I tested the HF Lifetime Warranty claim for hand tools

Taken a few things back to IF.

never a problem, have a free 25 ft tape measure to take back when we remember...

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matthewsx said:
Try that with a Craftsman wrench at a KMart store today....
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This past summer my 40+ year old socket wrench gave up the ghost. I took it to an Ace store, now owners of Craftsman. Clerk walked me to the rack, picked out the closest size, in fact larger, and said "thanks for bringing it in!". No paperwork.

Tim
 
Nearly all of my Craftsman tools are 1970's and earlier. My half inch socket set from the late 1930s is still complete, including a couple 32nds sockets that came with it. The half inch drive ratchet has a double ended square spud that can be pulled out and plugged in the other side to reverse the travel. Very solid ratchet, though a bit coarse. Rugged, but not clunky. The set had been abused for a couple decades before I got it, has heavy hammer marks on the handle, but everything is there and it all works like new. I even abused that set myself in my younger years, cheater pipes and the like. It appears to be bomb proof. Most of my mechanic tools fit into categories like that. Warranty? Who needs it?
 
Is there a thread somewhere about your favorite HF freebee, the 25 ft measuring tapes are my favorite, I'm never "measuring tape challenged".
 
Ya Craftsman used to be real good quality stuff. The last tool that I brought back in to a Sears store I was told that the lifetime warranty was no longer in effect, the best i could get out of them was a cheap Stanley tool with a 90 day warranty. It did not take long for the Stanley to break. I have taken a number of HF tools back and they were always replaced with no issues. I have noticed the the need to replace the HF tools is getting less and less, meaning the the tools quality and/or strength is getting better all the time.
 
I dont know that I have a favorite free HF tool. I would have to say it is a flashlight, I go thru more of them than anything. I always take what I seem to need the most at the time. I use a lot of the microfiber was cloths, I have plenty of tape measures and they do not break or wear out very often, I also go thru a lot of the cheap little digital meters, I have those little meters every where.
 
For a long time when I was building my karting business I would shop a local pawn shop for tools. Unfortunately when they changed hands the old guy who kept them sorted left and they raised the prices for anything I would think of buying.

What I have noticed now though is when I get the Harbor Freight flyer I rarely see anything I would want that I don't already have. Maybe that's because I had several sets of tools for my business, or maybe it's because I've pretty much broken everything that's likely to break and replaced it with something better.

The hardest thing though when I worked at HF was talking with the older guys who were buying tools you knew they would never use. It can definitely be a sickness....

John
 
I wonder if this is covered. I don't mind buying a new ram, but will HF's warranty cover the undies I soiled when it happened?
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What kind of "engine" were you lifting?
 
Eddyde said:
"Bought a pair of Klein's, had em ever since..."
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Reminds me of back in 1976 when I was a computer field engineer. I'd requisitioned a pair of Klein dikes from our corporate supply depot. First time I used them, one jaw broke right off at the pivot. [Yeah, I was cutting a coat hanger, but still shoulda done the job.] I mailed the pieces back to Klein, wrapped in an irate note. They mailed me a replacement pair. Now, 43 years later, I still have them, currently they hang on the rack above my home machinist workbench.
Greg
 
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