Categories of hand tools include wrenches, pliers, cutters, files, striking tools, struck or hammered tools, screwdrivers, vises, clamps, snips, hacksaws, drills, and knives. Outdoor tools such as garden forks, pruning shears, and rakes are additional forms of hand tools. Portable power tools are not hand tools.

There is a huge range of tools and they all perform different functions, but 10 of the most commonly used are a hammer, a screwdriver, a mallet, an axe, a saw, a wrench, a chisel, pliers, a drill, and a tape measure.

Tools include: Bits- Multi-purpose bits, metal bits, hole saws, forstner bits, countersinks, etc. Pliers-locking pliers, needle nose pliers, diagonal snips, flush cutters, etc. Screwdrivers- phillips, flat-head, torx, etc. Hammers- ball-peen hammer, claw hammer, rubber mallet, etc.

Some examples of tools that are often used today are the hammer, the wrench (also called a spanner), saws, shovel, telephone, and the computer. Very basic things like knives, pens, and pencils are also tools. The bludgeon (a stick or rock used as a weapon to smash things) was one of the first tools made by humans.