KM Tools Negative Rake Brad Point Drill Bit Set

Introducing a brad point set ground with a negative rake geometry, built to do one thing better than any standard wood bit on the market: punch a dead-clean hole with no tear out. No torn up fibers or skating across plywood face veneer because the bit got greedy. Just a perfectly round, perfectly placed hole every single time.

A standard brad point cuts aggressively, which works fine for rough work until you're trying to drill a hole in your project that is visible in hardwood, through Baltic birch ply, or into a thin walnut veneer. That's where negative rake earns its name. The flatter "negative rake” cutting geometry slows the bite and shears the wood fibers cleanly instead of ripping them out. Hand drill, drill press, cordless driver, doesn't matter, the bit stays planted and the hole stays clean.

Three sharp points (a center spur and two outer cutters) plant the bit exactly where you mark it, eliminating walk on the first revolution. The widened and deepened chip evacuation grooves keep the flutes clear at full depth, so you're not stopping every 3/8" to back the bit out and clear the hole. The smaller twist bits (1/16" and 3/32" on the imperial, 1.5mm and 2.0mm on the metric) handle hardware pilot holes and dowel locations. Above that, you're working with full brad point geometry, ideal for dowel joinery, shelf pins, plug cup hardware, and fine finish pre-drills.

Choose Your Set:

• 8 Piece Imperial: 1/16" twist + brad points at 1/8", 3/16", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 7/16", 1/2"

• 15 Piece Imperial: 1/16" and 3/32" twist + brad points at 1/8", 5/32", 3/16", 7/32", 1/4", 9/32", 5/16", 11/32", 3/8", 13/32", 7/16", 15/32", 1/2"

• 8 Piece Metric: 1.5mm twist + brad points at 3.0 / 4.5 / 6.0 / 8.0 / 9.5 / 11 / 12.5mm

• 15 Piece Metric: 1.5mm and 2.0mm twist + brad points at 3.0 / 4.0 / 4.5 / 5.5 / 6.0 / 7.0 / 8.0 / 8.5 / 9.5 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 12.5mm

Specifications:

• Material: High-speed steel, fully ground

• Geometry: Negative rake brad point (smallest size 1/16” and 1.5mm are negative rake twist)

• Tip: Center Spur is sharp for ultra precision hole starts

• Flutes: Widened and deepened spiral grooves for fast chip evacuation

• Shank: Round, fits any standard 3-jaw chuck

• Includes: Hinged (15 pcs) and Molded Urethane (8 pcs) storage case with labeled size index

Excellent for drilling:

Softwood • Hardwood • Plywood and Baltic birch • Plastic sheet stock • Rubber • Polyurethanes • Dowel joinery • Shelf pin holes • Plug cup hardware • Pre-drills for fine finish work

Not for use on: metal, masonry, walls, rocks, glass, or concrete.

Jonathan's Hot Take

You can put a sharp brad point in a drill press and still tear up your workpiece. We've all done it. You drill into figured maple or 1/4" Baltic birch and the top looks like you took a pry bar to it. That's a positive rake bit being too aggressive for the material.

Negative rake fixes that. The geometry refuses to self feed. The bit sits in the wood and shears the fibers cleanly on the way through, which means a dead-clean entrance on plywood face grain and zero splintering on hardwoods that want to chip or tear out. Combine that with three sharp points (a center spur flanked by two outer cutters) and you get pinpoint location without sacrificing surface quality.

I keep the 8 piece in my shop bag for hardware installs and pull mounting. The 15 piece lives on the drill press for anything joinery related. Either way, it's the kind of set you stop reaching past your other bits to grab, because you know the hole is going to come out right the first time.

If you take pride in clean, repeatable holes, whether you're working plywood, hardwood, plastic, rubber, or polyurethane, this set belongs in your shop.