That may be true overall, but it depends on the tool. I've bought a lot of my tools for a few bucks at farm and estate auctions. I have two large Craftsman adjustable wrenches. The older one, made in the US, is heavier and there's a lot less play in the mechanism, so it's the one I reach for first. That's been typical for me.
Generally, newer tools are lighter, which is nice when you're carrying them around, but sometimes it means they're more fragile. I have a 1955 McCulloch chainsaw, and it's a beast, must weigh 40 pounds and have about 200 parts in it. The carb is a complicated thing with a lot of moving parts, and there's a gearbox between the engine and the chain. But I bought it for $12, cleaned it up a little, got a stuck part in the carb unstuck, and it started. Not bad for a 70-year-old piece of equipment that looked like it'd been gathering dust for years.
My 2024 Stihl is a much better saw. It's far lighter, which is important when you're carrying it all day. It's much simpler, with fewer things that can go wrong with it. It runs higher RPMs, so it cuts wood faster. But there's enough plastic in it that there's no way it's going to be around in 70 years. I'll be happy if I get 10 out of it.
The ideal would be the design quality of the Stihl, with all the legitimate improvements they've made over the decades, with the materials quality and manufacturing care of the McCulloch. That combination is probably available in a high-end line, just not at consumer prices.
Generally, newer tools are lighter, which is nice when you're carrying them around, but sometimes it means they're more fragile. I have a 1955 McCulloch chainsaw, and it's a beast, must weigh 40 pounds and have about 200 parts in it. The carb is a complicated thing with a lot of moving parts, and there's a gearbox between the engine and the chain. But I bought it for $12, cleaned it up a little, got a stuck part in the carb unstuck, and it started. Not bad for a 70-year-old piece of equipment that looked like it'd been gathering dust for years.
My 2024 Stihl is a much better saw. It's far lighter, which is important when you're carrying it all day. It's much simpler, with fewer things that can go wrong with it. It runs higher RPMs, so it cuts wood faster. But there's enough plastic in it that there's no way it's going to be around in 70 years. I'll be happy if I get 10 out of it.
The ideal would be the design quality of the Stihl, with all the legitimate improvements they've made over the decades, with the materials quality and manufacturing care of the McCulloch. That combination is probably available in a high-end line, just not at consumer prices.