Category Archives: Tool Catalogs

Tool catalogs are a great resource for finding and purchasing a wide variety of tools and equipment. You might find tools for DIY projects or professional jobs.

W.W. Grainger Catalog

Grainger Catalog

Started in 1927 by William W. Grainger, this Chicago based business was incorporated as W. W. Grainger, Inc., in 1928. Sales in the beginning were generally through mail order via post cards and a catalog. The catalog was originally called The MotorBook and was filled with wholesale electric motors.

Bill Grainger opened a branch in Philadelphia in 1933, then continued to open more local branches to better serve customers. By 1936 there were 15 branches in operation.

In 1967, Grainger became a publicly traded company.

The first Motorbook catalog was 8 pages long, today the 4,000-page Grainger catalog is still printed annually and is also available online at Grainger.com, the company’s award-winning Web site. By 2010, the catalog carried over 400,000 products, and over 900,000 products through their website.

Grainger provides businesses and institutions of all sizes with products such as adhesives, hand tools, power tools, testing instruments, hardware, and even office furniture. They supply customers in industries such as Janitorial, Painting, Plumbing, Electrical, Pneumatics, Hydraulics and Metalworking.

For more than 80 years The Grainger Catalog has been an indispensable a resource for diverse customer base that ranges from government offices and institutions to manufacturing and retail establishments, with more than 307,000 facilities maintenance products.

Harbor Freight Catalog

Harbor Freight Tools was started in Los Angeles in 1968 by Alan Smidt. The company originally bought damaged freight goods and sold them to contractors from the back of a truck. Soon a small army of telephone salesmen were hired and the company began to grow.

The Harbor Freight mail order catalog started as a single sheet of paper in a standard envelope, and after massive success with that, the company rolled out a full-blown catalog in the mid 1980’s.

Now based in Camarillo, California, the company offers a large variety of tools through its mail-order catalog, web site, and retail stores. The Harbor Freight website claims to have “one of the largest selections of brand-name tools, plus many items you just can’t find elsewhere.” Brands offered include Chicago Electric, Pittsburgh, Central Machinery, Central Hydraulic, and Central Forge.

Harbor Freight Catalog

As a Harbor Freight Catalog fan, we know you enjoy shopping for tools and supplies for home improvement from the comfort and convenience of home, so here are a few More Great Tool Ideas you need to see.

JC Whitney

In 1915, near the beginning of the automotive age, Lithuanian immigrant Israel Warshawsky started a scrap metal yard in Chicago that would eventually evolve into the company known as JC Whitney. As demand grew beyond what he could supply with used parts, Warshawsky bought failed auto manufacturers to add new parts to the inventory. The Warshawky Company continued to grow and eventually opened a retail store.

Israel’s son Roy joined the company in 1934 and proposed a nationwide distribution for the company’s catalog, which, until then, had been distributed only in the Chicago area. They ran a sixty dollar ad in Popular Mechanics offering a “giant auto parts catalog” for twenty-five cents. Response was huge.

Today the company continues it’s mission to make it easy for consumers to purchase independent aftermarket products.

Categories of auto parts offered on the JC Whitney website include Fuel Saving Products, For Your Motorcycle, Audio Video & Electronics, Lights & Lighting, Hitches Towing & Trailers, and many more. Interior, exterior, or under the hood, JC Whitney has been supplying the world’s auto parts, by mail order, for most of the last century.

Click the banner below to explore JC Whitney for yourself.

JC Whitney Catalog