Never heard of them before. I guess that's why i opened such a thread lol. But seem you correct, thanks for the info!
http://www.wiha.com/england/ROOT/MAIN/The-Company/History
http://www.wiha.com/england/ROOT/FOOTER/Terms-Conditions-of-Sale
I do know GEDORE TOOLS, also German company for industrial driver tools. I thought that they were the best. Anyway both Gedore and Wiha are too expensive for my cheapo knives :D
I also have a wiha stubby in my edc bag, a super sweet screwdriver for some bigger screws, you can use a lot of force with this tiny thing and it’s super reliable with a bit holder in its back. Here in Germany there are two separate groups some prefer wiha and some wera screwdrivers, I use some models of both and you definitely can tell the difference in long term usage and in the bigger screwdrivers. The grip is very good and the tips have perfect grip too and don’t get worn out even is abused hard.
I searched a small set because a lot of screws I find in devices aren’t accessible with a 1/4” bit and bit holder because it is too thick and a whole set of 1/4” would weigh a ton compared to this small thing.
The set from fastech is worth the 9$(I paid more for two hex bits last month) and a neat tiny set with all needed sizes, I used it for dozens of small screws. The only problem I see is if some essential bits are worn out someday the whole set is obsolete because these seem to be proprietary bits which you won’t get as spareparts.
Werner can you tell that some of these proprietary bits (9$ set) already show some signs of wear or is the wear so far negligible and not noteworthy?
Wera. Never heard of it. Good that we have this thread :)
My dad likes Proxxon!
EDIT: as it seems, neither Wiha, Wera, Gedore nor Proxxon have Torx drivers T4, T3, T2. Their smallest is T5 afaik.
I’ve only broke one flat head and it was my fault. I tried using this small thing to pry a driver out. It is the 260 /1,5 x 40. I believe that is 1.5 mm wide, it was just big enough to fit in the tiny hole between the driver and pill.
Besides this I have taken vise grips to the allen and torx drivers so I could really crank on a tight faster and they are perfectly fine.
Hard to tell, the normal small screws I used this for like a T7 aren’t very heavy fastend so there is no wear at all and torx doesn’t wear so fast in general, one slot tip is a bit angled after abusing it a bit but this would happen with every screwdriver. But I don’t have this for so long just a month or so and I use it only daily for a few screws.
But this screwdriver is not made for heavyly fastend screws at all, because the handle is slippery and small I guess that prevents the tips from wear because the grip is the weakest link and not the tip.
I tried to open a PH1 screw last week and it didn’t work because it was put in with force(no loctite), with the stubby it was easy to unscrew that’s the difference if you have a nice handle.
Now I don’t mean to hijack the thread but what precision pliers do you guys use. I have a craftsmen set which has held up nicely but I am jw what else is out there. I know wiha has a set but it’s $200+ for 4 pliers which I can’t justify.
This is what I have
craftsmen 5 piece precision pliers set
The thing I use the most is the diagonal cutters and long nose. I like that they have a spring like feature that keeps them naturally open.
Thank you for the assessment!
The Fasttech set #1 has a nice big handle and standard hex bits and more bits, 38pcs > 25pcs, but i wanna give your set #3 a serious try. My next FT order will include this item, am very satisfied with the consultation here.
Was looking at this
but since my budget was tight, bought this
Probably the same item/manufacturer…
well-received, no doubt the same made in china. here rebranded:
The Fixit wood looks nice: pic1, pic2
Manufacturer's site produces under JACKLY/JAKEMY series, e.g. JAKEMY JM-8125 (alibaba) and JM-8126 (alibaba).
Also on amazon for 20, 30 and 40€ lol.
If someone can find it for 15$ shipped, please lemme know.
I own/often use a Wiha torque screwdriver for adjusting the screws on my rifles and scopes.
Went through a couple of popular-but-cheap brands before landing the Wiha.
It is a slender, perfect-fit precision tank that accepts all universal bits! Suspect it will last forever.
Does Wiha offer an unconditional replacement like most other high end brands? Even with a Craftsman, I can tell them I broke it on purpose and they still have to give me a new one.
For precision pliers, I use a Kobalt set that was a father’s day gift. It’s made in China (guy told my son it was USA made) but it’s actually decent quality. I use them mostly for working on computers and have no idea if they’d be good enough for the ultra-precision work you guys do with those tiny driver boards.
For pliers knipex is the brand you should check…
I've submitted a FT product request for the
JAKEMY JM-8125 (54pcs set)
which costs 25-40€ on the EU market but only 5$ off factory. I will assume that it is higher quality than the BEST 888A from the OP.
Good luck with the FT product request. They ignored all my request about flashlights flat and square.
I am not too interested in the JAKEMY after reading some of the amazon customer reviews of the IFIXIT and similar products. I do trusts Werner's assessment, so i am inclined towards his set.
@Werner
Are some of the Torx security Torx? :)
Kobalt used to be made in the USA (By snap-on/Williams I believe)… now they are made by the same people that make craftsman, Stanley, and Husky to name a few.
My problem isn’t necessarily that they all make their tools in China now. But they still strongly imply that their tools are made in the USA and still charge the premium for it, capitalizing on customer confusion. So for the most part I avoid those brands now, who traded decades of good reputation for a few quarters of short term gain.
Whia is based in Germany. As of a few years ago, and maybe still now, all the screwdrivers are ‘finished’ in Germany. But the base forgings and grinding for some/all screwdrivers may be done in Vietnam. I know the current Whia pliers base forgings and grinding are done in Vietnam, then finished in Poland and/or Germany. Some other Whia stuff is made in Switzerland and Poland. http://www.wiha.com/international/ROOT/MAIN/The-Company/Wiha-worldwide/Manufacturing-locations
I still find the Whia quality excellent.
For pliers I also prefer Knipex (another German based company).
Interesting product. Drive Grip, bet you could get the same effect with valve grinding paste. I’ve not used it myself but it might be good to have on hand if you feel a head starting to slip.
I also use the Husky 8-in-1. I’m not a fan of the way it holds the bits in the handle loose - compare that with how the bits are held in a normal cheap 8-in-1. In my experience the bits in those Husky drivers (I have or have had both the flat/philips one and the torx one) wear better than the bits in the cheapest 8-in-1, such as the one I linked to. The bits are compatible though, so you can actually swap stuff around to have the best of both worlds if you get the chance.
I actually have some Wera and Wiha allen wrenches. I got confused about what’s what though, so I can’t really say how impressed or not impressed I am. I marked them with colored paint when I got them, so someday I’ll have to lookup what’s what and see what I’m impressed with and what I’m not. I was unhappy with at least one or two out of the mix.
