The Transition

Black oxide, titanium nitride, cobalt coating - the surface treatments on drill bits aren't marketing distinctions. Each coating has specific chemistry that changes how the bit handles heat and friction.

Fein designed the oscillating multi-tool to remove casts from broken limbs. Decades later, remodeling crews use it for cutting, scraping, sanding, and anything else that fits in a tight space. The sanding attachment was an afterthought - and it performs like one.

Milwaukee and DeWalt split the professional tool market almost exactly in half. Behind the brand loyalty, the corporate parent companies TTI and Stanley Black & Decker are fighting very different wars.

Impact driver sales grew 340% in a decade while drill sales stayed flat. The impact driver took over fastening entirely and started encroaching on drilling. Yet the drill didn't flinch. The physics of percussive delivery explain why both tools ended up on the same belt instead of one replacing the other.