Tool Awards 2022: Hand Tools (2024)

Each of these eight T-handle Allen wrenches has grooves in two of the flats, near the tip, which Craftsman calls “X-Tract” technology. The brand claims that these enable the wrenches to remove a socket-head Allen screw that’s been half ground away from removal, retightening, or abuse. With the 5mm wrench, we removed a badly rounded fastener on one of our bikes in a jiffy. Bonus: The handles are superbly comfortable.

Craftsman put a 72-tooth ratchet with a 5-degree swing at one end and an open-end wrench at the other, then covered the tool with a thick, polished chrome plating. But wait, there’s more, as they say on TV. Spanning the tool is a nicely dished beam handle. The raised Craftsman V lettering on it provides a nice grip, while the hinged storage rack keeps the eight wrenches in the kit securely stowed.

We admit this small pneumatic marking tool is a bit esoteric, in that it’s primarily intended for carpenters and masons who spend a lot of time marking out locations of building components. But man, is it handy. Rotate the nozzle to the unlock position, and then place its tip where you want to mark. Press down on the pneumatic container to leave a bright green X mark. We tried it on wood, metal, concrete, asphalt, and drywall, both shiny and dirty. The results were all the same: a nice, crisp X with each push.

We have a bit of an old-school streak. But we’ve also gotten to the point where we can’t get along without current tech. Which brings us to the Bosch Blaze. It’s the easiest, fastest, and most intuitive laser measuring device we’ve used. It reads distances and angles in meters, feet, and inches to various tolerances that you adjust, plus calculates surface area and volume. Then the accompany- ing free app lets you export and store all that data in the cloud.

There are more extensive bit kits for installing and removing tamperproof fasteners, but none handier than this 27-in-1 screwdriver from Klein. A pull- out carousel in its handle holds two rows of double-end bits that include the usual center-pin Torx and hex types, along with double-pin (snake eyes) and security Phillips bits.

We gave these unusual pliers a thorough workout on pipe and bar stock, and then handed them off to various testers here who are known for their strong grip. Everyone came away impressed. Knipex forges the German-made slip-joint pliers out of a tool steel that provides the necessary hardness, ductility, and edge retention. The 82-01-200 pliers are tough, versatile, and capable of grip- ping a rounded bolt or pipe.

Combining a utility knife and razor scraper in one tool is a neat trick that ToughBuilt has accomplished amazingly well. One easy push-button latch stops the blade at the utility knife position or allows it to slide forward and turn sideways to become a razor scraper.

If you peel back the National Electrical Code, auto service manuals, and myriad owner manuals, you’ll find torque specifications for electrical terminal screws, various bolts, and machine screws. This GearWrench kit can help you hit all of them. It consists of a torque screwdriver that senses 10 to 50 inch-pounds of torque, and it comes with a lab certificate testifying to its precision of plus or minus 6 percent. Also enclosed in the blow-molded case are screwdriver bits and nut drivers in common sizes.

We gave these tools a thorough thrashing, turning screws of various sizes, clamping the tools in a machinist vise then bending and twisting them to see if they would break. They didn’t. We dropped them from a height of 8 feet, tip first and handle first onto a concrete floor. No sign of damage there. Our take: Their alloy steel shaft, comfortable composite handle, wrench bolster, and common sizes in Phillips and slotted heads are excellent. We were very pleased with the tools’ well-machined tips protected by a black oxide coating. And like Craftsman tools of years gone by, these are also warranted for life.