Yesterday, my baby momma told me that I should make a list of every different kind of item I’ve ever collected. This meta-list is probably fairly large; at one point or another in my life, I’ve collected everything from WWII-era German pistols to partially-Latina mistresses. But my first love was probably pens. I was collecting pens before I was ten years old, to the point that my father had to step in and put a stop to things before, presumably, I disappeared under a mountain of rare-color Paper-Mate disposables.
Three decades later, I have a reasonable collection of Pelikans, Kawecos, Lamys, Pilots, and Montblancs. What I don’t have is a Chinese pen. It never occurred to me that you could get a decent pen from China. Turns out that it never really occurred to the Chinese, either — until someone important asked.
A TTAC reader recommended this post on China’s struggle to make a good ballpoint pen. For the tl;dr crowd, it comes down to the fact that the machine required to make the “ball” itself has only been perfected by the Swiss. But the article goes into greater and more universal depth. Here’s the money shot:
The question of quantity over quality came up during the CCTV program devoted to ballpoint pens. The host asked the three Chinese CEOs onstage a simple question: “Take three seconds and think of an innovative product that is uniquely Chinese.”
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First up was Qu Daokui, CEO of a robotics company. “If I close my eyes and try to think of a product that has Chinese characteristics and is recognized internationally,” stammered Qu, “I can’t think of one.”
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Next, it was the machine tool CEO’s turn. “There are two things that only Chinese people can make,” explained Guan Xiyou, CEO of Shenyang Machine Tool Group, “The first is fireworks. The second? Folding fans. Foreigners still can’t make a good folding fan.”
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Qiu Zhiming, the CEO of the ballpoint pen company, was no longer in the hot seat. He sat quietly, watching the CEOs onstage stammer answers to this essential question.
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And he smiled.
If you’ve been reading this website for a while you’ll notice that I have a bit of an issue with the manufacturing race to the bottom and the idea of Chinese manufacturing hegemony. There are two reasons for this. The first is that I like America and I want to see people have jobs and careers and food on the table and stable families and all the other good things that come from the presence of manufacturing employment.
The second is that I don’t think Chinese industrialization, as it’s being practiced, is particularly good for China. People are being frog-marched at gunpoint from their rural communities to slave their lives away in factories that don’t adhere to reasonable environmental or safety standards. Employees are brutalized and humiliated to the point that they attempt suicide.
English-language apologists for China-centric policies — and there are many of them — point out that many of the same conditions applied in the United States a hundred years ago. But to excuse Chinese labor exploitation on the basis that the Western world once committed similar sins against its citizens is, essentially, to assert that human beings have no ability to learn from history or the mistakes of others. The Chinese know perfectly well what safe, tolerable workplaces look like. They simply don’t care to create them, because to do so would be to reduce the windfall of profits.
As I sit at my desk, I can console myself that everything I’m wearing but my underwear was made in the United States. (The underwear is from the Dominican Republic. I should buy decent underwear. But in my current state of life, almost nobody sees it except for the occasional emergency-room nurse.) I know that the vast majority of the products I buy support safe working conditions for my neighbors and countrymen. It’s not always possible to make an American (or even a European) choice. But it’s possible more often than you’d think, and it’s possible more often than the apologists would have you believe. Plus, that way you get a decent ballpoint pen.
My underpants are Norwegian.
I was around ten years old when I won a set of Parker pens from some kind of raffle, I don’t know exactly why but I found it really exciting and took good care of them. That is until a classmate took them and put them through a washing machine. Still have them somewhere but they’re pretty much ruined.
A good thinking point here .
As a Tool buyer , I try hard to buy American made tools but some of them (Proto # 209G Industrial Dykes) simply suck and there’s NO EXCUSE for low quality manufacturing .
-Nate
Somewhere in a box I have a pack of Faber Castell “Natural” pencils that I bought in 1989… the last pack of pencils I bought before I graduated high school. I never opened them, just kept them as a memento. I know those were American made. I also know their pencils have been Chinese for quite some time now.
It’s not worth anything as an item (just a pack of pencils, after all) but it’s worth it as a physical object from a different time in history, when the world was so different.
Hohner is owned by a Chinese company and they make all of their inexpensive harmonicas in China, but anything from Hohner that an enthusiast or pro would play is made in Germany. Suzuki makes all their harps in Japan as far as I know. The only playable (i.e. airtight enough to be able to bend notes) harps that I’ve seen that were made in China are those made under the Huang brand, affiliated with Cham Bar Huang, one of the world’s best classical harmonica players. The Huangs are airtight enough to play but they’re obviously not made to the same quality as a Suzuki, Lee Oskar (MIJ by Tombo), or German Hohner. My current favorites are from Suzuki and Seydel, which claims to be the oldest harmonica company in the world, located in what was East Germany.
As or other kinds of manufacturing, if you want precision machining done, there are less than 10 countries where you can get it done and China isn’t one of them. Israel does more of that then China.
Yo Jack:
“Deal with it.”
😀
ARRRRRGH
Such it up.
The Spanish equivalent is far more rude.
LOL, stupid phone’s autocorrect
Like you, I collect certain (ok, most) things. Old Zippo lighters, pocket watches, (yard sales/flea markets are your friend), but also older pens. My first “real” job was at a machine shop that made, among other things, the black tips at the top of a Cross pen. When I graduated high school, the owner of the business gave me a set of Cross pens, ball and fountain. Since then I have added 20 more Cross and also branched out into Schaeffer pens after receiving a set as a gift in 1977.
As for your drawers, could always go commando. 🙂
Where do you draw the line on purchasing items that aren’t manufactured in the US? I’ve gathered you like your clothes manufactured here and some audio equipment but not so much cars and bikes. Not trying to be difficult, mostly just curious.
He draws the line at rear engined air cooled sports cars apparently.
Probably half of the cars I’ve owned have been either American-brand or made in the US. I thought my Town Car was Wixom-built when I bought it — turns out it was made in Quebec like the rest of the final TCs.
As far as American-made bikes goes… guilty on all counts. Never had one. But hey, maybe I’ll go out and get an old GoldWing!
FWIW Jack ;
I used to own and ride a kAWASAKI C1P , maybe a 1980 , I have forgotten , it was ‘ made in America ‘ , presumably of Japanese parts , worked fine , no quality control issues ever and I rode the living crap out of it for several years including touring America on it .
When the novelty wore off , away it went .
If you like to ride spiritedly , maybe a Buell or V-Rod ? .
-Nate
That’s the KZ1000 police version, right? I think the bike was initially just police-ified in America, then they started doing assembly… by the end of the run I think it was nearly 100% American.
Yes , that’s correct .
It was an ex L.A.P.D. model , unit # 347 .
A very trouble free Moto indeed , handled better than I expected with the top heavy fairing , windshield and so on .
I reinstalled the siren and jazz , no real reason I was just in the mood .
It was the very last Z1000 with a kick stater , that was pretty much useless as the bags were 1/2″ from it so you couldn’t use it but for the last 1/4 of it’s travel .
-Nate
[homerdrool]partially Latina mistresses[/homerdrool]
Is Lana Kane Mulasio (part black and part Latina)?
She is much too big and masculine for my tastes, as I much prefer Cheryl (especially with only whipped cream on her boobies).
I have no issues buying imported goods as long as they’re not made where individual rights are non-existent i.e. China, Cuba, Venezuela, etc.
Flowers from Colombia, cars from Japan, towels from India, sunflower oil from Ukraine….yes, yes, yes and yes…all great.
If US gov’t creates an uncompetitive climate where cars have to be now be made in Mexico then perhaps loss of jobs will create enough upheaval to spur change and “Make our country great again”. There I said it.
I try to buy US but living lower on the income spectrum does force you into China made more then I like (the Walmart cheap crap loop is self perpetuating to some extent). I won’t be buying a China made car but that’s a little moot as I buy used. But I do believe in the basic concept of supporting your neighbors. I stopped going to Walmart long ago. I use a local bank, I shop at a locally owned grocery store. These things matter.
Yes , patronizing your local business’ matter greatly .
I do this too in spite of having only an America mad truck , currently all my old cars and Motos are Foreign made , none are Chinese .
Buying American made things is hard , they’re near impossible to find .
I agree , when the quality and treatment of the laborers who make them come up , I’ll buy Chinese things willingly .
American Motos , Hm , I owned and rebuilt/restored Harley’s long ago when a 1937 EL KnuckleHead was just a funny (if beautiful) old Moto , my 1965 FL PanHead was just one more ex L.A.P.D. Motor with (of course) a broken frame .
Both were actually fun to ride and much more reliable than most find Harleys to be but in the end they were simply too damn slow where it counts , being passed by a kid in a clapped out single carby Trumpet as I was going full tilt boogie was embarrassing and annoying no matter how nice the Harley looked .
I don’t go anywhere sans pen and paper , I just looked at my faithful old pen , all it says is ‘ PILOT easy touch MED ‘ so I imagine it’s one more Chinese import ?
I’ve been using these a few years now and they don’t leak , write O.K. and the ink lasts a long time .
-Nate
I am the opposite of a collector. I like one of each. I’m the guy who gets a freebie pen from a bank or a realtor - and uses it exclusively until the ink runs out.
The exception to the rule: I got silly about wristwatches for a while. Had a dozen or more, from Omega Planet Oceans to Sinn chronos to a ridiculous batch of variations on The Best Watch Ever, Seiko’s 6309-7049.
I sold all but two: One of the iconic 6309s and a Nassau, from boutique watchmaker MkII.
The Times had an interesting piece on the Beijing Watch Factory a few months ago. They make interesting stuff, including their own Tourbillon watches. As the article points out, the soldiers who put down the Tiananmen Square Uprising were rewarded with BWF watches, so they must be good!
That factory puts out watch movements that are along the lines of 98.8% as accurate as the BEST the Swiss are capable of, but at 13% of the price.
Cool. How did you learn that? I’m not really a watch guy, so education is welcome
A couple interesting articles about this:
In Watch Industry, a Feud Over What Makes a Timepiece Swiss-Made
By RAPHAEL MINDERAPRIL 27, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/28/business/global/swiss-watch-industry-seeks-to-tighten-requirements.html
The Huawei Watch
By CHRIS HORTON
SEPT. 29, 2015
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/30/fashion/the-huawei-watch.html
“But as a new, wealthy class emerged, domestic watchmakers also began to see opportunities at the high end of the market.
In 1996, Beijing Watch Factory manufactured mainland China’s first tourbillon watch prototype, according to the company’s general manager, Miao Hongbo. After years of working on improvements and technological upgrades, the company released a limited edition of 30 rose-gold tourbillon watches in 2004. And now, he said, it is focusing research and development efforts on producing increasingly complex movements.
Everything is changing:
JULY 28 2015 5:45 AM
The Timepiece That Will Change Everything
It’s not the Apple Watch. It’s a Swatch.
By Jay Deshpande
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/fashion/2015/07/forget_the_apple_watch_the_most_revolutionary_new_timepiece_on_the_market.html
“Last year, Swatch released a new model called Sistem51. Unlike most of the watches in the affordable Swiss watch company’s line, the Sistem51 is mechanical: Rather than using a battery, as in a quartz watch, it stores energy by using the motion of your wrist to wind it. Unlike any other Swiss mechanical, the Sistem51 is built entirely on a 65-foot-long automated assembly line, without any human intervention. Maybe most significantly, the Sistem51 costs just $150—a shockingly low price point for a mechanical watch that is 100 percent Swiss made. A decent Swiss mechanical with a reliable timekeeping mechanism inside it starts north of $500 (usually closer to $1,000), and prices quickly rise from there: an automatic TAG Heuer will run you over $2,000, a Rolex starts at about $5,000, and the high luxury watches—the likes of Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre, or Vacheron Constantin—run up into five and six digits.”
Thanks! Time to go shopping.
Jack, a honest query. How do you feel about foreign automakers producing their vehicles in the US, e.g. Your personal conveyance, the Honda Accord? Just looking to get your thoughts on a ” Japanese” firm assembling their cars in the US vis-a-vis American automakers. In your mind, so you think a foreign-owned firm making cars in America is the same as / better than / worse than an American-owned firm? I realize that this issue, like nothing in the talk world, is strictly black and white but I’d like to hear your thoughts.
For that matter, can we still call FCA an American automaker? I ask since the US government gifted them to the Italian government, and the Feds were promptly rewarded for this kindness by having the new company domiciled in the UK and pay income taxes in the Netherlands. I swear I’m not trying to be a troll but I liked to get your unvarnished take on these two issues.
Hey, this got dropped into the spam filter. I’ve freed it. Sorry!
Not directly China-related, but you’d probably appreciate, if not necessarily enjoy, this article.
http://www.cartalk.com/blogs/craig-fitzgerald/sears-craftsman-tools-what-happened-0
We have a pretty strict policy in my house these days. If it’s meant to be a long-term purchase, we’re only buying quality. In the end, it supports craftsmanship, the environment, companies and employees who give a shit, and in the end perhaps even our savings account since we don’t have to buy things over and over. Even if it’s not cheaper, I feel better about supporting people who give a damn instead of chasing savings all the way to the bottom.
It’s not always North American (I’m i Canada), but I feel a lot of these countries tend to share the same values when it comes to quality. German/American/Swiss tools, Swiss/Japanese watches (Seiko is such an underrated brand!), Japanese and British gardening equipment, German/Japanese made photo lenses, Hungarian goose-down, Canadian chopping blocks, European made toys etc etc. No China, unless its electronic consumables that will be redundant in a few years anyway.
I realize that not everybody has the financial ability to do this these days, and its hard to swallow buying a $400 Festool drill instead of a $75 Dewalt. But I’m in a position to do so these days, so I try to put my money where my mouth is.
Thomas ;
Those who are not wealthy can always buy older American made power tools , I find them very well made and usually easy to clean up ans return to daily service .
I still have the Sears Craftsman tools made in America by Miller Tools (a good outfit if not flashy) I bought 40 years ago…..
Also a $23 Harbor Freight no brand Chinese variable 3/8″ chuck electric drill I bought to run wire wheels in cleaning and (mostly) de rusting vintage car parts, engines , trannies , rear axle banjos etc. ~ it makes a terrible grinding racket but keep on working , maybe I’ll take it apart when it dies , maybe just toss it and replace .
I’m amazed it’s lasted this long , several years and many jobs .
-Nate
Is there an Amazon for American goods? Not some BS pintrest-esqe amalgamation blog website. A nice, easy to navigate, functional American only online retailer?
Not to my knowledge — and I’ve looked — but that’s a hell of an idea.
Try Harry J Epstein Co in KC. Be sure to check out the little blog they have.