WERA Diamond Coat Screwdriver Review

[Stanley Covington]

I have frequently had a screwdriver slip, or throw-out, or cam-out when installing highly-visible screws, and cursed my screwdriver (and myself) when I saw the mess I had made of the screw. Sometimes the screwdriver even scratched the hinges or adjoining surfaces. Indeed, little "cross" marks have been known to appear in the wood next to my hinges, especially when using Yankee screwdrivers. Disappointingly, these were not miraculous manifestations of God's love.

To avoid bunged-up screws, marred surfaces, and other such quasi-religious damage, I have trained myself to apply a lot of pressure straight down through the screwdriver into the screw's axis, and to focus on the change in torque, simply to keep it from camming out.

Of course, if you do more elegant or historical work, or work on guns, the old-fashioned slot or minus screw is the only option. Sadly, it is even more difficult to drive them without bunging things up than with the Phillips.

Last year I lamented to a friend about some expensive Brusso hinges I had bunged up through my carelessness. He told me to stop whining like a little girl and to get a set of Wera diamond coat screwdrivers. I had seen Wera drivers in industrial tool supply stores back in the USA, but had never tried them. I mostly use Klein or Wiha drivers, and the strange handles on the Wera products did not appeal.

Anyway, after the Brusso massacre, I bought a single Wera Diamond Coat Phillips driver from a local import tool store near my home here in Tokyo, and have been using it for almost a year. I have since bought 6 more with different tips.

Handles: Plastic construction with rubber inserts to increase the user's grip power. They have a strange shape which is easy to grip and apply a lot of torque to, but won't roll. Strangely, they don't feel bulky. A lot better than Craftsman drivers. Significantly better handles than my Klein. Somewhat better than the Wiha.

Shaft: Chrome-moly steel with nickle-chrome plating. Very tough.

Tips: The bits are well-made and tough. I have not chipped or even deformed them. This is not unique among the higher-quality brands. What is unique is the diamond particles coating the tips which keep the tip inside the slot or slots, depending on the type of screw, and absolutely eliminates cam-out. The difference is amazing. No longer must I apply a lot of force along the axis of the screw just to keep the tip from slipping or camming-out, making the job much easier. It also lets me focus more on the torque I am applying so I can tell exactly when the screw is at the ideal depth and torque.

If you like good tools, and hate messed-up screwheads, try the Wera diamond coat screwdrivers. Wera also makes a line of screwdriver bits with the same diamond coat that work very well with electrical drivers.

Good stuff.

Stan

PS: Disclaimer. I do not work for Wera or sell their products. They have not offered me free tools or a wheelbarrow full of cashy money for this review. My future as a shill and scribbler in the woodworking press and blogiverse remains bleak.

PPS: Update - Ralph Hinton kindly pointed out that he could not find them online, and questioned, quite properly, if they are genuine Wera products. I just did an online chat with the dude at Chadstoolbox.com (USA). He said the diamond-coated Kraftform screwdrivers were discontinued 10 years or so ago. I cannot find mention on WERA's website of this product either. Everyone sells Wera's diamond coat screwdriver bits, but not the drivers.

They are available in tool speciality stores and online here in Japan, so I must assume that WERA has a different marketing strategy for the US.

http://www.pro-tools.info/cathand/li...29784-0-0.html (http://www.pro-tools.info/cathand/list-13497-29784-0-0.html) http://www.haratool.jp/SHOP/wera-50sph-0.html

Here is a link to a page that says that Sear Craftsman and Stanley (Lowes) both have some sort of diamond coated screwdrivers, perhaps "simulated."

An alternative would be to use Wera's diamond coated bits in a handle.

Stan

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks for the review Stan. They sound very useful. I think I'll buy one and try it out.
Fred

[Phil Mueller]

Thank you Stan. I was always told that torque is more important than downward pressure, and a proper fitting screwdriver is a must. Along with the correct sized pilot hole. And maybe a little rub of bar soap for good measure.

Well, in practice, as we all know, it often doesn't work out as well as we'd like. I am certainly guilty of owning whatever cheap screwdrivers happen to be on the shelf at the time, thinking what does it matter...it's just a screwdriver.

You not only point out the benefit of quality screwdrivers in general, but a nice review of an improvement on a very old concept.

[Mike Holbrook]

Good to know Stan,

I have been using Wera Rapidator 1/4" hex bit holders for a year or two now. I got them from Lee Valley, oddly LV does not play up the diamond tips, though I found mention of diamond coating in their descriptions of Impaktor bits they sell. I found tons of Wera, diamond coated, quick change, Impaktor bits on Amazon. I like using Rapidators in braces, hand drills, Yankees and electric drills. They make switching between different types of bits, hex shank drill bits, and sockets much easier.

I have been wearing out GRK T15 Torx drivers fast lately, driving small GRK "finishing" screws with small heads below the surface of boards. Buggered bit heads end up buggering screw heads which works out to about the same thing as breaking a screw off. I even found T15: diamond, Impaktor, hex drill bits in both 25 & 50mm lengths. The Impaktor drill bits are fairly new too. They have shafts that can twist just a little absorbing shock, protecting screws from powerful impact drivers or even the mechanical advantage of a brace. Breaking screws off presents a problem. I suspect the Impaktor drill bits might help a little with bits slipping out of slots too. The Rapidator bit holders absorb some shock and help too.

[Brian Holcombe]

I've been using the laser tip ones for a few years now, I really enjoy them. I bought a set out of similar frustration and oddly enough also due to installing Brusso hinges with cheap screw drivers.

[Mike Holbrook]

Brian I found the laser cut ones in my search too. I am wondering how they work compared to the diamond coated ones? I suspect it would be hard to lazer cut between the small parts of the small bits which are the bits I tend to have the most difficulty with. Either way Wera makes some great products.

[Brian Holcombe]

If they ever start to fail on me I'll replace them with the diamond tips but currently I have no need to upgrade.

[Stanley Covington]

If they ever start to fail on me I'll replace them with the diamond tips but currently I have no need to upgrade.

Do the laser cut tips mar the screws at all?

Stan

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Do the laser cut tips mar the screws at all?

Stan

No, and what I love is they hold a screw so well that you can stick the screw on the driver and use the driver to put it in the hole, like a magnetic bit. A little care is required, but it works.

I cannot not find the diamond coated in anything other than bits. Anyone have a link to the diamond coated drivers?

[Hilton Ralphs]

Stan, I don't want to rock the boat here but are you sure these are genuine Wera tools? I know about the Diamond coated bits but I've never seen a Kraftform screwdriver like this. I've checked the US, UK and Germany Wera sites as well as Amazon DE and there's no mention of them. Wera tend to use light blue to indicate stainless, green for the standard drivers, yellow for the heavy duty buggers and red for the VDE ones. The colour of yours look almost royal blue.

Anyway, as long as they work that's the main thing. I also bought my first Wera Kraftform from Lee Valley.

[William Adams]

Beeswax rather than soap.

[Brian Holcombe]

Do the laser cut tips mar the screws at all?

Stan

They have some time on them and so far they leave no trace. I'm inspecting the brass screws on the humidor and nothing shows.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Stan, I don't want to rock the boat here but are you sure these are genuine Wera tools? I know about the Diamond coated bits but I've never seen a Kraftform screwdriver like this. I've checked the US, UK and Germany Wera sites as well as Amazon DE and there's no mention of them. Wera tend to use light blue to indicate stainless, green for the standard drivers, yellow for the heavy duty buggers and red for the VDE ones. The colour of yours look almost royal blue.

Anyway, as long as they work that's the main thing. I also bought my first Wera Kraftform from Lee Valley.

I was drawing a similar conclusion but I did find a listing on eBay UK (that only shipped to the UK so I didn't buy them) for diamond coated Wera drivers, and those had red handles.

[Mike Holbrook]

There are tons of them on Amazon, you just want find them with a diamond bit search. I guess they think the diamond feature is not a major deal like we do. Try- Wera Impaktor bits, many of them are diamond coated. You can try Wera bits or bit sets too, many of them are diamond coated if you check the descriptions.

[george wilson]

I have found CORRECTLY GROUND SCREWDRIVER TIPS to do just fine. I use my set of gunsmith's screwdrivers from Brownells Gunsmithing Supplies. They come as different size sets(They aren't real cheap). I can always find a screwdriver tip that fits exactly into the slots of screws in guns that are worth over $2000.00(Well,I'm not rich!). I would HATE to accidentally bugger a slot in any gun I have. I would be concerned that having diamond tip screwdrivers might be like pressing sandpaper into the slots,leaving bright,sparkly spots in the gun blue. Even if I retouched the slots,I'd still see the tiny divots and NOT like it. But,that is my OCD!:)

[Hilton Ralphs]

There are tons of them on Amazon, you just want find them with a diamond bit search. I guess they think the diamond feature is not a major deal like we do. Try- Wera Impaktor bits, many of them are diamond coated. You can try Wera bits or bit sets too, many of them are diamond coated if you check the descriptions.


Yes but the products in question are not bits but screwdrivers.

[Hilton Ralphs]

I have found CORRECTLY GROUND SCREWDRIVER TIPS to do just fine.

I actually bought that set of perfect handle (wooden) screwdrivers from Lee Valley with the sole purpose of driving brass slotted screws. It makes me feel better. I use my Wera, Wiha, Stanley and others on non-woodworking projects.

[george wilson]

The Brownells screwdriver sets(some of them for the sake of compactness) are also bits that are held in the handle by magnets. They work just fine. I never notice any shaking from loose tolerances. AND,the bits are guaranteed for life. If you want to pay the postage for a single bit? I need to check that out.

[Mike Holbrook]

"Yes but the products in question are not bits but screwdrivers."

A screwdriver bit in a screwdriver handle made to hold bits, of which there are many made by Wera and other companies, is not a screwdriver? I found sets of single bit screwdrivers with the lazer etch. I gave up looking for sets of single bit diamond screwdrivers as there are many, many pages of Wera screwdriver products. There are some Wera sale pages that come up on Amazon Prime that go to other sites, Amazon related, that may have single bit sets, if that is what you want.

[Jim Koepke]

Wife & I needed to go into town today so looked for these at the Borgs. Lowes had a philips and slot screws set by Stanley. I didn't purchase either.

jtk

[Malcolm Schweizer]

"Yes but the products in question are not bits but screwdrivers."

A screwdriver bit in a screwdriver handle made to hold bits, of which there are many made by Wera and other companies, is not a screwdriver? I found sets of single bit screwdrivers with the lazer etch. I gave up looking for sets of single bit diamond screwdrivers as there are many, many pages of Wera screwdriver products. There are some Wera sale pages that come up on Amazon Prime that go to other sites, Amazon related, that may have single bit sets, if that is what you want.

There is a difference. I don't like drivers with interchangeable bits except for the boat or Jeep tool kits where compactness is an issue. The bits get lost, or worse- they fall out and land in the worst possible places, like the intake plenum on your car. Experience speaks here.

[Stanley Covington]

I just did an online chat with the dude at Chadstoolbox.com. He said the diamond-coated Kraftform screwdrivers were discontinued 10 years or so ago. I cannot find mention on WERA's website of this product either. Everyone sells Wera's diamond coat screwdriver bits, but not the drivers.

They are available in tool speciality stores and online here in Japan, so I must assume that WERA has a different marketing strategy for the US.

http://www.pro-tools.info/cathand/list-13497-29784-0-0.html http://www.haratool.jp/SHOP/wera-50sph-0.html

Here is a link to a page that says that Sear Craftsman and Stanley (Lowes) both have some sort of diamond coated screwdrivers, perhaps "simulated."

An alternative would be to use Wera's diamond coated bits in a handle.

Stan

[Stanley Covington]

Stan, I don't want to rock the boat here but are you sure these are genuine Wera tools? I know about the Diamond coated bits but I've never seen a Kraftform screwdriver like this. I've checked the US, UK and Germany Wera sites as well as Amazon DE and there's no mention of them. Wera tend to use light blue to indicate stainless, green for the standard drivers, yellow for the heavy duty buggers and red for the VDE ones. The colour of yours look almost royal blue.

Anyway, as long as they work that's the main thing. I also bought my first Wera Kraftform from Lee Valley.

I just did an online chat with the dude at Chadstoolbox.com. He said the diamond-coated Kraftform screwdrivers were discontinued 10 years or so ago. I cannot find mention on WERA's website of this product either. Everyone sells Wera's diamond coat screwdriver bits, but not the drivers.

They are available in tool speciality stores and online here in Japan, so I must assume that WERA has a different marketing strategy for the US.

http://www.pro-tools.info/cathand/li...29784-0-0.html (http://www.pro-tools.info/cathand/list-13497-29784-0-0.html) http://www.haratool.jp/SHOP/wera-50sph-0.html

Here is a link to a page that says that Sear Craftsman and Stanley (Lowes) both have some sort of diamond coated screwdrivers, perhaps "simulated."

An alternative would be to use Wera's diamond coated bits in a handle.

Stan

[Hilton Ralphs]

I just did an online chat with the dude at Chadstoolbox.com. He said the diamond-coated Kraftform screwdrivers were discontinued 10 years or so ago. I cannot find mention on WERA's website of this product either. Everyone sells Wera's diamond coat screwdriver bits, but not the drivers.


Makes sense then. From what I could see from your pics they looked like normal Wera but I had never seen them in the catalogs. Excellent company with brilliant products.