New tools over the Christmas holidays

Over the Christmas holidays, organizing some tools, I realized my screwdriver collection was in pretty poor shape. I can’t even remember the last time I purchased a new screwdriver…

I actually think most of them were in a tool-box that my wife had — when we first met. I’ve bought plenty of tools over the years, but new screwdrivers, apparently.

So; I ordered some Wera screwdriver sets, and a few other things 👇

Before

This was the drawer in my tool trolley for screwdrivers. Most of them were Stanley — and very worn.

In my drawer of pliers I had some that I never use, like three different crimpers for wire ferrules — while only using the self-adjusting one.

I figured it was time to replace and get some new pliers as well 🙂

Screwdrivers

I spent a few days looking at what types and sizes of screwdrivers I commonly use. Looking at manufacturers; I found that Wera has some features that I really like:

• Hexagonal anti-roll
  • Seriously, how great is that? They don’t roll of the table 😃
• Color coded with profile and size
• Laser-tip tips, for getter grip on the screws
• Ergonomic handle with good grip

Kraftform Big Pack 300

I found that the Big Pack 300 covered pretty much all types and sizes of screwdrivers that I commonly use. It has Phillips, Pozidriv, Torx, and slotted drivers.

Here is the complete list, with Wera part numbers:

• 350 PH Screwdriver for Phillips screws
  • 05008710001 — PH 1 x 80 mm
  • 05008720001 — PH 2 x 100 mm
  • 05008735001 — PH 3 x 150 mm

• 355 PZ Screwdriver for Pozidriv screws
  • 05009310001 — PZ 1 x 80 mm
  • 05009315001 — PZ 2 x 100 mm
  • 05009320001 — PZ 3 x 150 mm

• 367 Screwdriver for Torx screws
  • 05028005001 — TX 10 x 80 mm
  • 05028008001 — TX 15 x 80 mm
  • 05028010001 — TX 20 x 100 mm
  • 05028012001 — TX 25 x 100 mm
  • 05028015001 — TX 30 x 115 mm

• 334 Screwdriver for slotted screws
  • 05110010001 — 1.2 x 6.5 x 150 mm
• 335 Screwdriver for slotted screws
  • 05110004001 — 0.8 x 4 x 100 mm
  • 05008015001 — 0.6 x 3.5 x 100 mm

The set also contains two wall-mountable screwdriver holders. I won’t be using those — but a nice addition for people with tool walls or pegboards.

Kraftform Micro 12 Universal 1

The next item on my list was a micro screwdriver set. I’m often working on small things, and having an assortment of small screwdrivers is important.

These are also color coded and have a rotating cap on the end that rests in the palm when used. Apparently they have three “zones”: precision, power, and fast-turning. I haven’t really given that much thought, but they feel nice and ergonomic.

The set contains the following items, with Wera part numbers:

• 2050 PH Screwdriver for Phillips screws
  • 05118020001 — PH 00 x 60 mm
  • 05118022001 — PH 0 x 60 mm
• 2067 Torx HF Screwdriver with holding function
  • 05118181001 — TX 5 x 40 mm
  • 05118182001 — TX 6 x 40 mm
• 2035 Screwdriver for slotted screws
  • 05118002001 — 0.23 x 1.5 x 40 mm
  • 05118004001 — 0.30 x 1.8 x 60 mm
  • 05118006001 — 0.40 x 2 x 60 mm
  • 05118008001 — 0.40 x 2.5 x 80 mm
  • 05118010001 — 0.50 x 3 x 80 mm
• 2054 Screwdriver for hexagon socket screws
  • 05118062001 — 0.9 x 40 mm
  • 05118066001 — 1.5 x 60 mm
  • 05118068001 — 2 x 60 mm

Kraftform Kompakt 27 RA 1 SB

Next; I wanted an “all-round” screwdriver with ratchet function. This one has a 44 tooth cog wheel — allowing for precision work. And also contains six bits: Phillips, Pozidriv, and slotted.

I used this quite a bit yesterday — good grip, and the ratchet sounds so good. The ratcheting is light, meaning it’s less likely to loosen the screw on the return.

Tool-Check PLUS

My last Wera purchase was a set with 39 pieces: a small bit-holding screwdriver, bit ratchet, and lots of screwdriver bits and ¼" sockets. The ratchet is really small and handy for tight places.

All the bits also fits the Kraftform Kompakt screwdriver above, which is part of the reason why I got this.

Pliers

After having gone through my tool drawer of screwdrivers, I started looking in the drawer below — containing pliers. I’ve bought a few nice Knipex pliers over the years, but still had some old, cheap, and worn ones.

So — maybe replace those as well? 🙂

Combination Pliers

My old combination pliers is probably 20 something years old, and it’s clearly visible that it has been used on things it wasn’t meant for… The gripping zone and cutting edges were badly worn, and one of the plastic handles had become loose.

The new Knipex combination pliers is pretty much identical to the old, but built better and not worn 🙂

Electronic Super Knips XL

I already have two Knipex Super Knips, one regular and one ESD, and I love them ❤️ The XL version is 140 mm long, instead of the regular 125 mm. Great for things like thick cable ties.

Relay Adjusting Pliers

I didn’t really know what a “Relay Adjusting Pliers” was, before stumbling onto a post on the EEVblog forum:

(…) I have a duck nose pliers from FRI-DA-REM (…) that a friend gave me over 25 year ago, and it was already old or beaten at the time, but I loved to never leave it (…). The thin nose is useful to straighten bent pins on tight places, remove ICs from sockets… I liked it so much that I spent a lot of time trying to find one like that, just in case. And that’s how I began to by Knipex pliers… Because of their Relay Adjusting Pliers. (…) It’s so rare to find something like them among peoples hand tools. That’s my big recommendation… One of those super slim duck nose pliers.

— EEVblog forum

I was sold! 🤩 They come in a few different shapes and sizes, I got the smallest straight one. If it turns out to be terrifically useful — I might get a bigger one as well.

Long Nose Pliers

This replaces my old and worn needle nose pliers. I opted for the long nose because I already have a very long needle nose, and it looks like it would get a better grip.

CoBolt Compact Bolt Cutter

As I explained earlier; my old combination pliers got broken being used for things it wasn’t designed to do. So — to prevent my new pliers suffering the same fate, I got this compact bolt cutter.

I’m hoping this will spare the rest of my pliers collection from destruction by nails, thick steel wire, etc.

High Leverage Diagonal Cutter

OK, this one I didn’t really need to get… I already had a decent TÜV cutting pliers, but it would look really out of place in the middle of my Knipex collection 😛

Tweezers

While looking through the Knipex product pages; I noticed they also make tweezers. I use tweezers, and could use some new ones — so I ordered two:

• KNIPEX 92 34 36 — Universal Tweezers
• KNIPEX 92 95 89 — Universal cross jaw tweezers

I haven’t had time to use them much, but they feel great. Requiring little force to operate, while feeling really solidly built.

Ruler

Actually, I already had a 300mm stainless steel metric ruler. But I dropped it on the floor, denting one corner at the zero position. Causing it to be a few millimeters shorter — not a great feature for a ruler.

So I got another one 🙂

Flashlight

I didn’t even know that I needed a flashlight, until I had to go out and check all my downspouts before a heavy rainfall. My tiny Ledlenser P3 just didn’t do the job.

Of course a few afternoons and evenings of intense Googling ensued, before making my decision 👇

Acebeam E75 5000k 3000lm CRI

There are lots of reviews online, going into great detail about this flashlight and why it’s awesome. This isn’t one of those reviews — but here is what I like about it, and why I chose to buy it:

• High CRI (>90)
• USB-C charge port
• Battery indicator
• IP68
• 21700 battery (standard)
• Works with button and flat top cells
• Magnetic tail cap
• 4 x Nichia 519A LEDs
• Constant-current, fully regulated driver
• Simple UI
• Combined throw and flood beam
• AR coated mineral glass lens

After

Alright! So after all that, what does my tool drawers looks like now?

I pretty much replaced all my screwdrivers with new Wera ones — and took out a few screwdriver sets that I no longer need. I kept my old micro screwdriver and micro screwdriver set, they are not terrible 🙂

I already had quite a few Knipex pliers, and now I have even more 🙂 My crimping pliers are not Knipex, but they have served me well.

Knipex pliers:

• 12 52 195 — PreciStrip16 Automatic Insulation Stripper
• 71 02 200 — CoBolt Compact Bolt Cutter
• 70 02 180 — Diagonal Cutter
• 03 02 180 — Combination Pliers
• 74 02 140 — High Leverage Diagonal Cutter
• 95 11 165 — Cable Shears
• 26 11 200 — Snipe Nose Side Cutting Pliers (Stork Beak Pliers)
• 30 11 160 — Long Nose Pliers
• 78 61 140 — Electronic Super Knips XL
• 78 61 125 — Electronic Super Knips
• 78 03 125 ESD — Electronic Super Knips ESD
• 32 11 135 — Relay Adjusting Pliers
• 87 01 125 — Cobra High-Tech Water Pump Pliers

Crimping pliers:

• HSC8 6-4 (wire ferrules)
• Generic cable lug crimper
• Handskit SN-28B (terminal connectors)
• Engineer PA-21 (terminal connectors)
• Engineer PA-09 (terminal connector)
• Knipex crimping pliers for wire ferrules (not in this photo, and not in use)
  • 97 78 180 — 180 mm
  • 97 61 145 — 145 mm

Knipex does make some great crimping pliers with interchangeable dies. Like 97 33 02, it’s expensive but could probably replace two or four of my current crimping pliers.

There wasn’t more room in the screwdriver drawer; so the Wera Kraftform Micro set, and Tool-check PLUS ended up in the third drawer.

Honorable mentions:

• 500-196-20 Mitutoyo CD-6" CSX

Investigating and investing in new quality tools is one of lives many pleasures. Expanding my tools collections gives me immense joy 😃

I haven’t thrown any of the old tools away… I’ve put them in a tool-box that I plan to keep in the garage. They are probably still useful for some tasks.

Tool bag

Since most of my tools are in the tool-trolley, which is very stationary, I’ve ordered 12 liter electrician fabric tool bag — Bahco 4750FB3-12. Allowing me to grab and carry some tools when needed.

The tool bag is pretty sweet! Even has a compartment in the bottom that I didn’t know about 👇

🖖