Does HF make you sick or is it me?

[Gregster]

I stopped in at the Canadian version of Harbour Frieght today called Princess Auto. Same stuff, same concept.

I was just browsing around killing some time. As I was walking around I couldn't really find anything I wanted to buy.... I just couldn't spend my hard earned dollars on Made In China insta snap tools. Meanwhile there was a good crowd buying up substandard wrenches, sockets and other tools...

I don't have much Made in China stuff in my box left. Maybe a hex key set and a prybar. I think I am going to toss those in the trash.

 

[Stanger]

Yes, most of it makes me sick. I wouldn't mind having their knock-off Beverly shear or their toolbox, but that is about it.

 

[billymade]

Read my thread about my feelings walking through Harbor Freight, its meant to be humorous but there is truth in there as well:
Harbor Freight and my "5 stages of grief" !
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18374&showall=1

 

[Merkava_4]

I lie awake at night fantasizing about Harbor Freight getting blown to bits. Homeland Security is probably reading this right now.

 

[Bolster]

Read my thread about my feelings walking through Harbor Freight, its meant to be humorous but there is truth in there as well:
Harbor Freight and my "5 stages of grief" !
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18374&showall=1

Just read it, LOL, you're a clever dude Billymade. Love the psychobabble applied to tool shopping!

 

[Nealcrenshaw]

I like HF, Not everything they make, but most of it.Is it top quality?No. Can it get the job done? Yes. But the real questin is why is everything orange? floor jacks,presses,power tools,etc.
Why does it have to be orange? Other than that their OK.

 

[Red Green]

I have bought some stuff before but not so much now. I bought some bowls with magnets. I would have bought them at Sears but those were made in china also. I bought a 1/2" clicker torque wrench for 9.99 to use at the track to check my lugnuts. For the most part I would buy used before or save up to buy a better tool than have one break again.

 

[davestlouis]

I have never bought anything there, but in walking through their stores, I sense that quality is creeping upward. I buy high-end tools, but I can't picture someone like my dad, the retired professor, ever NEEDING nice tools, given how little he does with them, so why not have cheap screwdrivers to put license plates on the cars once a year? Worse yet, I just KNOW he'll use the screwdrivers to open paint cans and whatnot, and abuse them terribly, so if they break, he tosses them and buys new ones. HF has a p[lace in the retail market, like it or not.

 

[LoneGunman]

LOL, you win a prize, you are the 999th person to start a HF makes me sick, pissed, angy, depressed ETC thread.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

I have never bought anything there, but in walking through their stores, I sense that quality is creeping upward. I buy high-end tools, but I can't picture someone like my dad, the retired professor, ever NEEDING nice tools, given how little he does with them, so why not have cheap screwdrivers to put license plates on the cars once a year? Worse yet, I just KNOW he'll use the screwdrivers to open paint cans and whatnot, and abuse them terribly, so if they break, he tosses them and buys new ones. HF has a place in the retail market, like it or not.

Dead on. I have different tools for different things. I have a 3 car garage and a small one car garage. My best tools are in my 3 car. I have tools in my one car garage just so I don't have to go back and forth between garages all the time for simple things. I have tools in the house, and I have a "pull a part" toolbox...all the tools I need for pull a part that I keep in a special toolbox. So why wouldn't I want HF or...dare I say...Big Lots tools for some of my spare toolboxes? I sure as hell am not going to have high quality tools for all these different places I need tools.

Today, I was helping my brother in law put up gutters, and as he used a screwdriver of mine, I couldn't resist, I had to tell him it was from Big Lots. It's made in China, but it's pretty decent, feels good. He just laughed and said, "it works fine I have no problem with it!"

 

[terabyte]

we in this country have this great ability we call choice

I choose not to buy **** at walmart and you can choose not to buy **** at HF.

Good... great. Now lets all get a beer.

 

[62 bird]

Have any of you, that at really mad at HF considered they sell the tools that you could "loan" to your needy friends and never regret if they dont get returned. You would still be the nice guy and not be hunting for that "special" tool on GJ, that is missing from your set, as are on my list of tools wanted.
62 bird

 

[autoace]

I lie awake at night fantasizing about Harbor Freight getting blown to bits. Homeland Security is probably reading this right now.

Harbor Freight Geartech Professional, is the same quality as Gearwrench. For the thread, unless they are tools for pulling a motor in a salvage yard, HF can keep it.

 

[Danglerb]

Harbor Fright in a nutshell,

I want the set of 3 hose pliers that's $12, but I know they are junk with misaligned tips, so I am waiting for a sale.

 

[yellowbox]

they are cheap *** tools , BUT i do have a air powered cut off tool that has lasted 4 yrs and cost 10.00
also a 2lb brass hammer 4 yrs and cost 5.99
beleive me i have bought MUCH more that has let me down auto boost off boxes that couldnt start a lawnmower many many broken sockets .
they have a few things that are ok ...their tools do have a market and a place just be carefull what you buy and its intended use

 

[nissan_crawler]

As I've said many times, HF has plenty of things that work, just don't plan on buying a Mercedes for the price of a Yugo.

I needed a 4' pipe wrench for one use. I was NOT going to be buying a $200 one. I got the HF one for $35 or so, it worked, I haven't touched it since.

I have an HF pipe bender, works fine.

I have an HF cherry picker, works fine.

I'm going to get an HF press and beef up the beams that bend on them, it'll still be $200 cheaper than the next press, which is no better anyway.

I buy their $.99 hand squeeze clamps when they're on sale. I use them for welding and such, they can and will get screwed, often on the first use. Why in the hell would I buy a $15 clamp for that

I have wilton c clamps for wood working and other things. I have HF c-clamps for when I'm welding. Again, the odds of boogering threads or another part of the clamp is high. Why wreck a good one?

I bought an HF portable "garage" to use as a shed. Is it great? No, but it cost me $150. I have to put a $50 cover on it about once a year. does it compare to a $1000 one? I'm sure not, but it would take me 18 years for that to pay for itself, and I guarantee a tree branch or something would ruin the cover before that.

I bought a 32" lift 2.5 ton jack. Does it have the nice feature to lock the handle for maneuvering it? No. Does it go up easily? Yes. Does it go down smoothly? Yes. Would I buy a $4-800 one just so I could have that vs. the HF one that cost me $100 without it? Hell no.

I needed ratchet straps to haul tree branches and construction debris to the dump. I wanted 12 2" ratchet straps. Obviously, high strength ones aren't needed, just ones to keep things from flying around.

I could buy 12 HF ones for 1/4 the price of good ones, and the tree branches, nails, broken lumber, and concrete will shred them at the same rate as the high dollar ones. Gee, touch choice.

Need to make a wrench fit somewhere? Are you going to grab that $30 Snap-On wrench and torch it to bend it how you need, or are you going to grab that $8 hf wrench set you have stuck in a corner of your box for on occasion such as this?

 

[eschoendorff]

I stopped in at the Canadian version of Harbour Frieght today called Princess Auto. Same stuff, same concept.

I was just browsing around killing some time. As I was walking around I couldn't really find anything I wanted to buy.... I just couldn't spend my hard earned dollars on Made In China insta snap tools. Meanwhile there was a good crowd buying up substandard wrenches, sockets and other tools...

I don't have much Made in China stuff in my box left. Maybe a hex key set and a prybar. I think I am going to toss those in the trash.

Not this again...

 

[MAD]

I feel a little queasy if I smell the wheel chocks for too long.

 

[Brad54]

I needed a hammer drill for one project--setting lag bolts into the poured concrete foundation of my house for a deck between house and shop. Concrete bits on my regular drill weren't doing it. I called around and could rent one for $45, or buy one at HF for $35. I bought it, knowing it was a total POS. It did the job, and it's sat on my shelf for the last 4 years. It made me money, and if I have to use it one more time, it doubled my money.

I have a friend who said he buys the cheap $10-$20 die grinders. He uses them a lot, and in fact ALWAYS has one on a coiled air line on his work bench for instant use. Even if they last a year, he can buy a new one annually for 10-15 years for the price of a good snap-on. How long will a professional-quality die grinder last with regular use? I can't argue with his line of thinking.

I just bought the cheap bead roller set from HF, because it's going to be a starter kit for the bead roller I WANT--I'll build my own. Why would I buy two sets of dies from Woodward Fab or some other USA-made place, then gears and and bushings from McMaster-Carr, for more than the whole HF kit that comes with several more sets of dies?
Now, I'd LOVE to have bought USA-made dies and such, but frankly, they're too expensive. I'd love to support American workers here, but until they can get back to a reasonable cost to do business, I have to watch out for my family and spend less when and where I can. Not everyone needs a 42-inch plasma screen TV, three TVs in the house, a couple game systems, and black-berries for their middle school kids, but that seems to be what everyone considers "Middle Class and a Working Wage" now. Until the cost of labor comes down, that's how I'll spend my money.

Is a USA-made "cheap" parts washer any better quality than the $69 HF piece? I don't think so.

Other things at HF that I'll buy: razor blades, shop rags, plastic wire brushes, etc. etc.

All that being said, if I can get the same thing (made in China) for the same price or close to it, from my local family-owned Car Quest, then I do that. At least that way, most of my money stays in the local economy.

-Brad

 

[musgofasta]

Just there over the weekend with my 20% off your order coupon:

$19 Electric 4.5'' Angle Grinder - Nicer, more amps, lighter, and better trigger than the Ryobi it's replacing.

$9 3 pack of diamond blades for granite, stone, and masonry. I used a few to cut granite counters and tile a while back.

$5 4'' metal cut-off wheels - Last as long as everything else out there.

$8 Screwdriver pack
$9 Plier Set
$9 Crescent-style Adjustable wrenches

All to make two emergency kits to stay in my cars. All are far nicer than I expected. Pliers are FAR superior to the Sears Companion ones I've been using. I put THOSE in the cars, and will keep the HF's in the tool box.

Appropriately enough, the screwdrivers have a disclaimer on each handle: "Not to be used as a chisel or Prybar."

 

[Fedwrench]

Harbor Freight fills a need for inexpensive tools. Problems start when the Harbor Freight frequent shopper wants to pay the same prices for Craftsman at Sears. Harbor Freight is a necessary evil for the occasional use or disposable tool need.

 

[Merkava_4]

Shopping at Harbor Freight is wrong - you're doing your country a grave disservice. If you don't believe me, read this:

http://www.manufacturingnews.com/news/08/1017/commentary.html

 

[krusty the clown]

Shopping at Harbor Freight is wrong - you're doing your country a grave disservice. If you don't believe me, read this:

http://www.manufacturingnews.com/news/08/1017/commentary.html

is it any different than buying gearwrench? think about it

 

[autoace]

Shopping at Harbor Freight is wrong - you're doing your country a grave disservice. If you don't believe me, read this:

http://www.manufacturingnews.com/news/08/1017/commentary.html

I had a similar thread, everyone threw eggs at me, remember? GW isn't much better. Sorry tank.

 

[wrenchr]

We are not all made out of money and as hard as this is to type they have a place!!

 

[wythors]

After the third **** Chinese tool that I bought there broke on the first use, I vowed never to spend another dime at HF.

 

[383astro]

I bought quite a few tools at HF and the traveling tool store called Homier Tools back when I wasnt aware of the difference in quality. I have alot of 9-10 year old HF/Homier tools still working than not. I am slowly upgrading to better stuff (mostly Cman/knipex/wiha) because I am starting to use the stuff more often.

 

[Merkava_4]

is it any different than buying gearwrench? think about it

I already thought about it before I made my controversial statement. I don't think buying GearWrench is quite as bad because the brand is owned by an American company that cares about making a quality product. Do I wish Danaher would still make their GearWrench brand in the states? Yes I do, but they would have to charge more for their product and they know that they can't do that and remain competitive in this country's free trade business environment.

By the way, if you read the link I posted, you'll understand that this country cannot continue to function in a free trade economy where the other countries we trade with have a purposely devalued currency; we will soon all be out of work as a result.

If there was no cheap imports and no Harbor Freight, the guys that are willing to shop there would be forced to buy high quality American and European tools and they'd be sucking high and ***!!

 

[Deafautotech]

Dead on. I have different tools for different things. I have a 3 car garage and a small one car garage. My best tools are in my 3 car. I have tools in my one car garage just so I don't have to go back and forth between garages all the time for simple things. I have tools in the house, and I have a "pull a part" toolbox...all the tools I need for pull a part that I keep in a special toolbox. So why wouldn't I want HF or...dare I say...Big Lots tools for some of my spare toolboxes? I sure as hell am not going to have high quality tools for all these different places I need tools.

Today, I was helping my brother in law put up gutters, and as he used a screwdriver of mine, I couldn't resist, I had to tell him it was from Big Lots. It's made in China, but it's pretty decent, feels good. He just laughed and said, "it works fine I have no problem with it!"

i am use good and high dollars tools to be wrenching for living while my brother work as computer technician(little like white collar) use cheap tools or junk tools which my brother may use it once a month or year... but ODD thing is when my brother has 3 vehicles and 2 motorcycles, he will ask me to help him to fix his vehicles or toys while i am bring my good tools because i knew i would break his junk tool really easy... my father has many harbor frieghts tools and i already broke wrenches or crakced sockets in easy way... that why i only buy craftsman or tool trucks(hard line tools)

 

[autoace]

I already thought about it before I made my controversial statement. I don't think buying GearWrench is quite as bad because the brand is owned by an American company that cares about making a quality product. Do I wish Danaher would still make their GearWrench brand in the states? Yes I do, but they would have to charge more for their product and they know that they can't do that and remain competitive in this country's free trade business environment.

By the way, if you read the link I posted, you'll understand that this country cannot continue to function in a free trade economy where the other countries we trade with have a purposely devalued currency; we will soon all be out of work as a result.

If there was no cheap imports and no Harbor Freight, the guys that are willing to shop there would be forced to buy high quality American and European tools and they'd be sucking high and ***!!

Sounds like I wrote thatYou are gonna get it from Ed.

 

[krusty the clown]

I already thought about it before I made my controversial statement. I don't think buying GearWrench is quite as bad because the brand is owned by an American company that cares about making a quality product. Do I wish Danaher would still make their GearWrench brand in the states? Yes I do, but they would have to charge more for their product and they know that they can't do that and remain competitive in this country's free trade business environment.

By the way, if you read the link I posted, you'll understand that this country cannot continue to function in a free trade economy where the other countries we trade with have a purposely devalued currency; we will soon all be out of work as a result.

If there was no cheap imports and no Harbor Freight, the guys that are willing to shop there would be forced to buy high quality American and European tools and they'd be sucking high and ***!!

i agree with your link 100%..............

however............harbor freight is also an american company. i see no difference between GW and HF as far as your sentiments.

 

[dwilliams35]

We've always had imported tools occupying the same market niche that HF is in right now: it used to be "japanese ****", then taiwanese ****, now chinese ****: if you don't like the stuff, don't buy it for pete's sake. HF isn't a big symptom of the decline of the American industrial base: they're just the current "owner" of a market share that's been around for a heck of a long time, and has always served the same purpose that it always has: cheap tools for occasional users that don't want or need to mortgage their house for a shoebox full of snap-on equivalent. If you're worried about the American industrial base, you need to look at Danaher buying chinese, Starrett doing the same, etc. etc. etc., pick your tool company gripe du jour. That is the real issue, and it's got nothing to do with Harbor freight. They've got their place, for the guy who considers a $10 4-piece adjustable wrench set a killer tool set, as well as the ******** wrencher who wants a disposable tool, something he can weld on without crying, something he can loan out, etc. etc. etc.: most or all have been mentioned here. That niche has been around for decades: it's nothing new, and is quite probably necessary. Sure, American and european tools are far superior. However, are they truly worth the money you'll part with to stick with them as a patriotic gesture? That's a truly difficult justification to make. I've yet to find the snap-on that will last longer than a pile of fifty HF ratchets used one at a time: however you're paying MORE for the snap on than for that same pile. Sure, SO et. al. is good stuff: damn good stuff. Is it worth the difference? judgement call. It may be to a pro: no way it's worth it to your average homeowner.

 

[speed bump]

Nope HF does not make me sick. I like the dead blow hammers they sell and despite treating it like a cheap ****** our HF impact gun that was new in the early 80s is still going strong. For hard line tools, other than maybe stuff that only sees the light of day once in a blue moon I will stick with buying higher end stuff though

 

[Tool Pants]

I started with HF 25 or so years ago with a mail order catalog. Then about 18 years ago a store opened about an hour away. Back then they had some USA stuff.

2 months ago I went to the store and looked around for anything made in the USA. Could not find anything. Spotted a rack of sandpaper and thought that must be made in the USA. Nope. Made in India. Never seen sandpaper made in India before.

 

[eschoendorff]

Shopping at Harbor Freight is wrong - you're doing your country a grave disservice. If you don't believe me, read this:

http://www.manufacturingnews.com/news/08/1017/commentary.html

Now, I'd LOVE to have bought USA-made dies and such, but frankly, they're too expensive. I'd love to support American workers here, but until they can get back to a reasonable cost to do business, I have to watch out for my family and spend less when and where I can. Not everyone needs a 42-inch plasma screen TV, three TVs in the house, a couple game systems, and black-berries for their middle school kids, but that seems to be what everyone considers "Middle Class and a Working Wage" now. Until the cost of labor comes down, that's how I'll spend my money.

Is a USA-made "cheap" parts washer any better quality than the $69 HF piece? I don't think so.

Other things at HF that I'll buy: razor blades, shop rags, plastic wire brushes, etc. etc.

All that being said, if I can get the same thing (made in China) for the same price or close to it, from my local family-owned Car Quest, then I do that. At least that way, most of my money stays in the local economy.

-Brad

Brad and the rest of us live in the real world...

 

[vlpronj]

I just spent $135 at HF this past weekend - I expect it'll be up to the job for weekend work right now. But I'm still trying to get my garage to the point where I can do real work in it - these tools will become "2nd string" once it's set up.

I got:
1/2 drive air impact wrench
3/8 drive air ratchet
1/2 drive SAE impact sockets
(the 3 above items were in one set for about $40)

TiN drill bit set
3/8 drive metric impact sockets
cheap plastic socket holders (2 sets w/ 1 ea. 1/4, 3/8, 1/2)
(just for temporary storage of the new sockets)
bolt/nut plastic sizing template
2 ton comealong
roller-top work stand
combo fingerboard/miter gauge combo for a Bosch table saw I bought recently (that's something I chose to spend more $ on)
2 36" clamps

I can't think of the rest, but it was pretty much a full cart of tools.
I'll add the rest when I get home.

I went through the flyer, marked off things I was interested in, and went to the store and checked out the item in person. I want something that will be a good value, for the money I'm willing to spend. If it's unsafe, or won't last, then it's not a good value - but right now, I'm now very hard on my tools. Once the garage is cleared out, and I can pull a vehicle in, or work on a project in there, it'll be a different story. I'm still finishing the sides on the trailer that'll help me clear it out.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Shopping at Harbor Freight is wrong - you're doing your country a grave disservice. If you don't believe me, read this:

http://www.manufacturingnews.com/news/08/1017/commentary.html

I agree with the arguments presented in the article, but me deciding not to buy at Harbor Freight will do as much good as straightening the deck chairs on the Titanic. The problem is the institutional factors that have pushed the industrial base outside of the country. I've said before and I'll say again, we need to rebuild the industrial base, but nobody in Washington is listening.

And no argument is going to convince someone to buy a $200 tool they only need once in a blue moon when they can get it for $30 from HF and will do the job just as well. That's basic economics.

 

[krusty the clown]

not to mention that as our economy gets worse HF, etc and cheap chinese made goods will look even more attractive to consumers.........it seems that the sermon is too late to save the parrish.

 

[autoace]

If anyone has noticed, Harbor Freight prices are sky rocketing. It doesn't really pay to shop for hand tools there, over Craftsman, at least not anymore.

 

[Uncle Buck]

If anyone has noticed, Harbor Freight prices are sky rocketing. It doesn't really pay to shop for hand tools there, over Craftsman, at least not anymore.

I did notice their prices do not seem to be what they once were the last time i visited now that you mention it. To an extent I do agree.