Thread: The Harbor Freight Debate.

Originally Posted by Crawler

I appreciate the input, fellas. Personally, I tend to lean towards the "you get what you pay for" side of things. That doesn't mean paying top dollar for something isn't still a ripoff (sometimes). A home hobby shop currently makes me no income, so spending money on such things are difficult to justify. And then there are the folks that are on a fixed budget. Not everyone can afford to only shop at Woodcraft exclusively.

How about the vises at HF? A vise would likely fill the most gaps in my current capabilities, in a single tool.

This one seems like a good option, but still over $56 after a 20% coupon...
5" Multi-Purpose Vise

Probably can't go wrong. My vice is a no-name and it have served well for many years.

I have said this about many products

I don't mind buying Chinese, but I won't pay "Quality Name" prices for Chinese products

I look to see where it and the components are made

The buffers for instance, I am only aware of one American made, that is using their own motors, and I don't need a $300+ heavy duty buffer designed with a motor strong enough to tear my hand off to polish razors..
Do I wish they were speed adjustable ??? you Betcha !!! but I simply found an old Washing machine motor for FREE and I have an 1100 RPM buffer too..

Boots and shoes are another type of product that falls into this too

I used to be a Sorell guy but when I went to buy a pair of new Wetland boots I learned that hardly any of the major brands were made in the US or Canada any longer,, all Chinese made.

Now I don't mind Chinese Muck boots but I bought some for $9, I refuse to pay $200 for a pair of Chinese made Sorells, so I found Kamik's are still made in the USA and bought those for Wetland hunting..
Same with the wife's fav UGGs,,, they are made in China now, not paying $200 for Chinese made "AU" boots, so she wears EMU now

Tools are the same, most everything is made in China now so I won't pay the extra for the name, I buy them at HF.. or I hunt down the ones that are made where they claim..

One time or seldom used tools are a great deal at HF..

I used coupons to buy a Paint Sprayer for staining the deck, $14.99 after everything, I didn't even try and clean it after I used it, and tossed it after I was done.. You can't buy 2 good Stain brushes for $14

Pipe wrenches: $15.99 at Home Depot made in China, same wrench at HF $7.99 I might use it twice in the next 20 Years


Anyway it is your money

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I have said this about many products

I don't mind buying Chinese, but I won't pay "Quality Name" prices for Chinese products

I look to see where it and the components are made

This never occurred to me for some reason. A great point. I stopped buying some brands of knives for the same reason. Old Timer and Schrade used to all be made in the USA. Now, most are made in China and the quality reflects this. The last Old Timer I bought had a plastic handle that looked like stag (made in China). The one I bought years ago had real stag with an unconditional life time warranty. (Made in USA.) I guess I'll have to start researching my tools also.

I use the buffer and a small peening hammer from HF. Both cheap but have lasted (not much to go wrong on a peening hammer. Lol)

I love Harbor Freight ! I get a free item every time I go there & there's a new Pop Eye's Chicken on the corner,,, Paradise Row !

For Mechanically Challenged individuals like myself, Harbor Freight is O.K. for many of my purchases. If the tool is needed for an important job or a job that repeats weekly, then I get the best the market has to offer. 90 % of my wrenches are passed down Sears tools. If the tool plays a roll in a project that could save lives, then I buy the best on the market.

Originally Posted by Steel

This never occurred to me for some reason. A great point. I stopped buying some brands of knives for the same reason. Old Timer and Schrade used to all be made in the USA. Now, most are made in China and the quality reflects this. The last Old Timer I bought had a plastic handle that looked like stag (made in China). The one I bought years ago had real stag with an unconditional life time warranty. (Made in USA.) I guess I'll have to start researching my tools also.

I use the buffer and a small peening hammer from HF. Both cheap but have lasted (not much to go wrong on a peening hammer. Lol)

The made in China has made me think in the past and we lament that the products made there are sub-par or low quality. Apple produces their products there and I don't consider them low quality. I believe it is the companies.

I think what we see is that companies see a way to produce low quality at a cheap price. Old Timer didn't say to the Chinese manufacture - here are the specs but feel free to produce whatever you like. They say to the Chinese manufacture - how can I make it for this price point? The result is a lower quality product. There are also low cost Chinese companies that directly make products aimed at competing with better quality tools. Some of the best chisels I have are Robert Sorby's that are made in Sheffield, England, they hold an edge and will last me a lifetime and I use these to build furniture. I also have some cheap chisels that are Chinese made that I use when working around the house and are carried in my tool belt. If they get chipped or break - I toss it and get another and I won't be heart broken.

Originally Posted by Cincinnatus

The made in China has made me think in the past and we lament that the products made there are sub-par or low quality. Apple produces their products there and I don't consider them low quality. I believe it is the companies.,,,,,,,,,,,,,

.

I think for the most part Chinese products lack seriously in the area of quality control. I believe they will produce a product to compete on the market by any means or lack of means possible. I'm not sure that using Apple as an example is quite fair. Many of us, me included, like Apple products. We have no choice in where they are manufactured, but I would pay an extra $100.00 on an iPhone made entirely here.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

I think for the most part Chinese products lack seriously in the area of quality control. I believe they will produce a product to compete on the market by any means or lack of means possible. I'm not sure that using Apple as an example is quite fair. Many of us, me included, like Apple products. We have no choice in where they are manufactured, but I would pay an extra $100.00 on an iPhone made entirely here.

My point is that Apple products are high quality because Apple demands that quality from the supplier. Other vendors let price dictate the quality to undercut the competition. If I were to buy a SR blade that had a chipped blade and was rusted. I send it off to a person to get restored, new scales, and shave ready and they quote $80 for example. I say I can only spend $50 and will be happy with whatever I get back. The razor comes back with cheap scales, the rust is gone but the blade is far from shave ready you would think - wow terrible quality but that is all I wanted to spend. That is what a lot of companies do - they will take the poor quality because they only want to pay so much. They lack quality control because they choose not to have any quality control other then the basics.

BTW - I saw a story that said the $600 Iphone - if made solely in the US would run $2000.

Much of the developed world had developed a disposable society. Buy it use it once or twice and toss it. There are many suppliers that are catering to this outlook. There are those too that offer a choice. Laguana tools are a good example. You can get them made in China or made in Europe. The ones made in Europe made are a little more money, 10-15% I think. The Chinese made ones are made to very exacting standards, and I have looked them over, side by side. They are exactly the same, in fact the parts are interchangeable for the most part. So I agree that it is all about what the people having the items made are spec'ing. The other part of it is our attitudes as consumers. If we were to band together and stop buying from cut rate suppliers they would change the standard. We are after all what drives the market.

Great thread idea, and I concur with most of what has been said thus far. I am a high school teacher who doesn't even change his own oil, though I do use some tools occasionally for basic carpentry projects, and of course working on razors.

I bought one of those metal-cutting band saws a couple of years ago at HF for maybe a little over $200 if I remember correctly, as my son was getting into knife-making and machining. Though it's obviously pretty cheaply-made, it has worked acceptably for the light-duty applications we need it for. On the other hand, when I bought out the entire shop contents of a deceased nearby knife-maker for my son, we got some other VERY high-quality tools, buffers, grinders, saws, etc. for an excellent price because his family was just so happy that a young person was carrying on the tradition (plus they would never have been able to sell all that specialized equipment piece-meal).

But I definitely believe that a professional in any field should get the best premium tools he can afford (DeWalt, Snap-On, etc.). I for one can't stand a cheap stapler or pen!

I have bought a few hand tools from HF, one thing I bought that I would not recommend is the 4x36 belt/disc sander combo the belt will not track and I have tried with no luck to get the belt to track and I am not putting anymore time into it. Another tool I will not recommend is the micro torch they sell. I bought one with coupon for $5 and worked great for about two weeks. Lit it one day and it threw a 3foot flame out the end and I could not get it to shut off! I will say I have some of their Pittsburgh hand tools and have had great success with them. I will not replace my Snap on tools with HF tools but they get the job done when I need metric or giant sockets. It is a love hate for me with HF but I also know that I can buy things I use a few times and it will usually do as I need. I love the $25 dollar sawzall I got there and the heat gun. Fun post hope we get more don't buy this opinions nice to have a heads up