10 practical gifts for the handyman—or handy lady—in your life
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Tools seem like the perfect gift for your friendly, neighborhood handyman—after all, some people have a knack for building and fixing—but, it can be difficult to find the right ones. Ideally, your gift will be a practical tool that they can use on a regular basis, but one they don’t already have.
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We’re here to help make that easier. With the insight of our own experience using and testing hundreds of products over the past year, we’ve put together a list of 10 awesome gifts for a handyman or anyone who loves to get into a project and work with their hands.
Of course, surprise tool gifts aren’t always the best idea—they may already have some of these—so we recommend checking before buying. Hopefully, they’ll be so excited for your gift that they can’t wait to bring it over to help with your next project.
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1. For the handyman on the move: The Worx Pegasus Folding Work Table
Every handy person needs somewhere to work. For the most part, anyone who works with tools already has a bench that they set up in their workshop. However, if they’re working away from home a lot, they may not always have a good surface to work on.
The Worx folding work table solves this problem. This is a compact, portable table strong enough to hold up to 300 pounds when open, or 1,000 pounds when folded down into a sawhorse. And, it only weighs 28 pounds.
My favorite feature is the integrated T-track for easy clamping of materials. Every handyman needs a portable workspace that they can just toss in the trunk and go.
Get the Worx WX051 Pegasus Folding Work Table & Sawhorse at Amazon for $137.62
2. For the “I’m too lazy to go grab a screwdriver” handyman: The Gerber Gear Pocket Knife
One tool no handyman should be without is a pocket knife. This is one of the most versatile tools available, small enough to carry (almost) everywhere. A good pocket knife like the Gerber can obviously cut whatever needs cutting, from strong zip-ties to shaving or scoring wood.
However, with a little imagination, a good pocket knife can also be used in a pinch as a screwdriver, a pry bar, a shovel, a staple-remover, a pencil sharpener and even a bottle opener. Don’t forget the importance of having a pocket knife to open all of those packages about to start arriving before the holidays.
Get the Gerber Gear Folding Pocket Knife at Amazon for $30.46
3. For the new handyman: The Porter Cable 20V Max 8-tool Set
Every new handyman needs a good power tool set to get started. Porter Cable’s 20V Max 8-tool set is a reasonably-priced, quality collection that has just about every tool most people will need to complete jobs around the house.
This is the perfect gift for a spouse or close family member, whether for the holidays or a house-warming. The drill, circular saw, and reciprocating saw have obvious applications that most people know. But, the most surprisingly useful tool in this set is the oscillating tool. This versatile tool can cut and sand in all kinds of awkward and uncomfortable places that you simply can’t get an orbital sander or reciprocating saw.
A burgeoning handy person may not even know they want it, but they’ll be very glad you got it for them. And, now you know where you can borrow one if you ever need it.
Get the Porter Cable 20V Max 8-tool Set at Amazon for $388.17
4. For the frustrated disassembly expert: A Screw Extractor Set
Some disassembly projects are easy—just take a reciprocating saw to whatever it is until it falls apart. However, some projects require a bit more finesse to take apart.
Not all damaged screws can be cut or dug out of the wood or metal. A screw extractor set can be a lifesaver both in terms of preserving a piece without damaging it and saving time and energy.
This extractor set features 10 bits to drill into the damaged or stripped screw, and then 10 matching extractors to pull them out. With a few seconds of work, this set can save your favorite handy person 10 minutes or more fighting with stripped screws.
Get a Screw Extractor Set at Amazon for $17.99
5. For the “I hate geometry” handyman: The Saker Contour Gauge
Houses have weird shapes in them, and sometimes you need to make a piece of tile or drywall or wood fit perfectly around that weird shape. Of course, you can always do a lot of measuring and math to design the perfect cut.
However, if you want to save the handyman in your life some time and plenty of bad cuts, consider gifting them the Saker contour gauge. This ingenious little tool presses up against any shaped object and forms around it. Then you lock the gauge in place, and remove it. Voila! A perfect template of whatever shape you’re trying to replicate. Simply trace the template onto your work piece and cut it out with your tool of choice. It should fit perfectly. The first time they use it to try to tile around a door frame, they’ll call you to thank you.
Get the Saker Contour Gauge on Amazon for $25.49
6. For the music and podcast lover: The 3M WorkTunes Connect Hearing Protector with Bluetooth
A lot of handyman work is loud. This means two things: First, you need to wear ear protection, and second, you probably can’t hear anything else. Fortunately, there’s a solution to both these issues in this one product.
This overhead hearing protector is a comfortable and convenient way for anyone working with power tools to protect their hearing while still listening to their favorite albums, podcasts or audio books. The Bluetooth system connects easily with your Bluetooth-enabled phone, allowing you to control your media and even make and take phone calls.
And, with a noise reduction rating of 23db, these headphones can take noise from everything from a lawnmower to a table saw down to a reasonable volume.
Get the 3M WorkTunes Connect Hearing Protector with Bluetooth at Amazon for $70.28
7. For the handyman on the go: The Kobalt 12-inch, 5-gallon Bucket Organizer
Full toolboxes are heavy and hard to move. Tools outside of a toolbox are hard to keep track of. Luckily, Kobalt’s 5-gallon bucket organizer addresses both of these issues.
It turns any regular 5-gallon bucket into a convenient traveling case for just the tools you need for your current project. The 26 included pockets keep tools of all sizes organized and easy to access, while the bucket itself provides even more storage room for larger tools like drills, saws or all of your hardware.
The durable fabric is tear and water-resistant, so you don’t have to worry about ruining it on messy job sites. It’s a fantastic option to bring tools to someone else’s house, or even to bring all the tools you need upstairs so you don’t have to keep running back to the basement to get a different wrench.
Get the Kobalt 12-inch 5-gallon Bucket Organizer at Lowe's for $13.98
8. For the gear head handyman: The Dewalt 192-piece Mechanics Tool Set
The worst part of any project involving nuts and bolts is that there always seems to be one or two that are just a different size than the others. It’s usually the one socket size you don’t have in your toolbox.
With the 192-piece Dewalt mechanics tool set, the odds of not having the right size are pretty low. This set includes metric and imperial sockets, both shallow and deep, three size ratchets, several extenders and full hex key sets.
The carrying case is invaluable—no more digging through a drawer for the right size, or having to toss a handful of sockets in a bag to transport them. The case makes the whole set easy to move to wherever it’s needed, and keeps the tools organized to find them in an instant.
If the handyman in your life doesn’t have one of these sets yet, it’s well worth the investment.
Get the Dewalt 192-piece Mechanics Tool Set at Amazon for $179.99
9. For the “I’m not sure what size I need” handyman: Channellock 2-piece Tongue and Groove pliers
Tongue and groove pliers are arguably the most versatile type of pliers. They can adjust to fit just about any size of anything, and if you have the grip strength and necessary torque, can probably get whatever it is to turn.
Whether grabbing an odd-size bolt or trying to force a pipe loose, tongue and groove pliers can be used in all kinds of applications. And, like Kleenex for tissues, Channellock has become the brand that means the tool.
This set of Channellocks includes two sizes of high carbon steel pliers for maximum versatility and strength in the toolbox. No toolbox is complete without a set.
Get the Channellock 2-piece tongue and groove pliers on Amazon for $26.97
10. For the “I can’t find it” handyman: The Universal Socket
Sometimes it’s just hard to find the socket that you need. When these days arise, the handy person in your life will be happy that you gifted them this universal socket. It fits nuts and bolts ¼” to ¾”, as well as metric from 7mm to 19mm.
But, much more useful is the fact that it can fit irregularly sized fasteners as well, from wing nuts to square nuts to damaged or broken nuts. So, when your favorite handyman comes across something that a regular socket set won’t fit, this is a great tool to have on hand.
It fits right into most power drills, manual ratchets, or electric screwdrivers with the included adaptor. It’s not going to replace a regular socket set, but it's a fantastic backup to keep in the toolbox for whenever it's needed.
Get the Universal Socket at Amazon for $14.09
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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.