Who Makes Harbor Freight's Air Hammers & How Much Do They Cost?

It's always nice to pay a visit to your local Harbor Freight to browse for tools, especially if you have something specific in mind. If you don't shop at Harbor Freight that much, you might not be familiar with the store's many in-house brands, which are manufacturers that provide products directly to Harbor Freight on exclusive contracts. A large portion of the various tools you'll find in any given Harbor Freight come from one of these brands, each one specializing in different price points and product sectors.

For example, if you're in the market for an air hammer, Harbor Freight has products on offer from three of its in-house brands: Central Pneumatic, McGraw, and Chief. The exact price of the air hammer you end up with will depend largely on which of these brands you decide to go in on, as well as the features and capabilities you're looking to get. Broadly, though, you could be looking at anywhere from under $20 to well over $100.

One air hammer available at Harbor Freight comes from Central Pneumatic, two from its McGraw brand, and two wear the Chief label. The cheapest air hammer at Harbor Freight is the Central Pneumatic air hammer Kit., Central Pneumatic is Harbor Freight's brand for base-level air-powered equipment like spray guns and air tanks. Despite being called a "kit," its chisels are sold separately. This hammer retails for $16.99. Some other affordable Harbor Freight air hammers are from McGraw, a brand that specializes in air-powered tools as well as various affordable air compressors. McGraw offers a medium-barrel air hammer and a long-barrel air hammer, with stroke lengths of 2-5/8 in. and 3-1/2 in., respectively. 

The McGraw medium-barrel air hammer is the second-cheapest air hammer available at Harbor Freight, retailing for $19.99. The McGraw long-barrel air hammer sells for $39.99. For higher-end air hammers, Harbor Freight's brand of choice is Chief. Chief also specializes in air tools like angle grinders and riveters, but with a higher-quality, professional-grade level of construction appreciated by users. Chief offers another two air hammers, a Professional medium-barrel air hammer and a professional long-barrel air hammer. Their strokes are roughly the same as the McGraw air hammers, but their casings are made of tougher materials to better handle tasks like chipping and scraping. The Chief professional medium-barrel air hammer retails for $49.99, while the long-barrel version is Harbor Freight's most expensive option on offer at $139.99.