I’m not sure what’s going on with Hart Tools at Walmart, but they “rolled back” the prices on a few hand tools, and some of the new discounts caught my attention.
Delivery is not available on any of these tools, only store pickup.
Is Walmart clearing out select SKUs? Why? Maybe this is just a seasonal refresh? I checked a local Walmart store at the start of the holiday season, and didn’t see much in the way of promotional Hart Tool displays.
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Regardless as to the *why*, maybe some of these Hart Tool deals will strike your fancy.
First up, this Hart 6″ automatic locking pliers is on sale for just $7.
This looks a lot like the CH Hanson Automatic locking pliers that I tested 10 years ago. I’m not a big fan of automatic-adjusting locking pliers for all things, but they’re convenient for some tasks.
$7 is a very good price if these are built to similar standards as the CH Hanson and Lockjaw pliers.
In comparison, Armor Tool’s 6-inch automatic locking pliers are $20 via Amazon.
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Buy Now via Walmart
Compare: Armor Tool via Amazon
This Hart folding utility knife is priced at $4, down from $8.
No matter your brand loyalties, you’ve got to admit – this is a good price. But is it a good knife? I’ll let you be the guinea pig.
Buy Now via Walmart
Compare: Milwaukee FastBack via Home Depot
Compare:
Harbor Freight Takes on Milwaukee FastBack with New Doyle Folding Utility Knife
This Hart 2pc pliers set is discounted to $5.
It comes with 6″ long nose pliers and 8″ slip joint pliers.
This would have been great for my first set of pliers. If I remember correctly, I bought a Stanley 3pc pliers set for $10.
Cheap pliers are better than no pliers. I still keep some cheapies available for back-up, lending out, or highly abusive tasks where I wouldn’t want to destroy the jaws or finish on my better pliers.
Upgrade Option: Channellock 4pc Set via Amazon
Finally, this Hart 2pc stubby screwdriver set has been discounted to just $2.
Look – if you’re going to Walmart for any reason, why not pick up some stubby screwdrivers for cheap? Unless of course you already have good stubby screwdrivers.
If these were available for shipping, I’d have ordered a pair, partly to keep around the house, partly for my kids to use.
If you’ve never purchased stubby screwdrivers because you don’t think you could use them – I was in this boat too – $2 is very little to risk, and you might even like the style.
Eric H
I’d be your guinea pig but I don’t have the Hart…
Stacey Jones
😂😂😂
Mahalo
Eric H, the H is for Hartless
Skye A Cohen
I wonder if having Hart being exclusively sold by Walmart (or almost exclusively?) is hurting the brand identity of Hart.
I admit it’s pure vanity but any brand that is associated with a huge chain retail outlet, especially Walmart, automatically lowers my perception of quality. I wonder if I’m not alone and if poor sales associated with unfavorable brand identity have something to do with the odd pricing we keep seeing.. ?
Scott K
I initially had this impression, too. The closest Walmart to me is a few minutes farther than Home Depot plus it’s an absolute nightmare to shop at. So, unless there was something I needed that Walmart only had available for in-store purchase, I don’t see myself stumbling upon these tools. I held the brand name in fairly high regard when they were simply a TTI brand that focused on hammers and such.
Travis
Yeah, I think it hurts them. I avoid shopping at Walmart at all costs. It was never great but it is laughable these days.
Kent
>> I wonder if having Hart being exclusively sold by Walmart (or almost exclusively?) is hurting the brand identity of Hart.
Yes. Walmart is about low prices first, and everything else is below that. Much like HF & KMart. In all honesty, I’d rather buy tools from HF than WalMart (including Hart). I have a few Hart hammers from the 90’s and if they ever need replacement it won’t be Hart.
Sean
These prices appear to be closer to what price they should have landed on from the start. I’m not sure why someone but Hart products at all when better options exist. Ryobi provides a wider line of DIY power tools with better seasonal battery deals. Harbor Freight’s Quinn and Doyle lines of pliers look like better bang for the buck. There is also the question of warranty. If you look on their website they offer a limited lifetime warranty.
The warranty is only good for the original purchaser and they need a receipt in addition to the original packaging. This was true the last time I checked.
The hand tools remind me what Sears tried to pull with the evolv line… essentially making the warranty process difficult as a deterrent.
The tool market is do competitive that I see a compelling reason to purchase over other brands.
The only Hart really has going for tool sales is the numerous Walmart locations. Some of these stores are open 24/7. I could some buying a tool there in an emergency situation but given all the options that exist currently…
Hart is a pass… Except those $2 stubby set🤣🤣🤣
Tom D
Bastard pro-tip for those cases where you have to have a receipt – just buy another one and return the broken one with the new receipt. Nobody serializes hand tools and sure you end up with two of them but better than buying a second and throwing away the first.
Harbor Freight really does have a good hand warranty – and given that Walmart will take back anything if you complain enough they should just offer the old Sears warranty on the hart tools – that wouldn’t cost them much and would get people looking.
Sean
Tom,
I agree, if Walmart made a Sears style tool section within in Walmart stores nd copied Sears warranty on hand tools they would have a big draw to their stores.
Walmart struck good when they added the grocery stores. I think Harbor Freight is eating there lunch in the tool market. Walmart has better resources and more stores. I have no idea why they’re not more aggressive with their tool sales. It seems like a major oversight.
Jp
Is Hart a purely a rebrand? Or are there some compromising modifications to lower the price? That is an important question in my mind at least. I don’t mind cheap stuff since I don’t rely on tools for my income. But even I have a point at which I won’t bother. What that point is depends on the type of tool. Cheap crescent? Good for me. Cheap ratchet…heck no.
Mike (the other one)
I can’t be sure, but after looking at some of their basic hand tools, I assumed they were just rebrands of entry-level Stanley-Black&Decker tools. I figured the same was the case for their other offerings.
Seems to me they basically are what Husky is to HD, Kobalt is to Lowe’s. More or less a house-brand.
Mattw.
I picked up the 2 sided nailset for 3 dollars its ok the sides are plastic but the strike areas are metal of some sort. I took a 4lb drilling hammer and hit it on mild steel plate didnt break. So I’ll be good for backup but I much like the red ones home depot use to sell along with the 21oz side pull hammer. https://www.walmart.com/ip/HART-2-in-1-Nail-Set-with-Anti-Slip-Grip-1-32-inch-3-32-inch/479975563
FYI the red handle hyper tough pry bars made by wilde are a good buy while your there (made in usa) have yet to break one.
Scott K
I think I have a similar Craftsman-branded pry bar set made by Wilde. Caught it on Amazon for a descent price (USA made). I don’t use them often but they work well.
Kentucky fan
Just go to harbor freight. If you are gonna buy cheap Chinese tools, pay cheap Chinese prices.
Dave P
“Cheap pliers are better than no pliers. I still keep some cheapies available for back-up, lending out, or highly abusive tasks where I wouldn’t want to destroy the jaws or finish on my better pliers”.
I’ve not found that to be the case at all.
Decent pliers are around $10 and Other than getting too much weld on them, I’ve never destroyed a set of jaws on decent pliers. EVER.
I couldn’t care less what happens to the “finish” of my pliers.
I’m not worried about whether I’m out $4 or $10 if someone doesn’t bring them back ASSUMING I’d even loan a pair out.
I DO have the scars on my hands from several experiences with junk tools. Not doing that again…
Buy cheap crap for a cheap price and have little to show for it… doesn’t interest me in the least. I don’t need Snap-On “quality”—I’m just talking $10 pliers that’ll cut small wire and have good hard jaws.
Get something for $10 or get next to nothing for $4 (or whatever is the current “cheapie” price) is a no-brainer. I’d rather just throw $4 in the wastebasket .
Dave the tool
Doesn’t seem like a more than a few odd hand tools Walmart is reducing in price. Could be slow sellers or need the schematic space for something new? Walmart can make and/or break a company the way they market products. It’s ALL about margin and if another tool company or any company can offer something similar but a cheaper cost Walmart will jump on that boat in a heartbeat! I remember a few years ago when Walmart did their annual (guessing) tool revamp and Black and Decker completely disappeared and turned into Skill power tools overnight! The next year Black Decker was back in force and Skill was gone. I would imagine it had to do with more than Walmart Cost ie perhaps it was warranty reimbursement, promo money or whatever…but the point is Walmart is a bully and when they tell a company to jump through hoops well then you better jump or lose the multi-million dollar account in a New York Minute! I haven’t purchased any Hart Tool stuff but that because I am adequately supplied with power tools and hand tools. I hope the Hart line is selling well but piss someone at corporate off and goodbye Hart!
AngryDrumGuy
While I don’t get particularly excited about the prospect of shopping at Walmart, I do appreciate them having an above-terrible line of tools. Twice now, I’ve been working and had an “oh no” moment where Walmart saved the day by having what I needed to finish the job because they were closer than any tool-exclusive retailer. I’ll never intentionally use what I bought as a daily tool, but I was grateful to not delay a job by more than an hour and only spend a few dollars to resolve the situation.
A nice discovery was seeing the Hart utility knife blades were Made in USA. Not a big deal to some, but I appreciate it.
Franco Calcagni
Stuart, I think you might need to avoid reviews on anything sold by Walmart. As you can see, anything sold by Walmart gets the automatic snub, because it is Walmart.
These tools do have a market, but not by people who follow your site. These are for Walmart shoppers, who may want something a bit better than no-name super cheap other tools they may have.
Your followers are pros, diy’ers, shade tree mechanics and so on. People that either want made in USA, or decent quality imports.
Stuart
There are some Hart tools and equipment I would buy, such as the technician case: https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/hart-technician-tool-box/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
But these hand tools? I don’t know…
If it were more convenient to obtain, I might have purchased some of them for different reasons, such as the stubby screwdrivers for my kids’ smaller hands.
A non-zero number of readers bought some of these tools – we have affiliate arrangement with Walmart and I can see anonymous reporting data – but perhaps not enough to justify future posts of this nature.
I might still bundle this kind of deal or tool discussion into periodic summary posts.
What I’ve learned over the years is that you cannot make assumptions. Whenever I post about Harbor Freight power tools, those stories have as much impact and interest as stories on new Dewalt or Milwaukee products. Who would have thought?
A post like this one is partly aimed at readers looking for lower-priced tools at bargain pricing, but I also found it to be an interesting development.
These Hart tools at Walmart are also still a part of the larger tool industry. If it’s interesting to me, I figure the changes are good it’s of interest to others.
Also, keep in mind that there are 3 main types of readers: 1) Regulars who comment, 2) Regulars who do not comment, and 3) Visitors looking for information.
If you ever look at a public forum, specifically the number of people signed in vs. the number of guests, the ratio of readers who comment to those who do not is even more uneven.
A surprising number of readers were interested in the Irwin $4 stubby screwdriver deal – https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/irwin-stubby-multi-bit-screwdriver-112020/%3C/a%3E .
It’s hard to know the boundary of community interests unless you reach out and feel for it.
Joe Hanson
The tools I liked from Hart are no longer available and I can’t buy them. I should have when they were available but none of Hart’s current tool offerings are appealing at all. Other companies offer comparable tools of comparable duality for a lesser price for the most part. I liked their hammers, especially their sledgehammer which I have and love. The cross section busts concrete better than any sledge I’ve used. I wish I bought their mattock when it was available.
Jerry
Pretty much everything you listed is now out of stock, but if I read right more should be coming in
Flotsam
Still hate going to walmart. So this is not all that interesting to me.