20 Best Carbide Drill Bits (2022 Updated)

I’ve been buying #25 drill bits for years, i use them in drilling aluminum in preparation for tapping the holes for 10-24 bolts. I’ve purchased from all over, the usual suppliers and even ebay. What I’ve received has been a hodgepodge of poor quality bits, some made from inferior materials, some manufactured with obvious lacks of quality control.

I’ve received bits that were bent, bits with the wrong angles that wanted to walk on the material. I stumbled across these in a random internet search and decided to give them a try. I thought the price was a bit low for expecting a quality product, but I was pleasantly surprised when I received them in only a few days.

I did a quick check for straightness on the 12 bits I had ordered, all were perfect. Then I took a look at the ends to check for obvious deficiencies there. Everything as it should be. Chucked one up in the mill and ran it down onto a chunk of 6061, watching to see how it entered into the material.

The bit cut smoothly and material spiraled up equally from each edge. Since then I’ve drilled and tapped over 150 holes in 1/2″ to 5/8″ thick 6061 with that same bit. I use Wd40 as a lubricating aid, a quick swipe of a paintbrush across the bit prior to starting.

12 bits will probably last me 6 years or so at this rate. Top notch products and fast service combined with quick shipping, no need to go anywhere else!.

I needed a supply of # 11drill bits in constructing an outdoor enclosure that would be sided with Aluminum and secured with large-backed pop rivets, rather than sharp-pointed construction wood screws.

The #11 drill bits were for the recommended pilot hole. I, normally, purchase titanium-dipped HSS drill bits, but for the price I thought I would gamble on the black oxide version. The bits arrived in reasonable time.

The bits appeared to have a highly polished black oxude finish! The first bit was put into immediate service and appeared to cut into 1/2″ dry plywood quite well until I began to notice an indication of binding.

The fix would be simply withdrawing the bit, while continuing to spin, clearing the binding material. I did as I have done near a thousand time, over 70 some odd years, I applied withdrawal pressure while continuing the drilling rotation.

Suddenly and with much surprise, the drill bit snapped and separated, leaving more than half the bit dangling in the plywood!, as though it was made of glass! I have never snapped or simply broken any kind or size of HSS drill bit working with any kind of material.

wood, plastic, copper, tin, steel, stainless and aluminum. I guess the old adage continues to hold true. “You only get what you pay for!” I will seriously avoid any future purchases of black oxide-finished HSS drill bits! Luckily, I purchased a few extra of these bits and will be very careful should the previous binding re-occur.

These are nice and sharp with good durability. I have no patience left in me to use a dull cutting tool. These are real nice drill bits we drill alot of wood and steel and these work very well for both.

For drilling steel it’s critical to keep the cutting edge from overheating or it’s going dull right now. And that goes for any drill bit. Even under poor conditions where I’ve let it heat up more than I should’ve these still last longer than most.

For drilling in metal cutting fluid makes an incredible difference we buy Rapid Tap it makes drilling easier and bits stay sharp alot longer.

I build custom showers 17 years now not one complaint or problem ever I use these foe all my showers installing grab bars glass doors of all types. Yes I burn through a lot of bits in tile but these last the longest box stores 19.

99 4 bits exact same so I and my customers save something at least. Not a lot of name brand Ive tried but a cheap arrow head type will make a pilot hole and extends these bosh bits a lot longer usage 100% happy Below these 3 baths pictured everything pictured is on 1 set of the Bosh and a cheap arrowhead generic set as pilot holes.

That is so much more than we normally get.

Read the fine print on back, these are made for ceramic not porcelain. Porcelain will burn them up however for ceramic it cuts like butter (little water of course) the large bit broke ( maybe a fluke) the others are still like new.

Just make sure you use them in ceramic.

I used these to drill holes for anchors in Ceramic tile. They worked ok , but by the time I was done drilling 6 holes they bits were shot. Bottom line , work good for one time use.

Bought this because I found I needed a *real* masonry bit after my multipurpose one was wearing through way too fast. This one chewed through some 40-50 boreholes through asphault and whatever else was needed to get through in order to give me some decent holes for driving 1/2″ rebar.

It’s clearly worn. But not by much. This bit doesn’t owe me a dime and worthy every cent I paid.

Good quality, have used it for drilling holes in a concrete floor to anchor lumber to install a sub floor. It worked where a Hilti gun would not. Combined with a Rotary Hammer, little effort is needed to quickly drill all the holes you want, but let the tool do the work, don’t force it.

The hammering action makes quick work of it.

Long lasting, effective, and timely : I needed a good bit and the availability of the one from Canadian Tire made this jod complete in a perfect manner!

If you have a hundred holes to drill in glass, then these bits would not last to even fifty percent, even if you’d used water, used pilot holes with smaller bits. You can test them but I text here from experience and am familiar with the life of these glass, ceramic, tile, drill bits.

It’s your call. If you can drill more with these bits, please share your methods since I’d love to see them as well as everyone else who’s wanting great results at a cheap price. Cheers! PS Also, consider the thickness of the material you’re drilling.

These bits were also great in wood to do countersinks for toe nailing at various angles and the brad point, metal bits were great for toe nailing holes if the thickness and length of the screw you’re using is short.

Had to put a toilet flange in over porcelain tile. Did my research. Some reviews suggested diamond tipped bits. I looked at lowes and other stores for what they carried. Carbide tip or diamond seemed to be the consensus.

As I always do, I checked HF for products and reviews. This set of bits looked pretty good. And for the money, they actually looked great. Let’s give it a try. The other thing that I liked about it was this was a set, not just one bit with one size.

I did my first hole through a partial piece of tile that covered half of the hole. My next holes were through solid porcelain. I would drill for about 20 seconds with a slower speed and constant pressure on the drill, then pull the bit out and dunk in a glass of water to cool.

This worked well and it took about three to four minutes total drilling time to get through the 1/4 inch tile. On my last hole I experimented with making a smaller (pilot) hole and then completing with my chosen size finish bit.

This worked quite well and ‎I will probably adapt this technique in the future. I used a regular drill. Some reviewers suggested using a hammer drill, but I did not want to take a chance on cracking the tile.

Also, I bought two packs of drills, but didn’t open the second one. I will keep it for the future. This was a great purchase and the fact is, I got two sets for the price of one Bosch bit. Did I mention that I love Harbor Freight?.

Project: drill several drain holes in a rather large decorative floor plant pot. The pot ceramic was harder than terra cotta but probably not as tough as floor tiles. Drilled three holes using three bits with water lubricant.

After each hole the corresponding bit was fairly dull. Still, it was a cost-effective solution (for a pot costing nearly $100) that went fast.

I instaledl garage door hardware on cinder block; worked great. Next I have rails to install on a brick-concrete porch.

They appear to be of good quality. Expect to use them often. using with a hammer drill in concrete/mortar

Works great!!!Great addition to my tool box! Highly recommend for tight spots.

The chuck shank is a circle so had issues preventing it from slipping in the chuck. I am not a professional so maybe this is normal but I can’t understand why there wouldn’t be flats on the chucking surface.

Anyway, after constantly re-tightening the chuck on the hammer drill, I was able to drill the 23. 5″ hole that was required. It looks to be in perfect condition after that.

Even when my hammer drill died I took the drill and used it old style, and It survived (old style is twist the drill hit with hammer twist hit, repeat as many times and needed). Hey when your stuck your stuck.

Need something that you can’t get at your local hardware store or even the big warehouse type places? Get it at Drills and Cutters. They have it and it will work.

Thanks to Home Depot for getting me out of a jam. I could not drill through the shower wall to mount a glass door. The shower turned out to be 1/2” stone. During Covid there was no access to the store.

I ordered online and the Home Depot employee went in and picked my order in less than 1/2 hour. This was over and above normal customer service. This allowed me to finish the job and not have to return the following week, keeping the job under budget.

The drill bit did the job, it did take some time, making sure to keep the bit cool.

Honestly, I did not know that to drill through tiles you need special drill bits, and I needed to drill 4 holes. I started with the usual mason drill bits, and spent like a good 30 minutes on this without not much luck.

Then I went to pick one of these sets up and finished with all 4 holes in a few minutes.

I must say it’s not good enough for tiles. Be hot in a short time and need water to cool down. After drill 23 4mm holes , this kit no longer be use. May be it not fit for dry drill. But luckily I am still drilled 23 holes and finish install 2 shower glass panels.

I have a complete set 1/8″ – 5/8″ these have never failed. UNLESS there is metal in the path of the hole being drilled which is obvious with the other two 1 star reviews. if you don’t understand that this is not the tools fault but your own then maybe you should hang up the mickey mouse ears and get behind a desk.

These folks sold mke a nice Hilti bit at a very fair price. Quick delivery too! Some on the internet are stating the SDS & SDS+ bit shanks are not interchangable. YES THEY ARE, I use SDS+ in my old Hilti TE12S without a problem, they fit and perform fine.

#sweepstakes Item as described. A++

We purchased several of these bits, different sizes for drilling through concrete and masonry walls. They are fast, reliable, and appear to be extremely durable. My only complaint would be that 24″ is the longest we could purchase in this size as we sometimes hit walls that are thicker than that.

Great bit!.

Bought a few drill bits in sizes that you just won’t find at a store and here I payed about 1/3 of what stores charge for special orders. Was a little wary about the quality I’d get for the price but they are really awesome !!! You won’t be disappointed.

I drill stones for all sorts of stuff, and these are BY FAR the absolute best bits I’ve found. In fact, I’m ordering a bunch more to have just in case.

Needed to drill holes in shower tile in order to hang a fixed shower rod. Only used one of the bits to drill holes through the grout and through the actual ceramic tile. Worked perfectly. Really happy with the bits.

These things are great! My fiancé and I make alcohol bottle lamps together and these are the most well-built and durable bits we’ve used! It does seem to take a long time to get through the bottom of the bottle, (may be because of drill, the fact that glass takes longer to drill, or coating on the tip), but I haven’t broken a bottle yet with these! I tried the bits from ryobi and they were horrible, they all fell apart and bent after a couple uses, but these have stayed strong, get them!.

We’ve been using champion drill bits for years, but were looking for a lower cost alternative. These are not what you’re looking for. We use lubrication, at the proper rpm, on mild a36 1/4″ steel, and these are a JOKE.

Our side by side comparison shows these drill bits take 3x as long to get through the first hole, and by hole number 3, they would not even make a dent in the material. With the champion bits we are using, we typically get (on average) 43 holes per drill bit before they are dull and need to be disposed of.

When using them on aluminum, you can’t tell the difference, so if you are purchasing these to drill through aluminum, plastic, or maybe wood, go for it. Otherwise, don’t waste your money.

I have used the bit once, it performed well. Nice even material removal. But this is too soon to rate a bit, unless it broke. A be better review would be 6 months after purchase. Then you would know how well the bit was made.

I purchased several drill sizes from drills and cutters other than the#19 HHS. They all came as ordered and delivered as advertised. The choice of ordering by inch, mm, or no. was a tremendous help when stardard sizes don’t quite do the job.

Just purchased the 9/32 HSS mechanics bits, FANTASTIC!! These bits exceeded my expectations. They’re tough, cut well and don’t slip in my dewalt quick chuck drills. I use a lot of these bits and Drills and Cutters will be my new go to vendor.

Cut about 3 parts and part 4 shifted slightly(my fault) shattering the end. The first 3 made nice clean holes. Chips were nice and short. Didn’t wonder much.

The description on Home Depot site indicates it should fit a standard hammer drill but it doesn’t: Description says “3-flat secure grip prevents bit from slipping in chuck” but doesn’t say you have to have (I guess???) a special drill to fit it? There are actually FOUR indentations (not three as advertised) where it goes in the chuck and they are OPPOSITE each other, not in the normal triangle or hexagonal configuration.

So in a normal three-prong hammer drill chuck this won’t fit. I put it in and it wobbles so much the tip of the bit is going more than an inch out of whack on every turn! If you’re going to sell a bit that only fits a certain brand drill, it should say that.

this one just says best for “hammer drill” but I was using a (standard) hammer drill. Sadly I tried drilling with it anyway (unsuccessful) but now I’m guessing it’s scuffed so I might not be able to return it.

The Milwaukee SHOCKWAVE™ Carbide Hammer Drill Bit Kit 7 pc is EXCELLENT! I needed to drill some holes in a stone wall and on brick to cover my stand-up garden. The winds can get pretty bad out here. My Dad has been using Milwaukee tools for as long as I can remember he suggests these concrete drill bits to me.

They come with 7 pc you get (1) 5/32″ (2) 3/16″ (2) 1/4″ (1) 5/16″ and (1) 3/8″. They all come in a sturdy plastic case to store them in even if they get thrown in the toolbox they are easy to find with the red paint through the bit.

I was a bit paranoid to drill through the stone at first mainly because I was afraid I wouldn’t have enough strength to do it. But these bits proved otherwise. I got the job done in a few hours which I thought would take me days to do.

Now that I know I can do my DYI projects on masonry with these excellent drill bits myself! Highly recommend them.

I just received this product, and it is exactly what I am looking for. I am on the board of my HOA, and we are low income so we have to be very handy in our repairs. Last weekend I tried to drill into the stucco of our building with some masonry bits of another brand, and I couldn’t break the surface! These worked just right.

I am so glad. I should have known to stick with this brand, it truly is the best in industry and highest quality. The price is well worth it. Additionally, I recommend the 7 piece kit. I had the right size drill bit for my project.

I had a bolt broke off in the frame of my dirtbike. I used an extractor the first one stripped out so I tried another but must have been a dud. Just snapped off right away. So now I had a broke off extractor broke off inside a bolt stuck in the frame.

Tried all kinds of cobalt bits never made a scratch and dulled in a few seconds. I ordered this bit OMG!!!! Life saver!!!! Drilled through the extractor like it was wood. I was blown away at how well and easy it cut.

!! The bit still looked like brand new after I drilled out the bolt, not even dulled a little bit. However these bits have one down fall they are so hard they are extremely brittle. These bits should not be used as hole starters or Enders because burrs will cause pressure points and will chip the tip once its chipped it will crumble like a cracker.

One last thing only drill perfectly straight holes and if used in a hand drill you must be skilled at using hand held tools as any imbalance in pressure will also snap this bit.

Got tired of rounding cobalt bits. Ruined 4 & never started a hole. Simple job of putting bumper pads on my magazines of my 45 auto. Contacted these folks. Ordered a couple of 3/32 carbide bits. Arrived 3 days sooner than they estimated.

Worked like a hot knife going through butter.

Use this to drill through hardened throwing knives to be able to rivet on handles/ balance weight. The only critique is, that depending on the drill, there should be a short paragraph in how to use them correctly.

There are so many different special drill bits now, and they work different. Some need high speed and no lubrication while others need slow speed and cooling by cutting oil to do the job for the same task.

Anyways. I would buy again from them.

I chose this bit because of the “multi-material” label. I had several projects coming up and needed a versatile bit as they were varying surface types (steel, wood, and drywall). I probably should have started with the softest, drywall, but I didn’t Straight to the steel and boy was that a mistake.

I drilled four holes into the steel, barely, but the bit was near useless afterwards. It was only 1/16 inch steel so I felt pretty bad about the durability. I then went on to the wood. It made holes, but not straight or perfectly round.

The steel tore the bit up so much it caused ripping rather than drilling. I didn’t dare use it for the drywall lest I destroy the area I planned to drill. Bottom line: I wouldn’t recommend for any surface harder than wood if you want to use it again.

As a contractor I rely on equipment that’s not “throw away”. So when I recently built a pool deck it was easier to drill in the brackets on the footings we poured. There was 16 footings, and 16 holes required.

The 1/2″ SHOCKWAVE™ Carbide Multi-Material Drill Bit cut through the concrete like it was butter. I’m expecting to use this 1/2″ SHOCKWAVE™ Carbide Multi-Material Drill Bit many more times! Nice product!.

I got this drill bit for my partner. He used to work for construction so he knows how to use it. We both love the Milwaukee brand, because its products are good quality and they have great versatility.

The package shows all the different materials that the drill works on. Also, it shows the recommended speeds for every material and the two drivers to use the drill with. When it comes to the material, it has the right amount of thick.

And the performance was amazing, it did its job without messing the material.

After reading up on other reviews, I was a bit apprehensive but well worth the money. Using it on a finished basement to screw down wooden subfloor they worked well. One bit did about 8 holes and was still easy to make holes in finished cement floor.

Did not need to use any coolant on bit. Keep in mind that some concrete particularly in older builds have more aggregate in the mixture (rock and gravel) which might make it harder to drill. I also suggest that you drill to a level then pull the drill out of the cement to remove the shavings which will dull the blade faster.

Also let the bit do the work, no need to strong arm the bit and dull if faster.

I’ve used quite a few masonry bits in the past so I was excited to get my hands on this Milwaukee bit. It paired perfectly with my Milwaukee drill and made short work of some holes I had to pre-drill into concrete.

This bit cut through the material like butter shortening job time significantly. After a couple of uses the bit looks nearly brand new once cleaned. Overall this is an extremely durable bit and is quality made.

I am looking into purchasing the whole set with different sizes after this experience.

My dad is the ultimate handyman and he loves this drill bit. He uses it for his wood products, specifically for making tables and chairs. Sometimes, I tag along and noticed that this drill bit facilitated our job.

In addition, its length is perfect for drilling into cinder blocks or bricks. In fact, it’s much longer than most drill bits which is a definite plus.

The website is easy to use and the drill bit easy to find. The price is great and delivery seemed like overnight – actually it was a couple of days. Good job. DD, Grass Valley,CA

The #18 carbide bit I bought here worked great in the Damascus. I ruined several high speed steel bits before trying this carbide bit.

I needed a no.46 drill bit to match a 3-56 tap. Drills and Cutters came through.

I got these drill bits to help hang signs on concrete and brick walls. I am absolutely impressed with how tough these drill bits are. No special drill needed even though it is supposed to be used with a hammer drill.

I am sure it works best with a hammer drill but I use my regular drill with these drill bits and it powers through the brick with ease leaving me with a perfect hole to add my screw hanger to. For this purpose these bits work great.