Germany tools Japanese tools !
Its the only thing I will buy.
I started work when I was 14 in a engeering workshop in the car industry and in the shop was 5 old timers. All with different trades so I worked with them all picking up skills in their trade, while I was learning my own trade.
But one thing they drummed into me was the old school ways of only buying German or Japanese tools and this has stayed with me all my life .I have huge collection of German and Jap tools dating back too when I first started work at 14.
But awhile back ,I wanted to buy some new power tools , because after all these years and endless jobs and projects they were wearing out.
After looking around at many shops and seeing quality was a thing of the past and the new chinese stuff is really more like a cheap toy .
I set out to find NOS power tools that were made in Germany or Japan from 15 or 20 years ago
Well a year has past since I started this quest and I'm happy to say that I found it easy to buy nos, still in their boxes German or Jap power tools .
I think the reason for this is that many bought these items as gifts or for would be projects that never happened.
I have bought 15 in the past year still in their boxes never used.
So the point of this post is too say if you want a good quality old school power tool rather than the junk they sell today you may want to look into this as I did .

Pete

Oh and if you are wondering why I dont mention Sidchrome tools its because their too bulky for the type of work I use to do.
Great for Tractors ! but not motorcycles or sports cars

When I was a young boy the label "Made in Japan" was akin to "Made in China" today, only worse.

The Japanese studiously adopted the teachings of Edwards Deming and the rest is history.

That's a good tip about buying NOS.

There's no substitute for top quality tools, but it has to be said that not all of the stuff that comes out of China is complete junk, so I guess it gets down to factory management and budgets. Case in point: I have bought house brand Chinese electrical tools from Aldi and they have taken a beating in use and are still going. (The same cannot be said for Chinese tools bought from Bunnings.)

Where precision tools are concerned, I'd usually avoid Chinese.

Hi G.
Yes it would depend on the Era.
But the tools from Japan for the mid 70s through the 80 and the into the early 90s were of fantastic quality and are in high demand even second hand they bring big bucks.
German tools have always been good because they over engineer everthing.
My German spanners that I bought at about 18 are still great today and I'm now 48, mind you some days I feel 108 and I'm surprised the museum has not bought me yet to put me behind glass.

I found it a good way to buy tools and I picked up some real bargains

You can get a surprise with brand name: I have a Makita Blower (240V) that I bought more than 20 years ago (may have date recorded) This decided to have a failure of the switch, which is a speed control type.

That I thought will be fun (sic) & finding a new one was going to be interesting. So I went on an internet hunt, only to find that they were still making it. The only difference was the part number of the switch: So it has new one.

I've done the same with hammers, although I wouldn't call what I've acquired new old stock. More like simply second hand stock and still in good nick. I don't like Estwing hammers because they have a metal shaft through the handle which makes them unbalanced. A nice hardwood handle is better but the hammers that come with them now are made in China and once you hit a few nails with them the imprints of the heads are seen on the face of the hammer - not a good look.

As far as hand tools are concerned, I started out as an apprentice with almost a full kit of Aussie-made stuff. Stanley screwdrivers, Crescent pliers, Sidchrome sockets and spanners (made back when Siddons owned Sidchrome), home-made test lamps with Clipsal lamp holders, CMA cable and Philips globes. The let down as far as patriotism was concerned was that despite the fact that the electric drill is an Australian invention, the pickings of locally made stuff even back in 1989 was slim. Most of the power tools I've purchased over the years were made by Dewalt and run on batteries. The motors in Dewalt gear have the best motors - plenty of power and the gear lasts a long time. Some of the stuff I have is ten years old and still drills and cuts as good as the day it was made. A few batteries have been replaced over time but this is understandable.

I have a cheap analogue multimeter, a good Fluke digital multimeter and two proper Meggers which both still work and still get some use, one of which was purchased only a few weeks ago.

Many electricians will attest to a rivalry between pliers made by Crescent and Marvel and it's like a classic Holden vs Ford duel. Both are good products but I picked the Crescents because the handles fit my hands better.

At one time I owned a second hand Metabo electric drill and one day I was using it on a job when I used to run my own business. I was in a customer's roof on a 40 degree summers day drilling holes in some hardwood noggins to run electrical cabling. I had the 25mm speed borer on a three foot extension shaft which was fitted to the drill. Being about 40 outside meant it was closer to 60 in the roofspace and gallons of sweat was pouring off me as I was drilling the half dozen or so holes.

The last hole ended up going through a noggin made from a scrap of 4x4 rather than 4x2 and there was smoke billowing from this drill but it kept going and I was determined to finish the job before I got myself a bout of heat stroke. The drill worked for another two years until I bailed from a combination of casual employment and self employment back into the full time workforce and the drill was packed in a cabinet for the next twenty years or so. One day I was having a cleanout and found that the drill no longer worked - due to years of inaction rather than the abuse it copped when on the job.

A lot of German branded gear is now made in China. Fit and finish are nowhere near the standard that the Krauts used to offer so it leaves me wondering about performance.

Hello Brad,
Yes well, Dewalt use to be made in the states .I have 2 of their palm sanders which were made in the states and their fine，but now its all made in Mexico and China.
Cresent made excellent pliers and some hand tools as well, but they were made in many places not only USA.

Funny thing about Dewalt - the best quality tool I bought off them was my first, a 12 volt drill which was made in England. The fit, finish, performance and ergonomics was perfect and silky smooth.

Most of their gear does come from China now and the fit and finish isn't as good but the basic theme of tough gear hasn't changed. I still reckon you won't buy a battery operated tool with better grunt. I have a Dewalt 36 volt SDS hammer drill and it eats 60MPa concrete like a Tasmanian devil.

Brad what do you use them for??
I use to use my palm dewalts for furniture because of the weight they wont bite down on a veneer unless your doing something silly.
But these days I use a made in Japan palm sander as its even lighter than the Dewalt and its about 15 years old
Im not sure what your trade is I guessed a sparky

Religious debates abound among tradies around tool brands. De Walt (yellow jackets) versus Milwaukee (red coats) is one of them.

As for Aussie gear, I still have the Sidchome socket set I got for my 18th birthday and a few Stanley tools from that era that didn't get stolen from me on work sites over the years.

And I have a 35 year old Black and Decker circular saw and a B&D planer that are top gear, too. (Real bearings!)

Some old Japanese gear like Makita drills and saws are still going strong.

Stolen!
I have this theory about people breaking in to my workshop and stealing tools. All socket sets and tools are taken out of their cases and hung on the wall with no cases to be seen or found.
This makes it not only very time consuming for them to be stealing them , but also they know, they need the cases with them to make them easier to sell.
Im lucky where I live I never here of break ins or that type of thing going on,its boring here but safe, hahaha

When you're on a work site, with half a dozen or more trades there too, and working out of a tool box, you need eyes in the back of your head.

I learned early on to mark my tools with my own "brand". Honest mix-ups can occur, but it's good to be able to say, "Matey, that driver wouldn't have [my mark] on it by chance?" and lo and behold it does.

Those tools that I have managed to keep still bear my mark on them, though too many others went walkabout.

In the workshop environment having the tools on the wall is a good thing. The trick is to put them all back at the end of the day ... if you can find them.

Pete: Have you been to Cash Converters in Dee Why recently? I used to wonder about the source of the tools there.

Marcc
I I dont know why but , there is a huge amount of Makita parts on ebay and their in the Eastern block
Switches, brushes, bearing etc etc.
All makita tools ending in the serial with a capital E means made in japan

Yep, I am an electrician.

The best mark for power tools is your driver's licence number. It's the same from your L's to the time you put the old bus on blocks and the police can instantly trace gear back to its rightful owner. If you engrave deeply enough it is also possible for forensic officers to tell when engraving is overwritten by a tea leaf.

The downside to engraving is that it voids the warranty.

Hmm... The licence number does change, So far I have had 4 different numbers, I was Supposed to change it in WA but never did!

Happens in Defence when you move every 2-3 years!