Tools Discussions

Lots of Political posts will follow, but that seems to be the way it is in our modern times. As long as Sears backs up the lifetime warranty on the hand tools. All of us Americans would rather have everything made in the US, but companies need to make profits, and we American workers apparantly earn too much to produce many products that can sell at prices we want to pay. It is a catch 22 situation. Even US built cars have many parts manufactured all over the world. My wife bought a bag of cedar chips that get used in the clothes closet: Grown in the US, manufacured in China. Now that seems TOTALLY ridiculous.

The only thing ruining my "Customer satisfaction" with my latest major purchase (12" bandsaw) is the "Made in China" rather prominently shown on the bandsaw's nameplate.

If I ever want to resell it to upgrade to a larger model, the country of origin will make it closer in resale value to a "Harbor Fright" import ...:(

I realized thjis before purchasing ... but ... it's still not something I'll ever be comfortable with.

Ahem ... The laws have been changed or disregarded to allow sale of goods not meeting First World safety, labor or environmental laws. That's the major savings ...

Not so much First World wage earners "priced themselves out" of the market.

Litigation is rampant.

Try sueing China!

Most of the Craftsman hand tools are still made "here".

Around 99% of Craftsman hand tools are made in the US. Power tools are almost universally made in China or Mexico regardless of brand. If it runs on electricity and it isn't an appliance, it's made in China/Taiwan/Korea/Mexico.

If you like robust capitalism, then you like this trend, because it reflects the need of manufacturing companies to find the lowest cost/highest margin methods of producing goods for the American consumer while keeping prices low at the retail level, which results in higher share prices for shareholders.

That's why, for instance, Craftsman ratcheting wrenches cost more than the GearWrench brand, despite being made by the same manufacturer (Craftsman made in USA, GearWrench made in China). The American consumer has resoundingly demonstrated that price is a far greater motivator than country of origin. If country of origin was such a sacred institution, Wal-Mart would have gone out of business by now.

However, the age of electronic products being made in America is over. No sense in wasting tears over it.

Craftsman's POWER TOOLS MADE IN CHINA. However, a vast majority of their products are MADE OR ASSEMBLED IN THE USA.  Power tools are expensive to produce, and there are no factories in the US that make them anymore. With a few exceptions Craftsman is MADE IN USA!

U... S... A!

We still make our own flags...

Right?

I've seen flags made in China before, but I'd never buy such a product. There is something inherently wrong about buying the flag of your country and paying another country for that privilege.

That would be just WRONG...

Although, it is amazing how many patriotical retail items are NOT made "here".

Truth is it comes down to a bottom line. Most people have an idea of what they would want to spend on a certain item and a tool can be made in another country while being able to pay that worker 1/5 what someone would be paid here to do the same thing. Making it here would give everyone that good old feeling of buying something made in the states but the cost would be more. Most people want to see Made In USA but don't want to pay for the increased cost having it made here would cause.

And, there are some tools that know one remembers HOW to make, here and/or cares to make here - no more.