Drill HogUSA 1/4" Cobalt M42 Drill Bits 12 Pack

Generally when I read drill bit reviews I take them with a grain of salt, most people don't even realize there are different blends of HSS.These bits compared to other M42 bits are seriously amazing, they are so hard to break for some reason.We use them in a locksmith shop, so they have gone through everything from carbon steel to "mild" hardened steel successfully (Rockwell 60), however on the "harder" hardened steel we still use carbide. But I never expected these bits to go through any hardened steel, so color me impressed.Drilling out American Padlocks is a breeze with these bits, the hardened steel collar around the cylinder is a drill bits nightmare, most other bits snap very quickly when slapping the hardened steel. These don't seem to care, without cutting oil it did nick them a hair, but with cutting oil looking as good as new. Also, only takes about 9 seconds compared to several minutes with "standard dewalt HSS".I was so happy with these I wanted to go a bit further and find some m42 steel coated bits (wanted TiCN but could not find), not for the cutting edge just for reduced friction and such. So I ordered "Chicago Latrobe 2550 Series Cobalt Steel Jobber Length Drill Bit, TiN Coated" which claim to also be m42 steel. The Chicago latrobes sell for around $10/bit most places, and they were 1/4". I was very excited to try them, at this price I expected them to outperform drill hog and was gonna keep them in my secret stash and use drill hogs for general use. Well... I received the Chicago latrobes yesterday, already broke the tips off of two working on ignitions, and they just drilled really slow compared to drill Hog.So I decided to give them a more fair comparison, got a BRAND NEW Chicago Latrobe bit out the bag, and a new American padlock cylinder, put it in between some wood blocks for stability, and drilled. The Latrobe broke INSTANTLY, followed up with a drill hog that's already been through over 50 cylinders, at least 10 of each were American cylinders that were actually in the padlock (much more stressful). The drill hog went right through, and I had resharpened the tip very crudely with a bench grinder and still outperformed the much more expensive Chicago latrobes.... Wow...See the pics for American padlock cyl adventure.

These bits have outperformed all the other cobalt bits I've bought by a long ways. Recommend a cutting fluid with these and they will go through hardened steel pretty easily.

Love the Drill Hog bits. They work well, although carbide can be brittle. I've broken two and trying to figure out where to go to get the warranty figured out is pretty vague. No contact info beyond an address. I guess I'll have to mail them a snail mail or something. Cannot find a working email to talk to anyone. So that would be nice to have a contact when one breaks since they are guaranteed for life when you register them.

Needed to drill several 1/4" holes in thick walled galvanized fence poles for cable to pass thru and regular bits weren't up to the task. These did the job with no problem, great product. Used two to finish the job of 14 holes, wish they lasted longer.

Great drill bits for steel beams.

These cost more then the imports but perform as expected. Very good bits.

They worked to drill a broke engine bolt on a 87 long tractor so I could tap and replace it

I have had real good luck with drill hog and viking M42 bits