China Tool vs vintage US Tool... Any Questions?

[1 Wild R/T]

 

[padam]

I’ll be honest I did not think the press would budge either sledgehammer.
Chineseum is worse than I thought.

The axe test was pretty stupid

 

[Richard Cranium]

Chinesium.

 

[Hey-O]

I think everything from China is junk and although it's almost impossible I check and try to avoid their products at all cost. I remember when we were kids, anything made in Japan was junk, not true today.

 

[WileERobby]

Confucius say "chinese tools more flexible"

 

[maxwedgechar]

If it concerns my safety I try to buy US made. It appears that ladders are all made in Mexico. If you know of a manufacturer that makes them in the US please tell me. I bought a Hein-Werner floor jack. It was assembled in the US. It meant that hopefully somebody made sure all the parts were up to spec. I bought my jack stands 50 years ago when they were still made here. I worry about hammers and chisels and pry bars. Chinese tools are disposable; Use them once and throw them away! I am always surprised when I find a US made item at Harbor Freight! I needed a BIG pipe wrench. I went to Lowes, I think, 'cause I had a gift card. And much to my amazement there were Rigid brand wrenches MADE IN THE USA! Of coarse I bought one!

 

[Budnicks]

Almost everything older is better...
says a 63 y/o USA citizen

I hate Chinese tools, I don't buy Chinese tools/junk
when I shop I look for country of origin
when ever possible
I research it online too, to the actual origins/country of origin, father/mother co.

wish more people would at least try to buy domestically too
do the same, it takes a bit more effort, maybe a bit more $$
but well worth it

the old concrete vs new concrete was cool too

 

[GetX'd]

I think everything from China is junk and although it's almost impossible I check and try to avoid their products at all cost. I remember when we were kids, anything made in Japan was junk, not true today.

I agree and I clearly remember. But I seriously doubt the reds will ever come remotely close to the rise of quality in Japanese’s products. China‘s junk today will still be junk into the next century and beyond. These two countries and peoples could not be further apart in mindset and objective. There is no comparison and I know this intimately from decades of exposure to both in both business, personal and immersion into their cultures.

 

[66 Sat]

The only meaningful comparison was the sledgehammers.

The concrete test has too many variables. What mix/age was the modern concrete?
An 80 MPa mix at 56 days will perform completely differently to a 25 MPa mix at 7 days. Who knows what they tested?

I always look for made in Australia or made in USA when buying tools (or anything else to be honest). Not always easy to find though.

 

[Hey-O]

I agree and I clearly remember. But I seriously doubt the reds will ever come remotely close to the rise of quality in Japanese’s products. China‘s junk today will still be junk into the next century and beyond. These two countries and peoples could not be further apart in mindset and objective. There is no comparison and I know this intimately from decades of exposure to both in both business, personal and immersion into their cultures.

My last lake house was almost a hour from the down town action by road and 30 miles by water. I had a store in my basement with at least two of everything in case of a disaster. I lost a few tools in the lake while swimming around repairing the dock or hoists. I would buy harbor freight cheap tools after losing a few snap on adjustable wrenches. I bought a cheap good size vise from china town harbor freight one day while buying a few wrenches and it looked really nice! The first time I had a piece of metal on it to bend, I missed and landed square on the top of it and the hammer head went into the hollow hole in the casting of the vice. I was so pissed, I unbolted it and threw it in the lake in 28 feet of water by my dock, never to be seen again. Honestly, I truly do not like anything or anybody from China. In my life I have had business dealings with people from China, I'm sorry, but I want NOTHING to do with them ever again. I would love to see a day when we no longer import their crap, but that day of them totally going away will never come. Our greed for cheap prices will always be there and why would they build quality when they know we love cheap. You know what they say, a sucker is born every minute, unfortunately I've been one...........

 

[Detective D]

Most of my work tools are Armstrong. Except I bought them years ago when it was still just Armstrong. Stanly owns them now. Do NOT buy.
Most of my stuff at home was bought either a coupe decades back, inherited from the family farm, or bought at local flea markets.

Buying new is for a sucker. Watch for older Snap On obviously, but old Armstrong, Indestro Super and a few others made in USA going back maybe to the 70's. Also, Thorson from the 70's, 80's, and early 90's. made in taiwan. Doesn;t matter, the fit is perfect and they are invincible. I broke the open end of a 5/8" combo wrench once on the farm putting a 4 foot pipe on it.
Flea markets are your friend, and garage sales. A lot of people don't recognize Indestro(Chicago) and think it is some old badly translated asian company. Obviously for any of those brands that were around for a century or even back to WW1 you don;t want metalurgy stuff from that long ago. Look for stuff with that name that looks like an 80's design and you should be good.
oh and Diamond Tool and Horshoe Co. IF IT IS FROM MINN. They got bought too and newer stuff is terri-bad.

As for Japan, the only thing I would get that is older is Fuller, and that would only be if the design is good. Fuller from Japan in the 70's used VERY high quality steel, but many tool designs were poor. I have a channel lock Fuller that survived 30 years of farm use and is in my toolbox yet. Also a hatchet(AMAZING) but some of their wrenches and screwdrivers were junk and the ratchets were terrible, mostly fit and design issues.
Nowdays Japan cares about quality. I think it started in the 70's in certain industries and was proven out and adopted through many more as the 1980's went on.