Made In China (OT)

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bluering

Trad climber

Santa Clara, Ca.

Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 25, 2007 - 01:14pm PT

After my wife won a $10,000 shopping spree at a local mall I decided to get some tools at Sears. I bought some Craftsman screwdrivers that are still being made here in the U.S. The diagonal cutters that I purchased for work however were made in China for Craftsman (I noticed afterwards because I assumed the Craftsman name was still worth something). Well, I thought I'd keep 'em and give a try. Today at work I'm cutting through a piece of prototyping board (thin fiberglass) and the piece of sh#t cutters sheared completely through the metal. GAaaaa!!!

Just one more reason to not buy crap made in China. I went next door and bought a pair of Xcelite cutters made by CooperTools in Apex, North Carolina. Sure, they cosy a bit more BUT THEY F*CKING WORK AND WILL PROBABLY CONTINUE TO WORK FOREVER!!!!

dirtbag

climber

Oct 25, 2007 - 01:21pm PT

For a long time, we have all been buying discount stuff made in China because it is cheap. Well, now we are beginning to understand the tradeoffs. I'm certainly giving it more thought these days.

BTW, for those Regulation-haters out there, look at what 0 environmental regs have done for China's environment, allowing manufacturers and ordinary folks to pollute practically everything from air and water to toys and dishes.

Moof

Big Wall climber

A cube at my soul sucking job in Oregon

Oct 25, 2007 - 01:30pm PT

The parent company of Craftsman is Danaher. Danaher just announced they are buying my present employer. Weeeeeee!!!!

John Moosie

climber

Oct 25, 2007 - 01:30pm PT

But dirtbag, Capitolism works as the regulator. Eventually, the people buying the stuff that causes the pollution will see the polution, attribute it to the people making the crap and they will see that they don't want pollution and then they will stop buying the crap.

The people who make the crap and are doing the polluting will lose thier market and adjust by making less pollution.

Of course, by then, everything is polluted.

Dang........Why can't capitolism be perfect?

dirtbag

climber

Oct 25, 2007 - 01:32pm PT

It's always something, isn't it Moosie?

John Moosie

climber

Oct 25, 2007 - 01:36pm PT

Yep......until one wakes up and realizes that problems created from one level of consciousness can't be solved with the same level of consciousness.

Capitolism can't solve the problems of capitolism.

Greed can't solve the problems of greed.

dirtbag

climber

Oct 25, 2007 - 01:49pm PT

Greed can be a productive motivator, but unrestrained greed can lead to big problems.

mcKbill

climber

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Oct 25, 2007 - 04:25pm PT

Experiences vary:

I have some Craftsman and Stanley tools with the 'made in China' stamp, and I was leery at first, but found these tools hold up just as well as their American made cousins.

Craftsman tool guarantee:

I hope 'made in China' makes no difference with respect to the Craftsman tool return guarantee (if it breaks they'll replace it).

ahad aham

Trad climber

Oct 25, 2007 - 04:44pm PT

how the hell did they put a man in space...

and get him back?

happiegrrrl

Trad climber

New York, NY

Oct 25, 2007 - 09:59pm PT

Rokjox - I hate to admit it, but when I was a handbag designer, working with a chinese sampleroom, I used tell people that I often felt they were playing a game with us called "Foil the Westerner!"

The object of the game was to create the illusion of competence, willingness and ability to follow instruction as provided by said westerner, maintain the charade for as long a period as possible, but ultimately not come through with whatever project was agreed upon.

Detailed note taking? a scam
Promised Send date? This too shall pass
etc., etc....

I LOVED being a participant in Foil the Westerner though, and learned how to persevere. The key was to follow up on every detail, and not just accept the nodding "yes" head. But along with that, you had to pull your own weight on each item that was your responsibility, and also had to have reasonable requests and expectations. But it was funny to watch newb salesmen or designers foiled over and over. Like taking candy from a baby.

(I was also told that in India, the nodding "yes" actually mean they could not do whatever it was that you wanted, but most westerners were unaware of that nuance. Don't know if that is fact or fiction).

paganmonkeyboy

Trad climber

the blighted lands of hatu

Oct 25, 2007 - 11:50pm PT

been there, done that - first construction job ever, went to the flea market and bought a bunch of cheap tools and some older used made in america ones - estwing hammer, klein cutters...guess which tools are long since gone, and which ones are still on the belt ;-)

dirtineye

Trad climber

the south

Oct 26, 2007 - 12:28am PT

I had a CPOSC (cheap piece of sh!t Chinese) crescent wrench, and I tried to take a nut off a clipper with it. The nut was frozen. I was a little stronger back then, and I managed to CUT into the crescent wrench steel with the steel nut, leaving a big gouge in the jaws of the CPOSC crescent wrench.

I was not the only thing ill-tempered that day.

Chugach

Trad climber

Dorset, VT

Oct 26, 2007 - 03:42pm PT

Here's the difference... Japanese manufacturers made crap product for years and were labeled as such and changed and now we all line up to buy their superior product. The Chinese are very astute, smart and motivated. They will figure out the quality game. Japan has some cultural advantages (imho) but the Chinese are master emulators.

SO, while we Americans may not like Chinese tools - the products we make are still inferior and languishing and will eventually be surpassed by Chinese quality. Ugh, it hurts to say that. As background, I have spent my life in manufacturing and have worked with and in factories throughout 4 continents.

Bitch or solve. Those damn Chinese don't spend much time bitching.

Jeff

dirtineye

Trad climber

the south

Oct 26, 2007 - 03:50pm PT

Show me a chinese machine tool that can compare to brown & sharp or sterret.

Yeah it'll happen one day, but not now, and not next year.

The Chinese definitely have the potential to make nice high quality stuff, and when they do start in on that, the west is in big trouble.

100 years from now, it will be India and China on top, and the US and Europe will be third world countries.

bachar

Trad climber

Mammoth Lakes, CA

Oct 26, 2007 - 04:38pm PT

Damn Chinese can't make anything....

Battens in sails
Blast furnace
Cast iron
Chinese cuisine: Tofu, Ramen, Sushi
Chinese clothing: Qipao, Hanfu
Chopsticks
Crank, hand-operated
Repeating crossbow
Escapement mechanism for clocks
Exploding cannonball
Fire Arrow
Gunpowder
Firearm
Horse collar
Hull compartments/bulkheads
Kite
Land mines
Lottery
Naval mines
Noodles
Paper
Pendulum (Zhang Heng)
Printing (woodblock printing and movable type)
Rockets: Fire Arrow, Multistage rocket
Rudder
Sailing carriage
Seismometer (of Zhang Heng)
Silk
South Pointing Chariot (differential gear, of Ma Jun)
Sluice gates
Toilet paper
Traditional Chinese medicine
Trebuchet (traction)
Trip hammer
Winnowing machine
Abacus (first appearance: Mesopotamia, 2400 BC. First certain appearance in China: 12th century AD)
Armillary sphere (invented by the Greek Eratosthenes), with the world's first water-powered armillary sphere by Zhang Heng.
Various automata (refer to article on King Mu of Zhou, Mozi, Lu Ban, etc.)
Bellows
Belt drive
Bituminous coke for the iron and steel industry
Compass
Camera obscura
Cardan Suspension
The cannon
Chain drive
Chain pumps
Chinese calendar
Crossbow
Drydock
The Flamethrower
Flash lock
Early explosive grenades
Odometer (also by Archimedes and Heron of Alexandria)
Paddle wheel, for boats
Paper money
Parachutes
Pontoon bridge
Porcelain
Postal system
Pound lock
Scissors
Steel
Suspension bridge
Star catalogue
Tea
Umbrella
Vaccination
Water clock
Waterwheel (also of the Greco-Roman tradition)
Wheelbarrow
Windmill