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Leon[_7_] Leon[_7_] is offline
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Default Harbor Freight Stepping up Their Game?

On 3/8/2018 1:31 PM, wrote:
On Thursday, 8 March 2018 10:24:20 UTC-6, -MIKE- wrote:

Both and neither. I usually want to get my own hands on something
before making a concrete judgment.
But I also trust the words of people I know who have and do use tools
the way I do on a regular basis, like you and Robert and Karl and other
friends not in here.


I agree. And at this point in my career I tend to have a different set of criteria I use and have scribbled about it endlessly here. Years ago (OK, maybe 20+) I realized that I am a business man with a developed skill set. No so much the craftsman/artisan/artist I aspired to be in my youth. With an eye towards utility, I always consider who is giving me their opinion and what their level of use is to form that opinion. So many of my fellow contractors are tired of poor performing, short lasting tools that we all respond with "well, it works great now, but I have only had it for a while", or "it's OK". The last tool I got excited about was the Ridgid 18V brushless drill/driver + impact tool combo. That was about a year ago.

So we all have an agreement: if it works well for me, it might not work well for you. If I recommend it, then don't cry to me if it is a failure for you.

AND I trust what this guy has to say in the areas in which he obviously
has a lot of experience and knowledge. I don't know his entire
background or how much he uses or has used the tools. I can't see
someone who doesn't have a lot of firsthand experience with these tool
just deciding one day to start breaking them open and dissecting them.

I take it with a grain of salt, but I also have gotten some very good
info from his videos.


Agree again. Regardless of whether we agree on testing methods, rendered opinions, or any faulty premise we see, there is something to be learned from someone that goes that far in depth. Some of the findings are of value, and some are not. So his voice joins the choir when making a purchase decision.

I am a self confessed knife nut. I have a lot by most people's standards, but just about the right amount for my tastes. You guys should see the "test" videos to see how "tough" guys decide a knife should be. They use folding knives to cut bolts, chop down small trees (talking about folding knives!), split wood, and they smash the locking device on the lockers until they fail.

The testers feel they have accomplished something when the knife fails after being hammered on (literally), wrenched back and forth to try to break the blade, and gets dull quickly when cutting grit embedded material. Someone has to remind them that knives are made to slice and cut, that's it. Because some of the knife designs are so tough these days, they can take it to an extent.

But after watching many of the "test" videos, I realized that their aim was to find the deficiencies of the product and push it to a dramatic failure. Real world testing and use just doesn't cut it anymore. Sound familiar?

Robert

Sounds very familiar. Assessments on aspects that do not matter are
more in focus than intended performance.