Harbor Freight - what are they thinking?

Don't these guys realize the perception they create about ALL their tools when they put garbage like that on the rack?

I have a CHINA made combination wrench set that if you're blindfolded you couldn't tell the difference between it or Snap-on. The feel is the same and the fit is the same. After rebuilding a few tractors and truck engines, they still look good and fit tight.

My IR impact driver came from there too and it's still ticking after a long licking.

The 3/8 air ratchet has seen the most use and abuse but it's still doing the job. Quite a surprise for a $15 Chicago Pneumatic piece of trash.

I still buy my sockets from PROTO, S&K and sometimes Craftsman but the deep impact set came from HF and has proven indestructible. My ratchets and extensions also are quality tools.

The bottom line is you have to think about what you're buying. If you make your living by your tools, invest in yourself. If you're a hobby mechanic you can save a lot of your tractor funds by sifting through the trash at HF. Sometimes they make mistakes and sell some pretty good stuff.

I have a large wrench set, and a 1/2 and 3/4" BIG socket set. Cost me 65$ for all. had that been a name brand.. might have been hundrees of dollars.

I've had my entire body weight hanging on a pipe on those breaker bars,a nd on the wrenches...

good value for the tools i got vs what I paid.... just got to be carefull.

soundguy

I've ground and hot wrenched a few chinese tools that I'd never dreamd of doing to my craftsman set ( I keep a 3/8 drive set and a wrench set.. for my 'good tools'.. etc..)

Soundguy

We have come to respect the Princess Auto brand, and to harbour a lot less resentment for it than for other marquees which have offended us in dozens of small ways over the years.

Maybe PA isn't the same as HF after all.

#1, the jackstands are SAE approved, they can't allow something that won't meet safety standards (I HOPE?????)

#2 It's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand. (like the sticker on the window says)

SAE is a standards organization. I do not believe they test or certify anything; they only develop standards to which individual manufacturers certify their compliance. I wouldn't bet a nickel that anything sold by HF complies with the standards of SAE or any other standards body. If your idea of excitement is trusting your life to suspect equipment, so be it.

All the while, the nice snap on tools are staying clean and good in the toolbox because i opted to use cheap tools on a job that doesn't require precision. (like tearing apart an old jeep cherokee, i used their jackstands, grinders, wrenches, hammers, and anything else that i didn't want the snap on tools getting used on a piece of crap)

Sorry,not trying to be a jerk,but stop and listen to yourself.

In answer to your question, I think HF knows very well the perception their customers have of their tools: Cheap, cheap, cheap.

The welding and metal shop at the local community college has instituted a policy that Harbor Freight ball peen hammers can't be used at the forge. Apparently more than one has come apart in a potentially dangerous way, and they decided that the best way to prevent an accident was to simply prohibit their use.

I've got some of both the wooden handled and the fiber glass handled ones. It would be hard to say which is worse but they're both pretty bad.

All the best, Stan

I buy everything mail-order and don't get the luxury to see stuff before I buy. Seems you've got an advantage with a walk-in store.

I will say this though - they've been really good about taking back stuff I would not accept.

Need more discerning buyers like yourself.

Are you saying SOME of their stuff from "the land of almost right" is BETTER?