[TheForge] Vise grip moving

[Peter Fels & Phoebe Palmer]

Used to be it was US companies that knocked off American tools, now it's 
the Chinese. Oh well, guess we did the same thing to the Brits and 
Germans...pf

ries wrote:
> This has been kicked around a bit on some other forums.
> If you only use a few pairs, garage sales may be viable.
> Me, I have probably close to 40 or 50 pairs in the shop- we frequently 
> use a dozen or two in a clamp setup before welding.
> I probably buy ten every year or two- and most of the ones I like, such 
> as the big throat 6R or 11R, or the ones we call "whale jaws" which Vise 
> Grip calls a 12LC, I have never seen a single one of at a garage sale, 
> much less the 8 or 10 at a time I buy.
> So I will be stuck buying Irwin brand, most likely, no matter where they 
> are made.
> I have bought a few LOCKJAW brand lately- these are self adjusting- they 
> will clamp on at the same tension no matter the thickness.
> They cost MORE than vise grip brand, and are made in China- and, as far 
> as I can tell, they are equal to Irwin brand in quality- certainly, if 
> you didnt know they were made in China, you would never guess by looking 
> at them, or using them. They bear no resemblance to the $3 harbor 
> freight specials.
> But, as mentioned, they cost 30% or so more than the equivalent Irwin 
> brand vise grip.
> 
> I think long term, Irwin will not make much more profit- chinese wages 
> and expenses are going up rapidly, oil prices directly affect container 
> shipment prices, and not being US made means other chinese made brands, 
> like LOCKJAW, will be just as desirable if they are made well.
> Its true that vise grip has a brand name and reputation, but I will be 
> buying based on the quality of the product- hopefully, the Irwin brand 
> will stay high quality, as there is NO US made alternative I know of. I 
> hear some Snap On brand locking pliers are made in the USA, but some are 
> also made in Mexico, as far as I know, and they do not offer the same 
> range as Irwin, and they cost roughly double the price of the Irwin Vise 
> grips- more than double, if you buy your Irwins, like I do, ten at a 
> time from someplace like Dynamic Fastener.
> 
> Ries
> 
> 
> 
> On Sep 12, 2008, at 10:39 AM, dann at wctatel.net wrote:
> 
> 
> Moving Vice Grip production to China may make the company some  short term
> bottom line profit, provided they are able to maintain the quality of the
> tool.
> 
> Vice Grip always did have a lot of companies  that tried to copy the
> design, but none of them came close to the quality.  I damaged a few
> knuckles using some cheap knock off's like "Globe Master" which used to
> produce theirs in Spain.
> 
> One thing to be sure of now, it will back fire on Vice Grip.
> 
> The tooling and quality of Vice Grip brand will leak out the back door of
> their Chinese factory, and there will be vice grip knock offs in plenty
> that will be close, "almost" as good as the original vice grip pliers
> produced in Nebraska.
> 
> Guess I will work at adding to my hoard of quality tools:  the next vice
> grip pliers that I buy will be from estate / farm auctions.
> 
> Dann
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> What a surprise  Bye bye xxxxx jobs, see you in the shoe isle of KMart.
>>
>>
>>
>> williamsiron at comcast.net wrote:
>>> All,
>>>
>>> The parent company of Vise Grip is shutting down the plant in DeWitt, NE
>>> and moving it to (Drum Roll!) China.
>>>
>>> Mark Williams
>>> Snow Hill, Maryland
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> 
> 
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> 
> Ries Niemi
> Industrial Artist
> http://www.riesniemi.com/
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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