I'd almost agree except our screwdrivers and saw blades have held
their own. Just plane irons and chisels.
On 27 Oct 2003 18:18:36 GMT, (JMartin957) wrote:
Marple's USED to have a heck or a reputation; maybe it was because
Stanley had gotten so poor. Two Cherries, the Stork, others are fine
German steel and good for a lifetime. American steel either does does
not possess enough of something or the Germans work theirs more or
something. Your good German steel is -usually- WAY ahead of American
steel used in chisels.
Wasn't always so, but then some of us 'Muricans started using our chisels
for
opening paint cans and prying out nails, and complaining to the
manufacturers
when they broke. Guess what - those manufacturers said "The customer is
always right", and changed their specs. Can't hardly blame them, can you?
We have made progress though. Those chisels now come with instructions
cautioning us against having our thumbs on top of the chisel handle when we
hit
it with a hammer, in at least eight languages.
John Martin
Sawblades - not sure whether you're referring to the round ones or the straight
ones. Either way, though, they don't normally get the misuse that chisels do.
Screwdrivers, in spite of the abuse they get, actually have to be harder than
they used to be. Years ago, almost no screws were hardened. Today's
sheetmetal and drywall screws are hardened, and are awfully rough on soft
screwdrivers.
Steel, even good steel, is relatively cheap. We know more about metallurgy, and
control of hardening and tempering processes is better than it ever was.
Stanley could, if they wanted, make a better chisel today than they ever have.
But they have to make ones that they can sell in blister packs in Home Depots
to satisfy the majority of buyers, which they do.
I'm not happy about it. I'd like to see them making "professional lines" of
tools to higher standards. There may even be a market for it - look what
Lie-Nielson has done. But I won't hold my breath waiting.
Lie-Nielson is an interesting case, and a real parallel to the steel issue.
Think about it. Stanley once had the greatest line of specialty planes in the
world, but they started dropping the poorer-sellers back in the '40s and '50s.
They eventually dumbed down the line to the extent that there was now a real -
albeit limited - opportunity for someone else to come in and corner that
market. Stanley already had all of the patterns and the manufacturing jigs,
fixtures and equipment. They easily could have continued to make limited
quantities of those products, but that didn't fit their marketing plan.
Off the soapbox now,
John Martin