I have posted about Bondhus T-handle ball hex drivers before, with the last time being more than 2-1/2 years ago. It’s time for a refresher.
These tools are absolutely indispensable for accessing fasteners in tight spaces. The T-shaped handles allow for strong leverage and ball hex end and length of the shaft combined allow for flexibility in accessing fasteners.
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On top of their convenience, these tools – like all Bondhus hex tools I’ve used – are strong and durable.
There are different versions of these T-handle sets one comes with a small stand, and the other doesn’t. You can always buy the stand separately if you’d like.
I have one set with a stand, and the other two I purchased without it to save a few dollars.
The smaller sizes in these sets do not have ball ends, they have straight hex ends.
(If you’re not familiar with ball end hex keys, visit this post next: Ball Hex vs. Straight Hex Tools.)
Ball end hex tips have reduced diameters, and this can be a weak point. With very narrow ball hex drivers, too much torque can result in the ball shearing right off the tool. Often this means the ball end is wedged and trapped inside of a fastener head, and what that happens you’re in for a challenge in finding a way to remove it.
Inch Sizes: 3/32″, 7/64″, 1/8″, 9/64″, 5/32″, 3/16″, 7/32″, 1/4″, 5/16″, 3/8″
9/64″ and smaller are straight hex, 5/32″ and larger have ball hex ends.
Metric Sizes: 2mm, 2.5mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 8mm, 10mm
3mm and smaller are straight hex, 4mm and larger have ball hex ends.
Bondhus tools are made in the USA and are usually very fairly priced.
Buy Now: Inch Sets
Buy Now: Metric Sets
If you’re interested, here’s a YouTube Short I put together:
These aren’t the only hex tools I use, but they come in very handy.
There are all kinds of hex tools, here’s a look at some more unique options:
Jesse
Bondhus are my go-to hex tool manufacturer. They are truly gorilla proof!
I may be mistaken, but I believe Bondhus manufactures hex keys for Snap-On and Mac. I don’t think they make all the varieties though, just the L-wrenches.
They make a stubby L-wrench that has a slightly opened angle and is a ball driver on both ends. It is the ultimate for accessing tight spots. Great tools!
Stuart
The last I checked, they also make hex tools for Park Tool.
Kenneth Stephens
Eklind makes the snapon ones
Chris
Couldn’t agree more. I have the metric set and they’re invaluable for working on motorcycles and atv’s that have a plethora of hex fasteners. The SAE set has been in my amazon cart for almost a year waiting for a “deal” but the price doesn’t seem to move much.
TimL
Anyone know if they make a set with no ball-ends?
Wayne
Yes they do. I have the metric set and it’s my go-to for bicycle and 3D printer work. I even designed a printable stand because I was too cheap to but the set that came with one.
MM
They do. Or at least I know they did, I’m sure they still do. I have all 4 sets on my workbench Std/metric in both straight and ball-end.
In my opinion Bondhus makes some of the best plain-old allen wrenches too, again in both ball-end and standard.
Peter Fox
I just ordered a few sets of non ball end ones about a month ago for the shop I work at. Bondhus part numbers 13389 and 13390
https://www.amazon.com/Bondhus-13389-T-handles-Stand-2-10mm/dp/B00012Y38C
https://www.amazon.com/Bondhus-13390-T-handles-Stand-8-Inch/dp/B00012WYEC
I always default to non ball end hex wrenches, unless the application requires them I do not use ball end wrenches. I have seen far too many socket head screws stripped out by ball end wrenches over the years.
TimL
Thanks guys, and thans for the links peter.
fred
I have many Bondhus items – great tools. But for these I prefer the added functionality of an extended L-Key that has a cushioned T-Handle. I have a Klein SAE set:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-6-in-Journeyman-SAE-T-Handle-Set-with-Stand-10-Piece-JTH610E/206314473
For metric – and bicycle work – I recently bought a metric sliding t-handle set from Park – that I like very much because of even greater functionality – although I miss the cushioned grip:
https://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-THH-1-T-Handle-Bicycles/dp/B0832GX3RV
I may consider buying a Park Torx set.
TimL
Those parks look awesome but a bit pricey for me at this point. Thanks fred.
fred
There are similar looking sets sold by Powerbuilt (an Alltrade brand)
There are less than 1/2 the price of Park:
https://www.amazon.com/Alltrade-941645-T-Handle-Wrench-Pieces/dp/B074PXK2BN/
Stuart
I don’t think Bondhus is the OEM for those T-handles.
I believe these are made by Bondhus: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003FPONCI/?tag=toolguyd-20
The Klein ball hex are decent – they sent over a set a while ago and I like them. https://toolguyd.com/klein-journeyman-ball-hex-drivers/
However – in the task shown on my video clip, the Bondhus T-handle wins out over the Klein P/L handle shape. I could make either work, but the T-handle is my preferred choice.
Koko The Talking Ape
“…in the task shown on my video clip, the Bondhus T-handle wins out over the Klein P/L handle shape.”
Can you explain what you mean? It seems like the Kleins would work fine in the video. What am I missing? Thanks!
Stuart
Not easily.
Both tool styles are interchangeable most of the time. Sometimes the Klein short end can be useful, and I also have standard hex wrenches.
But the geometry of the Bondhus is easier and more comfortable – for me – for this type of difficult-fastener-access assembly.
I still have my Klein test sample set, and bought another set of the Bondhus T-handles.
Assembly projects involving dozens of fasteners – at the least – can make small differences very apparent.
There are times when the Klein style is better, and other times when the Bondhus is better.
If I grab the “wrong” tool and run into frustrations, I’ll change tools and it’ll get things moving along easier. After that happens a few times, I develop a sense of when one style is more suitable, and I’m not sure I can generalize it.
I’ll see if I can find some clear examples of where one wins out over the other, but generally it’s really a “feel” difference and of clearance.
Big Richard
I’m with you fred, I also prefer the extra functionality that my Kleins or others like them offer with the little L-key on the side.
For the mobile tool box I bought this:
https://www.dewalt.com/product-repository/products-dewalt/2016/04/01/09/15/dwht70265
Quality is OK, but the ratcheting feature is a game changer. Also, they’re not ball end, which isn’t too big of a deal for me.
Stuart
I bought that too, never use it anymore.
Jared
For another mobile option, I have a Felo “smart handle” set that I would highly recommend. Not cheap though.
It can be used with the handle in-line like a screwdriver or quickly switched to a T-handle configuration. I love it!
I really like Felo’s handle shape, so that might explains part of my affinity. I’ve applied considerable force in the T-handle configuration without issue too. The T-handle lets me break bolts and screws loose, then I switch to screwdriver mode for faster turning.
The set I bought is the “20 piece Smart Engineer Set” that comes with M-tec nut drivers – which are also really neat.
I was working in an automotive shop for awhile – it was one of those tools that everyone else always wanted to try out.
Big Richard
One of my more common uses for it is actually using nut driver insert bits, so you have a ratcheting T handle nut driver. Use it on the car quite a bit, lotta little screws/bolts in the engine bay. Not a necessity, but it is handy at times.
Koko The Talking Ape
Thanks fred! I’m curious, what’s the point of the sliding feature? It’s hard to imagine how they might work better in tight spots.
fred
I think that the logic (maybe not so compelling) of the sliding t-bar is that you can make it into a L-Shape. That might help if you are close to a bulkhead and have limited swing. It might also help provide a bit of extra torque.
Jared
I keep meaning to buy a set of these. I have a cheap set in a T-handle style and I find it flexes a lot under torque – Is that noticeable with the Bondhus? I’m curious if that’s an attribute of cheap steel or just inherent to the long shaft of the T-handle design (or both).
Any opinion on Bondhus vs. Eklind? They’re both made in the USA. Eklind sells a similar style:
https://www.amazon.ca/Eklind-64808-Piece-Power-T-T-Handle/dp/B000189RA0/
I have an Eklind Torx set with that handle style and like them. I’m debating between Bondhus and just getting another Eklind in ball hex.
Eric D
I’ve noticed the twist in the Bondhus ones as well – I think it’s inevitable with the long shaft. I can get a fair bit of twist out of the short end of a L-key without it breaking, so that would be even more amplified here.
Stuart
It’s supposed to flex a little. Without flex, the stress will concentrate and you’ll instead get a breakage.
I’ve looked at Eklind tools many times over the years, and there was never any compelling enough reason to buy them.
Eklind might be a good B2B supplier, but as an individual user, I’ve never seen enough appeal to try them out. I might feel differently if I hadn’t been biased in favor of Bondhus from early on.
I needed hex screwdriver sizes. I liked Sears/Craftsman’s seemingly General Tools-made precision screwdrivers, but needed larger sizes. I ordered some mystery-branded tools from McMaster Carr, and they sent over Bondhus ball hex screwdrivers.
So when it was time to buy T-handle hex drivers or better L-wrenches, I didn’t look very far past Bondhus.
Jared
Fair enough. Thanks for the information!
Eklind is sometimes cheaper on Amazon or through industrial suppliers than Bondhus – other times the converse is true. Bondhus certainly seems more ubiquitous through regular retail channels.
When I bought my Torx set I had no strong preference for one or the other, but I liked the look of the Eklind handles and they were slightly cheaper.
I do, by the way, think the flex helps me feel when I’m at risk of stripping a fastener head. My cheap set seems to flex more than I would like though. I worry it robs me of some power when breaking fasteners loose (usually I switch to a bit socket and/or manual impact driver if it feels too tight).
MoogleMan3
I’m torn between these and wera hex plus keys.
Eric D
Very different tools in my opinion – why not get both? Sure, they both drive the same fasteners, but a T-Handle and an L-key have very different applications.
Stuart
Get both! =)
Kentucky fan
Sometimes I look in my tool box and think I have a problem I probably have 20 sets of hex drivers of various shapes ranging from Pittsburgh pro to proto to bondhus and eklind. One thing I have learned the hard way alot is that cheap hex drivers are not worth it at all and the vastly superior options aren’t that expensive.
David A.
Check your headline.
Stuart
Thanks!
*Fixed*
JoeM
That’s IT? I’m getting prices like $50 CDN on my end… For the one with the stand!
That’s just stupid… I gotta buy a set or three just for the sake of not being an idiot! I don’t normally use Hex as often as other shapes (Robertson and Philips are my Go-Tos) but you’re probably the 8th person, or possibly just the 8th time I’ve been told now, to recommend Specifically Bondhaus T-Handle Ball-End Hex tools.
Only question now is… Do I bother getting the stand, or do I just make my own, since I’ll probably have to get several sets to cover the spectrum of sizes for both systems? (Metric and Imperial… I hate Imperial, but the world still uses it, so I don’t get to choose.)
Stuart
Don’t buy good tools if you don’t have anticipated needs for them. Maybe buy a T-handle driver if you already have hex bits, and then if you need a T-handle ball driver get a set then.
JoeM
I totally understand the “Don’t buy it unless you need it” sensibility. I’m usually the one who says it.
This time though… I’m shocked they’re so inexpensive! I keep hearing “Bondhaus are the best of the best!” and “You need one of these sets, you just don’t know it yet” and repeatedly “Bondhaus is an awesome, quality brand, no shop is truly complete without a set of their T-Handles!”
I have been staring at so many YouTube videos of makers doing machining and making since January 2020 for the Covid Lockdown, I keep seeing these things. Bondhaus T-Handle drivers, and I’m told they aren’t limited to the Ball-End Hex. But I’ve been under the impression, looking at row after row of them in high end workshops like Adam Savage’s Shop… And I’ve been saying “Wow… Must’ve spent Five Grand on those T-Handles alone, if all the advice is to be believed!”
But you just linked me to the Metric set here in Canada… For $50… 8 T-Handles plus stand… What I thought was $5000 in each of these maker shops… Is probably more like $200. That’s STUPID CHEAP for having dozens of them… Which means, if I bought a few duplicates, some different ends, based on what I use… I could probably get every Bondhaus T-Handle screwdriver I’ve ever needed, even at their most expensive, for around $150. I’ve spent more on a Saw than that before.
Bondhaus T-Handles are now demystified for me, and that illusion that the top-rated brand is not always the one you need to sell a kidney for is now totally blown away!
You wonder why I’m so emphatically on your side, Stuart? Why I am so willing to do whatever, adapt to whatever, or accept whatever, you decide to change about the site? These moments. Right here, these moments, when you’ve utterly shattered a barrier for me. Something I thought I would never have, now fits exactly into the realm of reality for me! This is the Pentel incident all over again. And the Engineer Scissors. Hell, it’s practically the Reamer incident, where you blew my mind when you showed me a tool I’ve needed so many times in my life, but never even heard of until you did an article on them!
This is very exciting to me!
Stuart
The Bondhus are *always* affordable though.
Save your money for when a need arises, and they’ll always be there.
For me, I also really like their balldriver screwdrivers.
I have a habit of buying before I need, and then I wonder why I can’t find anything. But when I don’t do that… a woodworking vise setup I wanted to buy increased in price $80. Ah well.
Joatman
“Save your money for when a need arises” is one of the most valuable things I’ve heard in a long time….as trivial as it may sound. I spent tonight changing out a sump pump and vacuuming water in a flooded basement. I spent almost $500 on a battery-back-up system about 2 years ago, too….that gave out after the battery drained. I have insurance that will cover it but after the deductible, it’s not worth the risk of an increased premium vs. the damage.
Ok, so how does this relate to this post, you ask. Well, not too long ago I bought a set of the metric Wera hex wrenches….and love them…..they have the color-coded plastic sleeves. But to tell you the truth, I don’t use hex keys enough to memorize which color is what size.
But now, I feel like I need to buy the matching SAE set
Well……just because……so, I have a matching set.
I already have an SAE Bonhaus set that I’ve had for probably over 25 years and they have never failed me. So why would I replace them with Wera set?
I can use that money for “when things arise”. Like a new sump pump. And replace carpet with tile…….for when that sump pump fails.
Stuart
Yikes, I’m sorry to hear that. I had that happen a few years ago. I have a water-powered backup, but it wasn’t clearing enough water fast enough and I still had water all over the basement.
At the time I hired a company to come in and help with the cleanup. They made sure the walls weren’t damaged and brought in huge blowers to dry things up.
I more meant don’t buy tools needlessly just because you think you want it now. “I’m sure it’ll come in handy” doesn’t always work out well for me.
I don’t remember hex wrench color coding either, but if I’m working on a project, sometimes I have a few on the table and know when to pick up the different colors. It’s more useful than not.
JoeM
Don’t worry, I’m not jumping at these right now. I’m just overjoyed that a brand I thought would be more expensive simply isn’t. This is a weight off my shoulders, and I can feel comfortable in both waiting for a spot in my budget to arrive, as well as the fact that the bill will not be out of my price range for what appears to be THE quality brand for T-Handles used by professional makers and machinists.
But, just like the Pentel incident, the Engineer Scissors, the Klein Comfort Curve Electrical Pliers, and… Oh so many positive recommendations you have posted over the years… You’ve done it again, and truly helped me when I needed it.
And, oh look, just below your article, everywhere down this thread, are the names of those I also credit with helping me out over the years. fred has spoken up many, many times here. Regular after regular has confirmed the positive experience with the Bondhaus T-Handles, and the articles you did about the alternative Bondhaus and Felo Bit Holder T-Handles… This single article, and the community that has gathered around it, has handed me an all new perspective on my possibilities in the future. It’s categorized, sorted, and directly applied… I mean… How can one not get overjoyed when suddenly handed the Holy Grail simply in passing? I’m not saying these are my “Holy Grail” tools, but the fact that everyone is confirming I can afford it, or a simple bit holder version… for… pennies on the dollar compared to how much I was convinced they cost… That kind of experience is a Holy Grail for me. Hope. It’s rare these days, but it exists because of you, and the community you have around you!
Thank You. All of You! You don’t often hear it, but you have made my life better with this article, and all the comments on it.
fred
ToolGuyd did a post about the Felo T-handle – that can be used with your hex bits:
https://toolguyd.com/5-reasons-to-buy-a-t-handle-screwdriver-bit-holder/
Dave Brock
Bought one of these T-handles and love it.
Plain grainy
I like the stands, great to keep the large size selection at easy grasp.
Red for the Metric, Yellow for the Inch set. They look nice.
The star Torx set is green(8 piece).
Nathan
SO I’m not a T-handle fan. I know people swear by them and I’ve had a set – in fact the set posted here. I liked the bent T handle – if I was to get one.
If I wasn’t going to also have some L handles I agree with a few others that the T handle with the T- nub side driver would be needed. but I keep L hex and for that need.
Meanwhile a bit ago I bought bondhus 1/4 drive hex to hex driver set in SAE and Metric. I bought the metric first and I would say honestly it’s probably all you need really as most hex are metric. And they are awesome. I can run IMpact driver – Drill or screwdriver. (plug I also got a dewalt 12V screwdriver a bit ago and love it too)
OH and they are ball end too. LOVE these to the point this is my go to. But application device is important. pulled the 8MM drain out of the G8 Diff – impact driver. – easy peasy. Vs 4mm (I think) on my brake lever on the bike – screwdriver.
anyway like said above I like the bondhus hex and torx items for their cost and durability plus made in america still.
a link if that’s OK: https://bondhus.com/pages/ball-end-power-bits
Bob Hinden
I have the imperial and metric Bondhus T-handle ball hex drivers sets. I agree they are great.
I got hex set when I was assembling my SawStop PCS, there were extremely helpful for that. Based on that experience I ordered the imperial set too.
Brad Justinen
The only problem with these are the markings on the handle. Work around grease or solvents and the size identification will be gone almost immediately. The shanks should be stamped imho.
Steve
The best T-handle hex drivers I’ve ever used are the Beta 951. They don’t have a ball end, but they’re still my favorite hex wrenches. I’m surprised they weren’t mentioned here.
Stuart
They still sell the Beta – https://www.amazon.com/Beta-951-S6-T-handle-hexagon/dp/B00FI17CS4?tag=toolguyd-20 .
Here’s the thing – I use inch/SAE far more often than metric. I have a couple of beta 951 sizes that I purchased, but they don’t see a lot of use. I have to check, but I believe I have 4, 5, 6 mm. *maybe* a 3mm as well, I’m not sure. This shows the last time I used them. 90% of my metric fastener needs are met with hex keys, and also have P-handle wrenches in different locations. If I grab those Betas, it’s for a very specific task where nothing else will work.
I also have Facom and Park P-handle drivers.
But when there’s a tricky situation, it’s usually with an inch fastener.
The same with my angled box wrenches – I only have inch and have yet to be compelled to get metric. I recently ordered a set of inch sizes, after working with just a couple of a few years.
https://toolguyd.com/facom-angled-socket-wrench-review/
Steve
Beta does make them in SAE sizes as well.
Stuart
*jawdrop*
I love these Bondhus, but there are times when final tightening is best done with a straight hex. At those times I use an L-wrench, ball hex socket and ratchet, or ratchet with bit holder and straight bit tip. This might be convenient – I’ll have to look into it – thanks!
Update: Ouch, maybe not – it’s double the price of the metric set.
Steve
I got them for about half that price. I think it was $130 for the 6 piece set, plus a little more for some other fractional sizes not included in that set. Actually, that’s more than I paid for the entire 14 piece metric set.
Bob
I have a set of the yellow handled fractional inch. Excellent.
My only gripe is where do you guys keep them in your toolbox? Mine are just in a pile in a drawer because I don’t have the space in a bottom deep drawer. Would prefer some sort of horizontal storage solution that will fit right next to my other Allen keys in a 3-4” drawer. I’d leave them on top of the bench but you know they’ll go missing.
Stuart
I still have the vinyl pouch for one set, the other set is in a drawer with the stand in a storage box with other misc. stands. Once I clean up some space it will be wall or bench-mounted, and my other set will get a custom wood or metal stand.