Hand Tool Reviews & Buying Guides

Hand tools make up a large portion of the equipment we carry every day. Pro Tool reviews pays close attention to recent innovations. Our hand tool reviews include knives & cutting tools, wrenches, chisels, fastening tools, hammers, and more. These hand tools covers the gamut from one end of the industry to another. Possibly our favorite series is our best framing hammer review. In that head-to-head review we compared nine popular models. This type of comparison isn’t always possible, but we do test out these tools on the jobsite. Hand Tool Reviews for the Pro Tradesman This is also where you’ll find popular lighting products and even folding knives from Kershaw, CRKT, and Zero Tolerance. We try to review as many of these types of tools as possible. This helps us remain a leader in reporting industry trends. This is particularly important when manufacturers add new features or make tweaks to their products. Sometimes they revamp an entire line. Other times they include something that only slightly improves a hand tool over a previous model. It all adds up.

Johnson Level 40-6616 Tiling and Flooring Laser Level Review

Johnson Level 40-6616 Tiling and Flooring Laser Level Review

The Johnson Level 40-6616 Tiling and Flooring Laser Level makes doing right angle flooring layouts simpler and is a good tool to use along the way to check to make sure things stay in line. For a reasonable price, the DIY’er has a tool that can make their tile projects have that professional appearance. Everyone knows that in tile work, it is all about straight lines, perfect corners and a layout that matches the room. Johnson’s new Flooring Laser Level has a simple design, good accuracy, and a reasonable price that will bring a level of quality to your project, even if you are going to do a single floor. With laser guidance within reach, you can ensure that your flooring project will come out the way you dreamed it would.

Kobalt 63 Piece Mechanics Tool Set Review

Kobalt 63 Piece Mechanics Tool Set Review

With the recent reintroduction of the Kobalt mechanics tools, we have been eager to put our hands on a set to see what they are all about. The Kobalt 63 Piece Mechanics Tool Set (0338513) that we got in includes some of the most common 1/4″ and 3/8″ drive Metric and SAE sizes sockets that you will need. Things like a 72 tooth ratchet and fully polished chrome plating on all the tools comes standard along with laser etching and red/blue colored markings for easy identification of SAE (standard) and MM (metric) sizes. With an ever-growing line of mechanics tools, it looks like Kobalt is not just about quality, but also variety. They want to make sure that they have what you need to do your projects – and they enlisted the help of Hendrick Motorsports to make sure they did it right this time.

Johnson Level 40-6064 Digital Angle Locator Review

Johnson Level 40-6064 Digital Angle Locator Review

The new Johnson Level 40-6064 Digital Angle Locator takes all the guesswork out of finding odd angles in the field thanks to a working range of 0 to 222 degrees and a built in miter calculator. In the past we would have relied on some fancy guesswork or trial and error to get angled cuts to match up, which usually resulted in wasted material or time. With an easy-to-read digital display, three button control and accuracy to within .5 of a degree, it should be a cinch to calculate the trim pieces needed for that bay window or octagon shaped ceiling cove. As my old boss used to tell me, ‘measure twice, cut once’. Well, that’s a whole lot easier now with angles and miters calculated more precisely and quickly with the Johnson Digital Angle Locator.

Lenox Speed Slot Hole Saws

Lenox Speed Slot Hole Saws Review

Lenox effectively took a tool that has not changed much since its inception and was able add a new level of ease-of-use to their line of Hole Saws with their new Speed Slot. The Speed Slot is a stair stepped angled slot on the side of the hole saw that facilitates easier plug removal. To further improve the Lenox hole saw line, all the hole saws feature an enhanced tooth geometry, a thinner kerf design, and a coating that is supposed to contribute to the efficiency of the cutting process. What all these equates to is a product that just about any professional tradesman will instantly appreciate.

Benchmade 9CB Hook Safety Cutter Review

Benchmade 9CB Hook Safety Cutter Review

The Benchmade 9CB Hook Safety Cutter is super lightweight and has a handy carabiner carry clip, built in bottle opener and a retractable cover that protects the blade when not in use. The Benchmade 9CB Hook Safety Cutter is part of the “Black Class” of knives from Benchmade. It’s designed and developed for extreme duty and special purposes. Typically they are marketed towards law enforcement, public safety and military troops which is a good place for this tool. This little tool is designed with the ability to cut up to 1/2″ diameter rope, seat belts, nylon straps, webbing or just about any other material that might be in the way when you are trying to rescue someone or release something. Just to show the fun side of this rescue tool, there is a built in bottle opener so that you can crack open a cold one after a tough day. In all seriousness, any outdoors guy or emergency response professional would do well to have one of these clicked onto a piece of gear, or their belt loop, for one of those just-in-case moments.

SOG F06TN-CP FastHawk Tomahawk - application

SOG F06TN-CP FastHawk Tomahawk Review

While it might not be every day that a tomahawk is needed, The SOG F06T-N FastHawk is a good choice if you have to clear some scrub off your land or maybe if you looking for something to throw at a target. This tactical tomahawk is very compact and lightweight which lends itself well to backpacking and working in the woods around your home. With a fiberglass reinforced nylon handle that is securely fastened to the head with two bolts and a steel ferrule, you can be sure you can put your back into it and it won’t break. With quite a menacing look, the blade comes sharp from the factory, yet the spike on the back side is not sharpened. As good as it is at chopping, we found it makes a pretty good throwing hatchet as well, which is exactly what we would expect from anything that is called a tomahawk.

Maxtech 50204MX Spade-Max Pro Spade Bit Set

Maxtech 50204MX Spade-Max Pro Spade Bit Set Review

On first glance the Maxtech 50204MX & 51643MX Spade-Max Pro Spade Bit Sets might appear to be run of the mill spade bits, but upon closer inspection there are some key differences. Using these bits makes drilling medium sized holes a breeze thanks to a steep rake angle on the leading cutting edge that provides a faster and cleaner cut. With the steep angle, the bit acts more like a chisel as it cuts its way into the wood, in fact it quickly chips out chunks of wood. Now the thing to notice is that with the outside tips cutting before the flat part of the cutting blades, when you get to the backside of your board, you get a cleaner hole and less splintering. The whole idea of spades bits is for quickly boring through wood so speed is definitely of the essence and these bits deliver that. The slightly less expensive 9-piece set includes a 1/4″ hex drive Load N’ Drive quick connect collet that is super compact and has a spring loaded bit-eject mechanism. With 1/4″ quick connect hex shanks and a rust resistant black oxide coating, we suspect that if you pick up a set of these you will not be disappointed.