Hakko FX-601 Fakes, Manufacturing, and Buying the Real Deal
I’m going to start off this blog with a hot topic in the stained glass community - Hakko’s FX-601 model and how to spot a “fake”. I switched to a Hakko FX-601 in mid-2022 after using a Weller 100 model, and it was a game changer! My soldering was more even, the temperature control meant I didn’t have to buy a separate rheostat, and it was so much lighter and more versatile than my Weller iron. I swore I would never go back, and have had a great experience. I am a member of several stained glass social media groups and any time someone asks for advice or information about soldering irons, there is an inevitable “don’t forget to check if your Hakko is a fake!” in the comments section. This made me curious about my own iron, and also wary enough to research a bit and look into the claims being made in these groups. Following the advice of other Facebook users, I almost trashed my iron and bought a new one after all of their advice led me to believe I was definitely using a fake. I panicked - my iron had so many of the signs!
→ Let’s Talk Manufacturing, and Manufacturing Issues
As background, I have a little over a decade of experience with international manufacturing and longer than that in general supply chain and logistics. I’ve worked in industries and at companies where fake or altered products were being sold out of our manufacturing facilities in abundance. Hakko has acknowledged that they have a problem with fake models being sold, but it’s unclear if these are unaffiliated factories creating full replicas or if they are altered products leaving their own manufacturing facilities. In short, this matters. In the first case, all parts would be close, but not quite the same. In the second case, most of the parts could be authentic and match, but the most expensive items to manufacture might be substituted for a cheaper replacement, and then the finished product sold from the factory in a side deal. Think of this second example like buying a name brand item at a grocery store versus the store’s own brand. They may be the exact same, and could even have been manufactured at the same time, but with different labeling or ever-so-slight changes in the recipe.
I’m no expert in Hakko’s specific engineering or manufacturing facilities, and everything I’ve written below is in my own opinion based on my personal manufacturing experience. I’m writing this to hopefully bring peace of mind to those artists who, like me, are not sure if theirs is a genuine Hakko item or if they should continue to use it. Some of these viral Facebook posts include pictures and point at the some of the following features. Below, I’ve listed these reasons and also given some general manufacturing knowledge from a different perspective:
The screw on the temperature dial is brighter and shinier than real models.
Unfortunately, this is a terrible way to tell. Interruptions in supply chain and international manufacturing happen all the time. A new screw vendor could have been sourced for any reason (better quality control, fewer substandard parts, better consistency, better delivery times, anything!) and perhaps they use different plating. It could also be the same vendor that has upgraded their facility. Small hardware can change frequently on retail products, and the consumer rarely notices. If Hakko didn’t have a problem with fakes, would you honestly notice this during comparison?
The barrel, when tightened, sits higher (threads less) than real models.
This could be for a number of reasons, too. If nothing else, small revisions to established products can happen for compatibility reasons. There may be new tip options, another hardware vendor (see above), or even just tweaking for better ergonomics. While it could be a sign that this is remade by another facility, it could also be absolutely nothing.
Different barrel screw threads - one is rounded, one is more square. The barrel itself could be more a more rounded cylinder rather than square.
This could be a sign that this is remade by another facility if it is different enough, but could also be a new engineering revision like suggested above.
The tip was tinned upon arrival.
This could mean that the item was returned to a seller after usage, for some reason - not a manufacturing defect but a bad experience nonetheless. You should return it!
The gray cord fatigue prevention is a darker or lighter gray than real models.
This could be a variation in the plastic batch - perhaps the plastic pellets they ordered in a light gray were unavailable, so their factory’s purchasing department chose a similar color so as to not stop their manufacturing lines. Or the factory that provides the cord fatigue element may have just provided a slightly darker or lighter color without the factory really even noticing - it happens.
The yellow screen printing on the iron isn’t as vibrant as real models.
Misprints happen. Have you ever had an M&M candy that didn’t have the “m” properly printed? Or a Lucky Charms marshmallow that wasn’t really shaped like a rainbow like it should? Maybe a label where the text isn’t aligned? Screen printing variations unfortunately also happen, and it could have been missed during quality control. This wouldn’t be a sure-fire way to tell as it could be a variation in an otherwise official and well-made product.
The LED light is a different color than the real models.
Please see my previous notes about supply chain issues. Things happen. Sometimes new models get upgrades or changes due to customer feedback.
The sticker says “Made in Malaysia” rather than “Made in Japan”.
Tax laws change. Demand from different areas change. Shipping restrictions change. Companies move to different locations for many reasons. The economics of the world are ever-shifting! This could be a new facility in Malaysia that was spun up to help meet demand, lower sourcing costs, or many other possibilities. Unless Hakko comes out to say that their products are only manufactured in a particular country, we have no idea how many facilities they have or where they may be located.
The iron doesn’t have all of the same stickers as the real irons.
This is a very common quality control issue in factories. The stickering machine may have missed an item or run low on stickers and needed replenishment. If the stickers are placed by hand, a worker may have not slept well the night before and missed one. Quality control prevents this scenario, but anomalies happen.
No instruction booklet and/or accessories were included.
This could be a simple packaging change, made by the company to save money. Paper products are expensive. This could also be a quality control issue that was not caught.
The packaging does not have a dash between “FX” and “601”, or the model number is “FX-601-01”, etc.
Engineering revisions happen frequently and for many, many reasons. This could be as simple as a packaging change to freshen it up for consumers or when entering in a new market and adding information to the labeling. The graphic artist may have not put in a dash, or may have decided a dash looks better. Having worked for a company that frequently did not spell-check before releasing packaging to retailers like Target (leading to much embarrassment and shame), I can tell you this happens all the time.
The packaging in general is slightly different than the real models.
Packaging is finicky. Unless you are Google or Apple and paying for incredibly precise, complicated, and specifically-made packaging, you’re likely getting a clear heat-molded plastic bubble with your item inside. Sometimes the glues or staples or whatever don’t properly seal. Plastic molding is not always an exact science and it’s very easy for a die to become worn out over time, leading to out-of-tolerance parts. Just because your packaging is slightly weird doesn’t immediately mean anything at all.
If nothing else, I implore you to please ignore these “how to spot a fake” posts for one good reason: Hakko themselves have not said that any of these are true. Because the company hasn’t pointed to any specific features, this leads me to believe that there are multiple facilities creating fakes, potentially including their own.
→ How Should They Handle the Fakes?
So, let’s take a minute and put ourselves in the shoes of a factory creating a fake Hakko soldering iron. In my opinion, the most likely thing to be replaced in a soldering iron due to cost is the heating element. Electronics are often more expensive to manufacture than hardware (for retail items assuming basic hardware such as screws, molded plastic, etc.). For something like a soldering iron, this is also the most dangerous part that has been engineered carefully and possibly even has a patent filed. A malfunctioning heating element could be inconsistent in its temperature regulation, at worst leading to spontaneous combustion. If you were going to create a knock-off product, everything else on the Hakko (screen printing, plastic, hardware, tips, cord, cord fatigue, etc.) are all fairly easy to reproduce and mass-manufacture. The heating element is not.
Now, let’s switch places and think like an executive at the Hakko Corporation. Someone is ripping off your products. You might be watching the popularity of your products go up, yet your profit is going down. You are trying to rein in your quality control, because you are working hard to meet this increased demand and spinning up new facilities as quickly as possible. You’re working to find answers to supply chain shortages or variances as quickly as you can, sometimes leading to slightly irregular products. Therefore some legitimate products may have issues, as all products inevitably have some quality anomalies - but also lots of fakes in the market are now making consumers hesitant to buy your items at all. What do you do? You control the one thing that they can’t replicate.
→ How Real Hakko FX-601 Irons Appear to be Different
It appears that newer models of the Hakko FX-601 have branded the white heating element in the iron. To date, no fakes that I have seen have a heating element that looks like a genuine Hakko. Hakko added the silver printing directly on the heating element to further authenticate their products, and this was smart. Many people never change their soldering iron tips, and may never look at their heating element. Hakko put a very distinguishable mark on a very distinguishable part on the inside of their iron, and it appears all newer irons have this.
This picture belongs to Katherine Hehr in the Facebook group “Stained glass beginners” and shows a purported fake Hakko FX-601 versus a known real Hakko FX-601. The real Hakko shows a white element, while the suspected fake shows a more standard metal element.
My iron is from June 2022 per the stickering and does have this feature. Some older models may not. It’s unclear when this may have been added, and putting yourself back in Hakko’s shoes, why would you advertise that? If you said “Hi! You can tell if your iron is fake by looking at the element, we started labeling them in February 2022”, I can guarantee that all of those factories producing fakes would immediately update their stickers to show that the item was manufactured in January 2022 - conveniently beforehand! Then the consumer would be left guessing, wouldn’t they? In other words, it’s better to become familiar with your iron and know what you’re dealing with.
Let’s go back to my iron, in particular. I’ve never had any issues with it. Yet it has many of the “issues” that were reported on Facebook - dark gray “tough” cord fatigue plastic, fewer threads show on the barrel, a rounded inner barrel, a Made in Malaysia sticker, poor yellow screen printing - to name a few. After researching the labeling on the tip and comparing to known real Hakko models, I do believe mine to still be authentic. Here’s a picture of my inner heating element.
→ How to Buy a New Hakko FX-601 Reliably, and How to Check Your Iron
Here’s my suggested way of dealing with Hakko FX-601 irons:
If you are newly buying an iron, remember that cheaper is NOT always better. Stained glass is an expensive hobby, but burning down your house or hurting yourself will cost more!
Buy your Hakko FX-601 from a stained glass store (always shop local, and if nothing exists, then shop small glass businesses online!), a big box store like Microcenter, or directly from Hakko themselves. Here’s a list of links as of May 2023 to purchase with trusted sellers.
If you must or prefer to order from Amazon, check the seller information before you buy. You may need to find the the Sold By information. When there are multiple sellers, here’s how to navigate to choose the correct seller: Picture 1 | Picture 2 | Picture 3
Unscrew the tip from your iron when you get it, and verify that it has a white (and potentially labeled) element inside.
NOTE: as of this writing (May 2023), it appears Hakko USA is NOT selling the FX-601 directly on Amazon!
Some stained glass shops may only have inventory on their own websites, while others like SW Art Glass may be selling on Amazon, too. If you see “glass” in the seller’s name but it’s a vendor you haven’t heard about before, research or ask others if they’ve heard of the vendor and if it is safe to order from them. Otherwise, buy directly from Hakko’s website.
If you have an iron with a date sticker on or after June 2022 and the inside heating element is a white, branded element as pictured above, you’re likely fine.
If the iron is acting up, consider contacting Hakko. Let them know that you believe it’s a genuine iron that is malfunctioning and see if they will replace. Give them the manufacturing date and ask if they have any known quality issues from around that time.
If you have an iron with a date sticker on or after June 2022 and the inside heating element is NOT a white and labeled element, review all of those other potential issues above.
If several inconsistencies are present along with an incorrect heating element, consider returning and replacing to the original seller. Report the seller to Amazon if necessary. If they won’t take it back, please still consider replacing as an incorrect/potentially dangerous heating element is not something you need in your shop. Better to be safe rather than sorry!
If you have an iron older than June 2022, unscrew the iron’s tip and look at the heating element.
If it is the Hakko white style and labeled, great! I think you’re all set.
If it is the Hakko white style and unlabeled, it’s probably still OK! I personally would continue to use it if it’s been performing well.
If it isn’t the Hakko white style, consider returning/replacing.
I know that’s a lot, but as consumers, we deserve to be informed about our products. Manufacturing has a lot of facets to understand and I hope this post helps to make you a more informed consumer for more than just soldering irons. Regardless of where it occurs in our world, manufacturing creates jobs and leads to a healthy global economy. We don’t need to be afraid of products manufactured in certain places, but we should be aware of issues with quality and safety - issues that can occur in products no matter where they are manufactured.
Good luck glassin’, I’ll be peeking around at your creations and cheering you on from afar!
- mpd
