solid brass hardware made in USA or Canada

[mikger]

I have a very particular customer who is looking for solid brass hardware on harness items I make for him but he does not want anything made in China

Do you know of any companies that actually make solid brass hardware in the USA or Canada - I need O rings / D rings / Roller buckles / and swivel snap hooks

Thanks

[Constabulary]

Try   http://albest.com/

 

 

Edited November 27, 2019 by Constabulary

[thunter9]

https://www.buckleguy.com/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Buckles%20%26%20Hardware%20b&utm_term=buckle%20guy&utm_content=Brand

[Hardrada]

I have the same problem. I did order from Buckleguy based on their hardware descriptions. Guess what? All the buckles were made in China. The cheapest ones are total junk: I can bend the prong with very little effort. Total waste of money. (On the other hand, it's also partly my fault: was I expecting a $1.30 buckle to be of good quality? Then again, based on their site's marketing copy, I was expecting it to be cheap American and not overseas junk.)

I ordered some European-made buckles from Rocky Mountain Leather Supply. What a difference! Of course, they are $7 each, but it's worth it. I've been looking far and wide to find buckles made in North America with no luck. The only ones I found were for cowboy belts, which is not what I make. I've been considering ordering them from Italy: https://www.guimer.it/en/buckles/

[jcuk]

Not sure if this would be of any use to you being the other side of the pond

https://www.abbeyengland.com/abbey-foundry/

 

 

Hope this helps

JCUK

 

 

[Parfektionisto]

Hi guys,

This is an interesting topic to discuss about. I’m probably one of the few Asian members here in LW, and I’m from Singapore(definitely not a part of China). I used to be asked,” Is Singapore a part of China?” or “Which part of China is Singapore located?” whenever I travelled, but that could also be because my race is Chinese:)

Anyway, I used to think China made stuffs are crappy like most of you guys, but ever since I visited China 3 years ago, my opinion totally changed. Think of it, China has one of the biggest manufacturing industry now, in the past they have no knowledge or skilled workers, but because of foreign investors that set up factories in China which happened few decades ago... and now these mainland Chinese not only has the knowledge, but also the skilled to produce good quality products. They can produce a similar accessories/hardware of similar quality to the West, but with more variety and choices for consumers to choose from. Of course, like what Hadrada had mentioned about the cheap poor quality ones, they are still producing that kind of stuffs because they are not only catering to one kind of consumers, but many different kind, so different product quality has different price, and of course you pay more for better quality. What I’m trying to say here is, China made products are no longer crappy and poor quality like what we used to think anymore. If you bought some poor quality stuffs that’s made in China, that’s because you haven’t found the real deal and the price you paid also plays an important part in the stuffs quality you are getting. 

Tony 

[Constabulary]

Maybe worth checking

http://www.custom-metal.com/index.html

 

Edited November 29, 2019 by Constabulary

[fredk]

On 11/27/2019 at 3:12 PM, mikger said:

I have a very particular customer who is looking for solid brass hardware on harness items I make for him but he does not want anything made in China

Do you know of any companies that actually make solid brass hardware in the USA or Canada - I need O rings / D rings / Roller buckles / and swivel snap hooks

Thanks

If you can't get what you want from a mainstream commercial seller check out contacts through the SCA - the Society of Creative Anachronism and other medieval re-entactment type groups. Usually either a member or someone associated casts their own buckles and fittings. As you do not seem to be looking for very many items they might be able to meet your needs

[billybopp]

6 hours ago, Parfektionisto said:

Hi guys,

This is an interesting topic to discuss about. I’m probably one of the few Asian members here in LW, and I’m from Singapore(definitely not a part of China). I used to be asked,” Is Singapore a part of China?” or “Which part of China is Singapore located?” whenever I travelled, but that could also be because my race is Chinese

Anyway, I used to think China made stuffs are crappy like most of you guys, but ever since I visited China 3 years ago, my opinion totally changed. Think of it, China has one of the biggest manufacturing industry now, in the past they have no knowledge or skilled workers, but because of foreign investors that set up factories in China which happened few decades ago... and now these mainland Chinese not only has the knowledge, but also the skilled to produce good quality products. They can produce a similar accessories/hardware of similar quality to the West, but with more variety and choices for consumers to choose from. Of course, like what Hadrada had mentioned about the cheap poor quality ones, they are still producing that kind of stuffs because they are not only catering to one kind of consumers, but many different kind, so different product quality has different price, and of course you pay more for better quality. What I’m trying to say here is, China made products are no longer crappy and poor quality like what we used to think anymore. If you bought some poor quality stuffs that’s made in China, that’s because you haven’t found the real deal and the price you paid also plays an important part in the stuffs quality you are getting. 

Tony 

Hi Tony,

  All the above is true, and typical of emerging economies.  Many of us are old enough to remember when Japan made cheap junk.  I remember getting a small wind-up toy as a child that said on it "Made in USA" - A neat little trick they used to help hide what they were really making - We found out much later that there is a city in Japan named USA.  They were buying scrap drink cans from the US and turning them into toys: If you opened one up  you might find a Budweiser label on the inside!   But that changed over time and Japan started making some of the best stuff around.  China is now in the same sort of transition and starting to make some quality stuff.  The hard part is knowing what you are getting.  Japan had known brand names, China does not yet have brands that are known quantities.  So, when we order something, we don't know what we are getting, leading many to avoid ordering altogether.

 Further, many that want US made hardware(or English, or whatever) do so because we want to support our own economy and not somebody else's as much as we do for quality products.

- Bill

[Hardrada]

5 hours ago, billybopp said:

Further, many that want US made hardware(or English, or whatever) do so because we want to support our own economy and not somebody else's as much as we do for quality products.

Precisely. A number of us are patriots, and we don't want to be supporting the one player whose cheap pricing tactics has practically annihilated our local industry.

[Parfektionisto]

On 11/29/2019 at 10:11 PM, billybopp said:

Hi Tony,

  All the above is true, and typical of emerging economies.  Many of us are old enough to remember when Japan made cheap junk.  I remember getting a small wind-up toy as a child that said on it "Made in USA" - A neat little trick they used to help hide what they were really making - We found out much later that there is a city in Japan named USA.  They were buying scrap drink cans from the US and turning them into toys: If you opened one up  you might find a Budweiser label on the inside!   But that changed over time and Japan started making some of the best stuff around.  China is now in the same sort of transition and starting to make some quality stuff.  The hard part is knowing what you are getting.  Japan had known brand names, China does not yet have brands that are known quantities.  So, when we order something, we don't know what we are getting, leading many to avoid ordering altogether.

 Further, many that want US made hardware(or English, or whatever) do so because we want to support our own economy and not somebody else's as much as we do for quality products.

- Bill

Hi Bill,

I totally respect the idea of supporting local made products, especially with situation like now, that many products are made in third world countries or country like China and India - the giant in manufacturing and mass production. 

The growing of China economy and the quality products they are producing now, is like seeing light from the end of the tunnel for me. In the past I have to compete with locals or European to bid on eBay.com/UK, but now I feel I’m lucky to be in Asia, and I see many people from the west are trying to source for things in Asia now, it’s like what I was doing in the past. I can see the improvement of China made products now, and I’m very sure it will get better and better. It’s  just like all the crafters/artisans here on LW, the more we do, our skill will only get better and better:) 

Tony