What to do with my foreign tools?

[Walterchang]

Since I have a lot of time on my hands latelty I have been going through all my sockets and wrenches that I have collected or have had passed down to me. I cherry picked out all of the USA tools, lots of cman, husky, sk, some industro, and few plomb.

I have a ton of foreign left overs from Chinese, Tiwian, Japanse, and India.

Should I make a set for my nephew?
Should I sell them off?
Should I modify them to make them useful?

What do you all do with these foreigners?

 

[Moose-LandTran]

What do you all do with these foreigners?

We let them in and buy them a house.

 

[Bull]

I ended up with some foreign wrenches in a lot I bought at the flea market. I just threw them out.

The stuff from India is the worst. You can use them for slingshot ammo; that's about it.

 

[lipadj46]

I think Mickey O was looking for some nice imports

Put together a few tool boxes, give one away, keep one in your truck, donate them to the salvation army or a local trade school etc. Keep some of the nicer ones in case you need a custom bent or cut tool.

 

[Indy_500]

If you really don't think you'll have a use for them, even for a "on the road" box, i would make a set for you nephew and such. Maybe even look for that kid down the road who's always tinkering on his bike or something. There isn't much resale on them anyways. You could always send them to me

 

[Teken]

All three would be fine and actually in the process of doing so. But, I am not doing this just to have all American in my box.

It's just a coincidence that all the tools I like and use are American. People on this site get so caught up with pro American . . . Yet, no one will fart, squeak, or **** if said tool is made from Germany, Japan, Swiss, etc.

The question(s) that should be asked are:

1. Do these tools perform the intended function?

2. Are they consistent in their ability with out falter?

3. Do they wear well to prolonged use?

4. Did it fix the thing / item you used it on?

 

[Bull]

This is all very logical.

For me, there is also a pride issue. I just don't have any interest in or pride in owning the really cheap Asian tools. I own some Taiwanese tools and did buy a gear puller set from HF (India) to do a job on a budget. But, I'm not proud of that gear puller set.

All three would be fine and actually in the process of doing so. But, I am not doing this just to have all American in my box.

It's just a coincidence that all the tools I like and use are American. People on this site get so caught up with pro American . . . Yet, no one will fart, squeak, or **** if said tool is made from Germany, Japan, Swiss, etc.

The question(s) that should be asked are:

1. Do these tools perform the intended function?

2. Are they consistent in their ability with out falter?

3. Do they wear well to prolonged use?

4. Did it fix the thing / item you used it on?

 

[Mickey O]

I put all of mine in a tool box tray, wrapped them with shrink wrap and sold them to an Asian guy at the flea market (not kidding), the one before that I threw in with stuff I sold to a guy from a craig's list ad (he was a reseller). I also used 1 import socket as a cable spacer on my snow blower other than that I was having a hard time giving them away, I offered no one wanted them. Got another box of junk now, maybe I'll pull the bottom drawer out of a tool box I'm selling and toss them in there and let them become some other guys problem.

 

[Teken]

Well, I won't lie it may sound odd for some to read this. But, I am a true patriot but more so for both nations as buying from our own does in fact translate to a healthy and enduring economy.

Having said that I purchase tools solely on proven performance and service after the sale. Some is in fact because of looks, but more so of the human ergonomics of how well said tool lays in your hand.

I have used the standard round handled ratchet for ages, when one day another tech brought me a Armstrong styled handled ratchet.

In that moment of holding it, it felt right, it was balanced, and it performed with out falter. This in my mind is the key and should be the reasons anyone buys anything for a tool per say.

Now fast forward 25 years later: What do we have now? We for better or worse, right or wrong.

Have places like HF that have come out with very similar styled, and look of the tools I once knew and used.

The quality has jumped as well as the offerings as it can be seen from Johns thread. We are in a different world now compared to back in the day you and I grew up on. Now, even the guy living on a KD dinner budget can purchase at least something to fix what have you him self with out going broke.

My take at the end of the day is that I am brand loyal, and its just a coincidence those tools are American made . . . But, I assure you some imports are fast approaching the Teken house hold in the next 3 months!

 

[Stick Figure]

I took a box of my extra sockets and wrenches to work for some of the newer techs to dig through in times of need. As far as the whole country of origin conflict, i would never give away anything i actually need just because of where it was made. if you have 12 of the same exact socket then by all means get rid of the lesser quality pieces, just make sure you actually get rid of the right ones.

 

[wreckercologist]

I've given them away in the past. I call 'em BIL tools. Tools you either give away or loan out to the bother in law not expecting them to come back.

A while back I took a bunch into work. They were for whoever and for whatever. Missing a certain size? Need a special configuration but don't want to kill an expensive tool? there you go.

I also gave a super cheapie set of 1/2" drive deep metric impacts to a coworker just to keep the "no tool buyin' sumbich" out of my stuff.

For the record, not all crappy tools are foreign made. Just saying.....

 

[Walterchang]

First of all this is America the best country in the world. I do believe that having standards matter. I am proud to have American made products in my box. That being said, I do have tools in my box from all over the globe. In my particular situation I can be picky as to what I keep.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

Since I have a lot of time on my hands latelty I have been going through all my sockets and wrenches that I have collected or have had passed down to me. I cherry picked out all of the USA tools, lots of cman, husky, sk, some industro, and few plomb.

I have a ton of foreign left overs from Chinese, Tiwian, Japanse, and India.

Should I make a set for my nephew?
Should I sell them off?
Should I modify them to make them useful?

What do you all do with these foreigners?

All three would be fine and actually in the process of doing so. But, I am not doing this just to have all American in my box.

It's just a coincidence that all the tools I like and use are American. People on this site get so caught up with pro American . . . Yet, no one will fart, squeak, or **** if said tool is made from Germany, Japan, Swiss, etc.

The question(s) that should be asked are:

1. Do these tools perform the intended function?

2. Are they consistent in their ability with out falter?

3. Do they wear well to prolonged use?

4. Did it fix the thing / item you used it on?

Need a special configuration but don't want to kill an expensive tool? there you go.

For the record, not all crappy tools are foreign made. Just saying.....

This started out REALLY long. I deleted it all and went basic. I bought imports over the years, that were vehicle tool kits, or emergency tools (replacements needed after thefts), but what I have ended up doing, was garage selling them, AFTER getting good deals, on domestic or decent import replacements. I thought of offering some to my nephew, but he has no real interest and his cousin (s-i-l's sided) who he does some running with, tends to lose and damage most of his and my brothers families stuff.

 

[woody 73]

Hi,

I keep all my foreign tools in my car for emergencies,if they are ever lost or stolen then it is not really a big deal.

This week my little boy went off to work camp at his church,he needed a lot of tools,so I gave him several foreign tools,as I am 100% positive he will lose over half the tools.

And last if you give them to charity or the kid down the street you will have done a good deed!

 

[rodm1]

I would make up a loaner box. That way you never have to give away your good tools.

 

[Old Donn]

Take the ones that work best and make up a truck bed/trunk/junkyard tool kit. Anything you can afford to lose. Lots better than a multi-tool or Swiss Army knife if you're stuck by the side of the road. As stated elsewhere, the Indian and Pakistani stuff's the worst, straight to the recycle bin.

 

[Kev442]

After seeing how few tools my deceased Aunt had in her house, I would definitely spread them out to family. Does anyone here actually think it matters to a 60 year old lady tightening a loose bolt on her dinette table that the socket/wrench is from India? She would use a pair of pliers and chew the bolt all to hell instead. My dad bought cheap Indian wrenches back in the 70's and never wore them out, he was lucky to use one once every two years after he turned 50. This is a guy that bought SK and Williams when he was younger.

 

[mrholeshot]

Every year I would clean out my tool boxes and give a box of tools to the most reliable tech in my shop. Most of it was really good stuff I just got tired of. It gave a really good up and coming tech a break. Two of my sons are auto techs (the others are smarter, lol) and I had them basic sets built before they went to work. Spread the love

 

[caseyjw]

Not everything American is good.

Not everything that's East Asian is bad.

 

[boybacon]

I have my own personal hierarchy of tool quality by country. From best to Worst (Left to right, top to bottom):
USA (Of Course), Switzerland, Germany, Sweden
Japan
Taiwan
Korea, China (current Chinese tools, say from the last 5 years)
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh

Now, I know that I've missed some, and I'm fully expecting fellow GJ members to fill in the rest.

 

[Wideopentuning]

I box them up and give them away on Craigslist to a younger auto enthusiast who doesn't have any tools at all.

 

[jpilgrim]

When I cleaned out my grandpa's house, I threw out most all of the cheap foreign (Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese) wrenches and sockets he picked up in the 70's and just kept the US made stuff (Cman, SpeedMaster, a smattering of Vlchek, Proto, etc) from his earlier years. That cheap stuff was so cheap it wasn't even worth finding a new home. Just threw it in the dumpster.

 

[Michael Bryce Winnick]

Every tool deserves a life. No tool should be thrown out unless broken. Even then, put it in the recycle bin. What is wrong with you people. Do you think the kid down the block fixing a bicycle or lawn mower cares about COO?? Make a toolbox and the kid will be talking about you fondly in 40 years when he has a Craftsman toolset. I have 2 small rolling cabinets with my imported tools in them. On some jobs when I know I am going to beat the daylights out of a tool, my imported tools "take one for the teeam." Sometimes when I have to lend out a tool, the imported tools let me deviate from my "no loan" policy.
If you have no use for the tools, make up a box or so, and help a kid out. Were you guys born in a Craftsman toolbox? It took any of us who do not come from money time to get good tools.

 

[mrholeshot]

I have a box of tools I loan to some of the neighborhood kids just getting a car to work on. They don't have a problem with a china wrench and I don't have a problem if one gets lost. What gets lost I'll pick up at a flea market for a quarter. When I had heart surgury a few months ago they all took turns mowing my grass, feeding my dog and doing other little stuff. Advice has always been free and loaning a box of tools to a potencial future gearhead has a reward all it's own. The things they did for me was just iceing on the cake.

 

[impulse922]

It's just a coincidence that all the tools I like and use are American. People on this site get so caught up with pro American . . . Yet, no one will fart, squeak, or **** if said tool is made from Germany, Japan, Swiss, etc.

i dunno man, the "tools of the old world" thread is pretty fing awesome.