Almost any head of the family knows about the need for a tool in the house to quickly perform simple repairs. In the list of such a tool, one of the first places is occupied by a screwdriver, or better, a set of screwdrivers, tk. in the process of working with different techniques have to deal with a wide variety of screws and screws of different sizes and with different types slot.
Selection criteria for screwdrivers
Now, from the offer of various tools and screwdrivers, eyes literally run up. At the same time, outwardly this tool looks about the same, but the price can differ significantly. The requirements for a screwdriver are quite simple: it must perform its functions, be inexpensive, last a long time and be easy to use. The size of the tip or cross is selected taking into account the tasks to be solved, and convenience in work is ensured by the presence of a magnetized tip and the shape of the handle, which is checked with a regular grip, since access to shelves with goods in hardware stores now free.
The other two criteria are more difficult to apply for selection. Certainly one hundred - two hundred rubles less than five hundred - seven hundred, however, how long will a cheap screwdriver last? We do not take an extreme case, one of which happened to the author of these words: about ten years ago, a Chinese screwdriver bought on the way home to shop near the metro, just bent on the first use after pressing it while unscrewing the attached washing screw cars. The reason is that this "disposable" instrument was made from ordinary soft iron.
The reason for the difference in the price of screwdrivers
Externally, expensive and cheap screwdrivers differ little from each other. To do this, it is enough to compare Figure 1 and Figure 2. In both cases, bright plastic is used for the manufacture of the handle, its durability can be estimated without special equipment is almost unrealistic, and in terms of grip they differ little from each other friend. It is unlikely that the hole in the handle for the lanyard is worth the extra money that is asked for a branded product.
Roughly the same can be said about the rod and sting.
If we talk about sets for different occasions (an example is shown in Figure 3), then Chinese manufacturers, responding to market trends, they also offer the same products, and similarly with an attractive price difference.
Reasons for the difference in product prices
It is known that the price of a product is made up of the manufacturer's costs and the markup of the retail network. In conditions of fierce competition, the last component in trade is kept at about the same level.
The production of screwdrivers itself is characterized by a high degree of automation with a minimum share of manual labor and, accordingly, personnel costs. The profit of the enterprise, again in a highly competitive environment, is approximately at the same level in the industry.
But then the differences begin. The enterprises of the industry leaders are characterized by:
- development costs, which can be up to 15% of gross profit;
- using only high quality materials;
- performing a number of additional procedures for finishing and finishing the manufactured product;
- strict control of the production process as a whole.
All this inevitably affects the factory, and then the retail price, increasing its difference significantly.
Conclusion
What kind of screwdriver (and other locksmith's tool) to buy for home use? It is impossible to give a definite answer here.
In the first case, in a joking form, it is given by a student song about a cowboy: "Better go without pants, but load your pistol, no one knows what lies ahead." The thought embedded in it means that if the head of the family likes to work with his hands, then he definitely needs a good tool. It will not break at the most inopportune moment, it is pleasant to take it in your hands and it allows you to get the desired result faster, you will not get calluses with them during long work. After all, it will last a long time. It is not just that the rule appeared that the average man in the street should not buy cheap things.
If the problem of even minor breakdowns is solved by calling the master at home, and in other cases the screwdriver is used once every few months, then it is quite possible to limit yourself to a cheap product.