Stuey; All I did was ask if this was a common practice of yours to judge a tool without using it. You answered that it was not your common practice and I am glad. I think you provide a valuable service and I have enjoyed reading your reviews. Based on all the reviews I have read in the past that you wrote I was surprised that you would even comment on any tool without using it.
To SK Farmer I was not trying to **** on Stuey. I asked what I feel was a legitimate question. A lot of folks rely on his reviews to make purchase decisions.
If a tool reviewer states that based on past experience he is not going to comment on brand x tools then I am fine with that, he makes no comment. To me the issue here is that a reviewer made a comment with no actual experience with that particular product. I would be just as concerned if a tool reviewer said that the Snap-On ratchet was too expensive and not worth the money and had never even tried one, Wouldn't you?
By the very definition a tool review should be based on hands on experience with the tool. From what I ave read of Stuey's previous reviews it looks like that is what he does. That is why it came as a shock that he even commented on a tool without using it.
SK Farmer, I ask you; if you were in the market for a new tool, let's say a welder, and after reading a review you found that the author had not even touched the product he was reviewing how would you feel?
Stuey does good work and that is why I was surprised that he made a comment about something without using it.
I do get your points, I'm just a little defense of the usual care I take in writing things up.
I really tried to make it clear that my opinions were pure opinions and not based on firsthand experience with the specific tool or group of tools. But in the end, it did fall a bit short of my original intent. Or maybe it didn't? I learned something (or rather a few things), so my objective was at least partially satisfied.
I normally try to be as objective and impartial as I can, and have found that it is often easy to do so. But in this case, bittered by past experiences, skeptical based on what I can see on-paper, and hesitant due to quite a few negative accounts, I am evidently far more biased than I realized.
While much of my content is written to help, imform, or entertain others, occasionally I post about something as a way to think aloud.
I'm not sure why, but a lot of people contact me as if I were customer service for Harbor Freight, Craftsman, Home Depot, Lowes, Sears, or any number of tool brand. As such, I recieve a LOT of random complaints.
I see some people complaining about their self-destructing HF multi-tools, and then on the other hand I see HF pushing forward with a YouTube video describing it as a
professional tool.
I have the chance every now and then to talk to the engineers who take part in designing a brands' hand or power tools, or others closely familiar with said tools, and they are quite insightful. For copycat companies to take a $4 motor, $4 case, and $4 in electronics, and call it a professional tool equivalent to costlier competing models, I can't help but know that they won't be equivalent. But everyone is right in that, this shouldn't be emphasized over real-world results.
I can't say that I won't discuss pure opinions again in the future, but I will try to be a bit gentler and at least include a more objective assessment to balance things out.
In terms of HF, I have already realized that they are building momentum and cannot be stopped. I don't have the time, resources, or interest to test a lot of their power or hand tools, but I will make an effort to at least check out their most popular ones that most would be interested in reading about.
Sorry again for disappointing you (and others who were surprised by the post).
