Depending on where you live, there may be limited choices for home improvement purchases. While Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Ace Hardware are some big names in the industry, not all have stores in every city. Nor are all home improvement stores created equal, either, particularly when it comes to what brands are available in the aisles.
Many top tool brands are exclusive to Home Depot, like Ryobi and Milwaukee. Yet that doesn’t mean Lowe’s isn’t worth checking out. Lowe’s also has some exclusive brands, including those that offer tools. Plus, Lowe’s has a lease-to-own program for many of its products, making it easy to afford all kinds of home improvement projects, no matter your budget. Even if you don’t have a Lowe’s near you, ordering online is easier than ever. From the cheapest power tool brands to gardening, household, and other manual tools, these are the exclusives you can find at Lowe’s alone.
Project Source
Lowe’s private brands include a long list of big names, yet Project Source might be the most well-known. You’ll see it everywhere from the moment you walk into the store (or start searching online). Lowe’s promotes Project Source as a budget-stretching segment of its brand, as is often the case with store brands.
Project Source offers a wide range of tools, including hand tools such as rubber mallets, Phillips screwdrivers, and saws. You’ll also find Project Source-branded tool sets (with great reviews), mechanics’ tools, woodworking supplies, and all manner of utility knives, pliers, and more. Whether you need to buy an entire set or replace a single screwdriver, Project Source likely has what you need.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Project Source tools generally receive rave reviews online, but the highest-rated are rubber mallets, claw hammers, and pliers. Items like razor blades, magnets, and screwdrivers are also popular. The best part? Each of those items costs less than $10.
Kobalt
Although the retailer has plenty of great brands, you won’t find Kobalt tools at Home Depot. That’s because Kobalt is Lowe’s in-house tool brand, with an exclusive deal offering the high-performance tools (Lowe’s words, not ours) in-store and online. As most home improvement enthusiasts know, Kobalt is a major tool brand.
Kobalt Tools are largely made by Chevron, and while Lowe’s boasts of their toughness, they can also be more affordable than other brands. For example, Kobalt’s reciprocating saw is one of the least expensive in Lowe’s lineup, with some of the most and highest reviews. Other Kobalt tools receive similarly high praise. The brand’s 24-volt cordless impact wrench is a top seller with excellent reviews, as are the cordless drill, cordless reciprocating saw, and cordless oscillating multi-tool. Kobalt also offers many other cordless and corded tools, from various saw types to drills, drill presses, and more, so Kobalt might be a safe bet next time you need a tool from Lowe’s.
Blue Hawk
Though brands like Project Source and Kobalt are relatively well-known Lowe’s offerings, there is another one that you might not have noticed in-store. Blue Hawk Tools appears to be a minor brand from Lowe’s, and it is not on our list of major tool brands. There isn’t much information about Blue Hawk online, either. Lowe’s also does not mention Blue Hawk by name on its Lowe’s brands page. However, Lowe’s does currently stock some branded items online, though filtering by brand does not result in Blue Hawk items turning up, in our experience.
We did find a variety of Blue Hawk products at Lowe’s through a general search. Blue Hawk products include paint scrapers, sheet metal screws, equipment for chain link fences, chains, and ropes. Reviews are mixed, depending on the product. It’s also not clear whether more products from Blue Hawk will appear on Lowe’s shelves or if the brand is on its way out.
Lowe’s Essentials
Another notable Lowe’s tool brand is Lowe’s Essentials. The brand makes everything from clothing hangers to garden tools, and its tagline is that it offers everyday home basics for less than $10 per item. Although brands like Blue Hawk are not mentioned, Lowe’s notes that new Lowe’s Essentials items are added frequently.
When we explored the Lowe’s site, the Lowe’s Essentials category featured items like plastic totes, door mats, drywall anchors, flashlights, clothing hangers, gardening gloves, zip ties, extension cords, and gardening tools. As promised, no single item had a listing price over $10. Although they are inexpensive, items like stackable totes, plastic watering cans, plastic gardening tools, and citronella candles seem to receive the most reviews — and the highest ones.
Although tools are few and far between, Lowe’s did promise more products to come. So, we can only assume that more tools — in addition to gardening ones — will be in stock soon.
