Disturbing copies

[stawastawa]

the manufacturer has a lovely collection of lens boards. Nice to see new versions at slightly more than the used market.

Also, Many of the original manufacturers don't have a presence on ebay, so these new sources have smart marketing =)

[Drew Wiley]

Before I retired, I sold quite a few US fiberglass-clad wooden survey tripods. Then Chinese copies hit the market hard. They did look almost identical, but the legs start to slip in a few minutes - in other words, functionally useless. Most distributors didn't even care; they never test the stuff they sell. But to me, a Ries is a Ries, is a Ries. There just ain't no substitute.

[John Kasaian]

One Kodak product I often use, the Projection Print Calculator Scale, has been discontinued by Kodak but a copy is available from Delta 1. That's a good thing.
OTOH I've got a few US Milwaukee power tools over 40 years old (yeah I bought 'em new)and the switches have finally started going soft. The replacement parts come from overseas and they are cr@p.
I had a long lived US Porter Cable sabre saw that had the same issue, now Porter Cables are made overseas and they don't even bother to sell the part I need. The finely cast metal saw finally went into the trash, replaced with a cheap Black and Decker from the PRC via Walmart. It works but I seriously doubt it will make it 40 more years (in fairness though, neither will I!)

[Jim Andrada]

Festool makes a couple of great power saws - if you don't ming paying the (significant) price. My old Milwaukee stuff is also great. My Hole Hawg is still going strong after 40 years or so.

[Drew Wiley]

Bingo. Until my retirement last yr, I ran the largest Festool dealership in the West, or frankly, anywhere in the US west of New England. Milwaukee has been not only Chinese made but Chinese owned for several years now, and lots of those big right angle drills literally don't last even twenty minutes now. Porter Cable is basically just overpriced gray DeWalt, with both brands being made in China and owned by Stanley, which is a Cayman Islands company with zero employees there. Festool is privately owned by a big German industrial robotics , company, and was sold in over 40 countries prior to the US. I have no problems with Chinese cottage industries like those making view cameras, and they're doing a good job of it. It's not the kind of product that Walmart or Home Cheapo is going to take interest in and demand bottom-feeder price and non-aligned. Some Chinese lensboards etc I've found to be decent, and some worthless. Metallurgy is not their strong point; that's for sure.

[Fred L]

Started off with Ryobi homeowner cordless tools and they were fine. Got a second set of cordless but went Milwaukee. The Ryobis stay at the cabin and the Milwaukee do the brunt of work at home. Not sure if they're manufactured in the U.S. or overseas (Milwaukee still manufactures some tools in N.A from what I can find) but regardless, they're extremely durable tools. I don't baby them like my cameras and they're holding up like champs. The cordless sliding mitre was my last buy and I'm glad I waited for that vs the ac powered 12" mitre. Did yeoman's work on my deck rebuild this summer.

I've had bad experiences with Made in China but also don't subscribe to the belief that everything manufactured there is garbage. ymmv

Now Festool...Lee Valley Tools carries the line and they do look very fine but not for my pocketbook. If I had the need and coin, the Sawstop would be my achilles heel.

[Drew Wiley]

There's a lot of gear out there technically mislabeled : partially assembled here, but using imported parts. Milwaukee and Ryobi are owned by the same Chinese company. About all that's still made in the US are Sawzall blades per se. I threw out the line after fully 50 percent of their batteries proved defective brand new. My tolerance rate was 2 percent. Of course, I was supplying pros who lose money fast if tools are unreliable. Homeowner business is quite different. If you factor in battery life and the number a pro needs to replace over a five year period, a $700 Festool drill actually costs about one fifth to operate than a DeWalt or Milwaukee, not to mention far better ergonomics and long-term performance of the tool itself. The very best drills are made in Makita's aerospace division and cost up to $8000 apiece. No lithium batteries are allowed in combat or aerospace work due to flammability. Companies like Makita (which is privately held) makes stuff all over the world, with the best tools being made in Japan, Germany, and the US. They use China for both contractor-grade tools and junky home center items. Bosch also has a large mfg facility in the US and is privately owned. But no traditional US brand name is either US owned or made anymore. They're basically all cynical stock market and tax evasion schemes with golden parachute CEOs. Getting good products from China requires a lot of work (over forty visits, typically), and involves a tiered bribe structure. Thank goodness view cameras do not fall in this category. And for the record, Chamonix did not plagiarize Phillips. He was retiring anyway, and they asked his permission to make something similar - or at least that's the version of the story I heard.

[EdWorkman]

Anyone remember the days when Pentax cameras could not be brought into the US except by Honeywell?
IIRC the bootleg price was $125 and the risk that the customs person would obliterate the Pentax logo by gouging the metal

[Jac@stafford.net]

Anyone remember the days when Pentax cameras could not be brought into the US except by Honeywell?
IIRC the bootleg price was $125 and the risk that the customs person would obliterate the Pentax logo by gouging the metal

I do remember. What year was that?

[HMG]

Anyone remember the days when Pentax cameras could not be brought into the US except by Honeywell?
IIRC the bootleg price was $125 and the risk that the customs person would obliterate the Pentax logo by gouging the metal

Honeywell owned the US rights to the Pentax brand at least until the mid to late 80s. About the time I went to work for (corporate) Honeywell. Talk about timing.

As I recall, many bodies with the "Asahi Pentax" logo (especially those brought back by service members) had the logo covered with some sort of black tape that was heated when applied and very difficult to remove.