Sonny580
Veteran Member
NT has a bit better quality, (not by much) over HF.
Northern Tool or Harbor Freight
- Thread starter airbiscuit
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NT's Corporate HQ is in Minnesota. They are all over the upper midwest. It's Northern Tool, not Northwestern Tool!
For quite a while I was solely a Northern Tool customer between the two. I had bought a few things from Harbor Freight and it either was bad out of the gate or didn't last. However, a nice new Harbor Freight store came in that is closer than Northern Tool. I've purchased a few things now and am satisfied.
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Northern Tool over HF. But I gave up on HF years ago and rarely go to NT. Most of the time I buy tools from Home Depot because they carry Makita, but if I have time and don't need it today, I like to read the reviews on Amazon and then search online for the best price. Surprisingly, Home Depot will have the best price on some things. Biggest surprise has been buying assessories for my Kawasaki Mule from them online and picking it up in the store.
crazyal
Super Member
Northern seams to have some nicer stuff than HF. But without one near here and their shipping charges being pretty high on heavy items I rarely buy from them.
John_Mc
Elite Member
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Northern Tool does carry some name brand tools of high quality (Milwaukee, for example). I do buy some things from Northern Tool, usually stuff I can't find locally, or occasionally where they have some special buy that a local store just can't come close to.
NT also sells some cheap junk. Cheap junk has it's place, but one of the things that bugs me about them is their tendency to carry cheap Chinese knock-offs of well designed US-made products. Sometimes, the imitation is so close that they closely match the logo sticker of the company they copied. It's clearly an attempt to cash in on the originator's design and reputation. At least with Harbor Freight, their cheap junk is not trying to pass itself off as some name brand. And more recently, Harbor Freight has started upping their game on the quality front and offering some decent quality tools.
NT also sells some cheap junk. Cheap junk has it's place, but one of the things that bugs me about them is their tendency to carry cheap Chinese knock-offs of well designed US-made products. Sometimes, the imitation is so close that they closely match the logo sticker of the company they copied. It's clearly an attempt to cash in on the originator's design and reputation. At least with Harbor Freight, their cheap junk is not trying to pass itself off as some name brand. And more recently, Harbor Freight has started upping their game on the quality front and offering some decent quality tools.
Diggin It
Super Star Member
Watch for their frequent free shipping sales and offers. Seems like every month or so. Maybe not for the time being, but we'll see. I also found that other chains with Price Match their sale prices.
JDAOWNER
Silver Member
AMEN --I USE NEITHER, BUT THERE ARE NONE CLOSE BY ----FOR ODD BALL STUFF I USE GRANGERS.
Slackdaddy
Gold Member
There are no NT near me.
2 HF stores.
That said, you have to know where to spend good money, and where to spend cheap money.
My Cordless are Milwaukee from HD (Chinese BTW)
Ratchets, sockets, combo wrenches, etc are all USA Craftsman,, I will not buy Chinese on these.
Frequently used air tools are USA made used,, or Astro and the like from Amazon.
Seldom used air tools,,, HF all day long.
Spray guns,, cheap guns from Amazon when I catch them on "open box sale"
Corded tools - used or new USA stuff (Weller, BD pro, etc)
Welders(mig, tig) - Lincoln, Hobart, miller.
Spot welder that I use once or twice a year - HF
O/A torch - victor
Tool boxes, hyd press, mag tool holders, - HF on sale.
2 HF stores.
That said, you have to know where to spend good money, and where to spend cheap money.
My Cordless are Milwaukee from HD (Chinese BTW)
Ratchets, sockets, combo wrenches, etc are all USA Craftsman,, I will not buy Chinese on these.
Frequently used air tools are USA made used,, or Astro and the like from Amazon.
Seldom used air tools,,, HF all day long.
Spray guns,, cheap guns from Amazon when I catch them on "open box sale"
Corded tools - used or new USA stuff (Weller, BD pro, etc)
Welders(mig, tig) - Lincoln, Hobart, miller.
Spot welder that I use once or twice a year - HF
O/A torch - victor
Tool boxes, hyd press, mag tool holders, - HF on sale.