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Quality of Husky Tools from Home Depot

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Airmedic1

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Sorry if this has been asked about and discussed before. I tried the Search feature and didn't find anything.

What is the quality of the Husky brand hand tools being sold by Home Depot? I have some old Husky stuff, probably made by New Britain that is good but I'm curious about the stuff from Home Depot. Does it hold up to use or is it just made for occasional use?
Thanks
 
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finn

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i bought two sets of Husky 220 piece sockets on clearance after Christmas for, I think, $69/set. I’d say they’re functional, and do what I want, considering the price I paid, but they’re not of SnapOn quality.

I haven’t rounded any fasteners with them, but the size stamping on some of them is wonky.

i also have miscellaneous other tools like extensions, Hex keys, pry bars, and scrapers.

I’m not really impressed by any of them, but on the other hand, they all serve the purpose.
 
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strutaeng

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finn said:
i bought two sets of Husky 220 piece sockets on clearance after Christmas for, I think, $69/set. I’d say they’re functional, and do what I want, considering the price I paid, but they’re not of SnapOn quality.

I haven’t rounded any fasteners with them, but the size stamping on some of them is wonky.

i also have miscellaneous other tools like extensions, Hex keys, pry bars, and scrapers.

I’m not really impressed by any of them, but on the other hand, they all serve the purpose.
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100% agree. I bought one of the sets and pretty much the same experience. I got to fill in missing sets, and got duplicates. Some of my sockets have very faint numbers, almost like QA/QC rejects, LOL.

But they have worked well and at that price they were a STEAL. I haven't seen that set for that price, and probably won't ever again.

Other misc. tools (screwdrivers, extensions, prybars, hex/torx bit set, maybe a few wrenches, and I can't remember what else, but no ratchets) I have from Husky is pretty decent and the price seems very reasonable. No issues.
 
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Etchase

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Fantastic value. And good quality. They were the least expensive source of the dual drive very stubby sockets sourced from the same manufacturer as Sunex and Astro. Good deal at the time. I really like their Apex made pass thru sets.Home Depot has tremendous buying power, that they utilize in getting very good pricing direct from manufacturers all over the world. Much more leverage than any online retailer, industrial supply, auto parts, or hardware store. They are the retailer every manufacturer wants to have, and sometimes they pass on the cost savings to their customers. If you buy a wrench for a dollar, it won’t be the best in the world, but it won’t be bad. I’m fascinated by how good they are.
 
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finn

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Etchase said:
Fantastic value. And good quality. They were the least expensive source of the dual drive very stubby sockets sourced from the same manufacturer as Sunex and Astro. Good deal at the time. I really like their Apex made pass thru sets.Home Depot has tremendous buying power, that they utilize in getting very good pricing direct from manufacturers all over the world. Much more leverage than any online retailer, industrial supply, auto parts, or hardware store. They are the retailer every manufacturer wants to have, and sometimes they pass on the cost savings to their customers. If you buy a wrench for a dollar, it won’t be the best in the world, but it won’t be bad. I’m fascinated by how good they are.
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That mimics my experience. Try as I can to hate them, they do the job so I can’t really complain.
 
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Professor Gascan

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Husky hand tools are perfectly serviceable for the home mechanic, especially if you pick them up on sale. I've never had an issue warrantying a broken tool, and if you ever lose something they sell individual pieces at the store which is something you can't do at HF.
 
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woody 73

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Every year Home Depot has their annual Dec. X-mas sale, and I pick up a few of their husky tools on sale. I picked up a few of their pry bar sets and two sets of their hex key handle sets in both metric and sae. nothing special they work ok and get the job done, as a matter of fact for all the harry homeowners out there they get the job done.

I have a few of their air tools and no problems to speak of, so if you want some simple meat and potatoes type tools, they fit the bill.
 
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duneslider

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I have one older set of Husky screw drivers that I really really like and a newer set that I really don't like. I have some metric and sae ratching wrenches that have been great. I have a few odds and ends of single wrenches that I bought when out of town on jobs and they are all great and live in a tool bag I keep with me. I have never tried, or needed, to warranty anything but probably wouldn't bother if the need came up.
 
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dwasifar

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It's been variable for me. I bought a set of Husky acetate handle screwdrivers and could not get rid of them fast enough. Just terrible. But I have some Husky dikes that are decent, and a 3/8" torque wrench that's been perfectly fine.

I have a lot more Kobalt than Husky. Part of that is because my wife works at Lowe's, but I suspect that it may also be because when I was a kid, the "husky" jeans my mom bought me at Sears were a code word for "fat." Might have caused a bit of subconscious bias.
 
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rust in the eye

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Yesterday was in a HD store so decided to have a look at the current Husky offerings. Wrenches made in India and looked like lobster claws. They had an intersting finish, not polished, not satin something in between I'm guessing is inexpensive to do. Sockets were "made in VietNam, finished in China", and looked a bit like those you find in the dollar store sets. They had open stock which is nice if you only need a single.
That said I haven't used any of them but none impressed me as something I'd consider buying unless under duress.
 
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Bulldog13

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I personally like the Husky tools.. price is decent and I’ve yet to have a issue…I have 4 of the tool boxes also..I prefer Craftsman but the quality vs price has steered me away at times…
 
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finn

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dwasifar said:
It's been variable for me. I bought a set of Husky acetate handle screwdrivers and could not get rid of them fast enough. Just terrible. But I have some Husky dikes that are decent, and a 3/8" torque wrench that's been perfectly fine.

I have a lot more Kobalt than Husky. Part of that is because my wife works at Lowe's, but I suspect that it may also be because when I was a kid, the "husky" jeans my mom bought me at Sears were a code word for "fat." Might have caused a bit of subconscious bias.
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When my aunt married in the early sixties, I recall my “new” uncle relating that, being small in stature, he had to move up to a “Husky Boy’s” suit off the rack at JCPenney for his wedding attire.
 
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dwasifar

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finn said:
When my aunt married in the early sixties, I recall my “new” uncle relating that, being small in stature, he had to move up to a “Husky Boy’s” suit off the rack at JCPenney for his wedding attire.
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The Indian guy who sits next to me at work is really tiny; he doesn't even come up to my shoulder. I'd guess he's no more than about five foot one and 90 lb. I've really wanted to ask him how he finds clothes, but that would be way too insulting. It's got to be humiliating for an adult man to go shopping in the boys' department. Maybe he buys them online. Ironically, his boss is a slim, very tall blonde lady, at least six foot two, and the two of them together are an odd sight.

Back on topic. I remembered I recently bought a Husky multi screwdriver. I have way too many multi drivers, but I keep buying them for some stupid reason. The bits and shaft are pretty much the same as most other multi drivers, but I like the comfortable shape of the handle:

IMG_20260515_115902569_HDR.jpg

I did have to check them carefully to make sure I got one where the shaft was straight in the handle. Many weren't. I know some guys don't care about that, but it bugs me if a screwdriver is crooked. Fortunately the transparent handle made that easy to check.
 
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SixThirtyTwo

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I think that some of the Husky tools are a good value, but unfortunately there seems to be little consistency in quality among the brand as a whole, which is unfortunate. I thought Husky was supposed to be HD's "premium" brand, with HDX serving the budget role.

I recently bought some Husky scissors that have held up well, though I have yet to remove them from their packaging.

There's a Husky ratcheting screwdriver that I might buy. The only reason I haven't is because they usually go on sale and I don't need it immediately.
 
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finn

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dwasifar said:
The Indian guy who sits next to me at work is really tiny; he doesn't even come up to my shoulder. I'd guess he's no more than about five foot one and 90 lb. I've really wanted to ask him how he finds clothes, but that would be way too insulting. It's got to be humiliating for an adult man to go shopping in the boys' department. Maybe he buys them online. Ironically, his boss is a slim, very tall blonde lady, at least six foot two, and the two of them together are an odd sight.

Back on topic. I remembered I recently bought a Husky multi screwdriver. I have way too many multi drivers, but I keep buying them for some stupid reason. The bits and shaft are pretty much the same as most other multi drivers, but I like the comfortable shape of the handle:

IMG_20260515_115902569_HDR.jpg

I did have to check them carefully to make sure I got one where the shaft was straight in the handle. Many weren't. I know some guys don't care about that, but it bugs me if a screwdriver is crooked. Fortunately the transparent handle made that easy to check.
Click to expand...
The distressing part for my uncle was that he had to move from regular boys sizes to Husky for a decent fit…and he was actually a pretty fit and active fellow.

He’s in his upper 90s now.
 
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dwasifar

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SixThirtyTwo said:
I think that some of the Husky tools are a good value, but unfortunately there seems to be little consistency in quality among the brand as a whole, which is unfortunate. I thought Husky was supposed to be HD's "premium" brand, with HDX serving the budget role.
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For the kind of tools we're talking about here, their budget brand is Anvil. There are some HDX tools, but they're mostly things like brushes, sprayers, and squeegees.

Over at the Big Blue Box, it's Project Source as the budget brand, Kobalt as the standard brand. And if you want to Save Big Money at Menards, you buy Tool Shop instead of their Masterforce brand.

My personal experience is that Kobalt and Masterforce are usually decent, except for their pliers. Project Source is junk and Tool Shop is worse. I do have some Tool Shop clamps that are okay, but that's the exception. What can you say about a brand that misspells "circular saw" on the box?

If I had to choose a punishment in Hell for my worst enemy, I'd condemn him to an eternity of trying to loosen screws with bargain-bin screwdrivers. My dad was famous for cheaping out on screwdrivers, and half the screws in the house had mangled heads because of it.
 
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Aaron_W

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What Husky tools I have are probably a minimum of 6-8 years old so may not be the same as the current tools. Also limited to basic hand tools, screw drivers, wrenches, pliers, I think I've got a Husky hammer around here. Stuff that is pretty hard to totally screw up. A small 1/4" drive socket set is the most complex. I bought most of them to keep in the car and they have been fine for the small odd job here and there that you throw a little tool set in the car for.

I've not run across any Husky tools that would not be fine for ordinary DIY work. If it tells you anything though since we got a Harbor Freight a few years back, most of the tools I would have considered Husky for have gone to HF instead.

An exception had been tool bags, totes and organizers. I really like the smaller 12-15" Husky tool bags and HD often has them on sale for a good price. Their misc parts organizers are decent and reasonably priced with more variety than HF.
HF has stepped it up with tool bags the past few years, and HD keeps raising their prices, so even there more and more I'm ending up with a HF brand over Husky.
 
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SixThirtyTwo

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dwasifar said:
Over at the Big Blue Box, it's Project Source as the budget brand, Kobalt as the standard brand. And if you want to Save Big Money at Menards, you buy Tool Shop instead of their Masterforce brand.

My personal experience is that Kobalt and Masterforce are usually decent, except for their pliers. Project Source is junk and Tool Shop is worse. I do have some Tool Shop clamps that are okay, but that's the exception. What can you say about a brand that misspells "circular saw" on the box?
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I don't have a Menards anywhere near me, but I have a fair amount (by my standards, not GJ's) of Kobalt hand tools. For what I paid for them, I don't have any complaints. None of them were recent purchases, though they're post-2010 tools. No Project Source for me!

I'd have ordered some Masterforce products if it weren't for Menards' strange shipping policies/charges, which negated any reason to purchase them.
dwasifar said:
If I had to choose a punishment in Hell for my worst enemy, I'd condemn him to an eternity of trying to loosen screws with bargain-bin screwdrivers. My dad was famous for cheaping out on screwdrivers, and half the screws in the house had mangled heads because of it.
Click to expand...
:eek:
 
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Jbear

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I have a set of rubber handle screwdrivers as a sort of "beater" set, but I don't seem to be able to trash them although I do my best. Also have a set of metric flex-head combo wrenches that has been just fine. Just fine forever? Can't say, but I'm satisfied for what I paid.
Oh yeah...have a rolling tool chest too...that's been awesome. Put a plywood top on it and it been great and a bargain.
It's not my favorite brand of tools, but I don't shy away from it.
 
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willf650

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I have some older husky stuff like 30 years old, wrench set and 1/2 standard socket set, and the quality is excellent. I have some Allen and torx sockets about 15 years old and it’s ok. I have a 1/4” socket set about 3 years old and it’s ok.

I bought an ultra thin wrench set from them this year and returned it as it was low quality and it should have sold at 1/2 the price it was based on quality.

Seems to me the quality is hit or miss but definitely on the downward slide.

None of it is high end stuff but as big box store stuff goes I think Lowe’s Kobalt and Craftsman is better at this point
 
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AEAdam

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Just why? There is test data for brands like HFs ICON, etc. Why bother with big box store tools? How cheap a tool do you really need? If you have the time to post on GJ to ask about tool quality, you have the time to research and buy better tools. Big box tools are for people who need a tool immediately to do a job, usually on a Sunday. They are typically neither good quality nor a good value.
 
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Sal Bandini

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AEAdam said:
Just why? There is test data for brands like HFs ICON, etc. Why bother with big box store tools? How cheap a tool do you really need? If you have the time to post on GJ to ask about tool quality, you have the time to research and buy better tools. Big box tools are for people who need a tool immediately to do a job, usually on a Sunday. They are typically neither good quality nor a good value.
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Agreed. I did similar. I went to Menards to buy a socket I needed now. Otherwise I would order from Amazon or equivalent to get what I really want.
 
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