A hand tool is a machine for doing a particular job that doesn't need a motor, but is powered only by the person using it. Some common tools include the hammer and mallet; for specific tools, calipers. Some hand tools are mounted on walls such as pencil sharpeners.

Craftsmen usually use hand tools in manual operations such as chopping, forging, chiseling, filing, sawing and many more.

Almost each kind of tool can be considered to be a hand tool, although lots of people who use it have modified and adapted these hand tools to power tools, getting their motive power from engines rather than from the power of the people. Some hand tools cannot be simply or safely transformed to power tools. Examples of this are the chisels.

Different types of hand tools include:

• Automatic center punch: Employed to generate a hollow in a work piece (for instance, a metal piece)

• Brace: Used to drill holes, usually in wood by applying pressure to the top.

• Chisel: A tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge of blade on its end, for carving and/or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal.

• Clamp: A fastening device to hold or secure objects tightly together to prevent movement or separation through the application of inward pressure.

Hacksaw: A saw for cutting metal or bones.

• Hammer: A tool meant to deliver blows to an object like nails.

• Handsaw: Used to cut pieces of wood into different shapes.

• Level: Force level or bubble level is an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is level or plumb.

Pliers: Designed primarily for gripping objects by using leverage.

• Punch: Typically used as an aid to drilling operations.

• Screwdriver: Specially designed to place in and tighten, or to loosen and remove screws.

• Torque wrench: Used to precisely set the force of a fastening such as a nut or bolt.

• Sponge: A tool consisting of porous material used for cleaning impervious surfaces.

• There are many kinds of hand tools available in the market, and unless you plan to become a professional, you would want to buy them selectively, keeping in mind the most useful and handy tools to have around. Below are hand tools you'll need most often. Always make sure that you checked all the features and quality of every product.

• Claw Hammer - While there are several kinds, the most flexible is a claw hammer having a smooth, somewhat curved finish head, one that is not too heavy, but feels good in your hand.

• 6" Speed Square - The quickest and easiest tool for marking a square line for an end cut, but can be used to quickly mark any angle up to 45-degrees or measure up to six inches.

• 25' Retractable Tape Measure – An excellent tape measure must have a locking mechanism, standard as well as metric markings, and a somewhat slack hook on the end of the tape.

• Utility Knife - This versatile cutting device can be used for scribing a mark in a piece of stock, cleaning up a hinge mortise, or any of those hundred times when a knife is needed.

• Chisels - A superbly sharpened chisel is ideal for clearing waste from mortises and joints.

• Level - When you need to know if a piece of stock is perfectly horizontal (level) or vertical (plumb), you need a level.

• Sliding Bevel - Very handy when an angle needs to be duplicated, very similar to a square.

• Nail Sets – In appearance a nail set resembles a tiny, curved chisel, but is employed to sink nail heads flush or just beneath the woods surface.

• Block Plane - Device used to shred thin amounts of wood away from the stock, and is invaluable for cleaning up edges during assembly.