On Sun, 10 Nov 2013 17:16:45 -0800, mike wrote:

On 11/10/2013 2:34 PM, Larry Jaques wrote:


Once you've seen enough cheap Chiwanese crapmetals, you'll begin to
discern real, usable tools from crap pretty easily.
Ok, but that's not helpful.

I know, but it's extremely hard to put that experience into words. It
would take weeks in a shop full of tools to show you the minutea of
what to look for. I don't think it could be done online.

If you have several hundred dollars and want to learn, go buy as many
hand tools at Harbor Freight as you can, from the cheapest on up. Once
you see some fail, you can start to learn what to look for in the
metal and the designs, but it's not instantly intuitive and it's not
easy. Post to us in a month and let us know how you fared.


The objective was to learn what to look for.

Which brings me back to my old time at the body shop, where people
would call in and ask "How much will it cost to repair my car?"
On the phone, they expected someone to tell them the repair cost of an
unseen item. g We're separated here by a little nuisance item
called "reality", mike.


And specifically, is there any chance that the shiny silver
looking stuff could be hardened?

Metal? Yeah. Take a little file in with you, covertly, and find out.
If you can file it easily, it's not hardened. If it barely scratches,
it's hardened.

P.S: Instant Gratification takes too long!

--
Another belief of mine: that everyone else my age is an adult,
whereas I am merely in disguise.
-- Margaret Atwood