2023 test17 productsHand Tools
Which Center Punches Brand Wins?
We compared 17 center punches options head to head. Stahlwille came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Stahlwille
Price shown in test: $14
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Runner-up
Snap-on and Starrett (tied for second)
Price shown in test: about $19
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Aluminum impact depth test | Mild steel impact depth test | Medium steel impact depth test | Hard steel impact depth test | Overall manual center punch ranking, average finish | Overall automatic center punch ranking | Spring deployment force |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Stahlwille 10mm x 120mm manual center punch$14 | 0.0395 inches, deepest of the manual punches, smallest bounce, no damage | 0.0365 inches, moved into the lead, no visible damage | 0.031 inches, moved into the lead, no visible damage | 0.03 inches, deepest dent of all punches tested, no visible damage | 1st place, average finish of 1.2 | not tested | not tested |
| 2Snap-on$31 | 0.038 inches, performed better than average, no visible damage | 0.032 inches, second place behind the Stahlwille, no visible damage | 0.027 inches, second largest dent at that point, no visible damage | 0.0285 inches, performed very well, no visible damage | tied for 2nd place with Starrett, average finish of 2.2 | not tested | not tested |
| 3Starrett manualabout $19 | 0.041 inches, moved into the lead, least bounce of the manual punches, no damage | 0.0305 inches, second place behind the Stahlwille, no visible damage | 0.0265 inches, second place behind the Stahlwille, no visible damage | 0.026 inches, second place, tip held up very well | tied for 2nd place with Snap-on, average finish of 2.2 | not tested | not tested |
| 4Hazet$17 | 0.035 inches, pretty good dent, no visible damage | 0.0305 inches, matched the Starrett, no visible damage | 0.026 inches, better than average, no visible damage | 0.026 inches, tip held up very well | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 5Proto Stanley Proto$14 | 0.0385 inches, no damage | 0.0295 inches, moved into the lead at that point, no visible damage | 0.021 inches, no visible damage | left only a very small dent, experienced quite a bit of tip damage, the hard steel was too much for it | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 6GearWrench$10 | 0.0355 inches, same as the Mayhew, no visible damage | 0.028 inches, very close to the Mayhew, no visible damage | 0.02 inches, almost identical to the Williams | 0.0175 inches, delivered a really hard blow, tip still looks good | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 7Klein Tools$8 | 0.0385 inches, same as the Wilde Tool, looks as good as new | 0.0225 inches, moved into third place, no visible damage | 0.019 inches, very good condition | similar sized crater to the Wilde Tool, quite a bit of damage to the punch | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 8Williams$8 | 0.0335 inches, not quite as good as the Mayhew or the Wilde Tool, no damage | 0.026 inches, moved into second place at that point, no visible damage | 0.0205 inches, looks as good as new | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 9Wilde Tool$17 for three, about $5.66 each | 0.0385 inches, no damage, small bounce | 0.025 inches, looks as good as new | 0.02 inches, handled the extra force just as well as the Mayhew, no visible damage | dent a little larger than the Mayhew, with a little less tip damage than the Mayhew | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 10Mayhew Tools$19 for four, about $4.75 each | 0.0355 inches, no damage to the tip | 0.0285 inches, still no damage | 0.022 inches, tip had a small flat area present since new | tip experienced a lot of damage, ended up as blunt as the Starrett automatic | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 11Spring Tools automatic center punch$15 | 0.03 inches, best of the automatic punches, hit harder than the Mulwark and Lisle | 0.028 inches, just as good as some of the manual punches, tip still very sharp | 0.0195 inches, best of the automatic punches | best of the automatic punches, small amount of tip damage | not tested | 1st place, finished first in every category except damage, which the host excluded from ranking since it does not seem logical to penalize harder hitting tools for greater damage | not tested |
| 12Sabrecut$35 | 0.0295 inches, best yet for this style of punch at that point | 0.0235 inches, performed very well for an automatic punch, tip looks as good as new | 0.018 inches, more pointed tip than General Tools helped leave a deep dent, no visible damage | 0.0095 inches, had outperformed General Tools up until this test but the hard steel held it back | not tested | 2nd place | just under 20 lb at lowest setting, 44.8 lb at highest setting |
| 13General Tools$29 | 0.0255 inches, tip looks as good as new | 0.0185 inches, pretty good sized dent, no visible damage | 0.0135 inches, tip looks as good as new | 0.0105 inches, made a little bigger dent than the Neiko | not tested | 3rd place | 30.2 lb at lowest setting, 47 lb at highest setting, most of all automatic punches tested |
| 14Neiko$15 | 0.0245 inches, held up fine | 0.0155 inches, second place among the automatics, no damage | 0.012 inches, quite a bit better than Mulwark and Lisle but not as good as Spring Tools | 0.0075 inches, came up short of the Spring Tools, very small amount of tip damage | not tested | not tested | 22.1 lb at lowest tension, 41.9 lb at highest tension |
| 15Lisle$13 | 0.017 inches, looks as good as new | 0.0125 inches, not as deep as the Mulwark, no visible damage | 0.0045 inches, same as the Mulwark | made a very small mark, no visible damage | not tested | not tested | 16.3 lb |
| 16Mulwark$9 | 0.016 inches, about half as deep as the manual punches, no damage | 0.015 inches, at a huge disadvantage with only 15 lb of spring force, no damage | 0.0045 inches, really struggled, no damage | barely left a mark, soft swing likely prevented tip damage | not tested | not tested | about 14.3 to 14.8 lb |
| 17Starrett automatic$48 | 0.0165 inches, relatively low spring force and a blunt tip hurt performance | 0.005 inches, moved into last place among the automatics | not tested | barely made an impression, tip became a little more blunt from the hard steel | not tested | not tested | just under 19 lb at lowest setting, 27.3 lb at highest setting |
How it was tested
- dropped weight impact depth test on half inch aluminum
- dropped weight impact depth test on mild steel
- dropped weight impact depth test on medium hardness steel with increased drop height
- dropped weight impact depth test on hard steel plate
- spring deployment force measurement for automatic punches
- visual damage assessment of punch tips after each material test
“So which punch is the best and a star wheel came out on top with an average finish of 1.2.”