You know you are getting on a bit when....

[Smiffy]

I saw this picture and thought, I have seen that before, where was it?


Then I remembered why I was looking at it and what to do next.

 

[Cheesepiece]

Haha they used to hurt when one whacked you on the back of the noggin in ICT class.

 

[HardLight]

While purely situational; the craftsmanship and quality of what some would refer to as antiques, surpasses that of what’s being produced now.

 

[ALI]

I think it is the 3210, the case was a curious thing, especially with a belt clip.

Nokia sold 160 million of them.

Great phone. But the StarTac was my fave design. Did you ever have one of those?

 

[Chris]

While purely situational; the craftsmanship and quality of what some would refer to as antiques, surpasses that of what’s being produced now.

This. I was looking for a hand drill, mostly I need a drill for the odd pilot hole and it’s less fuss than a power drill for occasional use. After scouring the internet looking for one and only finding reviews complaining about how poorly-built the couple I could find were I took to eBay and bought a Stanley 803 which is probably older than me.

 

[HardLight]

This. I was looking for a hand drill, mostly I need a drill for the odd pilot hole and it’s less fuss than a power drill for occasional use. After scouring the internet looking for one and only finding reviews complaining about how poorly-built the couple I could find were I took to eBay and bought a Stanley 803 which is probably older than me.

Correct and highly annoying. I bought a Plumb Ax from the early 50’s to restore. Every file I could find would not cut it to put an edge on it. I had to special order “real” files. The others dulled and skated across the surface.

 

[Chris]

I do understand that from a manufacturer's point of view if they build a tool that will last forever you'll only ever buy one, but I really don't like the idea of building stuff poorly so that you'll have to replace it. It just gives the impression that they really don't care about doing it well, just doing it as cheaply as possible.

 

[Smiffy]

This. I was looking for a hand drill, mostly I need a drill for the odd pilot hole and it’s less fuss than a power drill for occasional use. After scouring the internet looking for one and only finding reviews complaining about how poorly-built the couple I could find were I took to eBay and bought a Stanley 803 which is probably older than me.

I had the same drill from my father, I would guess that it is at least 70 years old. Very simple design, just two
gears and a simple clutch and jaws, minimal moving parts. I suspect that it goes back to pre Black and Decker days when the average household simply didn't have electric drills. I can remember my father drilling a hole in a wall to mount a shelf and saying to my mother, "is it level, is the drill level?" Then he used wood fibre rawlplugs because plastic rawlplugs had not been invented, at least in our house.

 

[R181]

I do understand that from a manufacturer's point of view if they build a tool that will last forever you'll only ever buy one, but I really don't like the idea of building stuff poorly so that you'll have to replace it. It just gives the impression that they really don't care about doing it well, just doing it as cheaply as possible.

When you combine planned obsolescence with poor product quality you get a recipe for continual profits. That seems to be the business model of a lot of manufacturers today. It keeps the economy going by continual consumer spending.

Bob

 

[Chris]

There is also a subset of people who will buy on the basis of "cheaper is better".

 

[R181]

There is also a subset of people who will buy on the basis of "cheaper is better".

Yes sir and the antithesis of the more expensive is better subset of consumers. Each have their own merits and drawbacks.

Bob

 

[JamieM]

There is also a subset of people who will buy on the basis of "cheaper is better".

I have always been of the opposite mindset, buy cheap buy twice, quality always costs more.

 

[JamieM]

My vintage Stanley Brace & Bit, I have been using it as a Carpenter for 40+ years and it was at least 20 years old when I picked it up.

 

[UKRob]

There is also a subset of people who will buy on the basis of "cheaper is better".

You also get to a stage where quality is no longer available. I’ve told this story before - at the start of my career with GKN, they were the leading manufacturer of fixings (nuts, bolts, screws etc.) and inventors of the Philips screw. I was given a tour of their factory in Smethwick where about 10,000 people were employed and the guide told me that foreign screws were on sale in the UK that cost less than the raw material price of the ones he was producing. Within a few years the factory was flattened and we all had to get used to twisting the heads off cheap imported tat. A race to the bottom like lots of other products that is truly down to the general public’s desire for a ‘bargain’.

 

[R181]

Another aspect that enters into the equation is that an item only has to be so good to give a long and useful service life. Anything more than that is gilding the lily and anything less that that is an unacceptable bargain. I guess you could call it the best price to performance ratio which generally lies in the upper half of the price range but surprisingly almost never at the top of the price range.

There are always the odd items that perform well above what their price would seem to indicate and are rare treasures. There are also items at the top of the price range whose performance doesn't justify the price.

The other variable is under what conditions the item is intended to be used determines the base quality needed for the job. Only the user can answer those questions. It is complicated for user to come to an answer that suits their needs. No one mindset is correct 100% of the time with the old YMMV coming into play. If you are confused after reading this, I don't blame you.

Bob