Chimps make crude tools, too. They just don't use them as a major survival device.
There must have been a time when man started to depend on tools to stay alive, rather than just something to snag the hard-to-reach fruit off the tree. "Tools" include weapons, and farming implements. Man could then explore other climates and regions, and become a hunter, rather than just lunch.
I once read an article (that I can no longer recollect) that theorized that humanity's final burst of evolutionary change was in changing from another Great Ape into a toolmaker. Full-color stereoscopic vision, optimized for up-close work, is great for a toolmaker. Tools and hands shaped each other, which is why our hands and feet are so different from that of other apes. In fact, the need to carry and use tools put humans on their two feet, and gave them a taller vantage point to scan the rest of the world.