re: ARE TOOLS MADE OVERSEAS OF POOR QUALITY AND IF SO WHO'S TO BLAME

True about the technology advancements, they have been fantastic. I was referring more to the quality of the materials, castings etc.. ie, metal gears in a drill used to be fairly standard. ( i know you can still get them in the higher end tools). I once shredded a brand new Makita 3/8" electric drill drilling 3/4" holes in spruce 2″ × 6″‘s (plates) with a spade bit. That just shouldn’t happen. I had the gears go on a 13" Jet Planer too. It hadn’t seen much use and never any abuse. I replaced them and was appalled at how soft the metal was. (made in Taiwan I believe)

Jim… I would hope so but the almighty dollar seems to be the main thing they are looking for. Maybe if the consumer demanded quality (and backed it up with their spending dollars)?
After my experience with the drill (they didn’t stand behind it) I went 20 years without buying another Makita product.

With blades, carbide equipped modern blades have no comparison. With knives and chisels it depends on who made them.