Koz is right....in tooling such as drill bits it is buyer beware.

An example....this Christmas I bought a dozen sets of HSS drill bits
from of all places Sears. They were made in the USA and supposely
exceed the Fed spec GGG-D-751. Using them indicates that they are good
bits. Bear in mind that these bits were discontinued and I got them for
about 1/10 of any others I have found on sale...including the Chinese
stuff. It was a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

Sears has replaced them with drill bits made in China...for an
experiment I bought a set of the new bits and tried them versus the old
discontinued ones. No comparison...the new Chinese offerings are no
match for the older bits. Now if one checks the package literature
carefully you will find that the new Chinese bits are not HSS...a very
important feature that Sears goes to great trouble to keep you from
learning.

Are all Sears drill bits bad? Well it depends. The buyer needs to be
educated and be aware that sellers will try to mislead you for a
sale...many times using a low price as the carrot. My approach is to
buy some and try them out....the bad ones will soon show themselves.
Differences in geometry and metallurgy all make a difference and come
at a price.



TMT