Who makes the best screwdriver bits?

espyking83 · May 23, 2015

My work recently went to some cheap plastic feeling bits that break constantly or rip the guts out of fasteners, so I'm in the market for some high performance professional grade bits. Leaning towards Wera, any other bit sets to consider?

fuddinator · May 23, 2015

Not to be "that" guy but i really like snap on's bits. The #2 phillips that came with my racheting screw driver worked like a charm. It was the only #2 bit I used for over a year before it was just worn out. Even got out some rusty upper vhf antenna screws that my partner broke 3 no name bits in. A little pricey but they work.

Tinner · May 23, 2015

Apex bits rule. Snap-on are very good, but not as tough as Apex.

Ainsley · May 23, 2015

Wera are nice, I have quite a few of them and like em. Been leaning towards the wiha bits lately though.

RedRabbit · May 23, 2015

Weras are good. I also like Wiha and snap on.

CJM8515 · May 23, 2015

I got some impact grade from milwaukee that I find very good. They hold up well in impact drivers as well as work in a standard screwdriver handle.

espyking83 · May 23, 2015

Are the Wiha's rebranded?

jimindm · May 23, 2015

fuddinator said:
Not to be "that" guy but i really like snap on's bits. The #2 phillips that came with my racheting screw driver worked like a charm. It was the only #2 bit I used for over a year before it was just worn out. Even got out some rusty upper vhf antenna screws that my partner broke 3 no name bits in. A little pricey but they work.

certain SO bits have a warranty also.

Jure · May 23, 2015

pb swiss,wiha,festool and wera. i used to have "makita" branded bits which were pretty good,but i have no clue who is the OEM

i had this makita set at work,used it daily and they were awesome..ph2 installed more then 5k screws on a cordless drill driver and it was like new..

Jure · May 23, 2015

espyking83 said:
Are the Wiha's rebranded?

nop,but wiha used to made them for metabo i think

bob15 · May 23, 2015

Zephyr (who makes Snap On's) and Apex are my "go to" for bits

oldldh · May 23, 2015

Milwaukee...

$ 19.95 and $ 29.95 at Home Depot...

At those prices... :drool:

What's not to like??? :beer:

senlow · May 23, 2015

bob15 said:
Zephyr (who makes Snap On's) and Apex are my "go to" for bits

Bob is right.

Zephyr and Apex are excellent.

espyking83 · May 23, 2015

Yeah, Apex's are awesome, that's the brand that we did have before they switched to our new Plastex bits. I cant bring myself to pay for them after they were free consumables. Really wish I had pocketed some lol.

Monte · May 23, 2015

witte

dutchgray · May 23, 2015

I buy which ever German brand I can find at the time, when I want good bits.

LordPsychon · May 23, 2015

There is no one maker of "the best bits". For impact use, I like the Dewalt or the Bosch bits but Makita and Wiha make some fine ones too. For regular use, I prefer Dewalt but Ridgid and Ryobi aren't too bad (not awesome but not bad). I use Milwaukee Shockwaves for regular use and they hold up real nice - they're a little flightier in the impact department (tend to shear after some use).

cheechi · May 23, 2015

Most tool users in pretty much any industry would be happy with wiha/wera/pb swiss/witte/apex/so

However the ACR on the SO can be aggressive and might not be for everyone.

Personally I have about 200 Dewalt bits that ensure I won't be using anything nicer in the foreseeable future.

sam.coll · May 23, 2015

Vote for Zephyr or Apex

eyeballengineer · May 23, 2015

I've used SO forever in bit sockets, but noticed in the last couple years that my replacement/ warranty bits seem softer. I would rather have my bit shatter and break under stress than twist, fold and strip my fastener. Anybody else notice this?

Ratchet Guy · May 23, 2015

no body here has mentioned Picquic, I think they are very good and they are made from CR-MO which I find very good, only thing is I dont know it the polished bits they do is good because it has the tendency to slip, not like the others, but on the other hand it won't strip the head of the fastener.

fasteddie313 · May 24, 2015

I have about 1k or so bits, half of em rusty, they come from the bottoms of all the boxes I buy at garage sales and I just seem to find them everywhere I turn..

phillips, flat, square, hex, torx, watchamacallit, thingamajig, socket, driver adaptors, etc..

It's almost like picking up pennies..

RedRabbit · May 24, 2015

Jure said:
pb swiss,wiha,festool and wera. i used to have "makita" branded bits which were pretty good,but i have no clue who is the OEM

i had this makita set at work,used it daily and they were awesome..ph2 installed more then 5k screws on a cordless drill driver and it was like new..

Do you know where I can buy that set. It looks nice.

Supe · May 24, 2015

sam.coll said:
Vote for Zephyr or Apex

Where do you buy Zephyr/Apex bits from? Local outfit?

colin39 · May 24, 2015

Ive been using facom ones , from my 1/4 nano set, and they are holding up really well. I mainly use them on my dewalt 1/4 impact wrench. However ive just bought some wera ones and the Phillips looks like they should far quite well. Fingers crossed

garfieldzzz · May 24, 2015

I vote for pb swiss and wera.

Jure · May 24, 2015

we used company provided tools,i can't find the exact code for bits only,but you should look for "makita B-28606" they are pretty much the same,only missing the color coding. but the exact set i have posted was part of makita B-43044 set

JonnyMac · May 24, 2015

If you are after outright quality then pb swiss are top of my list but I am constantly amazed at how well my milwaukee bits hold up especially for the $30 or so that the sets cost...

AV tinker er · May 24, 2015

Tinner said:
Apex bits rule. Snap-on are very good, but not as tough as Apex.

This might have been brought up as I have not read the rest of the thread, but I thought SO's bits were rebadged Apex's?

Jure · May 24, 2015

AV tinker er said:
This might have been brought up as I have not read the rest of the thread, but I thought SO's bits were rebadged Apex's?

i was pretty sure as well..

crbnfbr · May 24, 2015

Supe said:
Where do you buy Zephyr/Apex bits from? Local outfit?

This website has both Apex and Zephyr. I've never ordered from them so I can't say how reliable they are though.

http://omegatec.com/

ilovevocs · May 24, 2015

I have been buying bits from Fastenal. No clue on the OE manufacturer but they put up to abuse and hours of daily use. I'm impressed for an industrial setting. For personal use i too have been impressed with my Milwaukee set. The twist drills for general construction use have served me well also.

Tinner · May 24, 2015

AV tinker er said:
This might have been brought up as I have not read the rest of the thread, but I thought SO's bits were rebadged Apex's?

Jure said:
i was pretty sure as well..

They're made by Zephyr.

AV tinker er · May 24, 2015

Tinner said:
They're made by Zephyr.

Could have fooled me, thanks for the info.

RedRabbit · May 24, 2015

Jure said:
we used company provided tools,i can't find the exact code for bits only,but you should look for "makita B-28606" they are pretty much the same,only missing the color coding. but the exact set i have posted was part of makita B-43044 set

Ok , I actually found that on Ebay. Thank you Jure.

espyking83 · Jun 8, 2015

I went with the Wera's and am not let down. Been a fan of Wera for a while now, and that in conjunction with the fact that I got them for a ridiculous price on amazon made it a no brainer.

Who makes the best screwdriver bits?

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