I was approached by Kaiweets recently, asking if we'd consider reviewing their KOT936 Electric Soldering Station. We don't get requests like this often, and especially not for soldering irons. In 2005, Dr. Webster wrote a scathing review of the ColdHeat Classic. For years, it was a top Google search result for "ColdHeat", prompting ColdHeat and Weller representatives to register at Applefritter and post rebuttals in a long forum discussion full of ColdHeat criticisms. ColdHeat is no longer in business.
That's why I was surprised when Jane from Kaiweets wrote me, saying "I browsed your site carefully and I noticed that there're some posts about soldering and related tools. So I think it would be a perfect fit to get our product exposed there." How carefully did Jane browse Applefritter? Is she aware of our history with ColdHeat and that confident in the KOT936's abilities? I normally ignore emails like this, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to put another soldering iron in Dr. Webster's hands. I accepted, and gave Kaiweets the mailing address of our resident soldering iron torturer, Dr—"it's such a pile of junk it's unbelievable it's still on the market"—Webster. He received the iron for free. Kaiweets has had no other influence on the editorial process. Will he like the KOT936? Will he destroy another soldering iron company? Read on to find out! –Tom Owad
