So you are looking for hand or power tools on the Internet or in a "brick & Mortar" tool store, and you keep running into tools imported from China, Taiwan, Korea, Germany and various other countries. A lot of these tools seem to be priced well under the comparable "name brand" tools you are used to are they as good or better, or are they just cheap knockoffs.

A larger percentage of these tool deserve a better look, they are in many cases as good as, or better, and usually a very good bargain when compared side by side with their "brand name" counterparts.

In the last few years the quality of tools produced in many of the Asian countries has increased significantly...they are no longer the "knuckle busters" of the past. This is really the same path that the Japanese tool producers followed in the sixty's and seventies, we all recall the rather poor quality of Japanese products coming to the US...cars, tools, electronics were all of dubious value. As these producers learned more about our market, our expectations and started making money...the quality of what they produced and offered for sale became very good. Today many of the products from Japan rival the quality of anything produced anywhere in the world.

Look for a reputable retailer either brick & Mortar, or online. Make sure they stand behind what they sell. You may find that the tool you are buying is a great value.

Jim Newell