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Lately I've been seeing colour coded screw bits, like in the set below (from Lidl's store brand, Powerfix).

A bit set with colour-coded bits, as described below
(Click for larger version)

  • Red for Phillips
  • Blue for Pozidriv
  • Orange for slotted
  • Yellow for Torx
  • Pink for Allen

Is this colour code universal? Or do other brands / manufacturers use different codes?

SQB
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  • I've added the comment to my answer, please let me know if that's ok now. – abdnChap Jan 30 '20 at 09:50
  • @abdnChap yes it is. – SQB Jan 30 '20 at 09:53
  • Thanks, I was thinking maybe I should have put them in a table... – abdnChap Jan 30 '20 at 10:04
  • There's a big-box store brand here in the States that uses blue for metric sockets and red for SAE. Or is that the other way 'round... :/ – FreeMan Jan 30 '20 at 14:17
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    If there was a universal code, someone would immediately create another one. There would be a European one, a British one, two American ones, one of which is sanctioned by an obscure government agency, the other created by a committee of manufacturers representing 30% of the industry. Some Taiwanese company would create one that makes a ton of sense and all the other Taiwanese companies would adopt it, but nobody else would. The EC and the US DOJ would both demand that the standards under their control make provision for the color-blind. – jay613 Aug 18 '21 at 13:02

2 Answers2

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The colour codes are NOT universal. There is no agreed upon universal colour code for colouring bits (to my knowledge).

I have found that each brand (mostly) follows their own colour coding. Powerfix uses the colours you describe, and some brands, either intentionally or otherwise, use the same colours as other brands.

But mostly, they do not. For example, Halfords uses

  • Blue: Philips
  • Yellow: Pozidriv
  • Red: Flat
  • Green: Torx

While Wera uses

  • Red: Phillips
  • Black: Pozidriv
  • Green: Torx
  • Blue: hex
  • Yellow: flat

And then if all the tools in a set are the same, e.g. hex keys, Wera uses colours for the sizes instead.

SQB
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abdnChap
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    I wish someone would instead colour the bits differently according to _size_ instead of type. It's pretty easy to tell the difference between a Pozidriv and a Torx bit, even from a distance, but I have to look closely to tell a T25 from a T20. And picking a T20 instead of a T25 will ruin both the bit and the screw. – Popup Oct 05 '22 at 08:57
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On my set, they all have a yellow band - to help find them when you drop them I suppose, and that is for phillips. torx ie all...

My set was made by DeWalt, so not (probably) a cheap chinesium brand... I have also seen others where all the bits have a red band...

Solar Mike
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    DeWalt do seem to have something of a yellow colour theme, so the visibility of the bits may not have been uppermost in the designer's mind. – Andrew Morton Jan 29 '20 at 14:02
  • @AndrewMorton the bits are mostly black :) – Solar Mike Jan 29 '20 at 14:03
  • The DeWalt brand colors are Yellow & Black (and are trademarked/copyrighted/something - it's all over their boxes!), thus the black bit with yellow band is a brand identification, not a convenient color coding. FYI- Milwaukee bits are red in the spot where the DeWalts are yellow - bet you can guess why... ;) – FreeMan Aug 18 '21 at 14:07