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Tools & Craft #109: Testing a Knockoff Tool vs. the Real Deal

It's important to understand the role that manufacturing plays in tool quality and price

By Joel Moskowitz - October 3, 2018

in Tools & Craft

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What should tools cost? When does a cheap price represent a bargain -- and when is it only a fool's bargain?

The price of metal is pretty much the same around the world. So except for labor intensive products such as clothing, the main price advantage many Asian imports have is newer manufacturing ability, lower development costs, and a cheaper design.

Newer machinery gives you an advantage because if you are building a new product line to make something, you buy the latest equipment in the competitive markets of Asia, and the equipment might even cost less than it does in America or Europe.

Lower development costs are pretty obvious. While some Chinese companies do innovate, the faster route of a cost-reduced product is to start by copying the original product. At the very least, you saved development costs and probably marketing costs as well.

A cheaper design can knock off a proven winner and use thinner, cheaper, and less accurately machined materials -- and save the manufacturer a boatload.

Why do I care? I get frustrated when generalizations about a knockoff product affect the expectations of the original USA made product. "Why should I pay for your overpriced product when I can buy X for much less?" the customer thinks. That original product may perform much better than the knockoff -- and even demonstrably save time and money -- but the knockoff can redefine the worth of the product.

I recently bought a knockoff bar clamp from Harbor Freight to test it against the Universal Bar Clamp made by Dubuque that we have been selling for over a decade. What are the differences between the original clamp and its knockoff? The results were striking.

Metal thickness: the wall thickness of the original aluminum tubing is almost double the thickness. This means the original is much stronger and not prone to flexing. The knockoff is not nearly as strong as the original, and it flexes if you bare down. All the casting of the original are heavier and better finished than the knockoff.

Length: Both clamps are sold as 24" clamps, but this ostensibly straightforward number means different things for these different products. For the Universal clamp, 24" means you can clamp something 24" wide. The knockoff, on the other hand, has a maximum clamping distance of 20" and another 4" that do nothing. Beware the "overall length" measurement - a bait-and-switch abuse, in my view and a big deal.

Overall fit and finish: The screw on the knockoff is drilled at an angle not straight on. Very annoying. The original has deeply punched slots for a wide range of adaptability and solid engagement. The knockoff has half the slots, which are barely punched in.

The import costs about $10; the Made in USA original costs $26.

I am not categorically knocking cheap tools. I would much rather you do woodworking with the equipment you can afford, even if it's more work, than not do anything at all. That would really suck. But it's bizarre to read an article in the woodworking press that shows a style of clamp with a "how to fix it" hack that unintentionally by omission tars all clamps of that style with the same brush. I would have been much happier if the article mentioned that the flex in the clamps they were using aren't typical of all the aluminum bar clamps you can buy -- just the low end ones in the article.

The wall thickness of the US made original is about twice the thickness of the knock-off

More and deeper slots make the original faster and easier to adjust

The heavy cast aluminum fitting on the original will last generations - I bought my first ones in the 1980s

The poorly drilled thread on the knockoff makes it harder to adjust when at a wide open setting

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This "Tools & Craft" section is provided courtesy of Joel Moskowitz, founder of Tools for Working Wood, the Brooklyn-based catalog retailer of everything from hand tools to Festool; check out their online shop here. Joel also founded Gramercy Tools, the award-winning boutique manufacturer of hand tools made the old-fashioned way: Built to work and built to last.

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Mike Nelson Pedde

6 years ago

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I can appreciate Arnold's position about cost; mycadvice has always been to buy the best tools you can afford. Good tools make jobs simpler and safer and they last a lot longer. Cheap tools (as opposed to those that are simply less expensive) can be dangerous.

Mike.

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Simon White

6 years ago

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Excellent article. I'm very tired of the assumption that any 'tool shaped object' will do the job as well as another, and that cheap tools are in any way a good idea. I see the statement of the web that 'a tool that you'll only use once can be cheap crap.' Who uses a tool only once and isn't infuriated when it can't quite do the job, or when it breaks and damages the work? Lots of people have told me they can't afford good tools, and maybe they're right, but I've bought some of my best stuff when I was unemployed and didn't know if I'd ever see another paycheck. My tablesaw (Delta Unisaw) cost a months wages when I was flat broke and got a tax refund check that almost covered it. There are obviously people who can't take that risk or will never have money. I'm sympathetic, I've been very broke. As a general rule, however, you should buy the best tools you can afford. There's just nothing else that makes sense.

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Arnold Rudge

6 years ago

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Oh Boy here we go . I once saw an AVE review of 10 dollar calipers vs a mitutoyo. I have one of those 10 dollar calipers and I paid 110 REALS (Brazil's currency). 110 reals is about 3 days work for a guy working at McDonald's in Brazil. A mitutoyo caliper costs over a months wages. So when I hear ppl complaining about harbour freight tools being cheap and bad, I take a deep breath. You don't know how good you have it. I would love to have that shitty bar clamp. They are poorly designed for your ease of use, but perfectly designed for my 3rd world pocket.

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Nathan D.

6 years ago

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I don't know who buys anything from Harbor Freight expecting high quality and I don't know what article you're complaining about because you seem to have left out any actual references to it.

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Dave D

6 years ago

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I have a couple of the Harbor Freight clamps and the lack of adjustment notches is a huge annoyance. You end up spending a lot of time turning the screw until the next notch catches. Additionally, you lose about half the effective length of the screw which can be a factor if you're using the clamp to pull something together. I have several HF tools and am satisfied for the most part however would not purchase these clamps again.
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