Bosch Daredevil High Carbon Steel Standard Spade Bit Set (12-Piece)

October 2, 2018 | by Aaron (email) |

There are typically two reasons I purchase new tools. One, I need a tool to perform a task that no other tool I own is capable of completing, or two, the old tool is antiquated and in dire need of replacement. Having used the typical chisel point spade bits all of my life, I was curious to try Bosch’s Daredevil 12 piece spade bit set to see if they really do cut faster.

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Are They Really Faster?

There’s nothing better than a good ‘ole fashioned head-to-head to test a claim that one tool is better than another. I do a fair amount of wiring so I happened to have a nice sharp 5/8″ chisel point spade bit on hand for the trial. You can clearly see the differences in the two types of bits below. The Daredevil bit has a spiral tip for added bite, which helps pull the bit through the wood. It also has a contoured paddle shape that aides in keeping the bit from jamming half-way through holes as is often the case with standard bits.

It stands to reason that most folks using spade bits are boring through two-by material so I chucked a scrap piece of stud in my sawhorse vice and started making swiss cheese. At first, I was just playing around trying to get a feel for how the new bits chewed their way through the wood. I honestly wasn’t expecting much from the spiral tip, but I could really feel it actually pulling the bit through the wood. Sometimes it’s nice to be wrong.

After a few practice holes, I made three holes with each type of bit and averaged the times they took to break through. The standard chisel point bit made it through in 8.76 seconds and the Bosch Daredevil bit chewed through in a measly 2.54 seconds. While not anywhere near the advertised 10x faster, 3-4x faster is certainly nothing to sneeze at. It was actually hard to get a good action shot of the drill bit before it was already through the stud. That’s pretty fast.

I Need These In My Life!

In all seriousness, if you’re in the market for spade bits, you’d be remiss not to give the Bosch Daredevil High Carbon Steel Standard Spade Bit Set a good, hard look. Available at the Home Depot for $19.99, these are a real bargain that should last a good long while.