Which Twist Drill Bit Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 12 twist drill bit options head to head. DeWalt came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video. Shoppers cross-shopping metal drill bit, cobalt drill bits, cobalt drill bits for metal and left hand drill bits land here for the head to head that settles it.
DeWalt
Price shown in test: $14.97
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Bosch
Price shown in test: $39.99, the most expensive brand tested
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“the dewalt did just that, it cut faster than the competition, and it also did a fine job as far as the quality of cut”
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
1/2 inch mild steel test
- 1DeWalt black oxide standard tip, 14 piece set
fastest of all twelve brands at 47 seconds, about 120 F, no visible damage, very clean cut
- 2Bosch M42, 8 percent cobalt, 14 piece set51 seconds
a very close second to DeWalt, about 120 F, looked as good as new, judged the smoothest finish of all twelve brands
- 3Craftsman gold oxide, 14 piece set
about twice the speed of the Black and Decker, 117 F, no visible damage, though the finish was not very smooth
- 4Milwaukee titanium split tip, Shockwave, 15 piece set1 minute 9 seconds
looked as good as new, judged very smooth with a terrific finish
- 5Bauer titanium coated, 17 piece set55 seconds
at 120 F, looked as good as new, did a great job on finish quality
- 6Masterforce titanium, 21 piece set1 minute 41 seconds
about 135 F, no visible damage, fairly good finish though some chips caused minor damage
- 7Warrior titanium standard tip, 29 piece set2 minutes 14 seconds
at 130 F, no visible wear, finish slightly better than the Metabo
- 8Metabo gold oxide, 17 piece set1 minute 34 seconds
at 110 F, no visible wear, fairly good finish
- 9Ryobi black oxide, 21 piece set53 seconds
at 165 F, small amount of wear on the chisel, not quite as clean a cut as some other brands
- 10Tool Shop black oxide, 29 piece set2 minutes 19 seconds
ran the hottest of all brands at about 190 F, some wear on the chisel, not as smooth a finish as some other brands
- 11Hyper Tough black oxide, 29 piece set2 minutes 32 seconds
at 170 F, a bit more wear than the other brands
- 12Black & Decker black oxide, 18 piece setabout160 F
no damage, a pretty good quality cut though the host called it a little slow (exact time not stated)
Spring steel test
- 1DeWalt black oxide standard tip, 14 piece set
one of only three brands (with Craftsman and Bosch) that cut through using the baseline amount of downward force, small amount of wear
- 2Bosch M42, 8 percent cobalt, 14 piece set
one of only three brands (with Craftsman and DeWalt) that cut through using the baseline amount of downward force, described as the best drill tested yet in this segment, did not get hot and still looked new
- 3Craftsman gold oxide, 14 piece set
one of only three brands (with DeWalt and Bosch) that cut through using the baseline amount of downward force, minute 53 seconds, small amount of wear on the cutting lip and chisel
- 4Milwaukee titanium split tip, Shockwave, 15 piece set
needed additional downward force (increased from 15 lb up to 30 lb on the test wheel) to cut through, only a slight amount of wear on the chisel afterward
- 5Bauer titanium coated, 17 piece set
needed considerably more downward force than the top three (about 220 lb total, versus about 111 lb for DeWalt/Craftsman/Bosch), some wear on the cutting lip once it finally got through
- 6Masterforce titanium, 21 piece set
needed additional downward force (increased to a total of 30 lb on the test wheel) to cut through, very slight wear on the chisel
- 7Warrior titanium standard tip, 29 piece set
needed the original weight doubled from 15 lb to 30 lb (well over 200 lb of downward force) to cut through, slight wear on the chisel and cutting lip
- 8Metabo gold oxide, 17 piece set
struggled badly even after adding 5 lb of extra force, described as not making very much progress at all, cutting lip and chisel described as not very sharp afterward
- 9Ryobi black oxide, 21 piece set
the host ended the test early because the bit was not making any progress, quite a bit of resulting wear
- 10Tool Shop black oxide, 29 piece set
needed 5 lb of additional force, still showed a lot of wear on the chisel and cutting lip
- 11Hyper Tough black oxide, 29 piece set
needed 5 lb of additional force just to make slow progress
- 12Black & Decker black oxide, 18 piece set
did not cut through, described as making no progress and just producing metal dust before the host stopped the test
3/8 inch on 304 stainless
- 1DeWalt black oxide standard tip, 14 piece set23 seconds
- 2Bosch M42, 8 percent cobalt, 14 piece set24 seconds
- 3Craftsman gold oxide, 14 piece set27 seconds
- 4Milwaukee titanium split tip, Shockwave, 15 piece set22 seconds
- 5Bauer titanium coated, 17 piece set20 seconds
- 6Masterforce titanium, 21 piece set19 seconds
the fastest of all twelve brands on this test
- 7Warrior titanium standard tip, 29 piece set39 seconds
the slowest of the brands that completed this test
- 8Metabo gold oxide, 17 piece set27 seconds
- 9Ryobi black oxide, 21 piece set27 seconds
- 10Tool Shop black oxide, 29 piece set24 seconds
- 11Hyper Tough black oxide, 29 piece set
did not complete the test, described as just not up to the task
- 12Black & Decker black oxide, 18 piece setabout1 minute 25 seconds
struggled more than the competition
All measurements (1 more)+
Bonus wrench cut demo
- 1DeWalt black oxide standard tip, 14 piece set
cut all the way through a wrench in about 20 seconds using proper feed and speed
- 2Bosch M42, 8 percent cobalt, 14 piece setnot tested
- 3Craftsman gold oxide, 14 piece setnot tested
- 4Milwaukee titanium split tip, Shockwave, 15 piece setnot tested
- 5Bauer titanium coated, 17 piece setnot tested
- 6Masterforce titanium, 21 piece setnot tested
- 7Warrior titanium standard tip, 29 piece setnot tested
- 8Metabo gold oxide, 17 piece setnot tested
- 9Ryobi black oxide, 21 piece setnot tested
- 10Tool Shop black oxide, 29 piece setnot tested
- 11Hyper Tough black oxide, 29 piece setnot tested
- 12Black & Decker black oxide, 18 piece setnot tested
How it was tested
- speed, temperature, and finish quality test drilling a 1/2 inch hole in mild steel
- downward force required to cut through hardened spring steel from an old sickle mower
- speed test drilling a 3/8 inch hole in 1/2 inch thick 304 stainless steel with a drill press for leverage
- bonus demonstration cutting completely through a wrench using proper feed and speed (DeWalt and Bosch only)
“the dewalt did just that, it cut faster than the competition, and it also did a fine job as far as the quality of cut”
