So I’m looking at screwdriver sets because, well, I’m always on the lookout for new ones even if I do have three sets in my toolbox. But it’s not about getting new tools, it’s about passing the old ones on to someone who will love them as much as I have. That’s my excuse, anyway. It was during my most recent hunt that I came across the Jonard 8-piece screwdriver set and they looked pretty good, so I brought them in.

This is a basic screwdriver set that has multiple sizes of the most common screwdrivers. You get four Phillips head and four slotted. The Phillips head drivers include a #1, two #2’s, and a #3. The slotted drivers cover 3/16″, 1/4″, and 5/16″ widths.

Materials and Design

As far as materials go, these are pretty standard. Jonard uses high strength steel for the shafts. The obvious benefit is strength, but there’s also corrosion resistance that comes along with the blend. Now the shaft doesn’t go all the way through the handle like some of the premium models do. These aren’t demo screwdrivers, though, so as long as you don’t abuse them with a hammer, they should be fine.

The handles are plastic with a rubber coating. The overmold has relatively thick ridges running most of the length of the handle base. These aren’t quite as comfortable in hand as something like Klein’s cushion grip, but there are a couple of benefits here. The drivers won’t roll around on you for one.

When you’re using a screwdriver to really torque down a screw, you wrap your hand more fully around the driver for a better grip. When you’re tackling the finesse side, you change your grip to rely on your fingers to hold and work the driver. That’s where the other benefit of this overmold comes into play. The ridges offer natural gripping points for your fingers when it’s more about finesse than power.

At the business end of each driver, you’ll notice the tips are black like you see with other magnetic tip screwdrivers. This is a black oxide coating to help reduce the risk of corrosion where the drivers will see the most wear. And they are magnetic. Compared to most magnetic tip screwdrivers, they’re a little on the weak side, but they effectively hold most common screws well.

The back of each driver has markings so you know what size you’re picking up. It’s nice to have, but they’re already starting to rub off on a few of the drivers.

Fastener Fit

Getting the most of our your screwdrivers has a lot to do with materials, but proper fit can make or break them. Each of the Phillips head drivers in the Jonard 8-piece screwdriver set fits their respective sizes very well with virtually no play. The slotted drivers have a good fit as well. Of course, part of that also boils down to the quality of the fastener head.

The Bottom Line

For a basic screwdriver set, there’s not a lot to complain about here. But I would like to see longer handles on all but the stubby drivers. That would give you more surface area to grab hold of when you need the torque – especially for users with larger hands. That said, the Jonard 8-piece screwdriver set is a solid choice for when you just need a good screwdriver set. You can get tougher build with a couple more features and pay more if you really want to, but these get the job done. As it is, you can grab this set online for about $35.

Jonard 8-Piece Screwdriver Set Specifications

Model: Jonard SDK-8
Phillips Sizes: #1, #2, #3
Slotted Sizes: 3/16″, 1/4″, 5/16″
Handle: Rubberized Cushion Grip
Shaft: Polished high strength stainless steel, black oxide tip
Standards: ASME/ANSI