Good for at home. I have so much money in snap on and gearwrench at work that I just dont want to spend the money for at home. Almost everything I have is Pittsburgh at the house...I love the 301 piece set and these long handle wrenches. And my pitts pro ratchets.
I've got those from 7/16 to 1inch in my box at work (I'm a heavy truck mechanic) and a set in my pickup tool box and I haven't had any complaints after about 3 years. 👍
That wrench from the bike hub was just nasty... Have you actually done a "tough" job using them tho, like rusted frozen solid bolts in the suspension area changing a cv axle or something like that with them? They look innovative and nice but Cats review is pretty good on them.
I think it’s more so that he got a defective batch because right after that I went and looked at mine and didn’t see any bowing. I used that set to get the nut for mower blades off that had set idle for 2 years. But no, they are strictly for home use. However the jumbo wrench set I reviewed from harbor freight was used in an industrial environment at a plastics plant on the coastline in Texas. You won’t find more seized and rusted bolts anywhere than here. The chemical off gas and the salt air just destroys stuff. So I would say they stood up to a “Tough” job. HF wrenches are pretty damn good wrenchs but they definitely do have loose tolerances and less quality control than other brands making it more likely to have defects like this.
I bought a tekton set from amazon and half of the wrenches were bowed badly. I had the set exchanged and the replacements were just as bad. Is bowing on a wrench a defect? I couldn't find any complaints or even a mention of it in the reviews.
I bought both sets and desperately wanted to love them. I used a few of the bigger ones on some simple nuts and had no issues. Then I installed brand new brake calipers and tried the 10mm to bleed the brakes and it rounded instantly. Immediately grabbed a 10mm craftsman and it fit tightly and removed it no issue. Unfortunately I have lost all trust and just don’t use them anymore.
I bought an SAE set bout 8 or10 years ago. Loved them so much that 2 years later I bought the metric set.. this past Saturday, I used them to remove a transmission from a jeep. No slipping or bending. Sorry yours aren't good.
I got an SAE set 15 years ago and a metric set 5 years ago. Fitment is not the best but I've never had issues with slippage or galling. I do notice some of the handles are bowed after watching your video.....LOL. They are nowhere near as bad as their double offset box ends that look like they were cast from pig iron. Those are pretty bad....LOL.
I have these, I guess I got a better batch than yours. I really like them for hydraulic hoses because of the V-shape open end and the long length. I agree they are soft, but that's not an issue for what I use them for. I have the Milwaukee Max Bites as my "real" wrench set -- those Milwaukee wrenches are very good, strong, and tight, and have a sort-of flank drive open end, but they aren't as long (though they are still longer than normal wrenches). I like having both sets, and I agree about the HF wrenches being good for loaner/junkyard tools.
I remember seeing these being made of lower quality steel but damn... that one wrench you used was jacked up. Glad I passed on them for my long pattern Dewalts. $30 on sale 10-19mm with no skips) Thanks for the review, I’m sure it will save someone else the headache.
With all the upgrades HF is doing, the wrenches have been sorely neglected. Some of the same sets are made in China and others are from India. The India made sets were noticeably cheaper looking than the China made sets which weren't stellar either. I really hope HF starts manufacturing a new wrench line in Taiwan where their ratchets and sockets are made as they're a much higher quality.
Mine (SAE and Metric) are okay for the price. I haven’t had that kind of damage but used the 1/2” on tie-rod nuts and no damage and easily broke the rusted nut free. But they are definitely made on the cheap side.
I bought this set like 2 years ago,mainly got them for the bigger sizes and I’ve had nothing but good use out of them. Seems like instead of improving these they got worse.
miguel mendez you are totally right but I think you probably have the older style ones like I do that come with like a couple less wrenches in the set but the ones I’ve had which are sad and metric have lasted at least 10 years
Just got a set for $20 with an "insider" discount. I have yet to try them, but they look more than decent at the price. Only slight "bowing" on a couple of them. I see mentions of them being made in India. These say China.
CM, I don't know about the quality of HF combination wrenches when they are eastern Indian made (not American Indians). The fit and finish are not precision. I like the Stanley set I got for brake repair. I know the lifetime warranty for Stanley is not as convenient comparing to HF but the fit is much better.
I got a set it was junk took it back got another they work great ,yeah they are not perfect as if u look down them but I beat on them and don't have any problems
The 12pt closed end isn’t made for 6 point nuts and bolts anyway. So it wouldn’t be any surprise that you could strip it out that way. Been using these wrenches on heavy duty equipment, tractors and trailers constantly everyday and never have issues. They are professional use
It’s harbor freight tools tho, if your a professional mechanic and can’t afford to round off bolts you have to invest in high grade professional tools like snap on Mac and so on.
Very true and I agree with that statement, however part of the point of this review is at these wrenches we're particularly bad and even for a occasional home user would not be good
Catus Maximus today I used a co workers 30mm Pittsburg wrench to loosen hydraulic lint that was on tight and that damn wrench opened up enough to slip off and almost kill my self...
I honestly use these daily at work. Only the larger sizes, 21,22,24,26. I didn’t wanna pay the crazy prices for tool truck brands, but I’ve had them 3 years and have had great luck.
Wherever they make shittsburg wrenches they have no quality control at all. My 14mm is too big and my 15 is too small. My buddy's 14 and 15 are fine but his 22 rounds off every faster lol I dont know why I still use these
It's obvious they are being made with badly made broaching tools or very poor dies. It's very possible those wrenches are cast instead of drop forged. Usually you'd expect it the other way around with them being too small.
I suspect the root cause of the sizing issues is the wrench is not being held consistently centered during broaching, I do believe they're drop Forge all it takes is a hammer Forge and some dies and you can squish metal
I myself bought a set of Harbor Freight wrenches they definitely are not worth the money they are very prone to stripping out fasteners my advice would be Pony up and spend some money on some better quality wrenches
Yes I find it odd that they seem to have spent a bunch of energy focusing on making nicer sockets but seem to have been neglecting their hand wrenches I suspect because they can't get the same types of bulk discounts.
It's definitely time for Harbor Freight to invest in better wrenches. Most of what they have on the shelf is subpar. Half of it is India made and the rest is China. None of it is impressive. I'd love to see some good quality wrenches there soon. It's their one major weak spot for hand tools.
3:06 Dude, you cannot blame the tool when you’re using it for a purpose it was not intended for. If a 6-point socket can fit, then that’s the proper tool, otherwise you risk damaging fasteners or tools (as you have shown in the video). Most of the time people complain about tools is because they’re using them for a different purpose. Those long reach wrenches are for fasteners in areas where it is impossible to fit a socket. In fact, the v-groove is there to reduce the changes of stripping a fastener. I am almost certain that when you tried to use the wrench, it was not sitting down completely, therefore leaving marks on the wrench.
I concur Thumbs Down 👎. I bought the same set and noticed a lack of quality control. What irritated me the most was the plating along the handles was unfinished, instead of smooth and polished, rough and nearly sharp along a noticeable seam .
Indian made wrenches from any brand tend to be poor quality. Old HF Chinese wrenches were very stout, but looked like they were finished with a hand grinder!
Martin Schaffmeir I like my Milwaukee’s but I love my Wright grip wrench’s. If you’re strapped for cash get the Milwaukee’s although the Wright’s are t bad on price and are made in USA and in my opinion better than snap on.
I bought a set last week and they were so bad I took them right back the next day. Almost all of them were bowed, had uneven box ends and pitting in the metal. I did go to another harbor freight across town and had a look at their sets. They looked way better than the set I purchased but still had too many small defects. I wish they would at least get them made in Taiwan.
I learned my lesson when I bought the flex head ratcheting wrenches. The finish was horrible and the fit was even worse. Every time I used them the would get struck on the bolt heads and I'm sure if I used them with some muscle they would have stripped the bolts so I gave them away and bought gearwrench and love them
