I was scouting out the Black Friday 2022 tool deals at Home Depot when I came across a new Ryobi hobby hand tool kit deal.
Price at $25, this kit comes with a couple of hobby tools, none of which I would expect to see from Ryobi of all brands.
Ryobi has been trying to make a push into the hobby tool market recently, but this was still completely unexpected.
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Ryobi had a large and rather impressive showing of cordless and AC-powered hobby tools, including rotary tool accessories.
Curiously, I didn’t see any Dremel rotary tools or hobby tools included in either Home Depot or Lowe’s gift centers this year, at least not yet.
There were corded rotary tools on the end of the hobby tool deals floor display.
I actually missed the hobby hand tools kit during my first couple of visits to different Home Depot stores’ holiday season deal and gift centers these past 3 weeks.
But, I’m glad I caught it during my last visit.
The Ryobi hobby hand tools kit, model RHTK101, comes with a hobby knife, tweezers, 6pc screwdriver set, and a pouch to store it all in.
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The hobby knife definitely looks very different compared to the hobby knives I’m used to, from brands such as X-Acto and Excel.
It has a very different blade change mechanism, too, which Ryobi says is 50% faster.
The precision screwdrivers have rotating end caps, for better control, and clear size and style identification.
You also get curved-tipped tweezers, of course with Ryobi’s signature lime-green color.
The tweezers come with removable silicone tips.
Lastly, the kit also comes with a zippered tool pouch.
They’re selling the zippered pouch separately, which is why the product image shows it wet with a “durable water resistant material” claim. Or, maybe some people like to toss their hobby tools into a zippered bag and leave it out in the rain.
The hobby knife and screwdriver set are also available separately.
Price: $25
Also Available Separately:
Ryobi Hobby Knife – $9.97
Ryobi 6pc Screwdriver Set – $6.97
Ryobi 12″ Zippered Tool Bag – $6.97
I suppose I shouldn’t have been too surprised, as new Ryobi hand tools appeared on Home Depot’s website earlier this year, but these are the first I’ve seen in person.
If you’re looking for a new hobby knife, also check out the USA-made Excel soft-grip hobby knife, which usually sells for less than $9 at Amazon.
Black Friday 2022 Deal Guides
If you’re looking for more Black Friday or holiday 2022 tool deals, there are a LOT more! These links will take you to other ToolGuyd posts.
Acme Tools Black Friday 2022 Deals
Amazon Black Friday 2022 Tool Deals
Home Depot Black Friday 2022 Tool Deals
Lowe’s Black Friday 2022 Tool Deals
Dewalt Tool Deals for Black Friday 2022
Milwaukee Tool Deals for Black Friday 2022
Makita Tool Deals for Black Friday 2022
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MoogleMan3
Thanks for the heads up. My old stanley mini screwdriver set has served me well but it’s getting long in the tooth and showing its wear.
Michael F
Ryobi is developing a strong presence in the hobby/maker space. I could see this kit being useful for just about anything. I’m honestly curious if we’ll see a Ryobi 3D printer at this point?
Steven+B
I can’t imagine a better space for Ryobi than hobby/maker. it’s underserved and plays to their strengths.
Bonnie
Yeah, I could absolutely see them coming in under brands like micro-mark and proxxon with a little focus.
Stuart
I would think they have their sights set on Dremel right now.
Emilio Hernandez
That’s really condescending like Ryobi can’t hold its own in any other space
David Z
3D printer… running off 40V batteries!
Next year, a CNC.
Adam
I picked up the set, mainly for the knife. I hadn’t seen it available before, so I purchased as it looked like they weren’t going to last the week.
I haven’t opened it yet, but now seeing I can get the knife a la carte, I’ll probably pick that up. Not to mention the 3 are cheaper separately than together. That’s not supposed to work that way. lol
Ball_bearing
Just like McDonald’s used to be, with combo meals being more expensive than buying the items individually. (Is it still like that?)
MoogleMan3
You get the tweezers in the set too; not worth the extra $3 for me though. I already have plenty of tweezers.
Keith+Allen
Bag is the extra buck.
Paul Kruger
What about the tweezers?
Stuart
Not available separately, at least not that I could find.
JP
That’s exactly how it’s supposed to work. Consumers see bundles and assume it’s a better deal than buying separately. Many things at Costco or Sams are cheaper buying separately than in bulk but consumers are conditioned not to think that way.
Stuart
I cannot speak wholesale clubs, but – with few exceptions – tool bundles often save money over the cost of their components.
MM
Interesting, this is not what I’d expect from Ryobi either, but Michael F is right, they sure have been making a lot of hobby oriented products like the variety of rotary tools, glue guns, etc so in that regard it makes sense.
I am surprised by the price though, with this being Ryobi I’d have guessed it would be more like $10 or $15; normally Ryobi is very good value for money. But here can get a precision Wiha screwdriver set for about $20 and I’m sure those are far superior to anything in this kit…..what does that leave behind, a pair of mediocre tweezers and an art knife, neither of which is worth more than a buck or two? Pass. One can buy much better tools for just a little more money or the same tier for a lot less.
Dave Zevchak
I saw this display and was intrigued by it. I didn’t have time to investigate but I was wondering if the Ryobi accessories are Dremel compatible. For instance, will the quick-change cutoff discs work with the Dremel quick-change spindle and vice-versa? You would assume they are.
Stuart
I have Dremel and Ryobi quick-change cut-off discs in front of me.
Ryobi quick-change mandrel works with Ryobi and Dremel quick-change discs.
Dremel quick-change mandrel only works with Dremel quick-change discs.
James Ouzts
Fiskars makes hobby knife that works like this one. its pretty neat and is actually a bit faster to change the blades.
https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-165110-1001-Change-Detail-Orange/dp/B01J21POXK
Jared
Neat. That blade change design strikes me as something that could be quite useful. My first reaction was the opposite – “what’s wrong with twisting the barrel on a regular knife?” – but then I was thinking about all the different blade shapes and how a speedy change might encourage a person to switch more often.
E.g. I bought a hobby knife kit years ago that had regular blades, blades with chisel grinds on each side, blades that were rounded (e.g. all “belly”, no point), squared-chisel blades, etc… I never really used all the “special” shapes, but maybe I would if back-and-forth switching were faster.
MM
It probably depends on the user, but I’m with your initial reaction of “what’s wrong with twisting the barrel?”. Using a screw to secure the blades is a great idea because it can never really wear out. You just tighten the screw a little more. A toggle lock sort of system like this knife uses will eventually lose its grip.
This style of art knife is very cheap, I’d think that someone who does a lot of carving or delicate model work that calls for multiple different blades likely has several handles set up with the blades they want rather than constantly switching them in and out.
fred
My introduction to hobby knives came with a X-Acto set that I received for Christmas in the early 1950’s. I was probably 13 or 14 years old, and I thought that it was the best gift I received that year. It had a few different handles, different blades, (knife blades, chisels and punches, and saw blades) a mini spokeshave, a mini plane and a sanding block – all in a wooden box. I still have the box and some of the components. I suspect that the whole shebang probably cost less than this new Ryobi Kit
BTW HD says that the replacement blades are made in the USA
James Ouzts
*meaning faster than an average hobby knife. not faster than the ryobi.
KokoTheTalkingApe
Yah, I’m unimpressed. The knife looks bulky and unwieldy. And I don’t need faster blade changes, I need a convenient blade guard, or a retracting blade.
The tweezer is a throwaway, and the screwdrivers are probably not high quality, as others have said.
Stuart
Why is the tweezer a throwaway?
I have a similar way-too-big tweezers from… X-Acto? and it comes in handy a lot. I’m actually disappointed I can’t buy the Ryobi separately (yet?). I don’t care for the coating, but I could use another pair of chunky tweezers.
MM
If you want nice tweezers like that search for medical “dressing forceps”, they come in straight and curved varieties anywhere from just a couple of bucks up through high end brands. Honestly the cheapos are just fine.
My favorite general-purpose tweezers for electronics and craft stuff are “London College Tweezers”, which is apparently a standard pattern used by dentists. They are angled, fairly long and narrow but not needle pointed. In my opinion they are an ideal balance between precision and durability. They get into tight spots but they aren’t so delicate as the Swiss type needle pointed tweezers.
Stuart
Thanks!
Good tweezers can make the difference between a smooth project and a really bad day.
Transmission electron microscope sample grids were the worst things I ever had to move around delicately. They’re 3mm in diameter, but you should only grab them by the rim (maybe 400µm wide), and they are only 25µ thick.
fred
At the other end of the spectrum, I have a pair of these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078T88CRQ/
Not really rust-proof – but good for grabbing or planting things in one of my aquariums
KokoTheTalkingApe
Aha. I wrongly assumed the tweezers were plastic, because of the color. The HD item description says they’re stainless steel. My mistake.
That’s better, but like you, I would still prefer chrome over green paint.
I don’t use large tweezers much. Most of the time I can just use chopsticks, which are strong, durable, easily modified, and free. Other times I use hemostats, which have an extremely strong grip.
Will
I want those tweezers
Rich
Ryobi is junk. They could be giving thier stuff away and i wouldn’t take it. I bought a few things over the years from Ryobi, and was never impressed. Recently, I bought a case of assorted screw tips,(Phillips, square, torx, slotted etc.) they failed very quickly. Installing a bunch of sheetrock, the Phillips tips rounded off quickly. Same with the square drive. And the torx tip lasted about 10 screws and failed…..they all went in the garbage…..what a waste. If you wanna build a strong customer base, put out some quality products. Im done!