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I'm interested in how these compare to quality Chinese tools like Harbor Freight's ICON line.


Icon tools are Taiwanese


Or, as the Chinese say, Chinese.

Kidding, and Icon tools are quite decent.


Most Taiwanese tools are pretty good in my experience. The best deals at harbor freight IMO are the Taiwanese tools that aren’t branded “icon”


Their Quinn/Doyle lines are frequently TW, too, and you can tell a huge difference versus Pittsburgh/Pro that are CN. I am not 100% if they bin batches differently, or if specific products switch from TW/CN and back. The TW Pittsburgh tools (some of the 72 tooth ratchets, 6pt sockets) are decent quality for their price-- but you still should feel them and inspect to get an idea (e.g. the foam used in grips for Pittsburgh pliers is junk, wobbly joints, poor finishes/grinding).

The things they offer lifetime warranties on keep getting better. Some things I wonder about though. Their 200amp multi process mig welder is only $200 less than a Hobart or Lincoln-- but who knows how long HF will sell replacement parts, their warranty process for OOS items and what will actually break, so the gamble to save 10-20% doesn't seem worth it.

Apex (Crescent/Gearwrench) are mostly TW and come in a little higher than HF's 2nd tier, but are solid quality for most of their hand tools.


Quality from Harbor Freight? I use tools for my day job and almost nothing from Harbor Freight holds up.

Edit: Sorry, I should add a bit more. I certainly have not used all (or even most) Harbor Freight tools, but for the work I do, the tools I've bought from Harbor Freight, they just don't last. For a backyard mechanic or Average Joe Homeowner, they're probably just fine.




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