Thread: Are these drill bits made in Germany ?

Don't know, but, that's not a bad price for the set. I'd reckon regardless of where they are made they will be good quality.

I've used Frost drill bits for years for home and work and found them fine. Bunnings have a metric set the same sizes as the ones on the Festool site for less than 1/2 the price. Just saying

Some Frost drill bits are absolutely awful. Maybe there are better quality ones. I'd be very surprised if the Bunnings Frost bits are as good as the Festool bits. Can someone please buy a set of the Festool bits and let us know?

Originally Posted by jack620

Some Frost drill bits are absolutely awful. Maybe there are better quality ones. I'd be very surprised if the Bunnings Frost bits are as good as the Festool bits. Can someone please buy a set of the Festool bits and let us know?

Maybe be not as good as Festool but multiple drillings through 25mm steel by apprentices year after year says they aren't that bad

I own 2 set of Festool bits that have centrotec shanks (made in Germany). These are nothing short of spectacular and remain as sharp as the day they were purchased after some moderate to heavy use on a few sizes. They are however also much more expensive than the set I was inquiring about. I am comparing the price of the inquired set to a set of Sutton bits (same sizes in the set) which is about $9 cheaper at the big green shed than the Festool bits. The Sutton bits that I have are above average quality but not as good as the Lee Valley bits that I have. The mentioned Festools are a step up from the LV bits that I own.
I have a suspicion that this particular set may be made in the Czech republic but I am not sure. Hence my question in case someone does own the set.
I want to purchase it for my son as a starter set for his newly acquired Protool PDC18-4 drill (made in Czech republic).
Regards
Les

Originally Posted by lesmeyer

I have a suspicion that this particular set may be made in the Czech republic but I am not sure.
I want to purchase it for my son as a starter set for his newly acquired Protool PDC18-4 drill (made in Czech republic).

Well everything will match then Les .

My understanding is that Suttons own Frost, and the former are still made here, the latter in China. Cetainly their price points agree with that.

Originally Posted by lesmeyer

I own 2 set of Festool bits that have centrotec shanks (made in Germany). These are nothing short of spectacular and remain as sharp as the day they were purchased after some moderate to heavy use on a few sizes. They are however also much more expensive than the set I was inquiring about. I am comparing the price of the inquired set to a set of Sutton bits (same sizes in the set) which is about $9 cheaper at the big green shed than the Festool bits. The Sutton bits that I have are above average quality but not as good as the Lee Valley bits that I have. The mentioned Festools are a step up from the LV bits that I own.

The fact that they stay sharp suggests that these expensive bits are probably Cobalt bearing or similar bits.
The Sutton cobalts will also stay sharp a lot longer than their regular bits.

Given the fact that Festo/Narex's tools are usually expensive, then perhaps the price charged is an (un)reliable indicator of quality. This is a cheap set of bits. Draw your own conclusions. Years ago I tried a set of Festo (Colt??) brad points specifically for dowelling & found them no better than the Sutton equivalents I'd been using for years.

Having said that, even Tooltechnics' "expensive" product lines aren't always necessarily an indicator of quality. For instance, I noticed recently that newer longlife filter bags for their CT vacs are actually made in China these days. I'd suggest the selling price is more an indicator of relative profitability than of any percieved superiority. There's nothing wrong with these bags: I'm a satisfied user myself, but the price charged ($375) represents (to be charitable to the manufacturer) a "substantial" margin of profit in comparison to the actual cost of production & distribution.

In regard to drill bits, its true that Frost bits were once of outstanding quality, however it appears that since production of these bits has shifted to East Asia the quality has also declined. What was once true of Frost's quality no longer is accurate. These days they're marketed as Sutton's budget range of drills, targeting customers who value price over performance.

Sutton still make outstanding (indeed world class) quality bits in their Sutton, Evacut & Patience & Nicholas lines with production based in their Australian & N.Z. plants. I consider them to be every "bit" the equal of other manufacturers such as Dormer etc. & superior to all other offerings I've ever tried. Whilst not a great fan of their Viper range, which I find difficult to sharpen, I would nevertheless confidently state that your average hardware store Sutton, Evacut or P&N bit is equal or superior to any other bit in terms of accurate geometry, cutting performance and longevity.

A Sutton Blue Bullet or P&N Black Max set would make an ideal, high quality starter set, with their Supabit and Bright Max lines being a step up, and the Ti-nite, Silver Bullet & Cobalt sets being their absolute top class products.

Just in the last year or so I have bought (EBay) a couple of small sets 1/16-1/4" drills branded as Suttens. Mr Sutten would roll over in his grave to see these soft, timber only, drills. They would be of Asian origin and not of the quality one would expect from an old Australian manufacturer
You get what you pay for

Originally Posted by chambezio

Just in the last year or so I have bought (EBay) a couple of small sets 1/16-1/4" drills branded as Suttens. Mr Sutten would roll over in his grave to see these soft, timber only, drills. They would be of Asian origin and not of the quality one would expect from an old Australian manufacturer
You get what you pay for

Sutten or Sutton

I'm sure some importer/ distributor / retailer is happy that the names are so easy to confuse.

Ratbag thanks for the summary. If one was looking at a drill set to be used on timber and steel which suttons range would you suggest?

I've found the el-cheapo Craftright drill bit sets to be perfectly fine. The brad point bits get thrown in the bin right away (they're ground off centre and can't be salvaged - I've tried) and I just re-grind the standard twist bits to brad point.

Unless you're drilling through steel all day I really don't see the value of top-of-the-line bits.

Okay, everyone now take a Bex and lie down . I was in a Festool shop today and the drill bit set in question is made in China. Well blow me over .
Next month at our wood show in Perth I will get a good set of Sutton bits.
In the same shop today I also contemplated the Bordo drill bits, but they are also made in China.
Some of the other Festool bits are made in the Czech republic. This I can still accept as a lot of good quality steel/metal goods come from this country.
I want to give my son a good set of bits that will last a long time. I have had my share of el cheapos and they are a false economy.
Les

Does your son know how to properly sharpen drill bits? If not, I'd suggest buying him a cheap set as well to learn on.
FWIW, the cheap stuff isn't false economy if you can sharpen them.