Chinese tools IN China

[toolin' around]

Just out of interest, does anyone have any first hand experience with Chinese tools IN China? ie. not the Chinese tools exported to the rest of the word!

I lived and worked in Asia for a long time, and traveled to China pretty often. Sometimes I’d take a walk through the back street shop houses in Shanghai or some other city, and in the “hardware district” each shop sells just one thing... the PVC pipe guy only sells PVC pipe from a little 15’ wide shop front racked to the ceiling with blue PVC... and the tool stores just sell tools, often just one type or specialty... plumbing tools or engineering tools or automotive tools... the tool shops typically look more like jewelry stores... clean vinyl floors, bright lighting, glass windows and a door!

When I wander in to the tool stores, I’m actually astounded by the apparent quality and precision of what I see... I wish I had taken photos (or actually bought something)! No signs of misaligned jaws or wonky molding, none of that heavy chrome plating over questionable material...

Seems like they actually have some really nice stuff, and have pretty high standards on what they use. Seems like the stuff they export to us is what we actually ask them for!!!

I’m sure there is still the jerry rigged tools in the country side, but just seemed a huge contrast to me... so just wondering if anyone has had first hand experience with high quality Chinese tools?

 

[Stuart in MN]

Not mainland China, but I spent most of a year in Taiwan on a construction project. My experience was similar in that there were all kinds of little specialty shops hidden away in back streets for tools, hardware, plumbing and pipe unions, and so on. We could find pretty much anything we needed, we just had to look for it. As for tools in particular, there was good quality stuff as well as cheap stuff, in that regard it wasn't much different than the US. The shops were often the size of a US two car garage, with an open garage door on the front and porcelain tile, with living quarters for the shop owner on a second story above the shop.

On our construction site we used local contractors, and they were an interesting mix. Some showed up with high quality tools in nice toolboxes, some showed up with jerry-rigged stuff in a bag (almost all of them carried their equipment on the back of their scooter or small displacement motorcycle.) I remember watching one guy using an arc welder that looked like it had been salvaged from the Titanic. Another crew was real creative - if they didn't have a wrench handy in the right size, they made one on the spot from a scrap piece of steel with a cutting torch. It was crude but it worked. I actually brought home one of those home made wrenches as a souvenir at the end of the job, I'll have to post a picture of it sometime.

 

[richfinn]

Just out of interest, does anyone have any first hand experience with Chinese tools IN China? ie. not the Chinese tools exported to the rest of the word!

I lived and worked in Asia for a long time, and traveled to China pretty often. Sometimes I’d take a walk through the back street shop houses in Shanghai or some other city, and in the “hardware district” each shop sells just one thing... the PVC pipe guy only sells PVC pipe from a little 15’ wide shop front racked to the ceiling with blue PVC... and the tool stores just sell tools, often just one type or specialty... plumbing tools or engineering tools or automotive tools... the tool shops typically look more like jewelry stores... clean vinyl floors, bright lighting, glass windows and a door!

When I wander in to the tool stores, I’m actually astounded by the apparent quality and precision of what I see... I wish I had taken photos (or actually bought something)! No signs of misaligned jaws or wonky molding, none of that heavy chrome plating over questionable material...

Seems like they actually have some really nice stuff, and have pretty high standards on what they use. Seems like the stuff they export to us is what we actually ask them for!!!

I’m sure there is still the jerry rigged tools in the country side, but just seemed a huge contrast to me... so just wondering if anyone has had first hand experience with high quality Chinese tools?

Like anywhere else I suspect, if your prepared to pay for it, they can do high quality!!!

If they can land stuff on the Moon and build Nukes they must be able to make hand tools

Take a look at Huawei's new headquarters, reminded me of Disney's EPCOT theme park!!!

 

[zendriver]

Maybe they have a chain of stores called 内地货运

People say it smells great!

 

[laser3kw]

instead of Harbor Freight stores, they have Craftsman outlet stores

 

[jonshonda]

I would imagine India or Africa is to China, what China is to the US.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Given their might on the world stage, good bet they have the full spectrum of tool quality.

 

[nmantas]

There have been a few videos posted here before that are pretty easy to find of the Yiwu and Guangzhou Markets that seem to be both retail and wholesale:
(A lot of these hardware/tool markets have an American flea market feel to them)

 

[MeentSS02]

Given their might on the world stage, good bet they have the full spectrum of tool quality.

This gets my vote.

They sell what they think people will buy. Most Americans wouldn't know a high quality tool from a poor quality one, but most don't need high quality tools. Those that do know where to find them.

 

[vssjim]

I would guess that most tools in China are made in China like SATA and any imports would be the real pricey US and German premium brands for the few that can afford and want them. At this point China presses companies to make products in China and wants to bring in raw materials so that can do the value adding part in China and use domestically or export to maximum China gain. People complain about companies moving production to China but they are under pressure from the sales contracts to do such moves. I have as many USA made tools as anybody but many items are a no choice and China made stuff is high quality when they are contracted to. IE OTC now Bosch owned moved most items to China as in I broke a O2 sensor socket that was US made when I bought it is now China made and a one warranty instead of lifetime when bought and the new looks and works identical but Bosch makes a lot more money now.

 

[Train]

Seems like the stuff they export to us is what we actually ask them for!!!

This is exactly right. We're not getting chinese brands. We're getting north american brands, manufactured in China. Made to the specs given to them by the sellers. If you want dinner plates made so an elephant can stand on it, China will make them for you. If you tell them you don't want plates that will hold a bird, but has to hold a fly, China will make them for you. If a north american brand is made with cheap material, the seller knows it's made with cheap material. He also knows people will buy it anyway because the price point is what the average joe can afford to fork out.

 

[yeldogt]

There have been a few videos posted here before that are pretty easy to find of the Yiwu and Guangzhou Markets that seem to be both retail and wholesale:
(A lot of these hardware/tool markets have an American flea market feel to them)

Many of those markets are rep stations .... yes they are selling but they are also trade stations .... almost like the speciality marts that (at one time all over the USA) are not open to the public.

China makes high quality ... there is more money to be made selling less expensive stuff in the USA. It has higher margins .... over time we forget what high quality is and good enough rules.

 

[RoundedNut]

I think most people are greatly overestimating the sophistication and expertise required to make tools. The "advanced" SBD Texas plant hailed as the savior of Craftsman only costs $90M to build. Taiwanese TSMC's next plant to make semiconductor chips costs $20B and will maintain the company's lead as the most advanced chip maker in the world.

So making quality hand tools is relatively child's play in today's global manufacturing spectrum.

 

[username2]

Taiwanese TSMC's next plant to make semiconductor chips costs $20B and will maintain the company's lead as the most advanced chip maker in the world.

...and then $40B, and then $80B.

Moore's Other Law.

 

[zendriver]

I think most people are greatly overestimating the sophistication and expertise required to make tools. The "advanced" SBD Texas plant hailed as the savior of Craftsman only costs $90M to build. Taiwanese TSMC's next plant to make semiconductor chips costs $20B and will maintain the company's lead as the most advanced chip maker in the world.

So making quality hand tools is relatively child's play in today's global manufacturing spectrum.

Ironically, it used to be the other way around.

The US made the computer chips and China stamped out the open-end wrenches.

So much for priorities

 

[visionguru]

My wife's employer sent her to work in China for a month at the end of 2019. She brought back these for me. 3/8" drive 20,21,22,23,24mm deep/shallow sockets and a 22/24mm flare nut wrench, total cost about $10-ish. The quality is quite good (especially considering the price).

These seem to be one of the many demestic brands in China.

When I visited China about 3 years ago, I found that they have all kinds European brands tools in the stores, such as PB Swiss, Knipex, Facom, Wera, Wiha.... Even tools from UK that I never saw mentioned here on GJ. The prices are equivalent to or higher than the prices in US.

If there is a GJ like forum in China, people might talk about imported tools, while their domestic brands are for people looking for value.

To put into perspective about manufacturing in China, China has more industrial robots than the next five countries combined (#2 Japan #3 US #4 Korea #5 Germany)

 

[Kscardsfan]

Some very interesting points made in this thread. Hadn’t seen sockets like those above before, very interesting.

 

[MushCreek]

China will make whatever you're willing to pay. I was a tool maker, building plastic injection molds. We had molds from China that cost less than the raw materials would cost in the US. They were horrible. I've also seen Chinese molds that were the equal of anything on the planet, but they weren't cheap.

US retailers set a price point, resulting in poor to mediocre tools. Japan used to be the same way, but they got their act together, and wound up building better products than the US. China can (and does) make good stuff, if American retailers would be willing to pay for it. The higher end stuff at HF is apparently an attempt at bringing in better stuff. The problem for China now is that they are perceived as making ****. They will have to buck that trend and prove otherwise. I'm old enough to remember hearing people say that Japanese products were junk.

 

[dnschmidt]

instead of harbor freight stores, they have craftsman outlet stores :d

comment of the year so far!!!

 

[qqzj]

That is going to happen soon. China single child policy has quickly diminished its younger population. The labor cost is going up quick. Nowadays, Chinese bosses are operating factories in cheaper countries. In the long run, cheaper stuff will be made in africa and stay there forever I guess.

China will make whatever you're willing to pay. I was a tool maker, building plastic injection molds. We had molds from China that cost less than the raw materials would cost in the US. They were horrible. I've also seen Chinese molds that were the equal of anything on the planet, but they weren't cheap.

US retailers set a price point, resulting in poor to mediocre tools. Japan used to be the same way, but they got their act together, and wound up building better products than the US. China can (and does) make good stuff, if American retailers would be willing to pay for it. The higher end stuff at HF is apparently an attempt at bringing in better stuff. The problem for China now is that they are perceived as making ****. They will have to buck that trend and prove otherwise. I'm old enough to remember hearing people say that Japanese products were junk.

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