# Hatchet from Harbor Freight



## DCcam87 (Mar 4, 2013)

Are the fiberglass handel hatchets from Harbor Freight any good?


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## backlash (Nov 11, 2008)

Harbor Freight sell low quality imported stuff.
That said I have bought several things there but you get what you pay for.
I would not buy anything from them that I might have to bet my life on.


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## BullDozer (Jan 1, 2013)

DCcam87 said:


> Are the fiberglass handel hatchets from Harbor Freight any good?


They are okay... Buy two.


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## txpossum (Apr 10, 2011)

When it comes to tools and equipment, I am a believer in buying the best that you can afford. If a cheap hatchet is all that you can buy right now -- well, it will probably beat nothing. But, as has been said above, I would not want to trust my well being to one.

What I am about to say next may or may not apply to your situation, but I am consistently amazed by peope who will spend thousand of dollars on guns and ammo, yet balk at paying $100.00 for a decent knife. In a survival situation, odds are the knife will be used many, many, many more times than a gun, but more often that not the knife they choose is the $10 rambo special they threw in the cart at Wally World.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

Its why I used to make my own blades.and if I had the tools,I would make my own firearms as well.


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## DCcam87 (Mar 4, 2013)

I'm a firm believer in, "you get what you pay for" but I was hoping to see if anyone had anything good to say about them. I agree with you txpossum, I prefer to spend a little more money on a high quality knife. I do however keep 1 or 2 cheap blades in my BOB to use in certain situations to keep my quality knife undamaged and sharp.


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## truecarnage (Apr 25, 2010)

Magus said:


> Its why I used to make my own blades.and if I had the tools,I would make my own firearms as well.


No $12,000.00 CNC to mill you own uppers & lowers awww. 
Maybe our mighty leader could borrow money from china and buy us one?
Oh, sorry he only does that for banks and scumbags!


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

Even the cheapest hatchet can do many jobs for years.


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## HamiltonFelix (Oct 11, 2011)

The Harbor Freight is a Chinese cheapie, but I have couple. No, it won't come close to a fine product from Council Axe, but it can be mighty handy. 

I watch the sales and I picked up a couple of their full sized single bit axes a while back. They may not be great, but fiberglass and plastic handles won't rot. Sharpen it up, squirt some rust preventive on it and throw it in the trunk (make a protector out of old fire hose or even folded cardboard and electrical tape). Last spring, a few days after I'd removed my winter chainsaw from the trunk, mine got me home after a tree had fallen across the road. Lesson: just because it's "spring," don't think blowdowns and bad weather can't happen (it snowed today). I generally have more than one cutting tool with me; it's good to have backups. 

One of the HF hatchets hangs on 2 screws against a shelf in the shop. It's handy for splitting kindling when I make a fire in the heater. They are definitely not indestructible like Estwing, but in a place where use is not hard and you have backups in case of failure, the cheap hatchets are OK. Just make sure you get one with the head on straight. 

For long term survival, buy some quality tools. I miss the days when I could find a Sager Chemical Temper axe from about 1943 or so in the back room of a new & used "junk" store for just a few bucks. Buy a handle and hang the axe, and you had an absolute top quality tool. These days, much of the good stuff is gone and junk dealers think everything they have is a rare and valuable "collectible."

My rule on "Harbor Fright" cheap stuff (and I have lots of it) is that it's really only OK where you have backups. If I break a cheap 9/16 wrench at home where I have several more, it's not a big problem. If I'm counting on that wrench to save me a 20 mile walk home, it's a problem. Put GOOD tools in that small toolbox in the car or truck.

ANY hatchet or axe is infinitely better than NO hatchet or axe.


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## gaspump86 (May 5, 2012)

txpossum said:


> When it comes to tools and equipment, I am a believer in buying the best that you can afford. If a cheap hatchet is all that you can buy right now -- well, it will probably beat nothing. But, as has been said above, I would not want to trust my well being to one.
> 
> What I am about to say next may or may not apply to your situation, but I am consistently amazed by peope who will spend thousand of dollars on guns and ammo, yet balk at paying $100.00 for a decent knife. In a survival situation, odds are the knife will be used many, many, many more times than a gun, but more often that not the knife they choose is the $10 rambo special they threw in the cart at Wally World.


Walmart has some nice knives: Gerber, sog, Buck, old timer


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## shadowrider (Mar 13, 2010)

I wouldn't buy it! But then I buy old used stuff at tractor shows and flea markets with an eye out for quality names. Then sharpen and rehelve.
shadowrider





i


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## vegaswhale (Mar 18, 2013)

shadowrider said:


> I wouldn't buy it! But then I buy old used stuff at tractor shows and flea markets with an eye out for quality names. Then sharpen and rehelve.
> shadowrider
> 
> i


What are the brands that you look for?


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## sgtrunningfool (Dec 8, 2012)

I have a harbor freight hatchet that I have used a lot but I do have to sharpen it more often than better quality ones. I also replaced the handle on another harbor freight axe and it made a big difference.


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

I agree with the rest. It's a good one to keep in the truck or to cut up some rotted, questionable wood you wouldn't want to sink a good hatchet into, or for using where you might contact the ground.


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## eldarbeast (Mar 28, 2011)

sgtrunningfool said:


> I have a harbor freight hatchet that I have used a lot but I do have to sharpen it more often than better quality ones. I also replaced the handle on another harbor freight axe and it made a big difference.


Find a local blacksmith and pay him to re-heat treat the head.

eldar


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## txpossum (Apr 10, 2011)

As far as used hatchets go, I like the older Plumbs.


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## sgtrunningfool (Dec 8, 2012)

I am obsessed with refurbishing old tools so I am hoping that when I move back to Texas I can find some older ones to refurb


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

truecarnage said:


> No $12,000.00 CNC to mill you own uppers & lowers awww.
> Maybe our mighty leader could borrow money from china and buy us one?
> Oh, sorry he only does that for banks and scumbags!


I'd just end up making FALs in 7.62X39 and 45 Winchester Magnum caliber Stens.All out of the finest tool steel and stainless.


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