That Gun is Scaring ME! That's a nice big paycheck collection semi there. Malco, bought the old vice grip factory in Nebraska and are now making vice grips in the USA again under the name Eagle Grips. I bought some they are pricey, but just as good if not better than my old Made in USA ones.
Vampire (Japan made for USA market) is OK, but the same tool is $5 to 25% less expensive and cooler green handles are called Engineer Brand. Same Japanese Tool. I now own about 6-8 Engineer Brand Japanese-made pliers.
Great vid, i fully agree with you, i gladly pick=up used high quality pliers. HF customers aren't going there for innovation, they're seeking cheap/affordable tools. surprised to see the Engineer/Vampliers on the premium side.
I bought a bunch of the Bremen locking pliers from Harbor freight, And I have zero complaints about them. I don’t know which brand they are plagiarizing, but they seem really well-made.
That’s a good idea, buying used quality name brand hand tools. I just don’t buy tools from the hf though. They could sell rocks for throwing and the rocks would be defective. I bet if you took them back, they’d be like, “we can do this all day.” There’s nothing like pulling up to a job thinking that you have a tool to do something and realizing…..nope… you don’t have a tool to complete the task. I do buy stuff like impact sockets and extensions from them for the light mechanic stuff that I do on my rammy, but nothing specific to my trade. But never again a ratchet or anything with moving parts, or flat head screwdrivers that just pop on the first day. Then grinding it down on the chop saw to try and finish the day with it. Ain’t nobody got time for that. I once bought a set of threading dies from them. Nope! Just gouging chunks of threads out of the pipe. A guy that I was roughing houses with when I first started my own business would have to take one of those Chicago brand (imitation hole hawgs) back daily. A Milwaukee hole hawg is a lifetime tool (or it used to be). Chicago can’t manage one day.
Harbor Freight using Doyle to compare to Mac Using Icon to compare to Snap On. Do they compare. Answer is yes and no The icon flush cuts do what they are meant to do. Are the best there are better , but how much ya wanna spend to basically cut zip ties nicely up to buyer. But most of what Harbor Freight claims compare to Snap On isn't even close. Ya get what ya pay for as ya know Mid West.
If you go watch actual testing by channels like PF, Torque Test Channel, and others. A LOT of what HF claims competes with Snap-On, outperforms Snap-On or is at least on-par. Especially for the money, with HF's lifetime warranty, there's nothing to worry about. It's not just HF either, plenty of other brands like Proto, Tekton, SK, Knipex, Klein, Neiko, OEM, Gearwrench, etc, etc...all perform the same or better, for a lot less money. I seriously don't get the guys ready to ride that Snap-On D for life...I guess they need to justify the dumb money spend somehow...
@@BigBear-- I love my knipex products. And all the other companies ya mention usually rebrand a product made by another company. All companies do it even SnapOn. But there are various pliers Snapon makes the no other brand is as good as. Not saying Snapon is best with everything but many of there products no one is close to overall quality.
@@Quickwrench75 What, specifically? Name the tool, that no one comes close to in quality to Snap-On. There might be like 1%...of something obscure or specialized, like a GM Reverse Input Drum Seal Sizer for the 4L series of transmissions, that no one else really makes. Other than that kinda stuff, there's really nothing that someone else doesn't make either better, or cheaper, and usually both. Thing is you gotta do your research. I guess one decent thing you can say about Snap-On is you can blindly buy their tools, and depend on the fact that they'll work well. With other brands, not every single tool is the best, so you gotta cross shop and do your research. However it doesn't take much, so if you care about your wallet, and quality tools, you'll quickly learn what to buy, and who to buy it from.
Like kline best linesman and great needle nose snap on has a new needle nose that has a slip joint feature can't wait to get them and Mac pliers is rebranded channellock guess I rather buy used high-quality products than a cheap knock off from HF
I think once the pattern has run out it's fair game but to make a exact copy should be illegal like the icon copy of the kinpex have you used the channel lock nut busters they will grab round stuff really good
95% of my pliers are channellock and Klein and the other 5 are Knipex, tekton, and sk as a professional technician and I haven’t had any issues with the channellock or Klein
Check also: Fujiya has the best & most thoughtful flush cutters also & Fujiya Japan tools (not Fujiya Taiwan which is a different company) has a better finish than Knipex (quality is on par) but Knipex has more tool variation & better knurling coz' it's not just horizontal. God bless.
@@MidwestToolReview Thanks. Do Klein long nose pliers and all their long nose have the diagonal knurling at the tip of the jaws, I think a non-horizontal knurling grips better (cross-hatching is best for sure like in Vampliers). I've spent a bit way too much on pliers research and I contemplating on a Klein. New subscriber here.
the one good thing about harbor freight is the number of Americans they employ, no they aren't manufacturing jobs(hopefully someday soon we can bring manufacturing back to America) but all American jobs created are a good thing
I wouldn’t worry too much about Harbor freight stealing peoples designs because their quality is still inferior to the originals. They’re not hurting the market of higher quality tools by much, because the newbies just getting into this field will most likely buy the harbor freight stuff first which will help them get by for a while until it breaks or wares out, then they will still go and buy the higher quality tool later anyways. I kind of like what Harbor freight is doing because they’re helping the average newbie mechanic not break the bank when just getting started.
Malco makes the best vise grips, yes even better than the old Vise-Grips. Of course they are made in the Dewitt, NE factory so they may be more Vise-Grip than the current Irwin stuff bearing that name. Snap-On rebrands them also. Catus-Maximus made the point that on the Icon plier wrench knock-off packaging they state explicitly that they designed them, which is of course a blatant lie.
I thought snap on were pretty good until I found knipex about 8 years ago when I got issued a pair at a job I was at, my other pliers hardly ever get used anymore.
Thank you. When it comes to hand tools has Harbor freight had an original thought in their life? One would wonder. All they do is copy everyone else. If that’s your business motto (which it obviously seems to be) I’ll stick with the originals
I would…never liked the brand…the material is hard, but the design is average. Knipex offers high-grade steel with a jaw design that vastly improves grip, compared to any other brand on the market
Dude, you're hilarious. How you gonna talk about Harbor Freight "stealing" someone elses designs, when you just showed us a series of pliers all the same design from different brands? What!? Everyone copies everyone, unless it's patent protected and enforced.
Patents run out…that’s different that shitty ass HFT copying a new design while tweaking a few features so you can “feel” like you own Snap-on w/o spending the money…once again, everyone gets a trophy, so HFT is appealing to you all who cry about Snap-on prices, so you buy any brand that appears similar but cheaper…
@@MidwestToolReview I don't cry about Snap-On prices for a reason. I've went to school for and worked as a mechanic for many years. I don't cry about Snap-On prices, cause Snap-On is straight garbage for those prices, and I'd never again buy anything from them, unless it was something super specialized, I needed, if that. They're not even an afterthought as a potential brand to buy for 99.9% of tools. They've been out of their minds for a long time now. If someone like HB can finally put them outta business, it'll be a blessing in disguise. Particularly for the younger guys just getting into the trades, and being talked into debt for the rest of their lives by Snap-On reps. As for copying designs, like I said everyone copies everyone. That's the nature of the tool trade. Don't hear you crying about Snap-On copying Gearwrench or others, like they've done a million times, and will do again. There's nothing whatsover special about Snap-On, they barely ever pull ahead anymore in any competitive testing. Besides the fan-boys slobbering their D's online, nothing special about Snap-On, that you can't get for a lot less elsewhere, and not just from HB. Proto, SK, Icon, Wright, Knipex, Klein, Channel Lock, Wiha, Apex, Neiko, OEM, Gearwrench, etc, etc, etc...all do it better for cheaper. Just need to do your research, and you'd end up with an entire tool cart of same or better quality tools for 3/4-to-1/3 the price of Snap-On.
@@MidwestToolReviewYou think it only runs one way? You're ridiculous. Besides the copying of ideas that's a normal process in any industry. Yes, absolutely I refuse to pay Snap-Ons BS inflated prices. Why should I? When I can get similar performance for 1/4 of the price or less? It's very rare that Snap-On is even top dog in any tool category. Even when that happens they may perform 10% better, but cost 300-400% more. So yeah. No thanks. I've used every Snap-On tool there basically is, and they're nothing special. They're good tools, but they're not made by gods. Like I said, save for a very few tools, or the rare specialty tool, I can get same sh-t for way less money.
Besides the chrome sockets, I’ve been loving the Icon line, it definitely gets too much hate, also identical tools happen all the time. If your a tool enthusiast I’d guess you’d care about companies stealing tool designs though I guess
Your completely wrong!!.. Icon is smart on making tools more affordable for ppl them snap on ripping off ppl I don't care if it's snap on idea I'm glad that harbor freight is making good quality tools almost the same as snap on for less the price of that over price brand of snap on
Hf's quality isn't as good as Snap ons. Snap on uses virgin metal and actually designs to last along time. Hf uses cheap recycled metal from china/taiwan made by people who make 5 cents a day. Tools that'll break soon. I've used hf and it doesn't have shit on Snap on.
I have different tool brands in my box. Have worked in aviation industrial maintenance/engineering and now light rail. If a tool on the job broke that was a big box brand I try to replace it with a tool truck brand. It is pita now because I only have two other technicians in the shop so the trucks don’t stop here. I just started picking up Icon they are ok a lot better then what hf had in the past put them with Tekton or Capri.
@@jncn1490 yea that harbor freight crap has last me yrs.... you keep throwing your money 💰 on all that over price on that crap on and your fancy tools only idiots go buy expensive tools because they don't know how to use them properly because a tool is a tool and is the owner that's crap
A lot of HF is junk. A lot of snap on is junk. In some cases snap on does make the best tools, not all. Sockets by far snap on are the best. Ratchets and wrenches they are really good too. Some ppl like matco, cornwell, mac better, all depends whats best for you. But stuff thats going to break anyways, like picks n stuff, ya...im not buying snap on for it to break anyways when i can pay way less than half n still have a lifetime warranty. You just have to know tools and the expectations of them and spend your money wisely. Buying everything snap on is not wise. But in cases where it counts, like mentioned above, buying snap on is worth it. Like screwdrivers. Buying cheap HF or even craftsman screwdrivers is a terrible idea. I have a lot of craftsman tools, but their screwdrivers are terrible. Snap on does make great screwdrivers. I tend to like cornwell better. I never realized how important a good screwdriver really was until i bought cornwell screwdrivers. Night and day, especially on old rusted fasteners. I have used snap on screwdrivers and they are great, i jus happen to like my cornwell ones better. Bits too. Screwdriver, hex, torx ect. Get some good ones. Milwaukee is ok. Makita and wera i like better. But cheap ones break strip and strip fasteners. No i would not buy snap on bits. A lot of tools on the snap on truck are rebranded as well so your paying way more. Like their drill bits are irwin and their extractors are irwin or Lyle, so dont buy the snap on ones when you can buy the same ones much cheaper.
That Gun is Scaring ME! That's a nice big paycheck collection semi there. Malco, bought the old vice grip factory in Nebraska and are now making vice grips in the USA again under the name Eagle Grips. I bought some they are pricey, but just as good if not better than my old Made in USA ones.
Vampire (Japan made for USA market) is OK, but the same tool is $5 to 25% less expensive and cooler green handles are called Engineer Brand. Same Japanese Tool. I now own about 6-8 Engineer Brand Japanese-made pliers.
Great vid, i fully agree with you, i gladly pick=up used high quality pliers. HF customers aren't going there for innovation, they're seeking cheap/affordable tools. surprised to see the Engineer/Vampliers on the premium side.
I'm just so relieved you were able to film this entire video without that toy gun running off and merking everyone.
Love it. I enjoy your videos. We all know Harbor Freight pliers are the best but tool trucks dudes can't admit it.
Lol, totally
I bought a bunch of the Bremen locking pliers from Harbor freight, And I have zero complaints about them. I don’t know which brand they are plagiarizing, but they seem really well-made.
Here dropping a comment and a watch for support brother!
That’s a good idea, buying used quality name brand hand tools. I just don’t buy tools from the hf though. They could sell rocks for throwing and the rocks would be defective. I bet if you took them back, they’d be like, “we can do this all day.” There’s nothing like pulling up to a job thinking that you have a tool to do something and realizing…..nope… you don’t have a tool to complete the task.
I do buy stuff like impact sockets and extensions from them for the light mechanic stuff that I do on my rammy, but nothing specific to my trade. But never again a ratchet or anything with moving parts, or flat head screwdrivers that just pop on the first day. Then grinding it down on the chop saw to try and finish the day with it. Ain’t nobody got time for that. I once bought a set of threading dies from them. Nope! Just gouging chunks of threads out of the pipe. A guy that I was roughing houses with when I first started my own business would have to take one of those Chicago brand (imitation hole hawgs) back daily. A Milwaukee hole hawg is a lifetime tool (or it used to be). Chicago can’t manage one day.
Harbor Freight using Doyle to compare to Mac Using Icon to compare to Snap On. Do they compare. Answer is yes and no The icon flush cuts do what they are meant to do. Are the best there are better , but how much ya wanna spend to basically cut zip ties nicely up to buyer. But most of what Harbor Freight claims compare to Snap On isn't even close. Ya get what ya pay for as ya know Mid West.
If you go watch actual testing by channels like PF, Torque Test Channel, and others. A LOT of what HF claims competes with Snap-On, outperforms Snap-On or is at least on-par. Especially for the money, with HF's lifetime warranty, there's nothing to worry about. It's not just HF either, plenty of other brands like Proto, Tekton, SK, Knipex, Klein, Neiko, OEM, Gearwrench, etc, etc...all perform the same or better, for a lot less money. I seriously don't get the guys ready to ride that Snap-On D for life...I guess they need to justify the dumb money spend somehow...
@@BigBear-- I love my knipex products. And all the other companies ya mention usually rebrand a product made by another company. All companies do it even SnapOn. But there are various pliers Snapon makes the no other brand is as good as. Not saying Snapon is best with everything but many of there products no one is close to overall quality.
@@Quickwrench75 What, specifically? Name the tool, that no one comes close to in quality to Snap-On. There might be like 1%...of something obscure or specialized, like a GM Reverse Input Drum Seal Sizer for the 4L series of transmissions, that no one else really makes. Other than that kinda stuff, there's really nothing that someone else doesn't make either better, or cheaper, and usually both. Thing is you gotta do your research. I guess one decent thing you can say about Snap-On is you can blindly buy their tools, and depend on the fact that they'll work well. With other brands, not every single tool is the best, so you gotta cross shop and do your research. However it doesn't take much, so if you care about your wallet, and quality tools, you'll quickly learn what to buy, and who to buy it from.
I think that Daytona floor jack compares but that's about it.
Like kline best linesman and great needle nose snap on has a new needle nose that has a slip joint feature can't wait to get them and Mac pliers is rebranded channellock guess I rather buy used high-quality products than a cheap knock off from HF
Irwin really crapped all over those new vice grips huh.
I think once the pattern has run out it's fair game but to make a exact copy should be illegal like the icon copy of the kinpex have you used the channel lock nut busters they will grab round stuff really good
95% of my pliers are channellock and Klein and the other 5 are Knipex, tekton, and sk as a professional technician and I haven’t had any issues with the channellock or Klein
Icon is EXCELLENT for the price.
Eagle grip malcos are the best vise grips I’ve ever used
Weld on them like i do my 1 dollar Peterson vise grips from a garage sale.
@@muddyriverdogz those are throw away pliers of course you are gonna eff them up
@@MrLadysman333 I take it you don't actually use your tools.
Check also: Fujiya has the best & most thoughtful flush cutters also & Fujiya Japan tools (not Fujiya Taiwan which is a different company) has a better finish than Knipex (quality is on par) but Knipex has more tool variation & better knurling coz' it's not just horizontal.
God bless.
Will do! Thank you and God Bless
@@MidwestToolReview Thanks. Do Klein long nose pliers and all their long nose have the diagonal knurling at the tip of the jaws, I think a non-horizontal knurling grips better (cross-hatching is best for sure like in Vampliers). I've spent a bit way too much on pliers research and I contemplating on a Klein.
New subscriber here.
the one good thing about harbor freight is the number of Americans they employ, no they aren't manufacturing jobs(hopefully someday soon we can bring manufacturing back to America) but all American jobs created are a good thing
Manufacturing isn't ever coming back ! Soon you will own nothing and be happy. The bankers will own it all.
I wouldn’t worry too much about Harbor freight stealing peoples designs because their quality is still inferior to the originals. They’re not hurting the market of higher quality tools by much, because the newbies just getting into this field will most likely buy the harbor freight stuff first which will help them get by for a while until it breaks or wares out, then they will still go and buy the higher quality tool later anyways. I kind of like what Harbor freight is doing because they’re helping the average newbie mechanic not break the bank when just getting started.
Malco makes the best vise grips, yes even better than the old Vise-Grips. Of course they are made in the Dewitt, NE factory so they may be more Vise-Grip than the current Irwin stuff bearing that name. Snap-On rebrands them also. Catus-Maximus made the point that on the Icon plier wrench knock-off packaging they state explicitly that they designed them, which is of course a blatant lie.
There's nothing better than a pair of USA Peterson vise grips from a garage sale for a buck. Sorry.
I thought snap on were pretty good until I found knipex about 8 years ago when I got issued a pair at a job I was at, my other pliers hardly ever get used anymore.
What about blue point pliers
Nice tangent!
Excellent advise👌👌
Matco water pump pliers harbor freight is literally just a different color handle.
Thank you.
When it comes to hand tools has Harbor freight had an original thought in their life? One would wonder. All they do is copy everyone else. If that’s your business motto (which it obviously seems to be) I’ll stick with the originals
I wouldn't call Klein low grade or mid grade.
I would…never liked the brand…the material is hard, but the design is average. Knipex offers high-grade steel with a jaw design that vastly improves grip, compared to any other brand on the market
@@MidwestToolReview Knipex doesn't have anything on kliens heavy duty cutters.
Dude, you're hilarious. How you gonna talk about Harbor Freight "stealing" someone elses designs, when you just showed us a series of pliers all the same design from different brands? What!? Everyone copies everyone, unless it's patent protected and enforced.
Patents run out…that’s different that shitty ass HFT copying a new design while tweaking a few features so you can “feel” like you own Snap-on w/o spending the money…once again, everyone gets a trophy, so HFT is appealing to you all who cry about Snap-on prices, so you buy any brand that appears similar but cheaper…
@@MidwestToolReview I don't cry about Snap-On prices for a reason. I've went to school for and worked as a mechanic for many years. I don't cry about Snap-On prices, cause Snap-On is straight garbage for those prices, and I'd never again buy anything from them, unless it was something super specialized, I needed, if that. They're not even an afterthought as a potential brand to buy for 99.9% of tools. They've been out of their minds for a long time now. If someone like HB can finally put them outta business, it'll be a blessing in disguise. Particularly for the younger guys just getting into the trades, and being talked into debt for the rest of their lives by Snap-On reps.
As for copying designs, like I said everyone copies everyone. That's the nature of the tool trade. Don't hear you crying about Snap-On copying Gearwrench or others, like they've done a million times, and will do again. There's nothing whatsover special about Snap-On, they barely ever pull ahead anymore in any competitive testing. Besides the fan-boys slobbering their D's online, nothing special about Snap-On, that you can't get for a lot less elsewhere, and not just from HB. Proto, SK, Icon, Wright, Knipex, Klein, Channel Lock, Wiha, Apex, Neiko, OEM, Gearwrench, etc, etc, etc...all do it better for cheaper. Just need to do your research, and you'd end up with an entire tool cart of same or better quality tools for 3/4-to-1/3 the price of Snap-On.
Snap on copied wobble-fix from Koken and probably stole flank drive from Bonney lol
@@MidwestToolReviewYou think it only runs one way? You're ridiculous. Besides the copying of ideas that's a normal process in any industry. Yes, absolutely I refuse to pay Snap-Ons BS inflated prices. Why should I? When I can get similar performance for 1/4 of the price or less? It's very rare that Snap-On is even top dog in any tool category. Even when that happens they may perform 10% better, but cost 300-400% more. So yeah. No thanks. I've used every Snap-On tool there basically is, and they're nothing special. They're good tools, but they're not made by gods. Like I said, save for a very few tools, or the rare specialty tool, I can get same sh-t for way less money.
Besides the chrome sockets, I’ve been loving the Icon line, it definitely gets too much hate, also identical tools happen all the time. If your a tool enthusiast I’d guess you’d care about companies stealing tool designs though I guess
do you have the new ones ? or the old ones they changed the forging
Your completely wrong!!.. Icon is smart on making tools more affordable for ppl them snap on ripping off ppl I don't care if it's snap on idea I'm glad that harbor freight is making good quality tools almost the same as snap on for less the price of that over price brand of snap on
Hf's quality isn't as good as Snap ons. Snap on uses virgin metal and actually designs to last along time. Hf uses cheap recycled metal from china/taiwan made by people who make 5 cents a day. Tools that'll break soon. I've used hf and it doesn't have shit on Snap on.
I have different tool brands in my box. Have worked in aviation industrial maintenance/engineering and now light rail. If a tool on the job broke that was a big box brand I try to replace it with a tool truck brand. It is pita now because I only have two other technicians in the shop so the trucks don’t stop here. I just started picking up Icon they are ok a lot better then what hf had in the past put them with Tekton or Capri.
@@guacamoleweiner69 snap on is crap I had it before it breaks like any other and over price crap
@@jncn1490 yea that harbor freight crap has last me yrs.... you keep throwing your money 💰 on all that over price on that crap on and your fancy tools only idiots go buy expensive tools because they don't know how to use them properly because a tool is a tool and is the owner that's crap
A lot of HF is junk. A lot of snap on is junk. In some cases snap on does make the best tools, not all. Sockets by far snap on are the best. Ratchets and wrenches they are really good too. Some ppl like matco, cornwell, mac better, all depends whats best for you. But stuff thats going to break anyways, like picks n stuff, ya...im not buying snap on for it to break anyways when i can pay way less than half n still have a lifetime warranty. You just have to know tools and the expectations of them and spend your money wisely. Buying everything snap on is not wise. But in cases where it counts, like mentioned above, buying snap on is worth it. Like screwdrivers. Buying cheap HF or even craftsman screwdrivers is a terrible idea. I have a lot of craftsman tools, but their screwdrivers are terrible. Snap on does make great screwdrivers. I tend to like cornwell better. I never realized how important a good screwdriver really was until i bought cornwell screwdrivers. Night and day, especially on old rusted fasteners. I have used snap on screwdrivers and they are great, i jus happen to like my cornwell ones better. Bits too. Screwdriver, hex, torx ect. Get some good ones. Milwaukee is ok. Makita and wera i like better. But cheap ones break strip and strip fasteners. No i would not buy snap on bits. A lot of tools on the snap on truck are rebranded as well so your paying way more. Like their drill bits are irwin and their extractors are irwin or Lyle, so dont buy the snap on ones when you can buy the same ones much cheaper.