Harbor Freight sells tools at such a great discount that some deals are just too good to be true! Well are they? How about Pittsburg wrenches sold by Harbor Freight. Are they worth the money?
Harbor Freight wrenches are not good enough quality to rely on for professional use or to be used with greater than 30 ft.-lbs. of force. The wrenches are simply made out of cheap materials and are only well worth the purchase when used for very light work or as a backup set.
Despite open end wrenches being pathetically weak and having poor tolerances, some of the tool sets including small wrenches sold by Harbor Freight are still a great deal so hold on to your coupons and don’t run from Harbor Freight quite yet!
Are Harbor Freight Wrenches Worth the Money?
Harbor freight wrench sets including harbor freight torque wrenches are not worth the amount of money that they cost because the fit and finish of the tools is so poor. The tolerance of the wrenches is poor enough that the open end wrenches are nearly useless while the box end wrenches are mediocre.
When considering a wrench set from Harbor Freight, the open ended wrenches will more than likely disappoint you enough to buy a new set. Surveying 50 loyal customers, 30 said they use a different brand of wrench for any bolts over 1/2″.
Is there any place for a set of wrenches from harbor freight?
Absolutely. I personally still keep a set of Harbor Freight wrenches in the back of my car which I use from time to time and often can make do with them for a small job. We will review both the good and the bad of Harbor Freight wrenches giving you an idea of what customers like about them and hopefully help you decide if they will be a good purchase for you.
What Makes Harbor Freight Wrenches Bad
Having owned several sets of Harbor Freights line of tools, we have tested their wrenches and they do not stand up to more than 30 ft. lbs. of force before bending and potentially stripping the head of the bolt or the nut that they are applied to.
Harbor freight outsources almost all of their tools to be made in China. Just because they are made in China does not make them bad however. Some of harbor freights’ tools have a greater value than others because of their durability and level of quality in relation to their low price.
Crescent wrenches are loose fitting and wiggle loose as they are used. Not a great purchase. Buy a good quality crescent wrench somewhere else! Like this set of Crescent brand wrenches. You will have absolutely zero complaints from these.
Worth the Money! One hundred percent.
Ratchets easily break and do not have very many teeth.
What We Like Most About Harbor Freight Wrenches
Harbor Freight wrenches are best for a backup set of wrenches. They are perfect to keep stored in the back of your car. I have used my tool set that I keep in the back of my car more than most of my other tools.
Pittsburg Wrenches are Perfect for Small Stuff
I use Pittsburg wrenches from time to time and I have never had an issue with the small wrenches. A small set of box end wrenches would be a good purchase.
Same goes for Harbor Freight sockets. The small sockets sold by Harbor Freight are a great purchase for little money. Without spending much, you can have a wide variety of small sockets in SAE and Metric! Harbor Freight does a good job at packaging the kits up well generally also, and provide cheap tool boxes.
Pittsburg Wrenches are Perfect for Infrequent Use or Specialty Wrenches
Wrenches such as this set of offset wrenches on Amazon may be used infrequently, but you’ll want them when you need it, and no need to pay a ton for them.
Or similarly a set of ratcheting wrenches can be a necessity for some tasks but the high end wrenches cost way too much. This is another type of tool that Harbor Freight allows you to add to your arsenal for not very much money!
Pittsburg wrenches come in handy because they cost you next to nothing to have them, and having a wrench is better than no wrench!
That is solely referring to their wrench sets, but which of their tools is a good buy?
Wrenches Worth Buying from Harbor Freight
A small wrench set from Harbor Freight for nuts and bolts 3/8″ or smaller will be well worth the purchase. The small wrenches hold up Or stick to the box end wrenches.
Since the consensus is that Pittsburg Wrenches don’t stand up to much force, it does not make sense to buy large wrenches here, but is does make sense to pick up smaller wrench sets. Even if it is a duplicate, it is always such a hassle when you can’t find that 5/16″ wrench that got lost somehow.
Harbor Freight is the place to go for backup sets and duplicates that prevent you from having to search for a long lost socket ever again!
Allan Wrenches From Harbor Freight
Allan Wrenches are considered “wrenches”! And are actually a great buy at Harbor Freight. Pittsburg makes some very complete sets of Allan Wrenches and actually stand up very well when compared with other Allan Wrench sets.
Besides, it is more often about having every Allan Wrench size in your tool get to be able to get out a screw, and not about how much force they can withstand. There is a really slim pack of 3 Allan wrench sets by Pittsburg. Check out this Ball Hex Key set on Amazon.
Nice-to-Have Tools From Harbor Freight
Pittsburg tools actually provide a superb opportunity to add expensive “nice-to-have” tools to the tool chest without breaking the bank! Some tools are used in infrequently and when you do use them it isn’t necessary to have the top of the line brand.
A set of offset box end wrenches is the perfect example! Only about 1 in 30 jobs is an offset wrench required, but when you need one you need one. Check out this set on Amazon to add to your collection for cheap and it will get the job done as infrequently used wrenches.
How much does a set of harbor freight wrenches cost?
Harbor Freight wrenches cost on average 4 dollars per wrench with a price range from as low as $1.50 per wrench up to $9 per wrench. Generally the larger the set of wrenches, the more economical it is. Wrenches from Harbor Freight become even cheaper when they are packaged in a complete tool kit
Tool Kits Worth Buying from Harbor Freight
A customer favorite due to its extreme low price and the completeness of the tool set is the 4-drawer tool chest. For less than 60 dollars, you can have a complete tool kit for infrequent home repairs, a backup set in your car, or an everyday kit if you don’t have one already!
Recently added to Amazon so you can skip the drive and the line! Check one out here on Amazon.
By signing up for an account with Harbor Freight you are enrolled to receive regular coupons for any one item to be 20 percent off. Super coupons of 25 percent off are also readily available. Check them out at harborfreight.com.
