Best Screwdriver Set? Craftsman, Milwaukee, Wera, Wiha, Klein Tools, Felo, PB Swiss, Tekton
By Project Farm
Summary
## Key takeaways - **Cheap screwdrivers fail quickly under impact**: The $7 Harbor Freight Pittsburgh screwdrivers failed on the 11th screw, with flutes too soft and thin to last after approximately 600 impacts from a hammer drill. [01:07] - **Craftsman offers good value for moderate use**: Craftsman screwdrivers, costing over double the Pittsburgh brand, installed and removed 50 screws without significant wear, though flutes became thin, indicating they are nearly used up after extensive use. [01:49] - **German brands lead in cam out resistance**: Wera screwdrivers achieved the highest cam-out resistance at 131 inch-pounds, with their laser-cut tips biting into fasteners to reduce slippage. [04:31], [08:46] - **PB Swiss excels in durability and cam out resistance**: The PB Swiss screwdriver refused to break and cammed out at 136 inch-pounds, performing exceptionally well and remaining in far better condition than other brands. [09:03] - **American brands handle impact well**: Tekton, Klein Tools, and Milwaukee screwdrivers showed the best performance under hammer impact, withstanding significant force before bending or the shaft moving into the handle. [12:21] - **German brands dominate slotted screwdriver strength**: Felo, Milwaukee, and Wera, all German brands, performed best in slotted screwdriver tests, with Wera breaking the bolt at 120 inch-pounds and Felo at 103 inch-pounds. [10:28]
Topics Covered
- Cheap screwdrivers can be surprisingly good.
- Durability varies greatly by brand and price.
- German brands dominate high-end performance.
- PB Swiss screwdrivers are the ultimate performers.
- American brands excel when tools face impact.
Full Transcript
is a seven dollar set of screwdrivers
just as good as a set that cost over a
hundred dollars we have a bunch of
different brands of test today so let's
find out in the first test we'll see if
the screwdrivers can drive in and remove
50 screws then we'll test the cam out
and failure load we'll see which brand
has the strongest slotted screwdriver
blade When It's hammer time we'll see
which screwdriver has the best dance
moves at a price of only seven dollars
the least expensive brand that we'll be
testing is made by Pittsburgh and sold
at Harbor Freight 12 screwdrivers for
seven dollars seems like a terrific
value magnetic tips rib cushion grip it
even comes with a lifetime warranty made
of chrome Vanadium steel wrench ready to
increase the torque the Pittsburgh
screwdrivers are made in China let's go
and kick off our first test our first
grind three flat areas on the
screwdriver shaft I'll cut the
screwdriver shaft so we can install it
in a drill the flat areas on the shaft
will allow the chuck to maintain a firm
grip on a screwdriver without slipping
to test the durability of the
screwdrivers I'll use the hammer mode to
install and remove 53 and a half inch
screws and a pressure treated four by
fours I'll use an impact driver with a
new impact driver bit to start each of
the drywall screws before beginning the
test and the Pittsburgh number two
Phillips screwdriver has very thin
flutes so this is going to be very
interesting unfortunately the Harbor
Freight Pittsburgh ran out of steam on
the 11th screw at around 600 impacts
from the hammer drill
and the flutes on the Pittsburgh are
just way too soft and thin to last a
long time at a price of 17 or more than
double the cost of the Pittsburgh brand
is this Craftsman brand the kit includes
12 pieces the slotted Craftsman
screwdrivers have a square shaft
allowing the use of pliers or wrench for
additional torque alloy steel blades are
heat treated for strength and durability
we're gonna test that coated with the
satin nickel finish Comfort optimized
handle for high and low torque
applications includes a magnetizer and a
demagnetizer the Craftsman brand is made
in Taiwan the craftsmans on the left and
the Pittsburgh's on the right the flutes
in the Craftsman are a lot thicker
giving it a better fit and strength
advantage over the Pittsburgh and it
Craftsman a very easy work of installing
50 screws and I didn't have to exert a
lot of downward Force to prevent cam out
it also made very easy work of removing
all 50 screws and the Craftsman flutes
are very thin and the screwdriver is
nearly used up however the flutes did
not twist or bend even after around
sixteen thousand five hundred impacts
from the drill removing and installing
50 screws at a price of twenty four
dollars for eight screwdrivers or three
dollars each is this tecton brand
extremely durable handles made of glass
reinforced nylon resistant to solvents
we're going to test that screwdriver tip
geometry milled for exact fit with
fasteners the tecton brand is made in
USA the flutes of the tecton seem to be
just as thick as the Craftsman and the
tecton seems to provide a really good
fit with the drywall screws however it
didn't take long before I was applying a
lot of downward Force to keep the
screwdriver from slipping out of the
screw and it took a lot of pressure to
install the 20th screw and the bit was
slipping and detective screwdriver held
up a lot better than the Pittsburgh but
experienced a lot more wear than the
Craftsman so the Craftsman's in the lead
at a price of 33 dollars for six
screwdrivers or about five dollars at 50
cents each is this channel lock brand
high torque acetate handle for Superior
durability and solvent resistance we're
going to test that custom heat treated
alloy steel blades precision machine
Vapor blast tips for precise fit nickel
chrome finish for exceptional corrosion
resistance the channel lock screwdrivers
are made in USA let's see how the
channel lock screwdriver holds up and
the channel lock screwdriver is
performing a lot better than the tecton
but after 35 screws I'm having to apply
a lot of downward pressure to keep the
screwdriver from slipping and a chain
lock is used up after 48 screws the
flutes did not Bend or twist but did
experience quite a bit of material loss
at a price of 38 dollars for six
screwdrivers or over six dollars each is
this phyllo brand test the best we're
gonna do that ergonomic the first handle
that adapts to the user's hand impact
proof handle made of Highly flexible
Plastics you can use the nut on the
handle or the shaft to gain additional
torque the filo brand is made in Germany
and the phyllo brand is off to a great
start installing 50 screws but the
screwdriver did require quite a bit of
downward pressure installing the last 10
screws the filo almost survived the test
but gave up after removing 38 screws and
the flutes are nearly worn through but
they're not twisted or bent at a price
of forty dollars for six screwdrivers is
this Milwaukee brand the Milwaukee brand
is made in China the shank is forged the
screwdriver is a wrenched ready to allow
additional torque anti-peel handle
design hardened grips Milwaukee claims
their screwdrivers are professional
grade and durable and the Milwaukee
Screwdriver is taking a lot less
downward Force to remove the screws
compared to most of the other brands
unfortunately I drove one of the screws
into a knot in the board but the
Milwaukee Screwdriver was still able to
get the job done Milwaukee is on the
left and the Craftsman's on the right
both screwdrivers are pretty much used
up and seem to be in about the same
condition at a price of 42 dollars for
six screwdrivers or seven dollars each
is this we're a brand the wearer kit
includes a screwdriver rack laser tip
micro rough Drive tip bites into the
Fastener to ensure a perfect fit and
reduce cam out effect we're gonna test
that multi-component krat form handle
fits the shape of the hand for ultimate
in comfort and high speed torque
transfer hexagon bolster for extra
torque transfer the wearer screwdrivers
are made in the Czech Republic the laser
groups cut into the screwdriver tip
really seem to help the screwdriver gain
a grip and avoid cam out and the wear
has definitely performed by far the best
so far requiring a lot less downward
Force throughout the test wears on the
left and the Craftsman's on the right
and the rear is showing a lot less wear
than the Craftsman and moves into the
lead at a price of 57 dollars for just
six screwdrivers or about nine dollars
and fifty cents each is this vessel
brand it claims to be even beyond the
Japanese industrial standard tatara is a
traditional iron making process process
of katana that has been handed down for
over a thousand years in Japan Phillips
Joss fit tip that firmly grips screws to
reduce cam out Chrome Vanadium alloy
steel Shanks specially hardened The
Vessel brand is made in Japan The Vessel
brand claims their tips are designed to
prevent cam out
and the vessel screwdriver performed
very well installing and removing the
screws but it did seem to require quite
a bit more downward pressure than the
wearer brand and the vessel screwdriver
is on the left and the rear is on the
right the wearer definitely experienced
less wear than the vessel at a price of
68 dollars for eight screwdrivers about
eight dollars and fifty cents each is
this Klein Tools brand cushion grip
handles for greater torque and comfort
tip and Dent quickly identifies the type
of screwdriver tip and its orientation
so you can easily engage the screwdriver
tip with the screw precision machine tip
for exact fit Chrome plated for smooth
feel and corrosion resistance decline
tool screwdrivers are made in USA and
the Klein Tools brand installed and
removed all 50 screws but it did require
more downward Force than some of the
other brands Klein Tools is on the left
and the rear is on the right the wearer
definitely experience less wear than the
Klein tool screwdriver at a price of 91
dollars for just six screwdrivers or
about 15 each is this PB Swiss brand the
Swiss tools brand comes with a
screwdriver holder the PB Swiss
screwdrivers are made in Switzerland the
Swiss tool screwdriver may not look all
that much different from the competition
but the performance was simply amazing
the screwdriver flutes held proper shape
during the entire test so I didn't have
to apply very much downward Force at all
to install and remove all the screws
Swiss tools is on the left and the rear
is on the right while the wearer brand
did an amazing job the Swiss tools
totally crushed the competition on this
one and is in far better condition very
impressive at a price of 105 dollars for
seven screwdrivers or fifteen dollars
each is this weah brand metal striking
cap screwdriver tips or precision
machine to exact fit wrench ready for
additional torque advanced technology
dual material molding made of chrome
Vanadium tool steel the wheel brand is
made in Germany the wiiha brand claims
to be extremely heavy duty and it
performed extremely well compared to
most of the other brands just like the
Swiss tool screwdriver it required very
little downward pressure throughout the
test we is on the left and the Swiss
tools is on the right and both Brands
held up exceptionally well and seem to
have about the same amount of wear 70 to
11 Brands survived and completed the
accelerated wear test but the amount of
wear varied quite a bit assessing wear
is highly subjective but the weah and
the PB Swiss came in on top with a wear
rating of one the wearer brand performed
nearly as well with the rating of two
now that all the screwdrivers have had
some use Let's test them again this time
for failure or Cam out load I'll use the
drill press which has a wheel attached
to apply the downward pressure on the
screwdriver drill presses use leverage
so 15 pounds of weight will apply very
close to 100 pounds of downward force on
the screwdriver I went ahead and removed
the belt from the drill press to make
sure we're getting accurate test results
I'll be using some very high quality
self-tapping screws and I'll replace the
screw before testing each brand even
with 100 pounds of downward force and
after only driving 12 screws the Harbor
Freight Pittsburgh cammed out at only 79
inch pounds I guess you get what you pay
for after installing and removing 100
screws the very affordable Craftsman
puts up 50 percent more torque than the
Pittsburgh finally snapping at 118 inch
pounds very impressive for a budget tool
after installing 20 screws the tecton
cammed out at 90 inch pounds or 28 inch
pounds less than the Craftsman and the
channel locks perform slightly better
than detecting in the first test and
they once again outperform the tech than
this time camming out at 95 inch pounds
and the filo far nearly as well as a
Craftsman in the first test but it came
up one inch pound short of matching the
Craftsman at 117 inch pounds before
finally breaking the Milwaukee performed
just as well as a Craftsman in the first
test but the Milwaukee came out on top
this time with a very impressive 127
inch pounds once again the wearer
screwdriver moves into the lead with a
very impressive 131 inch pounds before
finally snapping and the vessel brand
performed nearly as well at 123 inch
pounds and moves into third position
behind Milwaukee and the Klein tool
screwdriver did a terrific job holding
on but finally cammed out at 114 inch
pounds and the PB Swiss refused to break
and finally cammed out at 136 inch
pounds to move in the first place very
impressive the wheel showed very little
wear in the first test and it did very
well in this test too finishing in a
two-way tie for third place with the
Milwaukee brand the Swiss tool
screwdriver came out on top at a very
impressive 136 inch pounds the wearer
screwdriver performed nearly as well at
131 inch pounds and the Milwaukee and
the WEA finished in a two-way tie for
third at 127 inch pounds all the brands
have a quarter inch or metric equivalent
slotted screwdriver but unlike the
Phillips there's much more variance in
Blade thickness so it's definitely not a
perfect comparison but let's do it
anyway I put together a holder for the
screwdriver that has a fitting for the
socket adapter I'll replace the slotted
bolt before testing each brand Let's
test the Harbor Freight Pittsburgh brand
first and the Harbor Freight Pittsburgh
blade is quite a bit thicker than a lot
of the other brands at 1.15 millimeters
and the screwdriver actually performed
fairly well at 96 inch pounds but the
blade is pretty badly bent and the
Craftsman has a much thinner blade than
the Pittsburgh at only one millimeter
and a Craftsman blade is very brittle
and it broke at only 59 inch pounds
however the Craftsman does come with a
much larger screwdriver in the
screwdriver set the tecton's blade is
slightly thicker than the Craftsman at
1.04 millimeters and it barely edges out
the Craftsman at 61 inch pounds the
blade is now bent but the bend isn't
nearly as bad as the Pittsburghs the
channel lock screwdriver has the
thinnest blade yet at only 0.95
millimeters and it gave up at 50 inch
pounds and the blade on the channel lock
screwdriver has a pretty bad Bend and
the filo band has the thickest blade yet
at 1.22 millimeters and it did by far
the best yet at 103 inch pounds no
visible damage to the phyllo Blade the
Milwaukee only has a blade thickness of
1.05 millimeters and it did the best yet
finally letting go at 106 inch pounds to
take the lead from filo however the
screwdriver did experience a pretty bad
Bend and the wearer with a blade
thickness of 1.22 millimeters broke the
bolt at 120 inch pounds very impressive
let's try this again and the Weir did
nearly as well the second time this time
letting go at 117 inch pounds the blade
does have a small Bend vessel has a
relatively thin blade at 1.05
millimeters and the blade lost grip at
82 inch pounds the blade experienced a
pretty bad Bend Klein Tools has one of
the thinnest blades yet at only one
millimeter and the blade gave up at 85
inch pounds which is actually pretty
decent considering the blade thickness
and the blade experienced quite a bit of
bending during the test just like the
Klein Tools brand the PB Swiss
screwdriver is one of the thinnest in
the lineup at only one millimeter
considering the thickness of the blade
the Swiss tools actually did fairly well
but it finally broke at 89 inch pounds
and the WIA brand which claims to be
extra heavy duty performed very well at
115 inch pounds and moves into second
place behind the wearer brand the
screwdriver did experience a small Bend
so the wearer brand came out on top at
120 inch pounds but the WIA brand came
in a close second at 115. Milwaukee
performed very well at 106 inch pounds
and filo 103. so three out of the top
four are German Brands let's see how
well the screwdrivers handle stress from
a hammer blow to offer a fair test I'll
be using a hydraulic press to measure
the failure load beginning with the
Pittsburgh brand I placed a black mark
on the shaft of all the screwdrivers so
we can see when the shaft is driven into
the handle and the Pittsburgh brand
actually didn't do too bad for a budget
tool the handle began bending at 650
pounds and the shaft never began moving
up into the screwdriver handle at only
170 pounds the shaft on the Craftsman
began moving into the handle but it
stopped moving after about a half of an
inch and the handle in the shaft began
to bend at 700 pounds if you need a
screwdriver that can handle an impact
the tecton brand is definitely a good
pick the handle in the shaft began to
bend at 1100 pounds and finally reach 1
300 pounds before the test ended just
like the Craftsman the shaft started to
move up into the handle at around 200
pounds but it stopped moving after about
an inch the shaft began to bend at a
thousand pounds so the tecton brand is
still in the lead with 300 pounds of
weight onto the filo screwdriver the
shaft began moving into the handle the
shaft began to bend at 600 pounds and
the shaft of the Milwaukee stayed in the
proper position during the entire test
the Milwaukee began bending at nearly a
thousand pounds the shaft on the weira
began moving into the handle at 700
pounds but the screwdriver did not begin
bending until around 1500 pounds and the
shaft punctured the end of the handle
and the shaft on the vessel brand began
traveling through the handle at 200
pounds and the weight topped out at 1
200 pounds as a screwdriver became very
short and the Klein tools made it to 1
100 pounds before the handle began to
bend and the shaft wasn't driven up into
the handle so the Klein Tools and the
techton performed about the same the PB
Swiss brand began to bend at 650 pounds
and the shaft wasn't driven up into the
handle and the Wii has a strike cap
that's designed to handle a blow and the
shaft on the wheel stayed in the proper
position but the handle began to bend at
750 pounds so the American Brand's
detecting Klein in Milwaukee came in on
top at 1100 1100 and 1000 respectively
apparently manufacturers understand that
Americans like to use hammers on their
tools The japanese-made Vessel performed
very well at 900 pounds and the WIA 750.
so the real question is when it's hammer
time which screwdriver has the best
dance moves
very nice dance moves but don't get
cocky Milwaukee
so very interesting dance moves from the
German brand wira
the Japanese vessel brand definitely
seems a little bit stiff and needs to
loosen up
for only seven bucks you get some pretty
good moves from the Harbor Freight
Pittsburgh
I tested all the screwdrivers for
chemical resistance using brake parts
cleaner after dipping the screwdriver
handles and Brake Parts cleaner for one
minute all the brands survived however
the Craftsman in the channel locks seem
to be the most affected as the plastic
became soft however none of the handles
became sticky after exposure to brake
parts cleaner not all the screwdrivers
are magnetized but the magnetizer makes
quick work of it you can demagnetize or
magnetize a screwdriver in about three
seconds it's a really nice tool to have
on hand when it comes to screwdrivers
you get what you pay for I really like
that we as well as a PB swiss but
they're very expensive Brands if you're
not looking for a really cheap brand but
you're looking for a brand that will
perform well I really like the wearer as
well as the Milwaukee both of those
Brands seem to finish near the top three
in just about every category and finally
if you only have twenty dollars for a
set of screwdrivers I would go with the
Craftsman all the videos in this channel
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