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Hammers
a) Joiners' hammers (for nails)
b) Lump hammers (for masonry chisels)

Consider the hammer head and the hammer shaft.

Saws
a) Wood saws (for cutting wood)
b) Hacksaws (for cutting metal)

Consider the saw blade and the saw handle or frame.

b Think of a product you know well.
In pairs, discuss the materials used in it and what properties make the materials suitable.
Discuss whether alternative materials could be used.

IV Discussing quality issues
12 In pairs, answer the following questions.
1 In advertising, what hi-tech, high-performance situations are often used to promote
watches?
2 What messages are they intended to send about the quality of products?
3 What quality issues differentiate higher-quality watches from lower-quality ones?
4 What is the difference between describing something as water-resistant and waterproof?

13a 2.5 Louisa, a marketing executive for a watch
1 resistance
2 resistance
3 resistance
4 resistance

Tom: Speaking as an engineer, Louisa, my view is that all the materials we use should be
genuinely suitable for making watches, and not just chosen as marketing gimmicks. We're often
guilty, in my view, of using exotic-sounding materials that are not particularly suitable from a
technical standpoint.
Louisa: Yeah, I know what you mean.
Tom: A good example was that debate we had on whether to use submarine-grade steel in some
models, to give the impression that they're exceptionally resistant to water. OK, submarine
steel’s good at withstanding the pressure of being a mile beneath the sea. But it’s heavy. If it's
not coated, its corrosion resistance is not that good, at least compared with other metals like
titanium. It’s also fairly poor in terms of looks, in my view. Water resistance isn't a question of
metal quality, it's about the quality of the joints and seals you use. So, as a watch material, for
me, it’s not at all suitable. Tremendously marketable, I'm sure, but...
Louisa: Hm. No, I take your point. But I think it’s fair to say that we’ve never chosen a material
for marketing reasons that’s insufficiently durable or not adequately built in any way.
Tom: Oh, no. No, if anything, it's been the reverse. We’ve used materials that are over the top,
so they can be described with superlatives in advertising.
Louisa: Hm. Ideally, we should be using stuff that’s good for watches and good for marketing as
well.
Tom: Sure. But that’s easier said than done.
I mean, a lot of the materials that are ideal for the job, in terms of scratch-resistance, shock-
resistance and all the rest of it, are either pretty ordinary, or their compositions are relatively

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