The hypocrisy comes with the idea that every washing machine, dryer, blender, dish washer, phone, computer etc that most people here use every day is imported and no one thinks twice about it. On top of that I would put solid money that the fair majority of every cnc or piece of new machinery in most of these USA factories came from over seas. But we dont give that a thought either, mostly because we realize that these imports are quality. I think the point OP is angry about is why can we turn our heads to that but then bash a QUALITY import tool. Yes there is **** imports but at the same time there's **** domestic as well. When it comes to terms of a quality tool is COO that worth getting bent outa shape about
I'm very careful about what I buy.
Nearly all of my clothing is either made in the USA or Europe. It's easy to accomplish, as most such manufacturers stand behind their products with lengthy and immediately responsive warranties. You'll pay a bit more, but it'll last a lifetime.
Even my socks are made here.
My major appliances are made in the USA, and if you poke about inside them you'll find many US and Japan-made components.
My television, microwave, and most of my A/V equipment is made in Japan, as is my electric razor and even my toothbrush. My combs are, as well.
I'm particular about computers, as well. The components in my machines are made of USA, German, Japanese, and Taiwanese parts; down to the semiconductors and chokes.
As I've noted before, Taiwan isn't China.
This keyboard was designed with pride by a company in Taiwan, and manufactured in-house with German, Taiwanese, and Japanese components.
Pretty much all of my furniture was made here in the USA, but that's not uncommon.
My cars were made in England, and if you dig around in there, every last one of the bits was cranked out of Japan, the USA, and in England or Germany. My tires are all made in Germany, and my brakes, in their entirety, are made in England from European-sourced materials.
The hardware I use for them comes from the USA and Germany, and that includes every
factory nut and bolt, as well.
My phones come from Japan and Finland; and my power tools in Germany and Japan. Flashlights and firearms come from the USA and Austria, and so do all of their accessories.
The light bulbs in here come mostly from Korea and the USA. A few bits in there are from China, but we're talking tiny little pieces that nobody else can be bothered to make anymore.
Most everything else is the same way, aside from things that are simply not made in such places anymore, or things that never were to begin with.
I don't mind stuff being made overseas, as long as it's made with pride in nations with a reputation for quality craftsmanship and fair (for their region) working conditions.
Some things belong in the US. This nation cranks out the best common hand tools on the planet, until you get into certain areas such as pliers and trick ratcheting wrenches/screwdrivers.
Some things belong in Taiwan. Their manufacturing standards are tight as hell, and if you've got a choice between a Taiwanese sheet metal assembly or one made anywhere else; go Taiwan.
This goes for many different products and many different areas.
I want to note again that Taiwan isn't China. They may be called the Republic of China, but it's a whole different ball of wax. They've been fighting over who gets to be China for ages, now.
The Republic of China lost to the People's Republic of China long ago, but they've been at each others' throats ever since.
Hell,
China isn't even China. It's made of conveniently associated independent city-states, administrative regions and territories, many of which were run or administered by the British damned near up to this new millennium. Not all of it is "Red China" (yeah, that's
still a thing), and not all of it *****.
When you really dissect the world and learn about it, you'll find that many of the interconnected bits are perfectly fine.
I'm guilty of no hypocrisy so far as country of origin goes. If something is designed in a nation, it ought to be made there. If we can do a better job of making it somewhere else by leveraging their local production expertise, it ought to be made there.
New American products, however, and those we have been proudly producing for decades, have no business moving overseas, but the market demands it.
Every time you cheap out; every time you go for quantity over quality, you've just pushed one more product out of our borders, or those of another nation that was happily doing a good job.
Remember; houses used to have only a single television, a single axe, a single car, one set of dishes, a cup a piece for each member of the household, and a single hammer. They averaged 800 square feet. Stuff was expensive; the same as top dollar items are today, but it was all made where it was supposed to be made.
Now people want everything, but they can't afford it, so it ends up being made cheaply somewhere else.
Consumers do this to themselves.
Enough tools to diagnose, repair, or even pull apart my entire Land Rover will fit in a Pelican 1510 (it's tight as hell, though) with the breaker bars and torque wrench strapped to the outside, and the computer in it's own bag.
It comes down to paring what you need down to the essentials, and making sure you buy quality products. After that you can play with what you have left over.
Now, a professional mechanic will need more, and certainly a number of specialist and manufacturer-specific tools, but he doesn't have to own
everything.
We used to have entry-level American tools that would serve a home mechanic for decades, or a professional long enough to give him time to build up a more precision or vehicle-specific set.
The perceived need to own too much, however, has pushed most of that stuff right out of the market.
