Budget-minded DIYers and trade professionals alike know that Harbor Freight offers a wide range of hand tools that every DIYer will want -- often at a fraction of what you might expect to pay for similar products made by other brands. Part of the reason the company can do this is because Harbor Freight itself owns the vast majority of the brands that it sells in its stores, cutting out the middlemen between manufacturer and distribution. What's more, these in-house brands are often tiered by value,
meaning that you might find more than one of them offering the same type of tool at different prices. This allows shoppers to choose between cost and the level of build quality.
When it comes to hand tools, Icon is often considered the store's premium brand, while Pittsburgh tends to be the most affordable option. Doyle, on the other hand, stands somewhere between, with a reputation for being in the upper-middle in terms of quality. The brand is less automotive repair-oriented than many of its peers, however, and the tools that it produces tend to be more geared toward plumbing work, electrical, carpentry, and other fields. But like all Harbor Freight hand tools, its products are also included in the company's lifetime warranty, which means that you can get any of these tools replaced in the event that they are broken or damaged.
Those who are interested in checking out the brand might want to know a bit more about which of Doyle's tools are worth buying and which of them might be best avoided. One of the best ways to learn about the quality of any tool is to take a look at its specs and then consider what other users who have already purchased the product have had to say about it.
Read more: 7 Harbor Freight Icon Tools That Are Worth Buying (And 3 To Avoid)
Doyle 3 Lb. Steel Drilling Hammer - Worth It
There are quite a few highly rated Doyle hand tools that you can get at Harbor Freight, but there's only one individual tool that the brand makes which currently has a perfect 5-star rating on the store's website. That distinction belongs to the brand's 3 lb. Steel Drilling Hammer. This is a compact, yet heavy-hitting hammer that is designed to offer precise and controlled power. You might not think that there's much to the structure of a hammer, but a lot of careful consideration went into its design. The hammer has a head forged of tempered steel for superior hardness with smooth striking surfaces on either end. The handle is made of fiberglass that is flared at the end for added control and overstrike protection. This is also coated in an overmold to help maintain your grip and reduce impact fatigue.
There are only 39 reviews for the hammer available so far, but every single one of them has been positive. "Built strong and easy to use," said one reviewer. "After 40 years of a similar hammer with a solid wooden handle, I find this handle much more comfortable, and it also absorbs the impact blows, allowing less transfer into your hand. Perfect size, perfect weight for most small projects. I recommend." Others complimented the hammer on its ergonomics, quality materials, and durability. With a price tag of just $14.99, it's an easy one to recommend and makes a perfect first tool for anyone interested in exploring what the brand has to offer.
Doyle 24 ½-Inch Forged Steel Hedge Shears - Avoid
Just about everything Doyle makes has a rating that's over 4 stars, but there are a couple of items that have had their scores brought down a tad by users who were less than impressed with some of their design elements. The first of these is the company's 24 ½-inch Forged Steel Hedge Shears.
These are marketed as professional hedge shears that are constructed with corrosion-resistant, high-carbon steel blades that have been heat-treated for added strength. The handles are made from aluminum coated in a grippy overmold and have shock-absorbing handle bumpers that are made to reduce shoulder and hand fatigue. All of that is great, but some users have been disappointed by a few design elements.
The Hedge Sheers currently have a 4.3 out of 5 on the Harbor Freight website. Several users have complained that the shears aren't as sharp as they would like out of the box. "I had trouble cutting bougainvillea branches, which should have been easy," said one reviewer. "Had to make two, three cut attempts for many of the extended branches. I did like the length of the sheers, though. Not too heavy either." You can fix that by sharpening the blades yourself, but it's easy to see how it might be disappointing to someone expecting that initial factory-edge. This seems to be the primary issue that most users experience, but a handful of others have also complained about the pivot joint nut breaking or failing to remain tight.
Doyle 6-Inch Swivel Vise With Anvil And Pipe Jaws - Worth It
A quality vise makes an excellent addition to just about any workshop. Unfortunately, most of the ones you can find in the big box stores come with a pretty hefty price tag. The Doyle 6-inch Swivel Vise with Anvil and Pipe Jaws offers a more affordable alternative that's also one of the company's highest-rated products.
The vise has replaceable 6-inch wide hardened steel jaws in the primary vise that can be opened up to 6 ½ inches apart and provide up to 9,900 lbs. of clamping force. The vise also has separately removable pipe jaws in the tool's throat, which allow the tool to firmly grip round and cylindrical objects that the flat-vise cannot. This modular design makes it so the vise can continue to be used long after the texture on the jaws wears out. The structure itself is made of 60,000 PSI ductile cast iron. It can rotate a full 360° and has four mounting holes so you can easily mount it to a table, tool chest, or workbench.
The tool has a 4.9 out of 5 on the Harbor Freight website with 345 reviews and 99% of buyers claiming that they would recommend it to others. One reviewer claimed that, "this thing will last a lifetime, is built like a tank, operates smoothly and perfectly, and fits in a hitch vise perfectly." Some users still had a hard time with the $199.99 price point, though it's considerably more affordable than similarly speced products from other major brands, such as the Wilton Tradesman Bench Vise. Those who need something smaller can look at the even more affordable and also highly rated Doyle 4 ½-inch Swivel Vise with Anvil and Pipe Jaws.
Doyle Fiberglass Fish Tape - Avoid
Another Doyle product that consumers might want to be wary of is the company's Fiberglass Fish Tape. This is a tool that is often used when running cables and electrical wires, whether it be through conduit such as PVC or across walls and ceilings. This is useful on new constructions, but it can also come in handy when performing DIY tasks such as installing a new light fixture or attempting to run an Ethernet cable through your wall.
Doyle makes a 50 ft. Fiberglass Fish Tape and a 100 ft. Fiberglass Fish Tape and both of them are ranked on the lower end when compared to the company's other products. They're made from a lightweight fiberglass rod with laser-etched length increments that is concealed inside a polypropylene case. This case is designed with raised finger grips, a sloped handle, and an angled release port that makes it easier to feed the line. Unfortunately, customers have found a key problem with this design.
There have been several reports of the tip of the rod, which is designed to attach to the wire or cable the tool is pulling, breaking off within just a few uses. This issue seems to be present on both the 50 ft. model and the 100 ft. model. "I was able to use this for a first project okay, but the tip broke off the second time I used it," one user stated. "It's a bummer that I didn't even get two projects done before it broke." This specific issue appears to be the main source of the 1, 2, and 3-star reviews on both products, pulling the 50 ft. model's score down to a 4.5 and the 100 ft. model's down to 4.3.
Doyle 9 ½-Inch Wire Crimping Tool - Worth It
Those who are interested in doing some electrical work are going to need a good wire crimping tool. These are primarily used to perform three tasks: Cut wire, strip insulation sleeves, and crimp terminals and connectors. I, personally, own the Doyle 8-inch Long Nose All-Purpose Wire Stripper and Crimper and have used it to install several lighting fixtures and ceiling fans with no issue, but there's one model that's even more highly rated: The Doyle 9 ½-inch Wire Crimping Tool.
Rather than being a catch-all stripping, cutting, and crimping tool with pre-marked gauges, this tool utilizes a high leverage design that allows it to crimp more securely with less pressure applied by the user. It's tapered nose also makes it easier to work in confined spaces. The wire cutters at the tip are induction hardened to last longer while the inner jaw consists of a 2-in-1 crimping die that works with insulated and non-insulated terminals that are 10-22 AWG. The tool also has a machined hot-rivet pivot joint to reduce wobble and oil resistant vinyl grips.
With 715 reviews on the Harbor Freight website, this tool has a weighted score of 4.9 out of 5 and a 99% recommendation ratio.
Nearly every review of the tool praises its utility, durability, and value. "These are the best electrical connector crimpers I've ever owned," said one reviewer. "I wish I'd purchased them much sooner." Only a handful of reviews have less-than-perfect scores and nearly all of them marked the same complaint, stating that the crimpers work exceedingly well on larger wires but doesn't make an adequate crimping connection on smaller wires. It's hard to hold this against the crimpers, however, as they aren't rated for wires under 10g AWG.
Methodology
I've been a woodworker for the better part of a decade and have personally purchased and used several of Harbor Freight's Doyle tools in that time. In order to make this list, I started by going to the Harbor Freight website and using its search system to isolate all the Doyle products and then rank them by their review scores. I examined the specs, features, and comparative prices of the highest and lowest rated items, skipping over large kits and tool sets to focus on items that were sold as individual hand tools.
I chose the tools to recommend based on several factors: Their overall utility, their value, the features that they offer, and above all, their reputation for build quality. I verified that previous buyers were happy with each of these attributes by examining the user reviews and making sure that previous customers were happy with them.
I used the same method to recommend items that prospective buyers should avoid. Every product Doyle makes is rated over 4 stars on the company site, but I searched the reviews and found that there were a handful of items where customers had regular complaints about a specific component or mechanism failing to function as intended. These patterns indicate a not-uncommon design flaw that may impact some users' experiences.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.
