# Just raided the local Harbor Freight



## GasholeWillie (Jul 4, 2014)

I had a short list of things to pick up or look at. Came out with a fiberglass handled 1.25 lb camp axe and 2 magnesium fire starters. Looked at the big survival knife and there really is too much wrong with it to spend $10. Then I went up to REI and picked up a few small size squirt bottles for a few bulk liquid items I have, chlorine, hyd peroxide, and rub alcohol. Doing my own thing on a med kit, so these are the start point.


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## Ripon (Dec 22, 2012)

Last year in May I think I just happened to stop at a home down the street setting up for a garage sale on Friday. The guy had a table of HF tools. I got a whole slew of their cheap little items for $20. I really thought I nailed it. I got home, looked it all up on line and it was all there in the store for about $27. Oops



GasholeWillie said:


> I had a short list of things to pick up or look at. Came out with a fiberglass handled 1.25 lb camp axe and 2 magnesium fire starters. Looked at the big survival knife and there really is too much wrong with it to spend $10. Then I went up to REI and picked up a few small size squirt bottles for a few bulk liquid items I have, chlorine, hyd peroxide, and rub alcohol. Doing my own thing on a med kit, so these are the start point.


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## MI.oldguy (Apr 18, 2013)

I like going there,too bad the closest one is 189 miles from us.I wish harbor freight would have opened up on the highway other than tractor supply.harbor has some cool stuff,I have read some very positive reviews on the champion gennies they have. I would like a 120/240 volt in the 8-10 kw range.then a plasma cutter,to go with my humongous air compressor. I have no garage,just a giganto shed barn 14x16 ft.city says if you run electricity to it its a permanent structure and has to be up to code but a extension cord is ok. my extension cord I run to it (25ft)is #1 AWG like arc welding cord with BIG female and male connectors so they cant screw me over but, have to plug and unplug it every time and roll it up to keep them off my back.stuff is heavy as hell.It goes into the shed when I am done so the methmoufs cant get to it.


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

Th eharbor frieght magnesium bars "didn't shave" like the others I have gotten from walmart, but, I caught them on a sale for like 1.49.
I found the best way was to shave the mag over a peice of folded up paper. Then fold it to gather the shaivings, and help catch the spark. 
I will make a video, if you guys want.
As for the othr tools, I find that they are decent, if not good, Some people love them, some hate them. I love them, for what they are..


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## GasholeWillie (Jul 4, 2014)

Deebo said:


> Th eharbor frieght magnesium bars "didn't shave" like the others I have gotten from walmart, but, I caught them on a sale for like 1.49.
> I found the best way was to shave the mag over a peice of folded up paper. Then fold it to gather the shaivings, and help catch the spark.
> I will make a video, if you guys want.
> As for the othr tools, I find that they are decent, if not good, Some people love them, some hate them. I love them, for what they are..


I'll say this, I liked that on the instructions it states, "Effective use requires practice." Then cautions to practice the process BEFORE you have to use the starter. So I'll give them a shot and see how well they shave.


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## Notsoyoung (Dec 2, 2013)

Arklatex said:


> Those HF mag bars are not good. Just my personal experience.


I was going to say the same.


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## Innkeeper (Jun 18, 2014)

MI.oldguy said:


> I like going there,too bad the closest one is 189 miles from us.I wish harbor freight would have opened up on the highway other than tractor supply.harbor has some cool stuff,I have read some very positive reviews on the champion gennies they have. I would like a 120/240 volt in the 8-10 kw range.then a plasma cutter,to go with my humongous air compressor. I have no garage,just a giganto shed barn 14x16 ft.city says if you run electricity to it its a permanent structure and has to be up to code but a extension cord is ok. my extension cord I run to it (25ft)is #1 AWG like arc welding cord with BIG female and male connectors so they cant screw me over but, have to plug and unplug it every time and roll it up to keep them off my back.stuff is heavy as hell.It goes into the shed when I am done so the methmoufs cant get to it.


I do not have the Air Compressor, that will be a buy for the winter once the GI Bill BAH is coming in, but I have the money set aside for a 10kw trigas Gennie this fall after I close on the house there is a nice spot in the 2 car attached garage for it and the really nice thing is the breaker box is in there which makes it easier to be hooked in to it. Garage is made of brick is finished inside and both of the Doors are good solid ones as is the Side door to the house which enters into the mudroom/hallway which connects the Garage to the house. Tell you what they made things a lot more sturdy back in 1969 then they do most times now, unless your willing to dump huge tons of money into them.


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

Harbor freight stuff is cheap. It is not intended for heavy use but for the home owner who needs a tool for occasional use they are OK. If you are going to buy a tool that comes in two models and you are going to use it often then get the more expensive of the two models. They last a lot longer than their really cheap tools.


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

I've seen the magnesium fire starters, at HB, never bought one and tried it out, so I won't speak to the quality or lack there of. However the important part is the ferro rod. It's easy enough to come up with tinder. A cotton ball with a bit of Vaseline rubbed into it, scratch a spark off the ferro rod and you are in business.


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## GasholeWillie (Jul 4, 2014)

Well to all the Captain Obvious responders, yes HF stuff is c_h_e_a_p. I think we are all in agreement with that concept, some are poorly made, other items are the same thing/quality you would get in Home Depot, Lowes or Sears. Case by case individual basis.

Today I had a little extra time and decided to see what it would take for me to start a fire with the fire starter kit. To me the obvious flaw with the kit was the blade. It is small and as a result you lack the leverage needed to shave the magnesium block quickly and effectively. So I pulled out my el cheapo Rothco Adventurer knife, used the back side saw blade and quickly shaved off about a dime sized area of shavings. Not thick mind you, just onto a piece of paper. I am also thinking here that trying to do this out in the environment with any sort of breeze might just blow your shavings away, so you will need a windblock of some type to make this work. Also what I noticed is that the magnesium block has a dull color to it and when you start to shave it off, the color turns bright silver, same with the ferro stick. So after I was done shaving I took the sheet of paper outside with my shavings and after about 15 or 20 strokes of the ferro stick, the dull color began to disappear and sparks began to fly. Suddenly a spark hit the shavings and wala.....I had fire.

Some after thoughts to my practice/first use of the fire start kit. In the wild it might be a good idea to shave your magnesium onto something non porous like a coffee filter or a paper cup, just to keep the shavings clumped together and increase the chance of a spontaneous combustion of shavings when the spark hits. Also, if doing this in a low light situation, the white background highlights the shavings. I began looking at the other tools in my proposed BOB/GHB bag. I am thinking that the file blade of my multi tool might work well as well as the el cheapo Rothco knife if I would decide to include it in that kit to shave the block. Total time I used to shave the bar to get to fire was about 5 minutes. I'll concede it was a bit tedious, but waaaaaaaaay faster than trying to do the primitive rock, stick, action, friction, ember routine.

If I had to place it in a category of good better best, it would go in the good category. Butane lighter is best. Might buy a small supply of waterproof matches to keep up with redundancy of fire production capability. Might also get a bigger ferro rod. I found a broken hacksaw blade in my garage and cut it in half and tried shaving the mag block. World of difference, had enough shavings to start a fire in about 1 minute. The blade that comes with the kit is junk and when I cut the broken blade I doubled the size over the kit blade. Works just fine now.


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## PossumPie (Oct 2, 2014)

We have one about 1/2 hr. away...Harbor Freight is great if you do your homework. Sure there is some lightweight stuff that won't hold up under heavy use, but the camo tarp I got was excellent, and about 1/3 the cost of elsewhere. I got a table saw from HF a few years back and have no problems with it. They always give away freebie stuff too, last time I was there it was an excellent LED light just right for the BOB>


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## Moonshinedave (Mar 28, 2013)

I've spent my share at HF, just have to be selective on what you buy and realize you get what you paid for, but on the other hand, I have bought stuff there that has held up quite well.


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## cgsurvivalman (Jul 31, 2014)

We have a HF that I go too that is about 50 miles from us. We are getting one in the next town over in the next couple months so, I guess I will be visiting them a lot more. Like everyone here you can find some good buys but, other items are not worth the metal they are made from. I am rebuilding a 64 Galaxie 500 so, it helps me to buy the tools I need on that project. I am retired so I am on a fixed income and I sometimes have to use the cheaper tool to get the job done.


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## Urinal Cake (Oct 19, 2013)

They have a place in the prepper world...
Tarps, flashlights, axe, hatchets, machetes all found there way into my various "GO" Bags.


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## diamondjim (Aug 19, 2014)

Agree with all above - you get what you pay for. Having said that, I have purchased my share of HF tools (waiting for a sale!) and the only major problem was a 4" angle grinder that lasted about 2 day. The identical replacement with no hassle has lasted 8 years, so far!


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

I went this weekend, and got the prybar set, some long needlenose and some deadblow mallets. 
Would I stake my life on them?, no but they are functional. I hate borrowing tools at work. 
Many of the guys I work with swear by snap on, and I just laugh when I have craftsman and el cheapo stuff, that they need. 
Besides, what good is a lifetime warranty of the truck only comes by on Friday?
One guy spent EIGHT GRAND on a snap on toolbox.


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