German Made Stuff: Quality Superb

[JD Spydo]

Most of my adult life I've come to really appreciate high quality items of all types. Which is what drew me to Spyderco in the first place. The other day I kind of took inventory of my tools & toys and I was noticing how much German made stuff I've accumulated over the years. There is one brand of fishing reel I collect and the name of the Company is D.A.M. Quick. I started using their reels all the way back to the 60s I still use and collect those German made D.A.M. Quick reels and other tackle made by them as well.

I've gotten several German made items over the years and I never cease to be amazed with their attention to detail and their uncompromising quality standards. Just this past week I found a commercial grade, F. Dick sharpening steel at my local thrift store. I looked up the price on the same model brand new and it was upwards of $190>> and I got it for $3.99 I almost felt guilty on that one

A very good friend of mine has two German made Weatherby hunting Rifles and you can tell when you hold one that they are top grade all the way. I also have a lot of German made cutlery that I've bought at my local thrift store in the past 2 to 3 years that is made by Messermeister, Wustof, J.A. Henckel and Weidmannsheil. Who else here is into stuff made by German companies? What German companies got you hooked on their high quality items?

And right now I'm saving up to get a new Carl Zeiss multi-powered loupe. I bet a lot of you have heard of that company.

[austrian_spyder_fan]

I also know D.A.M. fishing equipment.
Most of my tools are Made in Germany.
Such as: Hazet, Gedore, Wera, Wiha, Felo, Stahlwille,
I have also Austrian Made Tools: Stubai
French: Facom
Italien: Beta
Swiss: RALI
U.S. : Woodpeckers

ASF

[JRinFL]

My late mother was made in Germany. Does that count?

[James Y]

TBH, I own very few products that are actually German-made. Including products from German companies. For example, some (many?) Wiha tools are “forged in Vietnam to high German standards”. I own one Messermeister knife, as well as a J. A. Henckels kitchen knife, both of which turned out to be made in China. I’m not saying that outsourced manufacturing cannot produce good products (the knives themselves were ok); but if I buy something from a German manufacturer, I want it to actually be made in Germany.

In the same manner, if a knife is sold under the Moki name, I want it to be made by Moki in Seki, Japan, and not made in China or any other country.

From now on, I would only buy German products if I can inspect them in person, to ensure that they’re actually made in Germany.

Jim

[MacLaren]

The older Sig Sauer made in W. Germany or Germany are excellent pistols. Triple serial number pistols.
Stihl pro saws are really nice /although I prefer Husqvarna

[TomAiello]

I have several 'German' tools that were made in Taiwan, and (like the Taiwan made Spyderco knives I own) are very high quality. They also said, right on the box (and the manufacturers web site) that they were made in Taiwan.

[James Y]

I have several 'German' tools that were made in Taiwan, and (like the Taiwan made Spyderco knives I own) are very high quality. They also said, right on the box (and the manufacturers web site) that they were made in Taiwan.

The Messermeister and Henckels knives I have I bought many years ago. At the time I ordered them, I never thought that they’d be made in China, so I had never thought to check their websites to see where the individual products were manufactured. I did what a LOT of people would have done, and have done.

Jim

[JD Spydo]

I also know D.A.M. fishing equipment.
Most of my tools are Made in Germany.
Such as: Hazet, Gedore, Wera, Wiha, Felo, Stahlwille,
I have also Austrian Made Tools: Stubai
French: Facom
Italien: Beta
Swiss: RALI
U.S. : Woodpeckers

ASF

Hey "austrian_ spyder_fan" I'm so glad one of you guys over on that side of the globe chimed in. I used to have a guy I knew in Berlin who I got to know from >> www.ebay.de<< that I kept contact with but he died unfortunately and he was also a big fan of the D.A.M. Quick reels and fishing tackle as I have been ever since the late 60s. I've heard that there are models accessible over there that you can't get here in the USA for some strange reason.
Interesting as well that you mention "Austrian made" tools as well. Because I've heard that you guys and companies in Belgium also put out some really good quality stuff as well.
As I said in my intro there is just something about high quality tools and toys ( I consider my fishing stuff toys ) that really intrigue me.

[JD Spydo]

I have several 'German' tools that were made in Taiwan, and (like the Taiwan made Spyderco knives I own) are very high quality. They also said, right on the box (and the manufacturers web site) that they were made in Taiwan.

The Messermeister and Henckels knives I have I bought many years ago. At the time I ordered them, I never thought that they’d be made in China, so I had never thought to check their websites to see where the individual products were manufactured. I did what a LOT of people would have done, and have done.

Jim

Yeah Jim that's why I've been searching out stuff in thrift stores because the older stuff is mostly German made>> many of the great German companies like J.A. Henckel for instance that now sends their materials to China to have them assembled. I've had a couple of those and I ended up giving them away.
I think you're probably right about the Taiwan people doing a better than average job of manufacturing. The only China made stuff I've ever seen with any quality to speak of oddly enough is Spyderco's BYRD line of knives. I don't own any of them.

Jim I've got two J.A. Henckel blades that were made in Spain of all places. But they are just about as good as the German units. I'm sure that some of those German companies have very high standards for outsourcing. I do try to buy the "Real McCoy" German made items when I can get them.

[JD Spydo]

The older Sig Sauer made in W. Germany or Germany are excellent pistols. Triple serial number pistols.
Stihl pro saws are really nice /although I prefer Husqvarna

Thank you so much MAC for bringing up STIHL chain saws. I used to be in the tree service business and I still have a few of my German made STIHL chain saws. I also had a couple of STIHL saws that were made here in the USA at Virginia Beach. Stihl is a really well made tool. I like STIHL so much that I just won't buy any other outdoor power tool.
I've done side by side tests with them and Husqvarna and I just like STIHL much better. Although Huskie isn't bad for the money.
I know several of my old pals who own Sig Sauer firearms and they are great. And brand I like even better than those are Hechler & Koch. I've shot some of them and they are awesome quality. Just for a bit of info>> at one time when the Colt firearms company were selling rifles most of them were made by Sig Sauer for Colt.

[JD Spydo]

My late mother was made in Germany. Does that count?

I know one thing JR Those German women don't take any guff off of a guy at all I used to have some "blue-blood" German neighbors when I was growing up. And as a kid if I got out of hand the mother of that family threatened to give me a big whipping a couple of times over the years And my mother backed her up too

There aren't many women on the planet that are as strong-willed as those German ladies are That Ol' gal used to scare me something terrible when I was a youngster growing up

[Doc Dan]

Beer, German beer.

[MacLaren]

The older Sig Sauer made in W. Germany or Germany are excellent pistols. Triple serial number pistols.
Stihl pro saws are really nice /although I prefer Husqvarna

Thank you so much MAC for bringing up STIHL chain saws. I used to be in the tree service business and I still have a few of my German made STIHL chain saws. I also had a couple of STIHL saws that were made here in the USA at Virginia Beach. Stihl is a really well made tool. I like STIHL so much that I just won't buy any other outdoor power tool.
I've done side by side tests with them and Husqvarna and I just like STIHL much better. Although Huskie isn't bad for the money.
I know several of my old pals who own Sig Sauer firearms and they are great. And brand I like even better than those are Hechler & Koch. I've shot some of them and they are awesome quality. Just for a bit of info>> at one time when the Colt firearms company were selling rifles most of them were made by Sig Sauer for Colt.

Wow. Thata pretty wild on your side by side tests with Stihl and Husqvarna
I've found the big Sweden saw to have more power, better air filtration and better anti vibe.
As a matter of fact I used to race some saws. Those Husqvarna saws always won too. Now, that's not takin a darn thing away from Stihl. They are an awesome saw. Oh yeah, knew a guy that raced saws professionally in Stihl Timber Sports and his personal saw was a Jonsered 2094 ( Husqvarna )
Lol, those big Huskies are just bad azz.
But from what I understand the playing field is a little more even now.
The best thing to happen to saws imo, are the M-Tronic and Auto Tune.
The carb automatically mixes the oil and gas for optimal performance. And, thats fantastic. Because before as you know, a man always had to tune depending upon elevation. You don't wanna run to lean or too rich. No worries about that anymore.
The strongest saw I ever had was a Husqvarna 390XP
At a race it outran every Stihl MS660 there save one and the MS660 is a bigger saw than the 390XP
She was a mean motor scooter!
But, Stihl is a fantastic saw. No doubt about it.

[Ankerson]

Weatherby's are very nice rifles.

I had two of them in my life.

Mark V in .340 Weatherby (With a Muzzle Break) and Vanguard in .300 Win.

[MacLaren]

I've also got a little set of Wiha torx bits. Very nice.

[JD Spydo]

The older Sig Sauer made in W. Germany or Germany are excellent pistols. Triple serial number pistols.
Stihl pro saws are really nice /although I prefer Husqvarna

Thank you so much MAC for bringing up STIHL chain saws. I used to be in the tree service business and I still have a few of my German made STIHL chain saws. I also had a couple of STIHL saws that were made here in the USA at Virginia Beach. Stihl is a really well made tool. I like STIHL so much that I just won't buy any other outdoor power tool.
I've done side by side tests with them and Husqvarna and I just like STIHL much better. Although Huskie isn't bad for the money.
I know several of my old pals who own Sig Sauer firearms and they are great. And brand I like even better than those are Hechler & Koch. I've shot some of them and they are awesome quality. Just for a bit of info>> at one time when the Colt firearms company were selling rifles most of them were made by Sig Sauer for Colt.

Wow. Thata pretty wild on your side by side tests with Stihl and Husqvarna
I've found the big Sweden saw to have more power, better air filtration and better anti vibe.
As a matter of fact I used to race some saws. Those Husqvarna saws always won too. Now, that's not takin a darn thing away from Stihl. They are an awesome saw. Oh yeah, knew a guy that raced saws professionally in Stihl Timber Sports and his personal saw was a Jonsered 2094 ( Husqvarna )
Lol, those big Huskies are just bad azz.
But from what I understand the playing field is a little more even now.
The best thing to happen to saws imo, are the M-Tronic and Auto Tune.
The carb automatically mixes the oil and gas for optimal performance. And, thats fantastic. Because before as you know, a man always had to tune depending upon elevation. You don't wanna run to lean or too rich. No worries about that anymore.
The strongest saw I ever had was a Husqvarna 390XP
At a race it outran every Stihl MS660 there save one and the MS660 is a bigger saw than the 390XP
She was a mean motor scooter!
But, Stihl is a fantastic saw. No doubt about it.

MAC there are two things you have to keep in mind. There are two series of Stihl Chain Saws. You have the ones made here in the USA at Virginia Beach, VA and you have the higher end models that are made in German. The one Arborist chain saw of theirs that I bought back in 98 was a model 020T. It is thee most excellent trimming saw I've ever owned. Like I said I bought it back in 98 and I still have it and still use it on a regular basis. One of the better saws I had for felling was the 044 Magnum and 066 Magnum models. I bought the 044 Magnum back in 96 and I sold it to a guy who is still using it today. All of the ones I mentioned are the German made units. I did have an 028 Super which was a Virginia Beach USA model and it was great and I ran it for close to 30 years before I ended up selling it.

Interesting you would mention Jonsered>> because I've run those before and I do personally rate them higher than any Husky I've ever worked with. I guess this could be a "Ford vs Chevy" debate but if you use the German made Stihl saws you'll find them difficult to beat. The overall longevity and durability of the German made Stihl saws is tops in my book>> and I did make a living with them for quite a while. There is another German made chain saw but they are only sold in the eastern USA from what I'm told>> I'm speaking of the Sachs-Dolmar saws. The Sachs-Dolmar company makes many other great tools and many other great products.

[JD Spydo]

Weatherby's are very nice rifles.

I had two of them in my life.

Mark V in .340 Weatherby (With a Muzzle Break) and Vanguard in .300 Win.

A very good hunting buddy of mine who is one of those guys who feels he must have the biggest of everything has a Weatherby Mark V like you mentioned in .460 Weatherby Magnum. The two times I shot that monster I thought I had a "Howitzer" on my shoulder That and another big gun another buddy of mine has which is a .375 Holland & Holland. I guess if I were hunting T-REX or Brontosaurus I might need something that big.

But that Weatherby .460 Magnum was surprisingly accurate for as big of a caliber as it is. That .460 had an Accubreak Recoil device. I'm glad it did but it still kicked me like a Missouri Mule

The only thing I don't like about Weatherby is that it is hard to find brass for re-loading and their factory ammo is up in the stratosphere price-wise. I guess if I were in Africa around Cape Buffalo, or a Bull Elephant I would probably like to have a gun like that. However Jack O'Connor hunted all of those monsters with a .270 Winchester if you can believe that.

[JD Spydo]

Beer, German beer.

I don't drink alcoholic beverages anymore. But the problem I had with German beer is that they drink the stuff at room temperature

I used to like my Corona and Kirin beers so cold that it would numb your tongue. I had way too many friends and family members that died too young with their drinking problems so I quit completely quite a long time ago. I like living and I like new Spyderco models. And if giving up drinking makes more of that possible then I'm glad I did.

But I will admit that the room temperature German beer is not all that bad if you just get accustomed to it. But for me the colder the better.

[Doc Dan]

Beer, German beer.

I don't drink alcoholic beverages anymore. But the problem I had with German beer is that they drink the stuff at room temperature

I used to like my Corona and Kirin beers so cold that it would numb your tongue. I had way too many friends and family members that died too young with their drinking problems so I quit completely quite a long time ago. I like living and I like new Spyderco models. And if giving up drinking makes more of that possible then I'm glad I did.

But I will admit that the room temperature German beer is not all that bad if you just get accustomed to it. But for me the colder the better.

I don't drink anymore because of all the medications I take. I never drank to excess, in any case. I like a cold beer and going to Helen, GA during Octoberfest was really fun.

For those who may not know, Helen, GA is a Bavarian village in the mountains of the northern part of the state of Georgia. The language is German.

[kennethsime]

Agreed, JD - there's a lot to be said about a country which fosters education, a strong work ethic, and attention to detail. Here's a few items that come to mind when I think about quality German-made products:

I've always enjoyed German knives. Zwilling J.A. Henckels are still my choice for kitchen knives, though I'd like to try a Japanese Gyuto in VG-10 at some point.

I shave with a Merkur double-edge razor, and the Merkur blades are certainly the best double-edge razor blades I've ever used. I've tried Israeli, Japanese, English, and American razor blades, and always come back to Merkur.

I enjoy Volkswagens - I've owned three at this point, and will probably own at least one more.

My favorite glasses had Zeiss lenses - incredibly thin for my rather thick prescription, and stayed scratch-free a very long time.

I love Mehaz nail clippers, though they're made in Japan by KAI now.

I've been using my boss's Festool rail saw quite a bit lately - man is that a fine tool.