Okay guys, we all know that 'Made in the USA' is what we all look for when it comes to tools, but if you had to buy something that was made overseas and you had a choice of 'Made in China' or 'Made in Taiwan', which would you pick? For example, there may be some old stock that was Made in Taiwan, but the new stock is now Made in China. Both are available for you to pick from - which do you pick? Is one better than the other or are they seen as being equal?
Made in China or Taiwan preference
- Thread starter vjquan
- Start date
lbgradwell
Well-known member
Taiwan, no question.
Merkava_4
Banned
Bangladesh or Calcutta? 
eschoendorff
Well-known member
Again, Taiwan without a doubt. All political issues aside, from my own personal experience Taiwan sourced good have a much better track record with QC. Most of the "junk" that I have bought from HF (like impact sockets) were sourced from Taiwan and I have had no problems...
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Taiwan given only those choices.
toms73novass
Well-known member
Taiwan, no question 
krusty the clown
Member Emeritus
political issues NOT set aside......taiwan.
Taiwan, for the same reasons as eschoendorff. I can't fault the quality of the Taiwan made GearWrench products I've bought, and store branded Taiwanese screwdrivers seem to be much better than the Chinese equivalents, for much the same money.
jimmycrackcorn
Well-known member
Taiwan, without a doubt...
Coach James
Well-known member
Taiwan without question.
arkracing
Well-known member
I agree with everyone else - Taiwan
I was just in HF last nite (I don't know what I was thinking), but anyway they had socket rails on sale for .50/ea. There were mostly "Made in China", but I found some @ the bottom of the pile that were "Made in Taiwan" - needless to say I grabbed 14 made in Taiwan socket rails.
The chrome was nicer than the Chinese ones, they just seemed to be a little better in quality.
I was just in HF last nite (I don't know what I was thinking), but anyway they had socket rails on sale for .50/ea. There were mostly "Made in China", but I found some @ the bottom of the pile that were "Made in Taiwan" - needless to say I grabbed 14 made in Taiwan socket rails.
The chrome was nicer than the Chinese ones, they just seemed to be a little better in quality.
Another vote for Taiwan ... they have been making tools longer and they seem to have the quality control on their stuff ...
l_bilyk
Well-known member
Taiwan. My bosch miter saw was made in taiwan and that thing is great. Dewalt planer too. A good chunk of "mastercraft" stuff is made by stan-ree in taiwan and in all honesty I haven't found fault with any of it.
Plus as of last September they have a separate constitution.
Plus as of last September they have a separate constitution.
Chris Adams
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2007
- Messages
- 2,117
Taiwan.
No doubt.
I have tools from each and while I suppose China may catch up someday its twenty years away.
besides Taiwan is a great country, great people.
China could be...
No doubt.
I have tools from each and while I suppose China may catch up someday its twenty years away.
besides Taiwan is a great country, great people.
China could be...
ba614
Well-known member
Taiwan ...
I have sockets and ratchets made by Toptul "Taiwan" that I'm more than satisfied with the fit, finish and quality of. I also have S-K ratcheting wrenches made in Taiwan. Just as with the Toptul tools, fit, finish and quality are top rate all the way.
The only China made tools I have are the Craftsman Professional Mini Plier set. They are very good to top quality pliers but I would not have bought them if I had noticed they were made in China. I have a issues with Communist China.
I have sockets and ratchets made by Toptul "Taiwan" that I'm more than satisfied with the fit, finish and quality of. I also have S-K ratcheting wrenches made in Taiwan. Just as with the Toptul tools, fit, finish and quality are top rate all the way.
The only China made tools I have are the Craftsman Professional Mini Plier set. They are very good to top quality pliers but I would not have bought them if I had noticed they were made in China. I have a issues with Communist China.
I think Communist China is fast becoming Capitalistic China ....
jimmycrackcorn
Well-known member
wow the toptul stuff looks fairly decent, never use any of the stuff but from the looks of their website they want a chunk of the market....
reversegear
Well-known member
Not only would I choose Taiwan over China, but off the top of my head I can think of a couple of tools produced in Taiwan where the quality is better than any comparable product made in the USA. We always think that made in USA is best quality, and historically that has been true. But times are changing. Taiwan started producing tools in the 60's, and there are now older Taiwanese guys with 30+ years experience in this kind of manufacturing. If a U.S. or European company is willing to pay for it, Taiwan can do it.
chevy302dz
Well-known member
Taiwan 100%
DavidtheDuke
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2008
- Messages
- 559
I think that's true, hopefully they'll stop trying to block their citizens from free speech. You can be free enterprising with an iron fist, too.
100% Taiwan for me.
Merkava_4
Banned
I remember back during the 1980's we all hated Taiwanese junk because it was horrible quality.
lbgradwell
Well-known member
Merkava_4
Banned
I was only 5 years old back in 1970. If I had it to do all over again, I would've started asking my parents for Snap-on instead of G.I. Joe's.
eschoendorff
Well-known member
Toptul reminds me of the Genius tools...
I sure would like to try a pair of the Nepros pliers... man they look nice!
krusty the clown
Member Emeritus
still can't do it.......i came close but i didn't need them bad enough to buy taiwan made tools.
Merkava_4
Banned
You guys should go look at those Taiwanese made Vise-Grips in the other thread and then come back and tell me you'd buy them.
You guys should go look at those Taiwanese made Vise-Grips in the other thread and then come back and tell me you'd buy them.
Of course, they do make some crappy tools in Taiwan. They make some crappy tools in America, too. Soft grip Snap-on ratchets, where the handle falls apart in normal use, spring to mind, for some reason...
lbgradwell
Well-known member
Those current low-end Craftsman ratchets...
Another quality Taiwanese maker is JONNESWAY®. They sell them at Fastenal here in Toronto & they look to be very well made...
goodfellow
Well-known member
Taiwan is the toolmaker to the world. US machine and hand tool manufacturing first moved to Japan in the late 60's and then to Taiwan in the late 1970's. I have some Japanese and Taiwanese Rockwell air tools from that era and they are excellent -- top quality.
Japanese handtools are top notch as well, but most of the manufacturing of Japanese tools in the 70's and early 80's was outsourced to Taiwan from the beginning. Qulity control is a big deal in Taiwan. Most of their factories advertise their ISO 9000 certifications alongside of their logos; right on top of the factory. I've toured some of their machine tool factories and am impressed with what that country has done.
Guess what though; the most successful and profitable factories have a lot of middle management that isn't from Taiwan. They're mostly from Europe, the US, Australia, and New Zealand. So the "dirty little secret" of many of these companies is that their critical people are from overseas -- mostly the US and Europe. Go to any western style hotel in a Taiwanese manufacturing city and they are full of western contractors helping them maintain their manufacturing infrastructure. BTW -- the POC (China) is doing the same thing.
Japanese handtools are top notch as well, but most of the manufacturing of Japanese tools in the 70's and early 80's was outsourced to Taiwan from the beginning. Qulity control is a big deal in Taiwan. Most of their factories advertise their ISO 9000 certifications alongside of their logos; right on top of the factory. I've toured some of their machine tool factories and am impressed with what that country has done.
Guess what though; the most successful and profitable factories have a lot of middle management that isn't from Taiwan. They're mostly from Europe, the US, Australia, and New Zealand. So the "dirty little secret" of many of these companies is that their critical people are from overseas -- mostly the US and Europe. Go to any western style hotel in a Taiwanese manufacturing city and they are full of western contractors helping them maintain their manufacturing infrastructure. BTW -- the POC (China) is doing the same thing.
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Stuey
Well-known member
I'm starting to see a lot of brands move overseas without jeapordizing quality. Meanwhile, other brands are moving and sacrificing their entire reputations.
Stanley's FatMax chisels used to be made in England. Now they're made in China. Their "demo" screwdrivers (which are totally awesome) were made in England, and now China. The thing is, the two versions of the tools look and feel identical. Granted I still reached for the "made in England" version and left the others on the shelf, but still.
My GearWrenches are made in Taiwain, and they're made very well. My Craftsman ratchet is made in the US and is a barely better than those bundled in Allied "all in one auto tool sets."
I prefer buying made in Taiwan products over made in China only because they have a better track record. My point is that this may not be due to the manufacturing process but the individual brands and the standards that they require.
My Hitachi cordless drill was made in China, as was the Craftsman that I hated and returned. If Craftsman's drills were made in Taiwan or even in the US/Canada/England, I still wouldn't buy them because they're not constructed nor designed well.
I tested out Black & Decker's VPX system in HD when it first came out, and I thought it was disgustingly cheap and flimsy. The driver felt less durable than toy tools of that size. This wasn't even after they were handled by rough customers, this was less than five minutes after the batteries were removed from the chargers and the tools were set to display.
To compete with POS tools, their low prices and hence consumer attraction, once reputable brand names are cheapening their designs. No longer are they focusing on durability and reputation. They're instead focusing on flashy features and salability. How many tools compete on the level of Bosch's PS20 as opposed to the level of Black & Decker's $30 designs.
Stanley's FatMax chisels used to be made in England. Now they're made in China. Their "demo" screwdrivers (which are totally awesome) were made in England, and now China. The thing is, the two versions of the tools look and feel identical. Granted I still reached for the "made in England" version and left the others on the shelf, but still.
My GearWrenches are made in Taiwain, and they're made very well. My Craftsman ratchet is made in the US and is a barely better than those bundled in Allied "all in one auto tool sets."
I prefer buying made in Taiwan products over made in China only because they have a better track record. My point is that this may not be due to the manufacturing process but the individual brands and the standards that they require.
My Hitachi cordless drill was made in China, as was the Craftsman that I hated and returned. If Craftsman's drills were made in Taiwan or even in the US/Canada/England, I still wouldn't buy them because they're not constructed nor designed well.
I tested out Black & Decker's VPX system in HD when it first came out, and I thought it was disgustingly cheap and flimsy. The driver felt less durable than toy tools of that size. This wasn't even after they were handled by rough customers, this was less than five minutes after the batteries were removed from the chargers and the tools were set to display.
To compete with POS tools, their low prices and hence consumer attraction, once reputable brand names are cheapening their designs. No longer are they focusing on durability and reputation. They're instead focusing on flashy features and salability. How many tools compete on the level of Bosch's PS20 as opposed to the level of Black & Decker's $30 designs.
Merkava_4
Banned
Of course, they do make some crappy tools in Taiwan. They make some crappy tools in America, too. Soft grip Snap-on ratchets, where the handle falls apart in normal use, spring to mind, for some reason...
LOL!
eschoendorff
Well-known member
Stanley's Demo screwdrivers are made in China now? Damn- glad i bought them when I did. I got the Sheffield, England ones.
I've watched too much of the British tool industry get raped by Stanley Works for its knowledge and designs to be happy buying their products, but I will reluctantly concede that I can't see any difference between Sheffield made 'Stanley' branded products and those now made in Taiwan.
On the other hand, the new Britools (part of Stanley Works) are dismal, in comparison to those previously made here. They're simply a branding exercise on cheap ratchets, trading on a time honoured name, whereas, previously, they were tough 'workmanlike' quality - perhaps comparable to older Craftsman tools. Their customer service has also gone from 'yes, love, we'll send you one in the post in the morning' to 'what's a ratchet service kit ? Do you want to make a warranty claim ?'.
On the other hand, the new Britools (part of Stanley Works) are dismal, in comparison to those previously made here. They're simply a branding exercise on cheap ratchets, trading on a time honoured name, whereas, previously, they were tough 'workmanlike' quality - perhaps comparable to older Craftsman tools. Their customer service has also gone from 'yes, love, we'll send you one in the post in the morning' to 'what's a ratchet service kit ? Do you want to make a warranty claim ?'.
Uncle Buck
Banned
wrenhandtools
Well-known member
Taiwan has some of the manufacturing equipment that used to be here in the US. When I make my next trip there I will take pics of some of the factories if I'm allowed.
JayL
Well-known member
Where do you think the Taiwanese Tool manufacturing machinery is made? Do they make it themselves too?