools and Gear They will Actually Use

Jenny Lupe

Table of Contents

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The perfect tools for the perfect handyman. Find essential gear they’ll actually use! đŸ› ïžđŸŽ

Handymen are often called jacks of all trades because there’s hardly any odd job they can’t handle. They tend to share many tools in common, which also makes those tools excellent gift ideas for the handyman in your life. After all, just as fingers aren’t equal, everyone finds their own way to earn a living, even if it means taking on odd jobs. There’s someone who works as a handyperson in our family, or even among our friends. Gifting them an item that is relevant to their occupation shows contribution to their career in your own way and can clarify that you don’t feel ashamed of them.

At PickItPerfect.com, we understand what the best gifts for the handyman are, describing those that make them more efficient and productive at their workshop and at job sites in this guide.

Understanding What Makes Great Gifts for the Handyman

An expensive gift doesn’t guarantee that the recipient will find it worthy or useful. The best gifts you can offer a handyman are items that help them work smarter, utilizing modernized tools to simplify the most challenging aspects of their work and reduce physical efforts while fixing things.

A solid, heartfelt way to appreciate family and friends who are handymen is to buy them the right tool for their job. Consider buying them multifunctional tools, so that they’ll always have the need to use your gifts, without leaving it to gather dusty.

Essential Tool Categories That Always Impress

Precision Measuring and Marking Tools

Most handymen need measuring and marking-out tools, like tape measures, calipers, and scribers, to carry out most work. They are essential for starting any project, making it a phase that requires accuracy. The CRAFTSMAN 25-Foot Tape Measure is a nice gift for handymen, and can allow them to make precise measurements when working alone. It’s sturdy due to its metal frame build, and can withstand drops from high heights, despite offering a comfortable grip. This tape measure also has alternating colors on the blade, which helps the recipient reduce eye strain, as they will no longer experience those uncomfortable sensations they feel in their eyes caused by prolonged use.

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Measure twice, cut once! Precision is key with this essential Craftsman tape measure for every job. 📏

Buy Craftsman 25-Foot Tape Measure on Amazon

You can help the handymen you know resolve the major issues they face in their line of work. The 25-foot length tape measure makes them see no reason to carry multiple tape measures when setting out for work. The tape measure serves different use cases, and is easy to carry around or hang on their belt.

Weatherproof notebooks are another perfect gift for handymen who often work in construction sites and places with challenging conditions. They can complement a measurement and marking tool, allowing the recipient to note measurements, quotes, and even clients’ contact details. The Rite in the Rain Weatherproof Top-Spiral Notebook three-pack is one of those that most handymen would love. It comes in 32 sheets, each capable of repelling water, sweat, oil, concrete, and mud. Its pages are tough, impact-resistant, making them impervious to things that would instantly destroy an ordinary notebook.

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Take notes anywhere! The Rite in the Rain notebook is a rugged essential for every handyman. 📝

Buy Rite in the Rain Weatherproof Notebook

Professional-Grade Hand Tools

High-quality hand tools also make exceptional gifts for handymen who often need to work on pipes or adjust bolts and nuts. So, if the recipient is a plumber or mechanic, they’d appreciate something like the IRWIN Vise-Grip Adjustable Wrench Set, a professional-grade tool which Amazon currently sells for $54.99. Even Amazon recommends this wrench set, with an overall pick badge, making it a top-rated product within the category. It comes in four sizes: 6″, 8″, 10″, and 12”, each of which is adjustable just like other wrenches.

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Tighten, loosen, and conquer every bolt! An essential Irwin wrench set for any serious handyman’s toolkit. 🔧đŸ’Ș

Buy IRWIN Vise-Grip Adjustable Wrench Set

The wrenches make handymen more efficient during work, saving their energy with ProTouch grips and high clamping force through machined wrench jaws, unlike the common ones that cause hand fatigue and easily slip out of fasteners.

Multi-Tools and Pocket Essentials

Compact, versatile tools that handymen can carry to all job sites are another category of an ideal handyman gift. The LEATHERMAN Wave Plus Multitool can fit into most cases when a handyman forgets to carry a tool to a job site. They provide immediate solutions in such cases, featuring over 18 tools, including a saw, a ruler, spring-action scissors, wire cutters, and even a bottle opener for times they want to cool off with a chill drink, each of which is easy to use. It weighs just 8.5 ounces and will take up only a little space in their pocket, toolbox, or backpack.

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The Leatherman Wave+, a pocket full of possibility.

Buy LEATHERMAN Wave Plus Multitool

This pocket-sized tool contains eighteen unique implements, including wire cutters, spring-action scissors, and a bottle opener, providing solutions for a wide range of common problems encountered both on job sites and in daily life. The Wave Plus design prioritizes accessibility and durability.

Comfort and Safety Gifts That Show You Care

Many handymen wear protective work clothing to perform repairs at job sites. Therefore, gift items that improve comfort and safety would make perfect sense to them. Giving them these gifts shows your genuine concern for their health and wish they’re safe from occupational hazards.

Weather Protection and Heated Gear

One of the hardest parts of working as a handyman is the frequent need to fix things, even when the weather is at its extreme. The Milwaukee M12 Heated Jacket Kit offers sufficient weather protection for $209.99, $239.99, or $249.99, depending on the recipient’s size. It’s a modern-styled jacket, featuring a comfortable polyester shell and multiple heated zones, powered by a 12V lithium-ion battery.

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Stay warm, stay dry, and keep working! Heated gear and weather protection essentials for any job site. đŸ„¶âžĄïžđŸ”„

Buy the Milwaukee M12 Heated Jacket Kit

This jacket provides handymen with on-the-go heating in the front and back, allowing them to feel warm while working in challenging weather conditions. It is suitable for all seasons and machine washable, requiring no special treatment to care for.

The follow-come battery can last up to eight hours per charge, which is enough to keep warm all day long. It also has an LED controller that they can use to adjust heat across multiple zones.

Organization and Storage Solutions

This jacket provides handymen with on-the-go heating in the front and back, allowing them to feel warm while working in challenging weather conditions. It is suitable for all seasons and machine washable, requiring no special treatment to care for.

The follow-come battery can last up to eight hours per charge, which is enough to keep warm all day long. It also has an LED controller that they can use to adjust heat across multiple zones.

Budget-Conscious Gift Ideas That Deliver Value

The best gift for a handyman should not necessarily cost a fortune, but rather be something that the recipient will warmly receive and appreciate from the moment they set their eyes on it. Thus, making a random selection is totally out of your options.

Consumable supplies are a top category of practical gifts with modest price ranges for a handyman, comprising daily essentials like sandpaper, adhesives, fasteners, saw blades, and sealants. Safety gear is also a must-have for handymen, especially those whose occupation has several hazards or who often work outdoors in tough weather conditions. Look out for high-quality safety glasses, gloves, boots, and earmuffs.

Avoiding Common Gift-Giving Mistakes

After streamlining to specific categories of gifts for handymen, it doesn’t end there. Knowing the recipient’s job specialization, preferences, and current toolkit is what truly matters than anything else. Handymen are brand loyalists for practical reasons and are often unwilling to try out other brand products.

Some handymen have an inventory of tools and supplies that would last them a couple of years without restocking. You may need to visit their workshop or speak with them to discover which items they lack or are running low on.

The last thing you should never do is compromise quality because of affordability. Gifting them low-quality, inferior, or knockoff items does not guarantee durability and can even endanger their lives. Above all, it’s equally important that your choice of gifts is also theirs.

Conclusion: Choosing Gifts That Matter

Tools for handymen vary depending on their line of work, which makes it essential to understand what they do and how they work before you can find a gift that will perfectly match it. Tape measure, all-weather notebook, and scribers are practical examples of generic gift items for handymen. So, if you can’t really specify the person’s occupation, consider giving them items like these.

Just make sure your gift will solve a problem for them, or provide them with a substitute they can rely on if their current one gets lost or breaks unexpectedly. The recipient will instantly recognize that you’re trying to help and will deeply value your thoughtfulness. Quality, portability, practicality, and compatibility with existing tools are among the factors anyone looking to present a handyman gift must consider when exploring gift options.With Pick It Perfect, you can be confident when it comes to gifting handymen, teachers on appreciation day, or a loved one for the summer season. You can create an online personal profile to show your gift preference on our website or view that of your recipients.

MEET OUR CO-FOUNDERS

Hi! We’re Jenny and Tawny, longtime friends, moms, and co-founders of Pick it Perfect, your registry for life. We’re on a mission to take the stress out of gifting by giving you real insight into your friends’, family’s, coworkers’, and even service providers’ preferences, sizes, wish lists, and “no thanks” lists — so you can always pick the perfect gift.We created this blog to share our favorite gifting ideas, organization hacks, and life tips that help make everyday moments (and special occasions!) a little easier. As busy moms ourselves, we know how valuable it is to simplify even one part of your to-do list, and that’s exactly what we’re here to help with.We hope you’ll find inspiration, discover great gift ideas, and join us in making gifting stress-free and fun again!

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Author
Jenny Lupe
Jenny is a former teacher, mom to an 11-year-old, and co-founder of Pick It Perfect, a platform that makes gift-giving easier and more thoughtful for busy moms. Based in Los Angeles, she spends her free time on the tennis court, reading, or coming up with ways to simplify life’s little tasks. This blog is where she shares tips, inspiration, and real-life gifting wins (and fails).

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