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B&Q 28 Piece Household Tool Kit
by spiritwood
This little boxed kit from B&Q is not bad at all for the price. It is one of a few that I own as I do use a lot of tools and I either wear them out or end up mislaying them. When they are housed in moulded hard cases like this there is less chance of me loosing the contents as each tool has its own moulded holder meaning you can ... tell when one is missing. Of course finding it again to return it to the case is another thing :)
I paid £19.98 for this kit which is good value for money for a general home tool kit. Nothing in there is really meant to be used professionally day in and day out but for the hobbyist or DIY-er then this is a good deal. It is also a good gift for somebody moving into their first home.
WHAT IS IN IT?
This is a kit housed in a tough plastic case with clip closures. The casing is a dark grey and the closures are a cobalt blue. The plastic is reasonably strong and the closure clips hold fast and tight. It is easy to operate even with weak hands. Inside the case you will find an array of tools which are attractively arranged. The design of the layout means that it is easy to get your mitts on the tool that you need with minimal fuss and hunting around.
The kits contains:
PLIERS: 1 x long nose pliers and 1 x side cutting pliers
Both pliers measure 150mm and are surprisingly well made for the money. They jaws on both are sharp and accurate so no problems with them grasping awkward things and then sliding out. They have protective covers on the handles and they are easy to grip and use. The metal used for these does not soften like some cheaper tools meaning that they will last a reasonable amount of time. I have used mine on stubborn bolts around the home and also on my car. The side cutters are great for wire cutting and I have used these to trim both speaker wire and piano wire, the latter being notorious for being a pain to cut. It coped with both.
SPANNER/WRENCH: 1 x 150mm adjustable wrench
Well constructed wrench with a wheel that turns easily without jamming and decent jaw grip. I keep the wheel greased up because I learned the hard way about damp and spanners....
SCISSORS: 140mm scissors with handy soft grip handles. Not the largest blades but certainly do the job and are sufficiently sharp for most tasks around the home.
KNIFE: The kit has an 18mm snap off knife complete with 3 spare blades. These are fairly generic and not suitable for hard cutting tasks where I would use a Stanley knife but are good for lighter cutting tasks. The snap off is useful for when your blade gets blunt, which they can do quite quickly. It is easy to grab new blades on Amazon etc but if you want a decent reliable knife then I really would advise the old school Stanley retractable knife in metal case.
HAMMER: The kit has an 8oz claw hammer, brilliant for removing awkward nails in wood. The hammer striking surface is good and works well and again this tool is made with steel and not an easily bruised and softened metal like some tools. The hammer is light enough for long periods of use and has a decent balanced swing to it.
SCREWDRIVERS: A Phillips (cross-headed) and an SL3 flathead screwdriver are included in the kit, useful but really you need a full set of screwdrivers in all different sizes if you are really into your DIY. For faffing with a plug then these are just fine. The sizes are SL3 x 75 and PH1x 100. Both are useful sizes for general tasks and the metal drivers are reasonable quality but I doubt that they would stand up to repeated use.
MAGNETIC HANDLE AND BITS: Alongside the two screwdrivers the kit has a magnetic handle took with 16 bits in various shapes and sizes to give you more screwing variety (so to speak). There are hex keys of various sizes, flat heads and cross heads. This is useful but again it is for occasional use. The magnet works well and the bits do not fall out! Like the rest of the hand tools, it has a soft grip handle for ease of operation and to prevent slippage.
Bit details: 16 pieces including SL3, SL5, SL6, SL8, PH0, PH1, PH2, PH3, PZ0, PZ1, PZ2, PZ3, T10, T15, H4, and H5 so a good range of useful sizes and shapes.
TAPE MEASURE: A retractable tape measure is tucked in the case too. It has a good smooth action and an efficient lock mechanism that does not slip. It is sturdy and well made and more importantly it is accurate. It will measure up to 3 metres.
SPIRIT LEVEL: The kit has a 225mm torpedo shaped spirit level which I have never used so I cannot comment on this. The rest of the kit has had good use though and I expect at some point I will use this for shelving or something similar.
This is a very decent entry level home tool kit and some of the pieces are good quality. The handy carry case packs everything away tidily and easily and enables me to keep a bit more of a grip on my tools and stops me forgetting where I have left them so often. The tools all stash away in a surprisingly small space which is then tucked between two shelf units inconspicuously. The design is good and it looks smart. To keep the tools in top notch condition I recommend that you store them indoors (no damp) and occasionally lightly spray them with WD40 or similar to keep them from rusting or jamming in the case of the spanner wheel. To make the kit exceptional I would like B&Q to have included a Stanley knife or similar as I am not a huge fan of snap knives, but it is a small moan for a box of hand tools priced at under £20.00 I think.
Recommended for folks who do not have many tools or who want a few spares knocking around.
Available from B&Q for £19.98
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