My favourite hex keys are a set of Wera hex+, quick to flip between ball and non-ball end, but mainly can get WAY more torque on these things than anything else and not mess up the screw head ( such a pita for bikes) the multi coloured version is better, so you can keep track of them. I have some T handle hexes too but could feel the shaft twist under tension, are these good enough to give a bit of welly (particularly on the smaller sizes)?
@@JosephLaycock I was gonna say the same thing, I love my bondus stuff, but Wera stands alone with quality, fit and torque application. The price point is what scares people off i think. With the hold function you are talking $60+ a set.
One thing I really like about that style of wrench is the build up of torque the wrench gets when you slowly turn a stuck bolt. Slowly turning a stuck bolt will build up flex in the wrench and eventually crack the stuck bolt with barely any effort at all. (Also it’s so amazing when it breaks basically by itself)
Adam's shop organisation simply shows you, how important workflow is. I love that you constantly tweak every aspect of your shop, even going the extra mile of keeping multiples of tools just so you always have them where you need them. Your cave might seem cluttered at first sight but after spending just a little time in it, everyone should realize that it is set up to help you be productive.
Truley we are all living through a magical time in Tested history. These videos are a bright light that help get us through our days right now. Seeing this many cool Adam videos is simply wonderful and they have been an inspiration at building my work/shop area in my new garage.
I love how for every tool there is always a company that stands out and does it better than everyone else. For Allen wrenches Bondhus is the way to go. amazing product
This “new” video format works really well. Please consider making more of these low-key-filming-by-yourself-videos even after the self-isolation situation changes.
Brian Sandvig same here. Took me halfway through the video to be like “wait, is he just pronouncing it differently than I’m used to?” Sure enough, he was.
I can totally relate to the “it’s always one size up or one size down” statement made. Being an auto tech I can never guess the Allen size the first time either
As a retired small device tech, I also love Bondhus’ T handle hex. They were my go to. There is one other hex set everyone needs: Wera’s hex plus keys. If I came across a stripped or otherwise recalcitrant hex screw, the Wera’s became my go to. They stripped less fasteners than the Bondhus or PB Swiss, and got out fasteners the Bondhus wouldn’t grab. They saved me using extractors or drilling numerous times. I use the abondhus more but would never be without the Wera hex plus keys. I’d honestly suggest them first, then if you use hex keys a lot, buy the bondhus too.
I recognize the sound of someone digging through the Lego bin to find that one particular piece in the background. That WAS the sound of my childhood. Oh.. and Allen wrenches are great.....
I inherited a metric set of Bondhus long T handles from an old systems engineer from Delphi. The Vandalia, OH test plant was closing down and our company bought all of their ATDs (crash test dummies). THey had multiple sets so he told me to keep a set for myself. He told me they are the best money can buy. I had never heard of the brand before. After 11 years of hard use, they are still going strong.
amazon actually says: Due to increased demand, we temporarily have reduced product selection available for delivery to your region. We are working to improve selection availability as soon as possible.
After growing up with a dad in construction bondhus Allen wrenches are all I have in my bike shop(former bicycle shop owner and wheel builder). to this day a parktool bondhus Allen set is my daily got to when working on anything bike related. For my own personal builds I use a mixed set I personally collected both metric and imperial standard allen sockets from an older good quality craftsman tool set because I can add a t-handle driver and take them on rides
I have the T-handle Bondhus as well a set of their hex screwdrivers. I picked them up at a local hobby/model shop for use in my RC models and they have become part of my first order tools.
I am a bicycle mechanic and for sure the ones Adam has are very good, but there are these new park tool ones, which are for sure better then te bondhus and the wera L handel ones are also super nice, especially for the price I think I have 4 sets of the wera ones,
I am a bike mechanic and I have not used Bondhus allen keys, T handles aren't usually a great option on bikes because the are too long in a lot of cases. I really like wera L or swiss tools L handles. There is a version of the wera's with a spring loaded detent in the ball that will help hold a bolt, which is great for starting a bolt in a cramped area. For most things I don't like ball ends, because you shouldn't use them to apply torque. In my personal bench I use Wera L handles, Unior P handles and Park Tri keys. The tri keys are great for bolt checking work because the most common sizes are in one tool, the wera's are great for tight spots, or bolts that need a better tolerance Allen key, or really high torque applications where they sit closer to the face of the bolt than P handles. Unior P handles are used to work fast comfortably, essentially just an L handle T handle hybrid that let you work fast comfortably
When I was a bike mechanic, I mainly used a Park folding set. Of course there's times when you need the regular L wrenches (like BMX brakes on the top of the chainstay). Really, the only thing I like T handles for is road bike brake levers where you need long reach, and high torque.
Works in a shop but I hate t-handles in a tool bag. I went from working on machines with everything Phillips to everything hex and keeping a sorted bag is a nightmare and because of the narrow shaft on hex drivers standard grips suck to use so you need t-handles.
The heavy handle is designed so that once you get a bolt a little loose you can give the handle a good spin and the momentum will extract the bolt the rest of the way with little effort.
When I was working as an Electronics Tech I liked the X-cellite brand of tools. These were the highest grade tools of their kind I found... Modular. They had Stubby, Long, Ratchetting T-handle and Ratchetting Long handles that accepted all of their blades... Slot, Phillips Allen, Socket head, Torx, everything you could ever ask for in your repair kit. They weren't as Robust as your sets are but electronics work is in a smaller scale than you use. I love the tool videos, please keep presenting them.
Adam, don't feel bad about the multiple sets. When we moved into our house, I was always going looking for my box cutter. One day in HD, I bought a LENOX Gold box cutter. At least once a month for the next 4 months, I would buy ANOTHER one, because every time I needed it, the closest one was 20+ feet away. After about 4 or 5 months, I just bought every one the store had. Went home, loaded each one up with 4 blades, and placed them strategically around the basement, house and garage. I never looked back... ( I love the LENOX gold because they have built in blade storage, and tool-less blade changes )
For every day use I love Bondhus. I have been using them nearly exclusively for the better part of a decade. For anyone who tends to work on motors where there are tiny loctited metric screws. The Wera hex plus stuff is an absolute life saver.
The thing that I love even more about Bondhus Allen and Torx wrenches is the prohold line. The prohold line has a insert in the head of the tool to hold onto the fastener which is really handy when you're working on boat engines! 👍
I've been waiting for a video on these for how often we see them. Love the idea of these - was one of the first things I added to my "want" list of tools when I saw them used in a video ages ago!
Yes! I have three sets of metric L-shape Bondhus allens - a partial set I scavenged from a job 20 years ago, a full set I bought soon after, and a set of long ball-ends. Time I got some T-handles, obviously. And I can vouch for the whackingness. 10mm L-shape is a badass for impromptu picture frame repair :D
I colour code my small wrenches. Every bit, straight handle and T-handle with ball and straight end of one size gets the same colour spray painted on. Otherwise I cannot tell the small sizes apart at a glance.
I couldn't agree with you more, Adam. I'd found the Bondhus a few years ago and now am spoiled for any other Allen wrench. I like them for all of the reasons you've touched upon. You're the man, one of the very few whose reviews I trust. Thank you!
They are a very fair price for the quality. I also like that you can cut and grind the ball end down if it gets a worn out. Some companies (Wera) have a round shank with a machined ball end so you are stuck buying another set if the ball end gets worn out.
I thought you were going to say 5/32 was the most common, which is also ~4mm! I didn't know Bondhus was made in my home state of MN, I might have bought those instead. However, I really love my set of Wera hex plus ball end wrenches. Always nice to have a quality tool.
Fun fact (?): Bondhus means "peasant house" / "farmer house" in Swedish. John Bondhus was of Norwegian origin, but I'm pretty sure it means the same in Norwegian.
Ur totally right on the account that people may need more specific needs for their allen keys, like having a loaner set so people aren't always borrowing your good set and losing/breaking stuff, I have a whole bucket full of rescued throwaway tools and lower quality tools for the 3-4 guys who NEVER HAVE THE TOOL THEY NEED!
These are great if you have a shop and a tool drawer to pick from. If you're in the field with just a tool backpack or whatever, unsure of what you're going to run into, you need something that has many sizes in a compact package. My Wera L Allen wrenches are the bees knees for my service work.
I'm a professional hex key user (roboticist) and my bondhus T Handles are second only to my long & short Wera hex keys in my heart. Infinitely recommend.
I just used a 5mm hex key to swap out an armrest on my computer chair, and i endorse these completely. They are now part of my permanent tool collection. i will never use the included hex keys with chairs and furniture ever again. these are worth getting, for anyone on the fence about getting these. DO IT! Just DO IT! inexpensive and reliable and dang handy when you need them
Adam forgot to mention one of the best features of these t-handles. Once you crack a screw loose, you can spin the shank in your fingers and the weight/symmetry of the handle creates a flywheel effect that very quickly spins the fastener the rest of the way out.
I just bought a set of Forstner bits this week after that video, and now I need to go get some of these hex keys, I didn’t know the brand until now, but I have used them in the past and they are amazing. Another great tool upgrade for my set up! Thanks!
And made in America! And for a fair price. For nutty prices, you can get slightly better ones from Europe, but these do the job. I discovered T handle metric Allen tools back in the mid 1990's -- one of the first mainland Chinese products I noticed. Something like $12 at the flea market. I used them on bicycles, but also, the VW. I'm not at all shy about upgrading to higher quality tools now, but these things just haven't let me down. I'm impressed. Lately, I've had to add a lot of Torx to my tools and I got Bondhus T handle Torx bits. Very impressive! I don't know what's in the hard plastic handles of my Chinese metric set and they've never let me down, but the stiffness of the metal handles on the Bondhus is hard to overlook.
I'm a bicycle mechanic, so hex screws are pretty much 90% of my life and I gotta say, they are my favorite type of screw interface. They rarely strip, you get real good transfer of force, they fit tightly and look good on top, if that is a concern. Really gotta try them, they look really high quality!
Good call. I bought the Snap-on equivalent, thinking that I was buying the best. The 10mm one spun in the handle the first time I used it. When I cut the plastic off to weld it, I was shocked at the lack of quality. The T handle was really soft material that looked like it was chopped with a rebar cutter and the broaching was rough. It looked like they were cutting quality where they thought nobody would ever notice. I can't complain about any of my Bondhus tools.
You (or at least tested) recommended these at some stage in the past, and are the reason i have a metric set. They are great. Other than the hex bits for super tight stuff on cars, these have served me well on pretty much everything I've thrown at them, and i don't see that changing any time soon.
I love these quick little episodes. Highly informative, and entertaining. I do a lot of work on guitars, and even Allen bolts with minimal torque, can strip out an allen bolt or an allen key fairly quickly. Definitely going to look into a set of these for myself.
i have the very same set. not used much but they are built fabulously. Now for electronics's work i use WIHA red t-handles. usually 2,2.5,and 3mm. they have just the right amount of weight in the handle so you can spin them from the shaft. and i can twist them almost 360 degrees without it jumping.
We have a set of those here at work, great tools. One of ours has bee twisted into a helix but the tip is fine and has not broke yet still useable. Thumbs up!
Those are awesome and I use mine every day. Fun fact if the extension table on your Powermatic saw came with the saw, it was manufactured by my family.
As a tradesman who works onsite I have found wiha to be the best in field as they have a feature that makes them bite into the bolt when trying to undo them
These are great. I use the smaller sizes (4mm or less) all the time on my bike, although for bigger sizes they don't often have enough torque. The Wera hex plus L keys are the best.
Hey I've been using bondhus for a long time too. IMO they are the best Hex drivers I've used while working on my RC stuff and sometimes on my real car. I've used a few hex drivers from RC brand ones and cheap Chinese ones but I always come back to using Bondhus. I've never had one snap or rounded out on me even the tiny 1.5mm ones.
You missed (or maybe I did) that some of them have an insert that will grip a fastener so it won’t fall out as you insert it into the but or threaded part. That is awesome. Also, the weight is the handle makes them so satisfying and easy to tighten parts even if you need to turn them a ton of times to get into a piece. If you do a lot of work with T-slot aluminum extrusion and their associated bolts/screws, absolutely get a few of these in the sizes you need.
I work in the auto industry and I visit many manufacturing plants. I can attest that you can find these Allen Wrench sets in many many toolboxes. A lot of professionals trust them for everyday use.
The ball end also allows you to locate the top of the fastener very easily. With no ball end you always end up having to fiddle with the key to get it to fit, the ball end just goes in with no fiddling or wasted time. I do luthier work and when setting up a guitar or bass, I have to use an Allen key at least a hundred times because I’m fine tuning things like string action, truss rod relief, and intonation and if you’re fiddling trying to fit the damn key every time, it’s a lot of wasted effort and time by the end of the job. I use stew macs Allen key sets. For screwdrivers though I always use Wiha, I love the rotating red end caps on the handle, makes screwing easier and faster. Those two tools, ball end hex keys and wiha screwdrivers have saved me so much time and effort.
Awesome stuff just bought a mill and was looking through RUclips videos to see what everyone was using but didn’t know the brand, this Video has helped greatly. Thank you
Adam . I agree bondhus is a very good hex key or Allen wrenches. I have used them for 8 years in machine shop. First them to grab in morning for set up or just running a job is my bondhus SAE & MM. Cheap to buy but valuable be on the price.
I envy anyone who might end up inheriting your cave/shop. Not only are there endless amounts of bits (bearings, bushings, fasteners, all the one-off never-knew-you-neededs, etc), but the layout and design is extremely well thought out
I have Bondhus T-handle sets in metric and Torx, mostly used for working on bikes. What I like about the heavy handles is that you can spin fasteners off fast with them - you get a good chunk of centrifugal force going when you spin those things. Never used them as a hammer, though ;-)
Adam, I have two sets of the long T handle Bondhus myself. BUT these are my goto in my portable bag. STUBBY L hex keys … Bondhus 20599 0.050-3/8" & 1.5-10mm Stubby Ball End Hex Key Very useful for when the "designer" decided to put an obstruction infront of that hex bolt you need to get at... the stubby end is fabulous. The long end of the L has the ball end.
adam a trick to grabbing the correct size is press your finger onto the bolts hex shape for a few seconds to leave the impression on your finger generally will last long enough to go grab one check it against the impression on your finger for correct size . eliminate some walking to and from getting the correct size
Nothing wrong with having multiple sets of the same tools in different locations. It is actually very efficient. Especially when you have one set in a high use area and another set for general use. Lord knows I have tape measures in almost every area of my house.
I only have one set i use, in duplicate, the rest are all chucked in a bin, i rarely get to them. Specifically, the old Stanley (it's the same package now, but the quality is different, lesser, as is norm these days) set that came with a red plastic holder, two sided, went from 1mm to 10mm. It's one of the best sets of hex wrenches i've ever used, i bought two, and turned one into T handles using the sacrilegious technique of cutting the shank and brazing them on a set of handles i made from some form of non-rusting metal, i've no idea what blend it was, i just happened to have it. I've been using these two sets for more than 10 years now, and with the exception of the 5 (i think) mm, the others have barely lost their black oxide coating. They were that good. By contrast, a set i bought recently, that i needed because of an urgent repair, was absolute garbage. Eh.
I HATE product pushing videos, And this isn't one. This is just Adam being excited about the most mundane things. Which is what I come for. Keep making videos Adam. These are great.
Anthony Otolski americanmutttech.com/products/hex-driver I use one and it’s been pretty awesome around the machine shop. Stays inside my Atlas tool vest. No need to carry 5 different bit sizes
I've had these now for almost two decades and they are so much better than the spring t handle style ones. You dont lose torque and motion when using a solid steel handle welded to the Allen key. Whereas with the spring style ones are effectively the Allen key made too long and formed into a handle.
My personal favourite Allen key is the wera hex plus. I often have to remove hex screws that have been extensively heat cycled and repeatedly taken in and out, over tightened and stripped to the point that most quality Allen keys just slip and round the socket. Somehow the wera keys just do the job with no messing about.
Been watching Adams Bondhus obsession grow over the years. Somehow sensed this would be the next video after the table saw tweaking. They really are good hex wrenches; I keep sets in metric and US customary sizes in my work spaces. Though, I don't tend to use mine as hammers. ;-)
4:33 "First order retrievability stack of mission-critical tools". Please make a video about these! You obviously have a *huge* collection of tools, but it would be interesting to see which tools you consider essential and use daily. That probably also changes project-to-project, but I assume these are your "universal" tools?
@@StackedWashingMachine I've seen that video, but didn't remember that they show more than just the first rack (of mostly different sorts of pliers and side-cutters). Later on, they show what seems to be this exact rack, thanks for pointing that out! Still, it seems to have evolved a bit in the 5 years since that video, and I would gladly watch an hour-long video going through all of the tools (I can see step drills, calipers, and many more not gone through in that old video, and lots of new tools in this video).
Plus one on the T-handle variety - I have the Wiha ones and I love that they have the key on one side of the handle without the ball so you can REALLY put some torque on if you need to. The only thing I don't love about them is that due to that double hex feature they aren't perfectly balanced like your ones so they don't spin quite as nice. But I think it's worth it to have that power when you need it (which is every time you want to torque one up properly or loosen a tight one).
I love mine. I also bought the Green handle torque set. I kept them setting on my lathe like you have. I also have all three in the small folding set in my range bag. I work on a lot of guns. Great review. Thank you
Hehe, yup, guessing an Allen size is akin to guessing a Torx size...drives me nuts sometimes because I know I’ll need to bring several sizes to the work. I really appreciate those smaller replaceable bits or tip sets because of that. So how about giving us a peek at that Lego sorting operation 😎. Stay healthy 😷
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$25 Bondhus Hext T-handle set (balldriver, Metric): amzn.to/2WGH1y3
$30 Bondhus Hext T-handle set (balldriver, Imperial): amzn.to/2KZKguR
$30 Bondhus Hext T-handle set (Metric): amzn.to/2KXbrq6
$25 Bondhus Hext T-handle set (Imperial): amzn.to/3dioI8K
My favourite hex keys are a set of Wera hex+, quick to flip between ball and non-ball end, but mainly can get WAY more torque on these things than anything else and not mess up the screw head ( such a pita for bikes) the multi coloured version is better, so you can keep track of them. I have some T handle hexes too but could feel the shaft twist under tension, are these good enough to give a bit of welly (particularly on the smaller sizes)?
@@JosephLaycock I was gonna say the same thing, I love my bondus stuff, but Wera stands alone with quality, fit and torque application. The price point is what scares people off i think. With the hold function you are talking $60+ a set.
Bondhus are great! Made in the USA, fairly cheap, and they used have a cool gorilla on them!
Adam has been social distancing from Jaime Hyneman for decades.
I actually need something like this but Torx instead of Hex. Does anyone have any recommendations?
Can anyone else hear Scrooge McDuck swimming through his coin vault in the background audio?
Yeah it was very distracting.
Pretty sure is Adam’s mom separating LEGOs. Or swimming in them.
I was going to comment, "Is that Adam's mom sorting legos?"
Annoying AF
This comment made it bearable just for the mental picture.
I just love how genuine Adam is about all these things, his joy and love for the things many seem to take for granted.
Been using Bondus tools for 35 years and I absolutely love them, they are the best.
This video brought to you by the author of "Every tool's a hammer"
I can't tell you how many times I've used these as a hammer! They're great.
And every object is a nail
Yes. Was just going to write that. Every tool at least on car's has its hammer side. :)
Every tool's a hammer... at least once :)
And everything is a nail.
One thing I really like about that style of wrench is the build up of torque the wrench gets when you slowly turn a stuck bolt. Slowly turning a stuck bolt will build up flex in the wrench and eventually crack the stuck bolt with barely any effort at all. (Also it’s so amazing when it breaks basically by itself)
Adam's shop organisation simply shows you, how important workflow is. I love that you constantly tweak every aspect of your shop, even going the extra mile of keeping multiples of tools just so you always have them where you need them. Your cave might seem cluttered at first sight but after spending just a little time in it, everyone should realize that it is set up to help you be productive.
Truley we are all living through a magical time in Tested history. These videos are a bright light that help get us through our days right now. Seeing this many cool Adam videos is simply wonderful and they have been an inspiration at building my work/shop area in my new garage.
I love how for every tool there is always a company that stands out and does it better than everyone else. For Allen wrenches Bondhus is the way to go. amazing product
For hex T handles, Bondhus. For hex wrenches or sockets: Wera.
For hex bits under 3mm: Wiha.
@@EchoConstellation haha no way, that's exactly what I own myself
@@reprobite good choice!
This “new” video format works really well. Please consider making more of these low-key-filming-by-yourself-videos even after the self-isolation situation changes.
Somebody is definitely playing with Legos in the background
Probably his mom sorting. He said in a previous stream that she is there almost every day sorting Lego.
It's Norm 100%!
Came here to say that lol!
I thought he was just playing with a thesaurus in the background when he busted out the word recalcitrant in a sentence.
@@PartisanGamer That's exactly right.
I'm a mechanical engineer and we have two sets of allen keys at work. I pick the Bondhus set every. single. time. They're as great as you said!
The great thing is that you can buy individual ones from McMaster for cheap! And they carry the long ones and the stubby ones too.
My favorite thing about these is that they go woobity-woobity when you spin them in space.
I really like the color coded T-handles and for key sets I like what Wera sells.
I use these every day at work, they’re great. I’m about to get a set for home.
Regarding grabbing the right size - I always grab 3 keys:
One that seems the right size and one from each side next to it :)
Bondhus Corporation!!! From my little hometown of Monticello, MN !!!!
Brian Sandvig same here. Took me halfway through the video to be like “wait, is he just pronouncing it differently than I’m used to?” Sure enough, he was.
I can totally relate to the “it’s always one size up or one size down” statement made. Being an auto tech I can never guess the Allen size the first time either
As a retired small device tech, I also love Bondhus’ T handle hex. They were my go to.
There is one other hex set everyone needs: Wera’s hex plus keys.
If I came across a stripped or otherwise recalcitrant hex screw, the Wera’s became my go to.
They stripped less fasteners than the Bondhus or PB Swiss, and got out fasteners the Bondhus wouldn’t grab.
They saved me using extractors or drilling numerous times.
I use the abondhus more but would never be without the Wera hex plus keys.
I’d honestly suggest them first, then if you use hex keys a lot, buy the bondhus too.
I recognize the sound of someone digging through the Lego bin to find that one particular piece in the background. That WAS the sound of my childhood. Oh.. and Allen wrenches are great.....
I inherited a metric set of Bondhus long T handles from an old systems engineer from Delphi. The Vandalia, OH test plant was closing down and our company bought all of their ATDs (crash test dummies). THey had multiple sets so he told me to keep a set for myself. He told me they are the best money can buy. I had never heard of the brand before. After 11 years of hard use, they are still going strong.
In the Bondhus office in a few days....
"What do you mean -Sold Out-?"
amazon actually says: Due to increased demand, we temporarily have reduced product selection available for delivery to your region. We are working to improve selection availability as soon as possible.
Isn't that the truth. Almost anything Adam recommends is gone by 10 minutes after the video is released!
Gotta wonder how much free shit he gets sent. If I had an idea for a tool Adam would definitely get one of the first prototypes.
After growing up with a dad in construction bondhus Allen wrenches are all I have in my bike shop(former bicycle shop owner and wheel builder). to this day a parktool bondhus Allen set is my daily got to when working on anything bike related. For my own personal builds I use a mixed set I personally collected both metric and imperial standard allen sockets from an older good quality craftsman tool set because I can add a t-handle driver and take them on rides
Only Adam could make me feel actual joy at the idea of an Allen Wrench.
I have the T-handle Bondhus as well a set of their hex screwdrivers. I picked them up at a local hobby/model shop for use in my RC models and they have become part of my first order tools.
This is one of those things that Adam should go to talk about with a bicycle mechanic.
I am a bicycle mechanic and for sure the ones Adam has are very good, but there are these new park tool ones, which are for sure better then te bondhus and the wera L handel ones are also super nice, especially for the price I think I have 4 sets of the wera ones,
@@mortenst7276 Park is trash
It's true, we have highly developed opinions on hex wrenches. Don't even get me started on screwdrivers...
I am a bike mechanic and I have not used Bondhus allen keys, T handles aren't usually a great option on bikes because the are too long in a lot of cases. I really like wera L or swiss tools L handles. There is a version of the wera's with a spring loaded detent in the ball that will help hold a bolt, which is great for starting a bolt in a cramped area. For most things I don't like ball ends, because you shouldn't use them to apply torque.
In my personal bench I use Wera L handles, Unior P handles and Park Tri keys. The tri keys are great for bolt checking work because the most common sizes are in one tool, the wera's are great for tight spots, or bolts that need a better tolerance Allen key, or really high torque applications where they sit closer to the face of the bolt than P handles. Unior P handles are used to work fast comfortably, essentially just an L handle T handle hybrid that let you work fast comfortably
When I was a bike mechanic, I mainly used a Park folding set. Of course there's times when you need the regular L wrenches (like BMX brakes on the top of the chainstay). Really, the only thing I like T handles for is road bike brake levers where you need long reach, and high torque.
Absolutely, nicely arranged tools make his making better!!
Works in a shop but I hate t-handles in a tool bag. I went from working on machines with everything Phillips to everything hex and keeping a sorted bag is a nightmare and because of the narrow shaft on hex drivers standard grips suck to use so you need t-handles.
eyy!! First tool you've shown that I have that exact model already! They are amazing!
The heavy handle is designed so that once you get a bolt a little loose you can give the handle a good spin and the momentum will extract the bolt the rest of the way with little effort.
When I was working as an Electronics Tech I liked the X-cellite brand of tools. These were the highest grade tools of their kind I found... Modular. They had Stubby, Long, Ratchetting T-handle and Ratchetting Long handles that accepted all of their blades... Slot, Phillips Allen, Socket head, Torx, everything you could ever ask for in your repair kit. They weren't as Robust as your sets are but electronics work is in a smaller scale than you use.
I love the tool videos, please keep presenting them.
Really enjoying this mini coved series and like T head Allen keys as well.
My favourite part of Bondhus T-handle allen wrenches is using the weight of the handle to spin a loose fastener quickly. Very satisfying.
Adam, don't feel bad about the multiple sets. When we moved into our house, I was always going looking for my box cutter. One day in HD, I bought a LENOX Gold box cutter. At least once a month for the next 4 months, I would buy ANOTHER one, because every time I needed it, the closest one was 20+ feet away.
After about 4 or 5 months, I just bought every one the store had. Went home, loaded each one up with 4 blades, and placed them strategically around the basement, house and garage. I never looked back... ( I love the LENOX gold because they have built in blade storage, and tool-less blade changes )
For every day use I love Bondhus. I have been using them nearly exclusively for the better part of a decade. For anyone who tends to work on motors where there are tiny loctited metric screws. The Wera hex plus stuff is an absolute life saver.
Thank you for the video Adam, your joy in sharing your craft is infectious 😊
The thing that I love even more about Bondhus Allen and Torx wrenches is the prohold line. The prohold line has a insert in the head of the tool to hold onto the fastener which is really handy when you're working on boat engines! 👍
I've been waiting for a video on these for how often we see them. Love the idea of these - was one of the first things I added to my "want" list of tools when I saw them used in a video ages ago!
Yes! I have three sets of metric L-shape Bondhus allens - a partial set I scavenged from a job 20 years ago, a full set I bought soon after, and a set of long ball-ends. Time I got some T-handles, obviously.
And I can vouch for the whackingness. 10mm L-shape is a badass for impromptu picture frame repair :D
I colour code my small wrenches. Every bit, straight handle and T-handle with ball and straight end of one size gets the same colour spray painted on. Otherwise I cannot tell the small sizes apart at a glance.
I couldn't agree with you more, Adam. I'd found the Bondhus a few years ago and now am spoiled for any other Allen wrench. I like them for all of the reasons you've touched upon. You're the man, one of the very few whose reviews I trust. Thank you!
Love the chatter of lego in the background :D .... i love the t-shape handles as thwackers too
They are a very fair price for the quality. I also like that you can cut and grind the ball end down if it gets a worn out. Some companies (Wera) have a round shank with a machined ball end so you are stuck buying another set if the ball end gets worn out.
I thought you were going to say 5/32 was the most common, which is also ~4mm! I didn't know Bondhus was made in my home state of MN, I might have bought those instead. However, I really love my set of Wera hex plus ball end wrenches. Always nice to have a quality tool.
Fun fact (?): Bondhus means "peasant house" / "farmer house" in Swedish. John Bondhus was of Norwegian origin, but I'm pretty sure it means the same in Norwegian.
Pretty much the same, not excact though.
Or in Danish : Bondehus.
Andreas Bach Lindsmann That would be the correct spelling in Norwegian as well.
We’re Norwegian
Ur totally right on the account that people may need more specific needs for their allen keys, like having a loaner set so people aren't always borrowing your good set and losing/breaking stuff, I have a whole bucket full of rescued throwaway tools and lower quality tools for the 3-4 guys who NEVER HAVE THE TOOL THEY NEED!
Was that recorded at the shore of lego ocean?
This comment wins. Thank you for the laugh.
Ha! It's Adam's mom in the background, helping him sort LEGO blocks.
@@tested We need a show and tell from Adam's mum :-D
@@JamesCollins80
Yes!
Just stepping on one is bad enough, but a whole ocean!
These are great if you have a shop and a tool drawer to pick from. If you're in the field with just a tool backpack or whatever, unsure of what you're going to run into, you need something that has many sizes in a compact package.
My Wera L Allen wrenches are the bees knees for my service work.
I’m in the aerospace industry and hard use these on the daily. They’re incredible tools.
I'm a professional hex key user (roboticist) and my bondhus T Handles are second only to my long & short Wera hex keys in my heart. Infinitely recommend.
I was introduced to these as a printers assistant working on flexo presses. They are fantastic.
I like when he made "TV money" he just bought more tools haha 😆. Awesome.
Kinda like when Dave Grohl started getting Nirvana money, he was like "Holy shit, now I can go buy a bigger grill!!"
The implications of that sentence are depressing, though. He has deserved that "TV money" always.
@@kronographer haha!
@@orijimi True! I also like to think he is happy with what he has now :). And I don't think he comes short on money.
I just used a 5mm hex key to swap out an armrest on my computer chair, and i endorse these completely. They are now part of my permanent tool collection. i will never use the included hex keys with chairs and furniture ever again. these are worth getting, for anyone on the fence about getting these. DO IT! Just DO IT! inexpensive and reliable and dang handy when you need them
Every tool's a hammer. Adam just proved that
I could listen to Adam talk about his favorite tools for hours...
Man, I learned so much from Adam, in particular: the word "thwacker" - love it
Adam forgot to mention one of the best features of these t-handles. Once you crack a screw loose, you can spin the shank in your fingers and the weight/symmetry of the handle creates a flywheel effect that very quickly spins the fastener the rest of the way out.
I just bought a set of Forstner bits this week after that video, and now I need to go get some of these hex keys, I didn’t know the brand until now, but I have used them in the past and they are amazing. Another great tool upgrade for my set up! Thanks!
And made in America! And for a fair price.
For nutty prices, you can get slightly better ones from Europe, but these do the job.
I discovered T handle metric Allen tools back in the mid 1990's -- one of the first mainland Chinese products I noticed. Something like $12 at the flea market. I used them on bicycles, but also, the VW. I'm not at all shy about upgrading to higher quality tools now, but these things just haven't let me down. I'm impressed.
Lately, I've had to add a lot of Torx to my tools and I got Bondhus T handle Torx bits. Very impressive! I don't know what's in the hard plastic handles of my Chinese metric set and they've never let me down, but the stiffness of the metal handles on the Bondhus is hard to overlook.
I'm a bicycle mechanic, so hex screws are pretty much 90% of my life and I gotta say, they are my favorite type of screw interface. They rarely strip, you get real good transfer of force, they fit tightly and look good on top, if that is a concern. Really gotta try them, they look really high quality!
Good call. I bought the Snap-on equivalent, thinking that I was buying the best. The 10mm one spun in the handle the first time I used it. When I cut the plastic off to weld it, I was shocked at the lack of quality. The T handle was really soft material that looked like it was chopped with a rebar cutter and the broaching was rough. It looked like they were cutting quality where they thought nobody would ever notice. I can't complain about any of my Bondhus tools.
You (or at least tested) recommended these at some stage in the past, and are the reason i have a metric set. They are great. Other than the hex bits for super tight stuff on cars, these have served me well on pretty much everything I've thrown at them, and i don't see that changing any time soon.
I love these quick little episodes. Highly informative, and entertaining. I do a lot of work on guitars, and even Allen bolts with minimal torque, can strip out an allen bolt or an allen key fairly quickly. Definitely going to look into a set of these for myself.
Do I hear your mother sorting lego's? Love you Adam and your gentle ways.
i have the very same set. not used much but they are built fabulously.
Now for electronics's work i use WIHA red t-handles. usually 2,2.5,and 3mm. they have just the right amount of weight in the handle so you can spin them from the shaft. and i can twist them almost 360 degrees without it jumping.
We have a set of those here at work, great tools. One of ours has bee twisted into a helix but the tip is fine and has not broke yet still useable. Thumbs up!
You need to modify the damaged "hammer" one with a nice little machined delrin cap on one end and a brass cap on the other!
Those are awesome and I use mine every day. Fun fact if the extension table on your Powermatic saw came with the saw, it was manufactured by my family.
As a tradesman who works onsite I have found wiha to be the best in field as they have a feature that makes them bite into the bolt when trying to undo them
These are great. I use the smaller sizes (4mm or less) all the time on my bike, although for bigger sizes they don't often have enough torque. The Wera hex plus L keys are the best.
The audio of this video is perhaps the most maddening piece of audio I have ever heard.
Hey I've been using bondhus for a long time too.
IMO they are the best Hex drivers I've used while working on my RC stuff and sometimes on my real car. I've used a few hex drivers from RC brand ones and cheap Chinese ones but I always come back to using Bondhus. I've never had one snap or rounded out on me even the tiny 1.5mm ones.
You missed (or maybe I did) that some of them have an insert that will grip a fastener so it won’t fall out as you insert it into the but or threaded part. That is awesome.
Also, the weight is the handle makes them so satisfying and easy to tighten parts even if you need to turn them a ton of times to get into a piece.
If you do a lot of work with T-slot aluminum extrusion and their associated bolts/screws, absolutely get a few of these in the sizes you need.
I like the ones that also have a little stubby wrench on the end of the handle.
I love my gold plated Bondhus Allen Wrenches.
Made In USA is the most important bit.
I work in the auto industry and I visit many manufacturing plants. I can attest that you can find these Allen Wrench sets in many many toolboxes. A lot of professionals trust them for everyday use.
I used a Bondhus I swiped from our machine shop to assemble a test rig at work today!
The ball end also allows you to locate the top of the fastener very easily. With no ball end you always end up having to fiddle with the key to get it to fit, the ball end just goes in with no fiddling or wasted time. I do luthier work and when setting up a guitar or bass, I have to use an Allen key at least a hundred times because I’m fine tuning things like string action, truss rod relief, and intonation and if you’re fiddling trying to fit the damn key every time, it’s a lot of wasted effort and time by the end of the job. I use stew macs Allen key sets. For screwdrivers though I always use Wiha, I love the rotating red end caps on the handle, makes screwing easier and faster. Those two tools, ball end hex keys and wiha screwdrivers have saved me so much time and effort.
Awesome stuff just bought a mill and was looking through RUclips videos to see what everyone was using but didn’t know the brand, this Video has helped greatly. Thank you
Adam . I agree bondhus is a very good hex key or Allen wrenches. I have used them for 8 years in machine shop. First them to grab in morning for set up or just running a job is my bondhus SAE & MM. Cheap to buy but valuable be on the price.
I envy anyone who might end up inheriting your cave/shop. Not only are there endless amounts of bits (bearings, bushings, fasteners, all the one-off never-knew-you-neededs, etc), but the layout and design is extremely well thought out
I have Bondhus T-handle sets in metric and Torx, mostly used for working on bikes. What I like about the heavy handles is that you can spin fasteners off fast with them - you get a good chunk of centrifugal force going when you spin those things. Never used them as a hammer, though ;-)
Adam, I have two sets of the long T handle Bondhus myself. BUT these are my goto in my portable bag. STUBBY L hex keys … Bondhus 20599 0.050-3/8" & 1.5-10mm Stubby Ball End Hex Key Very useful for when the "designer" decided to put an obstruction infront of that hex bolt you need to get at... the stubby end is fabulous. The long end of the L has the ball end.
adam a trick to grabbing the correct size is press your finger onto the bolts hex shape for a few seconds to leave the impression on your finger generally will last long enough to go grab one check it against the impression on your finger for correct size . eliminate some walking to and from getting the correct size
Nothing wrong with having multiple sets of the same tools in different locations. It is actually very efficient. Especially when you have one set in a high use area and another set for general use.
Lord knows I have tape measures in almost every area of my house.
I am LOVING these videos! Thank you so much!
I only have one set i use, in duplicate, the rest are all chucked in a bin, i rarely get to them. Specifically, the old Stanley (it's the same package now, but the quality is different, lesser, as is norm these days) set that came with a red plastic holder, two sided, went from 1mm to 10mm. It's one of the best sets of hex wrenches i've ever used, i bought two, and turned one into T handles using the sacrilegious technique of cutting the shank and brazing them on a set of handles i made from some form of non-rusting metal, i've no idea what blend it was, i just happened to have it. I've been using these two sets for more than 10 years now, and with the exception of the 5 (i think) mm, the others have barely lost their black oxide coating. They were that good. By contrast, a set i bought recently, that i needed because of an urgent repair, was absolute garbage. Eh.
I HATE product pushing videos, And this isn't one.
This is just Adam being excited about the most mundane things. Which is what I come for.
Keep making videos Adam. These are great.
As someone who works in industrial maintenance I understand the need for allens.
Anthony Otolski americanmutttech.com/products/hex-driver
I use one and it’s been pretty awesome around the machine shop. Stays inside my Atlas tool vest. No need to carry 5 different bit sizes
The pivot head Allen keys from bondhus are awesome too!
I have a set of those in metric...love them.
I've had these now for almost two decades and they are so much better than the spring t handle style ones. You dont lose torque and motion when using a solid steel handle welded to the Allen key. Whereas with the spring style ones are effectively the Allen key made too long and formed into a handle.
Those are the ones we use at our fabrication plant! they work great
I have had a very good experience with Eklind hex L keys and that's what the local hardware carries, but Bondhus makes great stuff as well.
My personal favourite Allen key is the wera hex plus. I often have to remove hex screws that have been extensively heat cycled and repeatedly taken in and out, over tightened and stripped to the point that most quality Allen keys just slip and round the socket. Somehow the wera keys just do the job with no messing about.
Been watching Adams Bondhus obsession grow over the years. Somehow sensed this would be the next video after the table saw tweaking. They really are good hex wrenches; I keep sets in metric and US customary sizes in my work spaces. Though, I don't tend to use mine as hammers. ;-)
4:33 "First order retrievability stack of mission-critical tools".
Please make a video about these! You obviously have a *huge* collection of tools, but it would be interesting to see which tools you consider essential and use daily. That probably also changes project-to-project, but I assume these are your "universal" tools?
He made a video on them: ruclips.net/video/TWQAYfGxsPE/видео.html
@@StackedWashingMachine I've seen that video, but didn't remember that they show more than just the first rack (of mostly different sorts of pliers and side-cutters). Later on, they show what seems to be this exact rack, thanks for pointing that out!
Still, it seems to have evolved a bit in the 5 years since that video, and I would gladly watch an hour-long video going through all of the tools (I can see step drills, calipers, and many more not gone through in that old video, and lots of new tools in this video).
there is a set of them in the assembly workshop at work has been used (also used as a hammer) for over 10 years
Plus one on the T-handle variety - I have the Wiha ones and I love that they have the key on one side of the handle without the ball so you can REALLY put some torque on if you need to. The only thing I don't love about them is that due to that double hex feature they aren't perfectly balanced like your ones so they don't spin quite as nice. But I think it's worth it to have that power when you need it (which is every time you want to torque one up properly or loosen a tight one).
I love mine. I also bought the Green handle torque set. I kept them setting on my lathe like you have. I also have all three in the small folding set in my range bag. I work on a lot of guns. Great review. Thank you
Hehe, yup, guessing an Allen size is akin to guessing a Torx size...drives me nuts sometimes because I know I’ll need to bring several sizes to the work. I really appreciate those smaller replaceable bits or tip sets because of that. So how about giving us a peek at that Lego sorting operation 😎. Stay healthy 😷