Chinese Tools

[mjarrels]

Just a thought... would people buy made in North Korea products?

mark

 

[ToadHill]

I've had good experiences with the impact sockets. I don't buy expensive ones because my son looses them as fast as I buy them.

 

[YanmarFever]

Just a thought... would people buy made in North Korea products?

mark

Please name a communist country that makes good tools?

I dont know of any

 

[DieselPower]

Please name a communist country that makes good tools?

I dont know of any

Well said!

All of my tools are made in either the USA or Germany. The few elchepo ones made in China I have picked up at auctions over the years go straight in the dumpster.

 

[scott_vt]

Afternoon Billy,
Im under the same consensus that most posters are, in that if its a tool that Im going to be using frequently I will spend the extra money on the better tools.

If its something Im gonna use once or twice I could be tempted to buy Chinese, especially if it looks like it will hold up to that many uses !

 

[Soundguy]

I'd also like to add the the tools that are to be modified.. I'e torched, welded or cut on.. al all elcheap-o.. no need to put the blue axe to a 12$ craftsman when a 2$ HF will do for the single job I need it on.. etc.. Example.. I have a couple tractors with level check plugs. Over the years.. or from previous owner neglect, the plugs get chewed up due to some lazy people putting a pipe wrench on it vs a box end wrench.. When i can.. I like to save them ( why waste money? ).. and I will file them back flat. Sometimes it works out so that I can file them a tad and get a good fit on a common metric or SAE wrench.. other times I don't feel like taking more of fthan needed.. and my bucket of old roadside and el cheapo wrenches usually gets 'tapped' for that job... find some good close size wrench, and then file it's box to fit.. electro pencil it as for purpose. then throw in tractor tool box...

Soundguy

 

[AlanB]

Man Ernie and Diesel, while I respect the sentiment, I would find it amazing to find a shop with no chinese tools in it now days.

Even some of the stuff I thought were "good" tools, happened to flip on the back and find Made in China on the packages.

B & D and Dewalt comes to mind looking at their bits on Sunday.

I think you would be hard pressed in this town to find a diamond blade that did not come out of China.

I was thinking about this, this morning, this thread having made me think about it a bit, that if we ever had bad relations with say China, what "tools" or really "things" that used to be made in the US would then be just no longer available until some US company tooled back up to do it?

I certainly don't have the answers, I do use Chinese tools regularly, and feel I need to, so that I can be competitive, in the business's I work, while there are a lot of H2B and other legal Latin american Workers, there is also a fair number of illegal's not playing on the same tax / insurance playing field I must play on.

I do not know if I would buy a north Korean tool. I would expect when they first come out, they will be inferior like the Japanese and the Chinese where when they first came out, but look at what they developed into.

Interesting questions that get raised.

How far do you go to prevent having "communist Country" items in your home? I have to think many of the products I deal with on a daily basis, including this computer I bet, come from a communist country, and if not the entire device, I would certainly be willing to bet a majority of the components.

 

[YanmarFever]

Man Ernie and Diesel, while I respect the sentiment, I would find it amazing to find a shop with no chinese tools in it now days.

Even some of the stuff I thought were "good" tools, happened to flip on the back and find Made in China on the packages.

B & D and Dewalt comes to mind looking at their bits on Sunday.

I think you would be hard pressed in this town to find a diamond blade that did not come out of China.

I was thinking about this, this morning, this thread having made me think about it a bit, that if we ever had bad relations with say China, what "tools" or really "things" that used to be made in the US would then be just no longer available until some US company tooled back up to do it?



I certainly don't have the answers, I do use Chinese tools regularly, and feel I need to, so that I can be competitive, in the business's I work, while there are a lot of H2B and other legal Latin american Workers, there is also a fair number of illegal's not playing on the same tax / insurance playing field I must play on.

I do not know if I would buy a north Korean tool. I would expect when they first come out, they will be inferior like the Japanese and the Chinese where when they first came out, but look at what they developed into.

Interesting questions that get raised.

How far do you go to prevent having "communist Country" items in your home? I have to think many of the products I deal with on a daily basis, including this computer I bet, come from a communist country, and if not the entire device, I would certainly be willing to bet a majority of the components.

Alan, that was a fair reply,

However.... there are a certain caliber of mechanics and repair professionals in this country that put out their best everyday, and when they do, they demand alot from their tools.
I have used chinese tools years ago when I didnt know any better, my neck muscle is still paying the price.

My father, (rest his soul) owned a large manufacturing plant in Portland Oregon for close to 52 yrs. he was also a metalurgist for the US. govt.
He told me that in China only the Govt. had enough power to run PRODUCTION heat treat furnaces for their military equipment.

Private industry had very substandard methods for hardening their metal
which includes tools , tractors, ect...

China does produce some high quality items, BUT you have to pay a higher price for them, and the importers who bring in the cheap stuff do not want to pay that higher price, they would rather sell their cheaper junk to the unsuspecting buyer, who thinks he is really getting a bargain.
Same thing applies to tractors whether they come from china or vietnam.

You see Alan, in communist countrys when you have your tractor, car, tools, or what ever go bad, you are on your own, if you get hurt its to bad.
In America, the word travels fast when a company puts out a bad product, and we have consumer watchdog groups, govt regulations ect... and yes lawyers.

Just wait until chinese cars arrive in this country, (and they are on the way)!

The reason Japan makes high quality items in my opinion is because they are proud and WANT to be the best of the best and they arent a communist country,they are hard workers, (not just enough to get by)

Look at their cars & tractors

 

[AlanB]

Don't get me wrong Ernie, I am a HUGE fan of quality tools,,,, Just ask my wife and Snap On Man But there are places where I find the chinese tools acceptable. (and have made my living at least two days in a row with hand tools )

Much of the discussion of the Chinese stuff now, echoes very similar to what I heard in my youth in the Bultaco and Hodaka Motorcycle shops, that those little Japanese things would never amount to anything

Or my Grandfather, who when given a new little car to drive to Florida hoping he would carry them at his dealerships said, Nobody will ever buy these little German things, the quality is not there like a good American made car.

From the communism I have seen in E Germany, without personal gain as a motivation, things slowly just fall apart. May take longer with China, and they may adapt as times go on, but time will tell.

Sorry I wandered off the original posters topic, and am probably wading too deep into the "politics" pool.

I guess I am still in the "buy what suits the application" group. Politics to the side.

Of course I could always go buy one of those "Ranch Hand" tractors (from that one in Washington, and I would be BUYING AMERICAN! Go figure

 

[kenmac]

I can remember way back in time, when no body wanted to buy stuff made in Japan . It was called Japan Junk. Now, were lucky to get anything (except autos ) tools , etc, made in Japan