Whatcha got there, Jap junk?

[airbuff101]

Pretty common phrase in the 60's-70's, usually by older guys when seeing the "Made in Japan" label back then.... on anything.
Many had reason to not like any Nippon products at the time, whether from their own somewhat recent history or because many of the the post-war products were of abysmal quality.
Of course that all changed when we sampled Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki/Kawasaki motorcycles, Datsuns and Toyotas, Kero-sun heaters etc. during the 70's.
Just a long ago phrase now.
Here's a 3/4"dr. set I picked up for a song a few years ago....'cuz it was Jap Junk..the seller said.
Likely made by one of the big Japanese hand tool companies in the late 70's I would guess....judging by the lame looking ,common label of the era.
This is superb quality stuff.
Click/Snick operation and fit. Nice finish. All have a real ring to them. Crisp, precise broaching.
Looks like Snappy, Proto, Craftsman et al were in the room during the "design" of this series. Even the metal case is heavy gauge.
I had considered selling/listing it a few times but gave it to my son for his shop instead.
Rob

 

[chewy7]

I wouldn't mind having a 3/4" ratchet/socket set like that.

 

[Blacknwhitepit]

Not Jap junk... I agree..... We are seeing the same thing with Taiwan now... What was once Taiwan junk is now acceptable because Taiwan is building quality.... Even though I won't buy Taiwan made stuff over USA made stuff... Maybe cause I am a dinosaur...

-BWP

 

[mrholeshot]

Very Cool!!!

 

[mikevango]

I wouldn't mind having a 3/4" ratchet/socket set like that.

Me too.

 

[Gary S]

I've broken all my "Jap junk" tools and replaced them with Chinese junk tools.

 

[jrodc455]

I have some older fuller and Stanley pliers and crescent wrenches that are mij. Idk what a pro would think of em but they seem pretty good to me. On a side note made in japan fender guitars were some of the best ever made, so they know what they're doin.

 

[bagsanthony]

LOL i know exactly wut ur talking about with that jap junk stuff... there are still members of that generation around and nothing pisses them off more than seeing someone drive off in a toyota or honda.

 

[trainwreck]

It's neat that the ratchet head detaches from the handle, but does it serve a purpose? Is there any provision for attaching the handle to the breaker bar to increase leverage? I'm just trying to understand if there was any reason why they made the ratchet that way. Surely it would have cost more in machining time and labor compared to just making it one piece.

Also curious that the ratchet and breaker bar don't share similar handles. It seems like most manufacturers try to maintain a consistent look/feel/theme across the same drive size (if not the entire lineup.)

Oh, and I'm jealous of your son.

 

[airbuff101]

Yes Train,
The breaker bar handle slides into Ratchet head for a pretty good fit.
the reason I never listed this nice set is that it would have taken an awful lot of Customer Edjukation to have it sell for 1/4 of what it was truly worth.........
simply because it had no commonly recognizable brand.....oh well.

I'm startin' to get jealous of my kid too.
Rob

 

[glenmore]

I wouldn't use them. Amazing to have survived this long in such perfect condition.

 

[johnnybentwrench]

I wouldn't use them. Amazing to have survived this long in such perfect condition.

Come on Glen. You are not going to hurt them, however they will put the hurt on a fastener when needed. I have some TrueCraft JAP JUNK. Please excuse the phrase, JBW

 

[jjjrmx5]

My brother -in-laws father passed away some time ago and I was foisted upon a bin full of tools and hardware that sat dormant for close to a decade in my basement after receiving them, let alone how long in the PO's shed.

He was a Korean War vet and oddly I found both Western brand pliers, made in Germany and Aigo wrenches stamped in Japan as part of his collection.

Ironic indeed.

I'll post up some of the other odd tid-bits found in that stash as I uncover them.

 

[TooTall]

I used to work for a company in the mid-'70s that sold those tools. It was a wholesale warehouse and we sold mainly tools and tape to hardware stores and auction houses around the country. I built most of my first tool set with Allied tools from that place. I liked them, they were well made and never let me down. I lost all of them when my tool box was stolen out of my parents garage. I got a small set of Craftsman tools for Christmas that year so i built my next set around those. Still have all of those and more.

Kurt O.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

It's still a common phrase around certain people. The few men of my dad's generation that are still around have long memories for a very good reason. Dad BARELY lets me park one of our Honda's or the Toyota in his driveway when I see him.

He is a vet of WWII, Korea and Nam and doesn't mind the Korean cars (in fact he usually starts off with "why don't you sell that Jap **** and buy a Korean car if you won't buy one of ours"). His friends include a Iwo Jima marine with a purple heart and a Bataan march survivor that was in his Korean outfit.

They will always call it "Jap Junk" in public and a LOT worse in private....

 

[bmxr4life87]

That's some pretty nice "junk" ya got there!

 

[Tool Pants]

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33543&highlight=Japan

 

[jeffk14]

It's still a common phrase around certain people. The few men of my dad's generation that are still around have long memories for a very good reason. Dad BARELY lets me park one of our Honda's or the Toyota in his driveway when I see him.

He is a vet of WWII, Korea and Nam and doesn't mind the Korean cars (in fact he usually starts off with "why don't you sell that Jap **** and buy a Korean car if you won't buy one of ours"). His friends include a Iwo Jima marine with a purple heart and a Bataan march survivor that was in his Korean outfit.

They will always call it "Jap Junk" in public and a LOT worse in private....

And they have every right to do so and the rest of us should keep our mouths shut. Even if their opinions are not based on what is technically accurate.

 

[airbuff101]

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33543&highlight=Japan

Thank you Tool pants,
That's a great thread, I knew there had to be info on this stuff somewhere and had not had much luck.
Rob

 

[airbuff101]

I used to work for a company in the mid-'70s that sold those tools. It was a wholesale warehouse and we sold mainly tools and tape to hardware stores and auction houses around the country. I built most of my first tool set with Allied tools from that place. I liked them, they were well made and never let me down. I lost all of them when my tool box was stolen out of my parents garage. I got a small set of Craftsman tools for Christmas that year so i built my next set around those. Still have all of those and more.

Kurt O.

Kurt,
That's great to know.
Thank you,
Rob

 

[Bryan Burns]

I used to really resent people driving Japanese cars. I had a rule not to give them a break in traffic.

Fast forward a decade and I'm driving a 14 year old Camry that just went over 200k. (My wife bought it when she was single). It'd be hard not to by another Camry. I have enough reponsibilities with my home, family and carreer than to worry about what impact I would have if I bought a car from an American car company, that, although they've come along way, aren't as reliable as a Toyota or Honda.

To me, the most data point on a new car is its reliability history and it's hard to beat the Camry. Mercedes and BWM aren't even as reliable as Toyota's.