Is it an original mitutoyo vernier caliper?

Greetings to the biggest machinist community,

I join you today as a sequel of the possession of my new toy, a schaublin-simonet 102 lathe.
One,of the many, important things you have to consider when wanting to create precise parts, is to be able to measure accurately and reliably. I posses a couple of vernier calipers, of the cheap kind, but i m getting interested into obtaining a more reliable one. I 've read in some previous posts in the forum, discussions about people trusting or having good results with some Chinese good quality calipers that would probably be doing the job quite good. I mean, i have also bought some quality products from China myself but also some .. bad. But the question here comes to reliability, and particularly why to not buy a tool from a top-famed manufacturer if having the chance. And what i'm trying to figure out is, if what i found is really a chance..
While researching i found this http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Mitutoyo-Digital-Vernier-Caliper-0-150mm0-01-Precision-LCD-Micrometer-Measuring-Stainless-Steel-Inspectors-Measuring-Tools/32708744490.html?spm=2114.01020208.3.214.UfvzMq&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_8,searchweb201602_5_10057_10056_10065_10037_10055_10054_301_10059_10058_10032_10017_107_10060_10061_10052_414_10062_10053_10050_10051,searchweb201603_2&btsid=5e7972b4-dce8-4c52-b163-2aa93fef63d2 mitutoyo 530-312 caliper being sold from a Chinese dealer, but claiming to be the original Japanese one, selling at a price a bit less than half than my local mitutoyo distributor's. Now, after searching more, i came out quite some people making youtube video's and posts declaring of being cheated by internet dealers who sold them supposed mitutoyo calipers and after even paying quite much more money for the products than the one in the aforementioned ad, they realized they didn't receive the original one. They usually make some points of identification while comparing theirs to the original. For me, while comparing this with the one in mitutoyo's catalogue http://www.gousoulis.gr/gr_upload/htmlarea/mechanical%20calipers.pdf, 44 Not Found 1, i wasn't able to identify something looking as a significant difference. there is a serial number at the bottom end of the one from the Chinese dealer while you cannot see it on the mitutoyo's catalogue and maybe the thumb screw is not identical (can't tell for sure), but could it be that these were just used for an amount of pieces, or after the catalogue was made or something? I send an email to the company to ask if they can identify this product as a genuine mitutoyo product but didn't receive any reply. So my question here, would be, do we have any specific clue from the pictures or the description that this is not an original mitutoyo product? It is quite safer to buy from the authorized dealer, but it could also be that the Chinese one because of large stock obtain or small country taxes or some reason, manages to sell to these prices the original product. That would be nice..

spirous said:

I join you today as a sequel of the possession of my new toy, a schaublin-simonet 102 lathe.

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Hi Spirous, and welcome aoard.

Congratulations on your new lathe.

With any precision tool, I recommend only buying from a company-authorized dealer.
Mitutoyo should have a list of those on their website and in their catalog.

You will quickly forget any higher cost.
But you will long remember your pride of ownership and faith in the tool's reliability.

You will find products offered at ridiculously low prices that are total fakes, imitations and fraudulent products that look exactly like the real ones. Don't be fooled.

- Leigh

Any Chinese supplier offering you a Mitutoyo at half price is offering a copy.

Personally I prefer a Sylvac digital caliper to a Mitutoyo. If you get a chance try a couple of different makes before choosing. What ever you buy check it against a few ground, round items with known diameters.

Mmm, thank you for your replies!
So you think it's a fake. Could be.. I' ll continue my research. I was able to see in person a Mitutoyo and an insize one. I don't want a digital. And sylvac offers only these as i could tell from their website. The simple one seems more reliable since it has less things to go wrong. Of course i 'll have to take care of it not to have a fall or anything. Both Mitutoyo and Insize look quite smooth and accurate. I'm not sure i can tell the difference. I' m not experienced yet though. Of course the safest thing is to go with the more famous one, where i 'm tending more and more to.. I continue and report back!

Gordon B. Clarke said:

Any Chinese supplier offering you a Mitutoyo at half price is offering a copy.
.

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Or perhaps working on very low markups. But yes a good chance of fake.
30% off list is more normal and what I pay. Like carbide only orphans and widows pay list and you wonder why these "list" prices even exist.
In my world list minus 40 to 60 is the going price.
A master distributor could do this to get market but would be in trouble long term.

Personally I would never consider buying a vernier caliper. So many better options out there now. Even the toy level Harbor Freight digitals.
Bob

Someone has taken it apart here:
BOLTR: $33 Mitutoyo Calipers, too good to be true? - YouTube
It was fake.

CarbideBob said:

Personally I would never consider buying a vernier caliper. So many better options out there now.
Bob

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Here we're in 100% agreement I use a vernier caliper when I want more accuracy than my tape measure gives and I'm not even being sarcastic.

CarbideBob said:

Or perhaps working on very low markups. But yes a good chance of fake.
Bob

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Here I don't agree. Any Chinese supplier offering a new Mitutoyo at half price is most certainly offering a copy.

I once bought a new Rolex for less than $10 in Thailand and, truth be told, it showed the correct time twice a day.

Insize is a Chinese company but aren't popular with other Chinese measuring tool companies. Not quite sure why but got the impression "they don't play fair".

If I was gonna counterfeit something, it wouldn't be a 6" vernier caliper. All 57 people that use them already have them.

Gordon B. Clarke said:

Here I don't agree. Any Chinese supplier offering a new Mitutoyo at half price is most certainly offering a copy.
.

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Yes one should not trust China. It is the way many think there.
Interesting that you would promote this thinking that it is all a ripoff given you that source there. (and I would also in this)
Yet...do have an idea of the discounts here, been there, played in the game? I could have sold many Mits at 50% off and still made something.
As I said 30-40% off was profitable and covered outside sales costs easily while paying salesmen 80K per year.
Bob

Either a fake, or stolen. Almost no chance of being the genuine product from a reputable dealer at that price. Mitutoyo has a sheet available to detect knock off tools - http://www.mitutoyo.com.sg/documents/Imitation leaflet 6pp.pdf

I use a vernier caliper (Mitutoyo) and like it. On the other hand, I am quite an amateur who doesn't have much exposure (being on the island of Hawaii, we don't see much machine work) to tools and/or equipment. So, what other, better options are there?

The pictures of the caliper in the link posted by the OP show the QR code on the front and no serial number on the back, 2 of the 5 things that, according to the document posted by winterfalke, show that the item is genuine. For $27, it might be worth a shot.

cellardoor7 said:

The pictures of the caliper in the link posted by the OP show the QR code on the front and no serial number on the back, 2 of the 5 things that, according to the document posted by winterfalke, show that the item is genuine. For $27, it might be worth a shot.

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Or it means the faker read the same brochure.

- Leigh

To spirous (OP)

Advice you can take or leave

1. Don't buy an "original" non Chinese product from China unless you actually are in China.

2. There are 3 types of caliper. Digital, dial and vernier. My choice would also be in that order.

3. In my experience battery life is a bigger factor than accuracy between cheap (excluding dirt cheap) and expensive digital calipers.

4. I know some that go into specialist shops, ask for and get advice, and then buy on the internet to save a few percent. They are usually the first and loudest to complain when specialist shops go out of business.

"One,of the many, important things you have to consider when wanting to create precise parts, is to be able to measure accurately and reliably."

Take your own advice. Buy a good, new digital caliper.

Gordon B. Clarke said:

Take your own advice. Buy a good, new digital caliper.

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It seems Gordon and I agree totally on this. That's nice.

- Leigh

The real Leigh said:

It seems Gordon and I agree totally on this. That's nice.

- Leigh

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One of the signs of the apocalypse....

The real Leigh said:

It seems Gordon and I agree totally on this. That's nice.

- Leigh

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At least it certainly makes a nice change

Found this and it is suspiciously interesting.

Tresna is the world’s greatest measuring instrument original design manufacturer (ODM) and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) since 1989. We provide ODM/OEM service for more than 130 companies and/or brands worldwide. All products can be imprinted with your company name or brand name. In the meantime, we also sell products without logos and labels. Quality standards and approvals are in accordance to buyers��?requests.Whether you are in the market for calipers, micrometers, indicators or any one of hundreds of measuring instrument, there is a Tresna Instrument to meet your needs.

The link I have it from is:

Digital Calipers, Micrometers, Gauges, Indicators Online - Tresna

Must admit I've never heard of the name before now. Makes you wonder how many "brand names" aren't made where you'd think they are.

Just noticed that Tresna is in Guilin, China. I've been in Guilin but never heard Tresna mentioned. Guilin and the surrounding area is one of the nicest in the world so will be going back. Think I'll play detective LOL

And they' re not dirty cheap as i would thing. The cheapest vernier is for 22,5 usd, after their 50% discount. Seems like a lot of instruments could be fakes after all. Wouldn't these companies being prosecuted by the original ones though, if they 'd keep doing it? Seems weird..