Step Bits and Sharpeners: What 20-Brand and 8-Tool Tests Showed

Specialty drill bits solve a specific annoyance: a step bit lets you drill dozens of hole sizes with one tool instead of a whole index, a countersink bit lets a screw head sit flush, and a bit sharpener promises to save you from buying replacement bits every time the old ones go dull. Each one gets marketed as a shop game-changer, and the price range across a category like step bits or sharpeners can run from under $30 to well over $300.

Two hands-on tests, one covering twenty step drill bit brands and one covering eight drill bit sharpeners, put real numbers on those claims: drilling speed and durability for the step bits, and actual sharpening quality and resulting hole speed for the sharpeners.

What the testing showed

The numbers below come from Project Farm, who separately tested twenty step drill bit brands through mild, medium-hardness, and stainless steel plus an AR500 armor plate torture test, and eight drill bit sharpeners for sharpening time and resulting drill performance. You can watch the full breakdowns on the step drill bits test and the drill bit sharpener test.

The step bit that won overall was not the most durable one

DeWalt, at $30, was the numeric overall winner of the twenty-brand step bit test, finishing with the best average rank across all speed and hole-size categories, including the fastest full completion of a 7/8 inch hole in medium-hardness steel at 7.79 seconds. But DeWalt was also one of the least durable bits on the AR500 armor plate torture test, lasting only about 2 seconds before the leading edge was badly damaged, finishing last on that specific test.

The narrator's personal pick was a different bit entirely

TEMO, also priced at $30, was the only one of all twenty brands to completely drill through the AR500 armor plate, taking about 18 seconds while still looking "in very good condition" afterward. It was also nearly as fast as DeWalt on the standard speed tests. The narrator's explicit pick: "considering the $30 price tag and its performance, the TEMO would definitely be my choice," specifically citing its combination of speed and far superior durability over DeWalt.

An expensive sharpener did not clearly beat a $150 competitor

Drill Doctor's 750X, at $150, was declared the overall sharpener winner on sharpening performance, producing the fastest hole-drilling time in the entire video (7.9 seconds using a 135-degree split point) and offering the widest sharpening range of any unit tested, up to 3/4 inch, plus the ability to handle HSS, masonry, carbide, cobalt, and tin-coated bits. It also formed true split points, something cheaper units in the test could not do. Truper, at just $35, less than a quarter of the Drill Doctor's price, still produced a competitive 9.5-second hole-drilling time, showing a real budget option exists if you do not need the Drill Doctor's wider bit-type range.

How to read this for your own purchase

Specialty bit categories reward matching the tool to your actual job more than chasing a single "winner" label, since these two tests each found different products excelling at speed versus durability versus versatility.

If you need a step bit mainly for clean sheet metal and light steel work, DeWalt's speed advantage is the more relevant number, and its weaker durability on an armor-plate torture test is unlikely to matter for typical HVAC, electrical, or sheet metal drilling.

If you regularly hit unexpectedly hard material or want a bit that survives abuse, TEMO's standout durability result, the only brand of twenty to fully defeat the armor plate test while staying in good condition, makes it the more defensible buy at the same price point as DeWalt.

If you are deciding whether a bit sharpener is worth the investment, the Drill Doctor's wider bit-type range (including masonry, carbide, and cobalt) justifies its price if you sharpen a variety of bit types; a cheaper single-purpose sharpener like Truper is a reasonable choice if you mainly sharpen standard HSS twist bits.

It is also worth remembering that these torture tests, an AR500 armor plate and repeated hole cycles, represent a far harsher standard than most specialty bit purchases will ever face in an actual shop or job site. A step bit that fails an armor-plate test may still last years drilling standard sheet metal, conduit, and electrical boxes, the tasks it is actually marketed for. Treat the durability rankings above as a relative comparison between brands under identical stress, useful for choosing which brand to trust, rather than a literal prediction of how long any specific bit will survive in your own, likely far less extreme, daily use.

A few universal rules the data supports:

• Speed and durability are separate properties. The fastest bit in a 20-brand field was also one of the least durable under extreme stress.
• A specialty tool's versatility (bit types it can handle) matters as much as raw performance for a sharpener you plan to keep for years.
• Matching price to actual need beats buying the most expensive option by default. A budget sharpener produced a genuinely competitive result against a unit costing over four times as much.

Looking for more cutting tools and bits tested the same hands-on way? Browse the rest of the blades, bits and abrasives tests for drill bit sets, saw blades, and twist bits.