Say it isn't So

[Paul Greathouse]

Well, you guy's have been warning of it for a while now, but nothing drives it home more than to see it with your own sad eyes. I was walking through the big blue boxes tool world this afternoon looking for the Dewalt 18V brad gun in their sales flyer and hit me like someone had thrown a brick in my face.

There they were, the newly ba$tard!zed Porter Cable linup. It gave me a sick feeling as I picked them up one by one and looked at them. If you haven't seen them yet just get a mental picture of Black and Decker Fire Storm tools in your head then subtitute the Red for Black and Grey and you'll have a pretty accurate idea.

I know, they still make some of the good stuff under the Porter Cable name, you will just have to get it online or at specialty stores. The stuff at the big box just cheapens the whole Porter Cable name though. Seeing Dewalt do this to Porter Cable is like watching two of your good friends fist fighting and one is losing badly.

I'm old enough to remember using the "Black & Decker Professional" line of tools. They were great tools in their day but with what happened to the Black & Decker name over the last several years they are no longer here. Lets hope that this dosn't happen to the few good PC tools that are left.

There I feel better now,.......On second thought, no I don't, I still have that sad black and grey picture in my mind.

[Dave Lehnert]

Yes! Sad to see. It is Black and Decker doing it to Porter Cable as Dewalt is owned by B&D.
I to have a B&D Pro drill must be 20 years old. B&D pro line is still around today. They are just painted yellow and called DeWalt. Considered to be one of the great achievements in marketing today. So successful I bet the reason they are tagging B&D stuff PC now. And eliminate the competition with the DeWalt brand.

[Dave Falkenstein]

This sort of thing happens and it is best to accept it and move on enlightened on what to expect when you see that brand in the future. Remember when Craftsman sold some pretty power decent tools for the hobbyist?

[Eric Larsen]

Yeah, I saw the new PC stuff -- and I have half a mind to buy duplicate finish nailers before they RUIN those too.

The thing that chaps my bottom about this corporate "bait and switch" is the fact that every time Norm pulls a PC router or brad nailer on a rerun of NYW, they're going to sucker a newbie who doesn't know better.

[David DeCristoforo]

Geez... they all look like running shoes....

[Simon Dupay]

I think we should have a moment of silence for the P.C. name

[Keith Christopher]

Well.....I guess light green and black in my future. But as long as they'll service my existing PC collection I think I'll be ok.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Thank god for european tools. Never thought I'd say that.

[Denny Rice]

It will be interesting to see if Norm uses this "Porter Decker" line of cheap tools on NYW.

[Jacob Reverb]

Not sure I understand. I mean, I "get it" that some marketing genius came up with a new color scheme...but did they change the innards too?

[Curt Harms]

Not sure I understand. I mean, I "get it" that some marketing genius came up with a new color scheme...but did they change the innards too?

I haven't seen them yet, but it sounds like they changed the outards...from Fire Storm orange to Black & Decker gray and red and stuck a P-C name on them. The new P-C low profile ROS gets decent reviews but I'm sure that was in development at the time of the acquisition. I wonder if we'll see any more non-weekender Porter Cable tools?

Curt

[Jim Becker]

IThe new P-C low profile ROS gets decent reviews but I'm sure that was in development at the time of the acquisition.

The acquisition was a few years ago so I suspect that the design/development of this new tool was largely post-acquisition.

I wonder if we'll see any more non-weekender Porter Cable tools?

It's not sounding that way based on things I've read to-date.

It will be interesting to see if Norm uses this "Porter Decker" line of cheap tools on NYW.

Agree, but I doubt it. He hasn't added a lot of new tools in recent years that I've seen, but I haven't been a regular viewer just due to time constraints and may have missed some things. Love the name, however... "Porter Decker" LOL!

[Greg Carr]

I have some of the older made in the USA Porter Cable tools. A corded drill, jigsaw and a couple of 690 routers. These are great tools. I purchased them from a tool supply house before the BORG days. The tool supply houses are gone. Looks like Porter Cable is too.

Greg

[Paul Greathouse]

Not sure I understand. I mean, I "get it" that some marketing genius came up with a new color scheme...but did they change the innards too?

Jacob

It appears they changed both the innards and the outtards. Looks like they took Black & Deckers beloved Firestorm line and painted them black and grey and put the PC name on them. To sum it up in word "CHEAP".

[Rafael Carias]

So let me get this straight. PC is discontinuing all the good stuff and replacing with rubbish crapola?