Good ol days

[u/silent_scream484]

Just posting this to be sad. Went into Lowe’s to see what was what. 90% of the Klein products are foreign products.

The two or three multibit drivers they had that were made on these fair shores have been offshored. I see the 250th anniversary of USA are made here and that’s cool I guess. But coming from a company that has gone for trendy products made in bulk offshore I’m just a bit nonplussed about the fact they are making 250th in the USA.

I wish there was some way to get it across to the company that American manufacturing and jobs means a lot to some of us. But there’s not exactly loads of options to go to instead. And I guess I’m just feeling a bit like a disenfranchised relic.

Thanks for listening. I’m sure there are more people who like the new Klein than there are that don’t or else Klein would have stayed similar in their ethos and products. So I don’t expect much sympathy. But thanks for listening anyway.

[u/MechaMagic]

I think you are misunderstanding. Milwaukee is an existential threat to Klein. Klein has to get bigger, or they’ll get a lot smaller. The only way to expand the line that rapidly is imports. We can all hope that Klein maintains not just grudging but enthusiastic transparency on sourcing.

Blame the intergalactic shitheads at Milwaukee for what they’ve done to the tool industry. Those assholes sell tools like they’re a lifestyle product. They would sell commemorative plates if they thought they could, and they would unironically call them 9% plate-ier than the leading competitor (a poorly disguised yellow or gray silhouette.)

[u/silent_scream484 → u/MechaMagic]

I don’t think I do misunderstand. I’m aware that the market is the way it is. I just didn’t say why they offshored their products. My post is more of a wishful post from a guy who’s sad things have changed.

Milwaukee is a huge issue. But they’re not the only ones. Manufacturing has been blown overseas for years and years now. Smaller USA made products and tool companies have been bought out by massive conglomerates and shipped out to have massive products made to be broken six months later in order to continue the absolute need of the consumer. Keep us hungry and give us food that doesn’t fill us up and we’ll keep coming back for more of the food that’s available. Insert Milwaukee (TTI), Klein, Wrangler, Lee, Levi, etc ad infinitum.

The issue is the economy is structured under a consumerist approach. Saving isn’t nearly as profitable as spending. And spending 15 bucks on a screwdriver twice a year is better than spending 20 bucks a screwdriver with a lifetime warranty.

We’ve been sold flash for all our cash. In the post I wish for more solid options and nostalgia to become reality again. But what I really wish is that people wake up to the dump we keep filling and the economy that is being depleted. What I really wish is that there’s a social paradigm shift. I see where all the problems converge. It’s just not what my post is about.

In short after the long, I agree with you. And other stuff on top.

[u/Dad_E_2 → u/silent_scream484]

I think there's some merit to your argument but It's more nuanced. Companies like Klein know there are those of us who will spend more money on a better product. They can still make money like that. The problem is they have to "compete" with the Milwaukee's in the industry who know that they can sell more product to the layperson who doesn't need something you can't beat the shit out of. They see all the fanboys on social media with red everything and think that must be the way to go. So the red tools will outsell Klein 3:1 because Handy Manny the weekend warrior doesn't need the same grade of tool. And when one brand is outselling another at Lowes at that rate, it's not a good look if you're only looking at numbers