The best nut splitters, compared.
Top pick: DASBET 4-piece nut splitter, blue Best value: Hilka 12455002 nut splitter – Highest price-band part in the file, at £12.56, from 3.8 and 68 reviews. The edge or body can bend. Updated 22.10.2026.
A nut splitter is a hand tool that cuts or spreads a seized, rounded, or spinning nut so you can sacrifice the nut and try to keep the bolt or stud. In the UK you typically reach for one after a spanner has already failed on a car exhaust, a drop link, a track rod, a tow bar, a wiper spindle, or a lawnmower nut. Size the frame by the across-flats measurement of the nut you still have, not by the bolt's thread. An M12 nut is not a 12 mm splitter. Screw-type frames are sold in bands such as 9–12 mm, 12–16 mm and 16–22 mm, and some four-piece sets claim up to 27 mm. A closed ring has to pass over the nut, and it may not sit against a flange. Buyer reviews keep returning to the same fault: the locating pin snaps, or the frame and the edge bend, often on the first nut. A case is storage, not a harder chisel. Measuring the flats, and rejecting lookalikes, is set out in the [nut splitter buying guide](/hub/hand-tools/nut-splitter/sub/nut-splitter-buying-guide).
A nut splitter is a hand tool that cuts or spreads a seized, rounded, or spinning nut so you can sacrifice the nut and try to keep the bolt or stud.
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
What have you measured?
The DASBET ZTC260508-3 is a four-piece blue set at £11.39, listed at 1.67 kg, with stated ranges 9–12 mm, 12–16 mm, 16–22 mm and 22–27 mm, and splitter-screw diameters of 12 mm, 14 mm, 18 mm and 21 mm. The listing line is 5.0 from one review, and the scaled score is 68, which is a thin sample next to the BGS and QWORK files. The saved listing has no review body, so there is no record of a nut, a pin, or a failure. The bullets claim bearing steel and a case with an inlay; the technical material line says Metal. Drive is a socket, spanner, or wrench, and the hex size is not stated. A five-star line from one silent review is not evidence that the 22–27 mm body will crack a nut.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a claimed 22–27 mm body and a case, and you will judge the chisel yourself.
Less suitable: You want written reviews before you trust a five-star line.
Specifications
Common questions
How is this DASBET set different from the other four-piece row?
This ASIN is model ZTC260508-3, colour blue, at £11.39, with a 5.0 rating from 1 review and no review text in the saved listing. The other DASBET row is model ZTC0507-1 at £18.99 with 4.0 from 27 reviews. Both state the same four ranges.
Does it include a case?
The bullets say a durable case with inlay storage for each tool. Package dimensions are not stated.
What do buyers say in the reviews?
The listing line is 5.0 from 1 review. The saved listing contains no review body, so praise and complaints are not stated.
The Ejoyous listing is a 12-piece set at £25.49, listed at 930 g and 25 × 20 × 4 cm, with nut ranges stated as 12–16 mm and 16–22 mm and a plastic box claimed. The star line is 4.7 from five reviews, and the scaled score is 58. The title says a nut splitter set. The same bullets also describe a twist socket set and removal of screws, drill bits, and studs, and the file does not say how many of the 12 pieces are splitters. The only review body calls the set good value and says the tool kept sliding off wing nuts. Bullets say forged and hardened chrome vanadium steel; the technical material field is not a real value, so that grade is not confirmed on the specification line. Drive is described as a wrench, and the same bullet mentions standard variable-speed bits, which the file does not explain. Five stars from five reviews, with one sentence about wing nuts, is not a reason to pay more than the two-piece and three-piece rows.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You already know you want the mixed socket listing and you will check the contents on arrival.
Less suitable: You want a nut splitter whose piece count is only splitters, or a review of a seized hex nut.
Specifications
Common questions
Is this only a nut splitter?
The title says a 12-piece nut splitter set for 12–22 mm. The same bullets also describe a twist socket set and removal of screws, drill bits, and studs. How many pieces are splitters is not stated.
What did the review say?
The saved listing has one review body. It calls the set good value and says the tool kept sliding off wing nuts. The star line is 4.7 from 5 reviews.
What is the material?
The bullets say forged and hardened chrome vanadium steel. The technical material field is not a real value, so the grade on that line is not stated.
The DASBET ZTC0507-1 is a four-piece set at £18.99, listed at 1.67 kg, with the same four ranges up to 22–27 mm and a claimed carry case. Across 27 amazon.co.uk reviews the line is 4.0, and the scaled score is 66. Of the 12 review bodies in the file, praise covers the smaller splitter, a case called sturdy, and tow-bar nuts that a spanner and a 400 Nm impact wrench had not moved. That tow-bar review put the splitter on an impact driver after a socket adaptor snapped, which is a report of what happened, not a listed method. The repeated fault is a first-use break, including a grub screw that should keep the point straight, after which the point turns and the end breaks off. One reviewer failed a vice test on a 12 mm nut they expected to be inside the range, and another says the thread and the tool were both wrecked. This is a different model number from the blue DASBET row at £11.39, which has no review text.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You have measured a nut above 22 mm and you can accept a 27-review file.
Less suitable: You want the 954-review pile, or you plan to drive the screw with an impact gun.
Specifications
Common questions
What extra size does this four-piece set add?
Beside 9–12 mm, 12–16 mm and 16–22 mm, the bullets add 22–27 mm. The seller’s splitter bolt diameters are 12 mm, 14 mm, 18 mm and 21 mm.
Is there a case?
The bullets say a compact carry case. Item weight is 1.67 kg. Package dimensions are not stated.
What do the review bodies say?
Praise covers the smaller splitter, the case, and a tow-bar job. Complaints cover a first-use break and the grub screw that should keep the point straight.
The BGS 1812 is a two-piece screw splitter at £18.11, listed at 630 g, with a 12–16 mm body 95 mm long on a 14 mm drive and a 16–22 mm body 120 mm long on a 19 mm drive. Across 954 amazon.co.uk reviews the line is 3.9, and the scaled score is 79, the highest in this set, so it is the top pick on that score. Of the 50 review texts in the file, buyers describe a seized tie-rod jam nut and exhaust-joint nuts coming off without the reviewer reporting thread damage on that job, and one spinning 13 mm nut finished in a few minutes once the screw was greased. The same file keeps returning to a cutting pin, chisel edge, or guide screw that breaks on the first nut, including a 17 mm nut and the 16–22 mm body. Reviewers also say the small locating screw falls out or will not hold the piston straight, and that the smaller body's thread sticks or the hex mushrooms. Grease on the screw is a reviewer habit; the bullets do not say to grease it, and a case is not listed. Forged carbon steel is the material line, which is not a hardness grade, and one reviewer got one nut out of four before the edge chipped.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want the two-size pair with the deepest amazon.co.uk review file in this set, and you will stop if the pin shears.
Less suitable: You need a 9 mm body, a 22–27 mm body, or a tool the reviews describe as reusable after a hard nut.
Specifications
Common questions
What sizes are in the BGS 1812 set?
The listing states a 12–16 mm splitter with a 14 mm drive and a length of 95 mm, and a 16–22 mm splitter with a 19 mm drive and a length of 120 mm.
Does the listing include a case?
The question block on the page asks about a case. The bullets do not say a case is included. Included components are the two-piece set.
What do the reviews repeat about failures?
Across the reviews read, the cutting pin, chisel edge, or small guide screw breaks, often on the first nut, and the smaller screw can stick or mushroom.
The Hilka 12455002 is a two-piece splitter at £12.56, listed at 550 g, with a 12–15 mm body on a 14 mm hex and a 16–24 mm body on a 19 mm hex. Across 68 amazon.co.uk reviews the line is 3.8, and the scaled score is 70. The price-band part of that score is the highest in this set, which is why it is the best value here, not because the reviews are kinder than the BGS file. Of the 24 texts read, buyers report a corroded wiper-blade collar, seized clutch fittings, a track-rod end nut, and a garden-gate nut, and one says distorting the fitting was enough. The title and the included-components line say two pieces; a technical piece-count line says one. The repeated fault is a cutting edge that rolls over or a body that bends on the first rusty nut, and one review says the thread was destroyed and the nut was not split. The package dimensions are printed as 5 × 5 × 5 cm, which is the listing figure and is not a usable length for these two bodies. A case is not in the bullets.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a stated 14 mm and 19 mm hex at about £13 and you will treat a bent edge as the end of the tool.
Less suitable: You want the 954-review file, a 9 mm body, or a listed case.
Specifications
Common questions
What sizes and hexes does Hilka state?
The bullets say 12–15 mm with a 14 mm hex and 16–24 mm with a 19 mm hex. The material line is a forged high-carbon body with chrome vanadium blades.
Is a case included?
The page asks whether a case is included. The bullets do not list a case. Included components say a 2-piece nut splitter.
What do the reviews repeat?
Reviewers describe the cutting edge rolling over or the body deforming on a rusty nut, sometimes on first use. Other reviews say it split a wiper collar, clutch fittings, or a track-rod nut.
The QWORK CA5157 is a three-piece set at £15.45, listed at 719 g, covering 9–12 mm, 12–16 mm and 16–22 mm. Across 707 amazon.co.uk reviews the line is 3.5, and the scaled score is 76. Of the 50 texts in the file, reviewers report seized nuts on an exhaust, a drop link, a rear-wiper arm, and rounded nuts, and some say a smaller body fitted where a large one would not. The material line says alloy steel and the bullets say bearing steel, and neither line is a hardness grade. The hex size on the screws is not stated, and a case is not listed. The repeated fault is a guide pin, roll pin, or retaining screw that shears, often on first use, so the chisel spins. Reviewers also describe the chisel or frame bending or flattening on ordinary exhaust and drop-link nuts, and one says the cut stopped at about three quarters of the way through.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a 9–22 mm set with a large review count and you accept the pin as the weak part.
Less suitable: You need a stated drive size, a 22–27 mm body, or a chisel the reviews treat as reusable.
Specifications
Common questions
Which nut sizes does the QWORK set state?
The bullets state 9–12 mm, 12–16 mm and 16–22 mm. The hex size on the screws is not stated.
What material is listed?
The technical material line says alloy steel. The bullets say bearing steel. Both are in the saved listing, and neither is a hardness grade.
What fails in the reviews?
The reviews read most often describe a guide pin or roll pin shearing so the chisel spins, or the chisel and frame bending before the nut cracks.
The JEUCLEL JEEU070 is a single splitter at £10.99, listed at 300 g and 12.3 × 2.2 × 2.2 cm, for 16–22 mm, which the title also writes as 5/8 inch to 7/8 inch, tightened with a 19 mm spanner. Across 99 amazon.co.uk reviews the line is 3.4, and the scaled score is 61. Of the 47 texts in the file, some buyers split a mower nut, a large nut, or a seized anchor-bolt nut, and one says a blunt edge still worked if you accepted more than one cut. The steel is described as high-quality with no grade. The repeated fault is a tiny set screw that snaps or jumps its groove so the chisel spins, and a loop that bends so the tool no longer sits square. A 5/8 inch acorn nut was dented rather than broken and the tool warped, and buyers who wanted a 1/2 inch nut found the title range does not include it. One reviewer says it is not for lug nuts and that it stripped them.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You have measured a nut between 16 mm and 22 mm and you only want that one body.
Less suitable: You need 9–16 mm as well, a grade of steel, or a tool for wheel nuts.
Specifications
Common questions
What size is this single splitter?
The listing says 5/8 inch to 7/8 inch, which it also writes as 16–22 mm, and says to tighten it with a 19 mm spanner.
Will it fit a 1/2 inch nut?
The title states 16–22 mm (5/8 inch to 7/8 inch). Reviews include buyers who expected a 1/2 inch nut and say it did not fit. The saved listing does not state 1/2 inch as a size.
What fails in the reviews?
The small set screw snaps or lets the chisel spin, and the loop bends. Some reviews still report a completed split on a mower nut or a large nut.
The Anhoer 02-261 is a three-piece set at £16.99, listed at 700 g, with a title range of 9–12 mm, 12–16 mm and 16–22 mm. The star line is 3.4 from four reviews, and the scaled score is 55. The only review body in the file is empty, so praise and complaints are not available. The bullets say high-strength stainless steel and three diameters of 12 mm, 14 mm and 18 mm; the material line says carbon steel, and those diameters are not the same as the title ranges. Head style is hex, for a socket wrench, and a case is not listed. Until the listing agrees with itself, the 9–22 mm claim and the steel claim are both unresolved. Country of origin on the page is China, which does not settle the material conflict.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You can inspect the steel and the openings yourself before you rely on the title.
Less suitable: You want a review that describes a nut, or a material line that matches the bullets.
Specifications
Common questions
Which sizes does Anhoer actually state?
The title says 9–12 mm, 12–16 mm and 16–22 mm. The bullets also say three diameters of 12 mm, 14 mm and 18 mm. Those two descriptions are both in the saved listing and they do not match.
Is it stainless or carbon steel?
The bullets say high-strength stainless steel. The material line says carbon steel. The saved listing does not resolve that.
What do the reviews say?
The star line is 3.4 from 4 reviews. The only review body in the file is empty, so praise and complaints are not stated.
The ZYETGH set, model YTXUK000144, is three carbon-steel splitters at £16.99, listed at 653 g and 13 × 4.5 × 2.2 cm, with three hole diameters said to cover 9–22 mm. The saved listing has no customer-reviews line and no review text, and the scaled score is 26, the lowest here, because the star part is zero. The bullets do not split 9–22 mm into 9–12, 12–16 and 16–22 bands, so you cannot check which body takes a 17 mm nut from the page alone. Drive is a spanner or socket on the set screw, and the hex size is not stated. A named case is not listed. The manufacturer line says YMTGOD and the brand line says ZYETGH, and neither is supported by a review of a seized nut. Carbon steel is at least stated once, without a second grade fighting it on the same page.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a carbon-steel three-piece listing and you will measure the holes on the day it arrives.
Less suitable: You want any written review, or a page that names 9–12, 12–16 and 16–22 separately.
Specifications
Common questions
What sizes are in the ZYETGH set?
The bullets say three hole diameters covering 9–22 mm. They do not list separate 9–12, 12–16 and 16–22 bands.
What is the star rating?
The saved listing has no customer-reviews line and no review text. The rating and any review themes are not stated.
What material and drive does the listing give?
Carbon steel, head style flat, and the bullets say to tighten the set screw with a spanner or socket. A hex size is not stated.
Nine screw-type nut splitter listings on amazon.co.uk were scored from the star line, the review count, whether the listing is a coherent splitter, and the shelf price in the file, read on 22 October 2026. There was no lab test and no hardness check. The published parts are Amazon stars up to 40, a review-count band up to 20, fit up to 22, and a price band up to 8. Those parts sum to 90. The weights below are the same four parts scaled so they sum to 100. The score on each row is the unscaled total from that formula. The top pick is the highest total. Best value is the other row with the highest price-band part. Neither badge means the best nut splitter on amazon.co.uk.
Amazon stars
45%The amazon.co.uk star line for that ASIN. The published part is the rating divided by 5, times 40, then rounded, with a maximum of 40. A missing rating line scores 0. The weight shown is that 40-point part scaled so the four published parts sum to 100.
Review-count band
22%The same listing. Two hundred or more reviews score 20, 50 or more score 10, 10 or more score 6, and a smaller sample scores 2. A missing rating line scores 0 on this part as well. The weight shown is that 20-point part scaled.
Listing fit
24%A coherent multi-size splitter scores 22, a single size scores 18, and a mixed twist-socket listing scores 14. The judgement uses the title and the bullets in the file. The weight shown is that 22-point part scaled.
Price band
9%Only when the review count is at least 10: under £16 and at least 3.8 stars scores 8, otherwise under £22 scores 6, otherwise 4. Under 10 reviews this part is 4. The weight shown is that 8-point part scaled. Best value is the other row with the highest price-band part, not the lowest price on its own.
Measure the flats first, then check whether the ring will pass over the nut, then read the hex the listing names, then read what the reviews say about the pin and the frame. The table is the nine screw-type listings kept from amazon.co.uk. In the files the shelf prices run from £10.99 to £25.49, read on 22 October 2026. More money does not buy a hardness grade. None of the nine states a nut property class, and a case is storage rather than a harder chisel.
A nut splitter is a hand tool that cuts or spreads a seized, rounded, or spinning nut. You sacrifice the nut and try to keep the bolt or stud. On amazon.co.uk the buyers in this extract are mostly dealing with a car exhaust, a drop link, a track rod, a tow bar, a wiper spindle, or a lawnmower nut, after a spanner has already failed. The nine listings kept here are screw-type frames. A screw drives one chisel into a flat.
The splitter is sized by the across-flats distance of the nut, not by the bolt's thread. An M12 nut is not a 12 mm splitter. Measure the flats you still have, then match a stated band such as 12–16 mm or 16–22 mm.
Cut on a flat and stop when the nut splits. Burying the chisel in the stud, or heating the nut with the tool in place, is outside the use these files describe. Hilka's listing says that model is not for power tools. An impact driver in one review is a report, not a method.
A stud extractor, a tap-head tool, or a kitchen chestnut cracker is not this product. A listing that also describes twist sockets is a mixed description. A case does not make the chisel harder, and bearing steel or chrome vanadium is not a measured hardness or a nut class.
Measure the flats on the nut you still have. The bolt's thread size is the wrong number, and an M12 nut is not a 12 mm splitter. The bands that actually appear in these files are about 9–12 mm, 12–16 mm and 16–22 mm, with two four-piece sets claiming a further 22–27 mm body. A two-piece pair covers roughly 12–22 mm or 12–24 mm. A single body is only useful once you already know the nut is 16–22 mm. Access is the second check.
Hilka and BGS state a 14 mm hex on the smaller body and a 19 mm hex on the larger. JEUCLEL names a 19 mm spanner. Other rows say socket, spanner, or wrench and do not give a hex, so you cannot match a socket from the page. Hilka's amazon.co.uk page says that model is not for power tools. The review pattern matters more than the steel adjective. A large count at a middling star rating tells you more than 5.0 from one review with no text.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You have one nut left, you have already measured it between 16 mm and 22 mm, and you will accept a tool that might last only that job. The JEUCLEL body names a 19 mm spanner. Reviews describe a set screw that snaps and a loop that bends.
You want about 9–22 mm covered because you do not know which nut comes next. The QWORK set states 9–12 mm, 12–16 mm and 16–22 mm. The hex size is not stated, and the reviews describe a guide pin that snaps or a frame that bends.
You recognise the two-size pair, 12–16 mm and 16–22 mm, and you will still read the pin-failure reviews before treating the name as a hardness grade. The BGS 1812 is that pair, with the largest review file in this set.
The highest total is the BGS 1812, the top pick: score 79 from 3.9 and 954 amazon.co.uk reviews, at £18.11, with a 12–16 mm body and a 16–22 mm body. Reviews in that file describe a cutting pin or guide screw that breaks. Best value is the Hilka 12455002 at £12.56, score 70 from 3.8 and 68 reviews, because its price-band part is 8, higher than the 6 or 4 on the other rows. Reviews describe an edge or body that bends. The QWORK set scores 76 at £15.45 from 707 reviews, with a price-band part of 6, so it does not take best value. None of these scores is a lab test.
Hilka 12455002 nut splitter
Highest price-band part in the file, at £12.56, from 3.8 and 68 reviews. The edge or body can bend.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Sources from the research digest, last checked on 22 October 2026.
This page contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The notes come from amazon.co.uk listings, review text and public UK sources, not from a lab test.
