when did they start importing chinese tools into the US?

[1982fxr]

I bought my first set of wrenches in high school, about 1996, from a chain hardware store and they were chinese...that's as far back as I know.

 

[jjjrmx5]

Rinks, ChinaTown, Van Luenen's and Value City were all selling Taiwanese and Chinese made hand tools back in the 1970's under various names.

I still have a few of my father's "Buffalo" brand sets (I think from Rinks) that some are Taiwan and others China COO.

Pretty much the HF of it's day and all that many high school teen car owners could afford unless thier father owned tools or a garage.

BTDT.

 

[W0rLDWaR4]

Yeah sounds about right..I would say 70-80s-ish, maybe earlier who knows!!!

 

[PugetDude]

It belive it was after Nixon visited China that we began to normalize trade relations.

 

[jim1987]

Id say way before the original 13 clinies happened.

 

[Bruce Lancaster]

In the '50's and '60's, a lot of cheap stuff of all sorts reached us labeled as "made in Hong Kong".
My understanding is that this far exceeded actual industrial production in Hong Kong and actually represented Chinese (Commy, most trade banned) stuff laundered through Hong Kong (British, capitalist, trade just fine) in order to make some money in a hostile world.

 

[Davefr]

I bought my first set of wrenches in high school, about 1996, from a chain hardware store and they were chinese...that's as far back as I know.

I would guess one of the first was Globemaster in the early '70's. It was a tool display found in lumber yards and hardware stores and virtually every tool was $.99. I bet most of them were from Hong Kong.

 

[4xdog]

"Rinks"! Hah! Didn't know anyone else still remembered that small chain. There was one in South Zanesville, Ohio that my dad used to love to shop -- seriously cheap compared to anything else, and I can still remember the odd two-level store Rinks had built into the hillside.

Yes, Rinks would have had Taiwanese and Hong Kong stuff as early as anyone. Kresgee and then K-mart, too. as I recall. Japanese, then Taiwanese/Hong Kong, and finally Chinese were the low-cost/quality tool producers in sequence. I'd have guessed Japan 60s/70s, Taiwan 70s/80s and China 80s/90s. Probably late 80s for China -- there really wasn't much coming from there until the 90s.

A lot of early "Hong Kong" stuff was probably made right across the border in Shenzhen, Dongguan, Gaungzhou and all the other nasty industrial areas of Guangdong Province in the PRC.

And speaking of Cincinnati, I still have a pair of $2.99 linesman pliers I bought out of a barrel at Swallen's circa 1977. Made in Sheffield, England. See if you can find *that* now.

 

[jim1987]

"Rinks"! Hah! Didn't know anyone else still remembered that small chain. There was one in South Zanesville, Ohio that my dad used to love to shop

My dad knows exactly what store your referring to! It was about 35 minutes away from where I live now. Small world. You made quite a move! Lop

 

[u118224]

I bought an MIT 1/2 drive metric socket set in the late 80s. They were made in China. I remember splitting one of the sockets 5 ways trying to remove a VW Beetle lug nut using only the ratchet. I've since thrown the rest of the set away. My point is, the tools just weren't even useable to work on a car as recently as the late 80s. On another topic, I always wondered if that's why MIT (Michigan Industrial Tools) changed their name to Tekton. Chinese quality today is much better, but it's not for me.

 

[LG63]

I think Chinese tools arrived about the same time Japanese products started to be perceived has high quality. (Remember when Honda push mowers first hit the market?) Late 70’s to early 80’s as I remember. I remember getting Harbor Freight catalogs in the late 80’s.
I still have a Japanese socket set from the mid 70’s that was considered the “cheap” import at the time. I believe I bought it through JC Whitney.

 

[Nick Danger]

I still have the impact sockets that I bought at one of those weekend hotel sales in 1981. No brand at all, made in Taiwan.

 

[AbitNutz]

Spike hammers...they used them to build the Western railroads....

 

[ZRX61]

I would imagine about the time of the California gold rush

 

[jjjrmx5]

And speaking of Cincinnati, I still have a pair of $2.99 linesman pliers I bought out of a barrel at Swallen's circa 1977. Made in Sheffield, England. See if you can find *that* now.

LOLZ.

I still have in my basement and used daily a nice couch I bought at the long long gone Swallen's located in Hamilton, OH.
While thier inventory system was quite chaotic, they did sell some very good items.

As for Rinks, one Rink's building still stands here in town and is currently used as an indoor/outdoor flea market. I still pop in on occasion in the summer to feel that nostalgia of Rinks shopping.


During my youth, I had so much trouble with the cheap Hong Kong tools, I went over to C'man as soon as I could afford them. They are fun finds at the flea markets and swap meets though.

 

[jim1987]

I would imagine about the time of the California gold rush

I wanted to say that, just the first thing that popped in my head. But decided not to. Lol

 

[1982fxr]

yeah yeah I knew the gold rush and railroads would pop up.

 

[jim1987]

LOLZ.

I still have in my basement and used daily a nice couch I bought at the long long gone Swallen's located in Hamilton, OH.
While thier inventory system was quite chaotic, they did sell some very good items.

As for Rinks, one Rink's building still stands here in town and is currently used as an indoor/outdoor flea market. I still pop in on occasion in the summer to feel that nostalgia of Rinks shopping.


During my youth, I had so much trouble with the cheap Hong Kong tools, I went over to C'man as soon as I could afford them. They are fun finds at the flea markets and swap meets though.

There's also an old rinks in Marietta that's used a flea market. Fri-Sun year round.

 

[Westly]

Spike hammers...they used them to build the Western railroads....

Rough,...but serviceable.

 

[nicksnothereman]

I bought my first set of wrenches in high school, about 1996, from a chain hardware store and they were chinese...that's as far back as I know.

70s or 80s. I have a generic pair of chinese needlenose from back then.

Actually, India makes a lot of the low end wrenches back then and to this day. Back then probably taiwan made a lot of the low end imported hand tools. I don't think chinese wrenches existed before the 90s or possibly later.

 

[Swan]

Clovis culture.

 

[Dave.R]

I bought an MIT 1/2 drive metric socket set in the late 80s. They were made in China. I remember splitting one of the sockets 5 ways trying to remove a VW Beetle lug nut using only the ratchet. I've since thrown the rest of the set away. My point is, the tools just weren't even useable to work on a car as recently as the late 80s. On another topic, I always wondered if that's why MIT (Michigan Industrial Tools) changed their name to Tekton. Chinese quality today is much better, but it's not for me.

We're still known as MIT we just now offer 4 brands for different things. Maxcraft is our On-the-go glove box type tool. Goodyear for our USA hose and Goodyear Real. Workshop our value line for hardware bins. And TEKTON our all around main brand. MIT was once the singular brand, now it is the parent brand.

Things change and improvements happen. As of today, our TEKTON CR-V sockets are Taiwan manufactured and I'd vouch for them any day.

If you happen to find that old broken set in your tool box, get a hold of me and I'll replace them with something that will change your opinion. It is my job to specifically weed out the bad eggs, so I know first hand of the changes we have made for the good of the end-user.

Hate to see a poor experience floating around out there, get a hold of me sometime.

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