| Date purchased | Guitar & "motto" | Note | Ref(s) |
| Unknown | Gibson SG Standard (1969 model) | Hetfield purchased the guitar from a mutual member of the schools jazz band. | |
| 1980 | Electra Flying V | Purchased for $200 in 1980 and used on Kill 'Em All. Broke in 1984 and restored in 2008. | |
| 1984 | Gibson Explorer – "So What" | First used on Ride the Lightning. Also restored in 2008 for the Death Magnetic album. | |
| 1984 | Gibson Explorer – "More Beer" | Hetfield's back-up guitar from 1984 to 1988. | |
| 1985 | Jackson King V Custom – "Kill Bon Jovi" | Used during the recording of Master of Puppets and sporadically during the Damage, Inc. Tour in 1986/87. | |
| 1987 | ESP MX220 – "Eet Fuk" | Hetfield's first ESP and used during the And Justice For All period. | |
| 1987 | ESP MX220 – "So Fucking What" | As with his Gibson Explorer – "More Beer", this was Hetfield's back-up to the ESP MX220 – "Eet Fuk" model. | |
| 1988 | ESP MX220 – "Fuk Em Up" | Hetfield purchased his 3rd ESP in 1988 and while identical to his previous two guitars, this model was all black. | |
| Unknown | ESP Explorer Double Neck | Hetfield used this guitar during live performances of Fade to Black and can be seen during the music video for the song. | |
| Unknown | Gibson EDS-1275 Double Neck | Seen during the music video for Nothing Else Matters. Like a stock guitar. | |
| Unknown | Danelectro/Coral Electric Sitar | Hetfield used this during the recording of Wherever I May Roam from the Black Album. | |
| 1996 | ESP MX250 – "Elk Skull" | Used during the Load period as one of his main live guitars and was painted by artist Dino Muradian. | |
| 1996 | Ken Lawrence Explorer | Custom-made by Ken Lawrence, Hetfield is known to have more than one including a double-neck model. | |
| 1996 | ESP Flying V JH-1 | Designed and built by Matt Masciandaro, Hetfield had two of these guitars. One had red flames, the other one had green. | |
| 1996 | ESP JH-2 | Essentially a port over from his previous guitars, Hetfield's again had two different versions. | |
| 1996 | Fender Telecaster '52 Reissue with B-Bender | A mid 1990s reissue of the 1952 Fender Telecaster, this guitar was used to record the intro on "The Unforgiven II". | |
| 1998 | ESP Eclipse Custom/JH-3 | With artwork designed by Hetfield, all the hardware is gold-plated and the guitar is still used live occasionally. | |
| Unknown | 1963 Gibson SG/Les Paul Standard | A gift from Bob Rock, Hetfield used this guitar in the "Turn the Page" music video. | |
| 2003 | Gibson Explorer – "Rusty" | This guitar was used during the St. Anger era, both in the studio as well as on tour. | |
| Unknown | Gibson Les Paul Custom | Also used around the St. Anger period, this guitar was manufactured in 1973. | |
| Unknown | LTD H-307 | This guitar was used to record Some Kind of Monster. | |
| Unknown | ESP/LTD Baritone Viper – "The Grynch" | Black with green flames, this guitar was used live for songs with Drop D tuning. | |
| Unknown | ESP Truckster | Released in 2008, this ESP guitar was another Hetfield signature model. | |
| Unknown | ESP Iron Cross | This guitar has been used live extensively since 2008 and is inspired by his 1973 Gibson Les Paul. | |
| Unknown | ESP/LTD Snakebyte | A recent Hetfield addition, it is equipped with a set of James Hetfield signature pickups. | |
| 2016 | ESP Vulture | Hetfield has been using this guitar since 2016 and it can be seen on their Instagram and YouTube channels. | |
