To Stick and others, I am not trying to offend anyone and I am the first to admit that a lot of what comes out of China is rubbish and not worth anything like the cheap prices they charge,
Not offended in the least...
I see things differently...
while in business I did spread sheets on what came into the shop...
I factored in a lot of things..
initial cost.. (tangible)
support cost.. (intangible)..
safety...
CS... did the product's manufacturer stand behind the item..
quality..
performance.. did it do it's job well..
longevity..
availability..
initial cost.. (tangible)
OTC/delivered into my hand...
support cost.. (intangible)..
cost/time to get it warrantied if need be...
a carry back to the seller or postage and the trip to the post office isn't free...
cost/time of related down time..
cost/time of damage repair..
cost/time of a connected call back...
cost/time of related down time and job set back...
cost/time of rework because of
all of this relates in unit LF...
(unit cost
÷ LF)
I think Whiteside bits are better than equivalent Freud bits fresh out of the box..
but...
Freud stayed in production the longest..
Freud beat Whiteside in unit cost..
CMT bits are very good but fall short in support by a long ways...
every bit from China I found to have one or more issue(s)...
poor QC...
Balance... out of balance bits are rough on the router...
poor brazing.. you can ask my ear about that...
softer carbide.. short production life due to dulling...
fragile.. carbide chipping/breaking when hitting a dense knot..
two piece construction.. body to shank which under duress would separate...
same part number/same manufacturer/same profile... but one bit to the next won't/doesn't match..
NOTE:
Freud Quadracut bits are a force to behold/reckon w/...
there is a lot of knock offs and counterfeits coming out of china..
(there are a feww threads here on this...
.