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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. Even Milwaukee Tool has new Fastback knives for use by contractors and tradesmen in the field. 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.

Benchmade 9CB Hook Safety Cutter Review
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Benchmade 9CB Hook Safety Cutter Review

by Thomas Gaige

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
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SOG F06TN-CP FastHawk Tomahawk Review

by Thomas Gaige

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
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Maxtech 50204MX Spade-Max Pro Spade Bit Set Review

by Matthias Gaige

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.

C.H. Hanson Automatic Locking Pliers Review
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C.H. Hanson Automatic Locking Pliers Review

by Thomas Gaige

C.H. Hanson is a company that’s been around for a while, so we keep an eye out for innovations when their name pops up. This week the company announced they redesigned their locking jaw pliers to work faster and have a better grip. The new model is re-engineered to automatically lock onto your workpiece, without adjusting – regardless of size (provided it fits within the jaws, of course). Hone is the adjustment screw at the handle bottom. Now, a pressure setting screw is located within the mechanism features a Set & Forget method of operation. You just set the optimal clamping pressure (it can be very light to full force), and then the tool’s jaws will adjust on their own to whatever size object you need.

SOG GSP-21 Green Handle SOGzilla Knife Review
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SOG GSP-21 Green Handle SOGzilla Knife Review

by Matthias Gaige

The SOG GSP-21 Green Handle SOGzilla folding pocket knife has a quality stainless steel blade that won’t lose its edge very easily and it weighs only 4.8oz. While it is a large sized knife with a total open length a little more then 8-1/2 inches long, it managed to keep the weight off by having its widest section be only 3/8 of an inch thick. With its thin profile, it carries very well and discreetly with the bayonet style pocket clip making it perfect for every day carry. At 3.8″ long, the blade is a big-bodied modified sheepsfoot and curves in such a way that as to put the blade and handle in a nice arch shape when open. The SOGzilla is also available with a serrated edge or straight edge, of which we received the straight edge for this review. We actually prefer this style better for its long term use because of how easy it is to resharpen the blade (over the serrated style). While the SOG GSP-21 SOGzilla is a design that might not be for everyone, we found that even given its large size, it makes for a good choice for an everyday carry.

Black & Decker RRW100 Ratcheting ReadyWrench Review
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Black and Decker RRW100 Ratcheting ReadyWrench Review

by Thomas Gaige

If you loved the original ReadyWrench, you’ll definitely want to get your hands on the new Black & Decker RRW100 Ratcheting ReadyWrench that adds a new level of functionally to an already handy tool. For those of you new to the concept of the ReadyWrench, you will appreciate the compact size and versatility of the Black & Decker’s RRW100 Ratcheting version. With 16 of the most common metric and standard socket sizes represented this is an ideal do-it-yourself tool for many household tasks that might involve using a socket set or a wrench. Ratcheting ReadyWrenchThe Black & Decker RRW100 Ratcheting ReadyWrench takes the success of the original ReadyWrench and adds a reversible ratcheting feature that makes it perform much like a socket and ratchet. This tool combines 16 popular standard and metric socket sizes in one and is based on a simple concept that uses two rotating heads that have 4 different socket sizes each (compatible with 8 different SEA and metric sizes).

SOG FSAT-8 Flash II Tanto Straight Edge Knife Review
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SOG FSAT-8 Flash II Tanto Straight Edge Knife Review

by Thomas Gaige

The SOG FSAT-8 Flash II Tanto Style Blade Straight Edge pocket knife is not your grandpa’s whittling tool but rather a modern, lightweight, assisted opening knife that combines both form and function. Two of the slickest features of this knife is the S.A.T. or SOG Assisted Technology which almost automatically deploys the blade as soon as you place a little tension on the blade thumb stud. The other is the unique piston locking mechanism that not only positively locks the blade open, but also makes it easy to close. One of the first things we noticed about the SOG FSAT-8 Flash II Tanto is how lightweight it is. The biggest reason for of its nimble weight is that the handle is made of glass-reinforced nylon (GRN) and it does not have any reinforcing metal liners in it. While this might sound like a bad idea, we found that the overall feel of the knife is quite sturdy and actually well balanced.

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