:( Now I'm Pissed

T

thegeek574

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Well, here it goes. I am pissed and I am going to rant. However, it will probably be short, so stick around. I ordered a load of supplies in November from Jantz. Before you get annoyed, this has nothing to do with Jantz. So it get the order from them and everything looks fine. I ordered 2 Nicholson magicut files for my primary grinding because I had been impressed by the speed that the first one that I had bought had removed metal and how long it had lasted. Well, I just got around to busting out the second one today. What I found annoyed me to no end. The file in question had a bend. when placed on a flat surface, it has at least a 3/16ths inch gap between the surface and the file in the middle. There is also a slight discoloring on both sides of the file and the tang is badly ground. I could not think of what the problem could be, and then I looked at the stamp. This was a nicholson from Mexico. I looked at my original, and it was a nicholson from the USA, and straight as an arrow. Needless to say, I looked at the jantz return page and I had 10 days to return the item. it has been 7 months. At this point, I am stuck with some of the most expensive blade steel that I have ever bought, and I don't even know what it is :D.

Thanks all for listening.
 
Bummer. It might be worth putting a calm call in to Jantz and explaining the problem. They might surprise you with a satisfactory solution. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
 
Nicholson went the way of the "Great Sucking Sound" (NAFTA Treaty), as so eloquently put by Ross Perot. They once had a great production facility in Alabama, but a little thing like more profit, (or is that "Greed"?) made them decide to use cheaper labor somewhere else.

I'm sure Jantz will make it good. They are good people. They will probably either refund your money...........oooorrrrrrr....... send you another Mexican made file.

Hang in there gang.......... It is not going to get any better. You think you "Rant", you should come stay with me for a while. I can show you "Rant".

Maybe someday I will loosen up and tell you what I really think. :)

Robert
 
I've heard and seen nothing but bad bad things from the Mexican Nicholson files.

I've got nothing against Mexico, China, any other country, or the production of goods anywhere that can make them well. I'm not an isolationist, and I don't believe that buying anything not domestically produced is inherently "stealing" domestic jobs.

That being said, Mexican Nicholson files suck hard, and in general, since they're no longer producing files to the standard they used to domestically, anywhere else (Brazilian aren't horrible), they are currently, and likely will forever remain, a low quality file maker, unless the parent tool conglomerate (Apex tool group), chooses to stop sucking the last life out of a legacy that was earned, in favor of wal-mart style production.

Its not just about where they're made, the last domestically produced Nicholsons didn't live up to the standards they had set previously either. That's not because we (americans) lost the ability to make top quality files, simply that we allowed the corporate suits to defer to short term capitalistic opportunism.

Sorry for the huge rant, but this is a topic I'm serious annoyed by. If you want good files, buy new European, or old stock USA off ebay. I do.
 
I use to use the farrier Rasp made by them but like the file you just got they turned to crap so I don't by them anymore. I have gone to buying a Swiss made or European rasp. I was told it costs them to much to make them here in the US anymore. So good luck, if you want fast cutting look at farrier rasp, the file side can hog metal off quick.
 
javand said:
That's not becasue we (americans) lost the ability to make top quality files, simply that we allowed the corporate suits to defer to short term capitalistic opportunism.
Click to expand...

Hmm, easy to always blame the suits. Let's be completely honest though. With the advent of MTV, Jerry Springer, Reality TV, and comdey central, common "Americans" (which I am), are lazier than ever and expect handouts from everyone. Want higher wages for less work, multiple smoke breaks, bogus workers comp claims, unemployment compensation. etc, etc, etc. You get the point? Perhaps the only way for companies to afford to stay in business is to seek manufacturing oversees. It sucks, I know. But there are MANY factors, not just only Greed. And yes, there are MANY hardworking Americans who deserve a lot more compensation.

With that said, I go out of my way to purchase US made goods every chance I get. Patriotism is not an uncool thing. Most citizens of foreign countries are VERY patriotic to their home countries even after they seek to live in the US. We need more Americans to love America. Unfortunately, some think its en vogue to downplay their own country to garnish the "acceptance" of foreign friends. I'm not saying you should slap a hundred US flags on your bumper, but certainly we should speak respectfully of the country that so many choose to live for so many good reasons. (Not saying that you were)

BTW, not trying to turn this into a pissing match, it is a VERY sore topic for me as well.

Peace
 
That is really too bad. I always preferred Nicholson files to Simonds or any of the other readily available ones.

Javand, it probably was corporate looking for that last penny that made things turn for the worse here in the US. But maybe not. As a mfg engineer I have seen production quality take serious hits for other reasons as well, to include staffing problems, old guard retiring, etc. Sometimes the hit is big enough that management then says screw it and sends things elsewhere to be made.
 
I'm not disagreeing with what either of you guys are saying at all, but usually when a larger "group" of companies buys out a long regarded and well standing business, with a vast reputation for quality, only to immediately start outsourcing all operations, it's usually to bank on that reputation.

Now, with that being said, Apex Tool Group has a number of really great quality brands, mostly in the pneumatics area, that are exceptional. I've got a bunch or MasterPower, Dotco/Cleco, Cooper tools, which are great quality, but not marketed on a consumer level. Ironically, all of these tools are manufacturered in countries that are known for quality tool production, like Japan, Taiwan, and our own country of course.

I don't claim to know the motivations or inner workings of the Nicholson aquisition, or the business strategies there after, I'm just commenting on how it appears to me, and the end result.

You have to consider, that it may have simply been more profitable to produce an inferior product (with knowledge thereof) and leverage the reputation, than to increase prices and continue the legacy.

Of course, someone will like tout the corporate dogma: "Companies are in business to make money." and that may be true, but I don't revere that as sacrosanct, and I am also a (admittedly very small) business owner.

Anyway, I prefer to buy american, but I won't buy an inferior product to be patriotic. If that makes me less of an american, so be it. I want the best for my buck, not the cheapest, and I put my money where my mouth is every day.
 
So after thinking about my post, I'm thinking its not really fair to consider it an "american product" vs anywhere else, since no nicholson files are produced here. It's just an american company, which outsources all the work.

Thus the real question, is there any file maker left in the U.S.?
 
Why was this posted in POLITICAL. It belongs in FEEDBACK.

Please take time to post topics in their proper areas.
 
As others have suggested, you might contact Jantz. Maybe they have had a lot of complaints about this item and could work something out with you. You should at least see what they have to say.
 
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