Screwdrivers - Horotec/Bergeon/Augusta/Kwong Yuen/Euro premium

[mseamaster]

I've narrowed down my choice to the brands in the title.
I am looking for a decent set to work on vintage Seiko(60-70s)(at this point I will work on whatever crap I find for a while, possibly badly damaged Seikos too, if I manage to get some in bulk).

I am willing to pay more if the quality is better, since I know it's a crucial tool set.

Please advise.

 

[jjen]

I'm not a watchmaker but after having a lot of cheaper screwdrivers I got bergeon to adjust my bracelets and I haven't looked back

 

[Archer]

mseamaster

I am willing to pay more if the quality is better, since I know it's a crucial tool set.

VOH

 

[mseamaster]

Archer

VOH

As an experienced watchmarker - what's the difference between VOH and Bergeon?

Sometimes when trying different tools(drills, grinders, etc. - rough non-watch related stuff) there's an Eureca! moment where I am like: This new tool is amazing! Why did I use this crap before?... For instance when drilling holes for installing a water heater, cheap hammer drills make very imprecise ugly holes, so the first time I bought a good hammer drill, it opened my eyes and I gifted my old one, since I couldn't stand using it.

Could it be like that when comparing VOH and anything else? To the point where you would stick to it and be happy to pay much more?

 

[Archer]

mseamaster

what's the difference between VOH and Bergeon?

mseamaster

This new tool is amazing! Why did I use this crap before?

Exactly.

 

[mseamaster]

Understood. How many sizes do I need? https://old.voh.ch/pdf/flyer_en/screwdriver_voh_en.pdf

I see a 6pcs set and a 9pcs set. For vintage Seiko, would I need 9 sizes?

Edited: Jun 10, 2024

 

[Pip]

mseamaster

Understood. How many sizes do I need? https://old.voh.ch/pdf/flyer_en/screwdriver_voh_en.pdf

I see a 6pcs set and a 9pcs set. For vintage Seiko, would I need 9 sizes?

I am not @Archer level, or indeed anywhere near, but I do spend a lot of time working on vintage Seiko, mainly 60's to 90's with a lot of 6139 and 6138 movements amongst others, and who doesn't love a Pogue? I've also spent a lot of time working on 7Ax8 quartz chronos which were produced from 1983 for a few years.

I don't have a VOH set but will look into that, if @Archer is recommending them I guess they are spot on!
After discarding a couple of cheap crap sets that have gone into the drawer in the garage full of rubbish that will never be used, I have three different sets currently (unidentified 9 piece bought from watchmakers estate sale, A&F 9 piece and BecoTechnic 8 piece) and all are nice. TBH I don't use the largest screwdrivers a lot. It's mainly the three middle sizes as you would probably be able to guess, but I do use all of the sizes sometimes. I also got lucky and picked up a nice screwdriver sharpening / shaping tool at the same watchmakers estate sale. I didn't realise what a big difference sizing your blades to the screws you are working on makes (despite being told).

My old tutor always told me he used multiple sets, each sized to specific common movements, so he would have one for 7750's and another for different Rolex calibres, to save having to resize the blades too drastically. He recommended me to get two sets as well as a minimum as he wouldn't use the same set for mechanical and for quartz. Personally I just demagged them quite a lot when I had one set. Still do to be honest.

Sorry for the essay, got a little carried away!

 

[Archer]

mseamaster

Understood. How many sizes do I need? https://old.voh.ch/pdf/flyer_en/screwdriver_voh_en.pdf

I see a 6pcs set and a 9pcs set. For vintage Seiko, would I need 9 sizes?

I haven’t serviced any Seiko for well over a decade, so I can’t really help you there. But I can say that I have used every size in my 9 piece set certainly.

 

[mseamaster]

I see, I think I will start with a cheaper set(Kwong Yuen for 30-40$ tops, not wasting money on Bergeon) while I am just tinkering with junk watches and when I feel confident to work on my vintage Seikos, I will grab a 9pcs VOH set.

Btw when looking around to find where I can buy a VOH, I found this site which I think is a scam:
https://www.montixrex.shop/hot-category/all-products/voh/screwdriver-voh/

No reviews anywhere, one address in bottom, another in terms. Ridiculously low prices. Can't find address on Google Maps. Checkout uses some Chinese gateway. And worse of all, the domain itself is registered from MY, not USA. now, since PayPal do have money back guarantee... I was still kinda tempted to try to buy, but I ain't gonna do it. I will probably have to wait 2-3 months to get my money back if I did.

Please chime in, if you think it's somehow legit.

 

[ExpiredWatchdog]

mseamaster

As an experienced watchmarker - what's the difference between VOH and Bergeon?

About an order of magnitude, price included.

OK, maybe a natural order of magnitude (e) but they are definitely better. At least compared to my inexpensive Bergeon set.

Edit: Oh, and the blue buzzbox is fine as you can hold the tip right up to the box. The key is to separate the screwdriver from the box while the box is running. It doesn't even have to be slowly as it reverses polarity in a sixtieth of a second and you can't move it much in that time.

 

[JimInOz]

If you are limiting your scope to Seikos ATM then VOH would be an overkill ($ wise). There are many screwdrivers of a standard suitable for a beginner. Bergeon are good at Rolexing their items, but there are others just as good or better and sometimes cheaper.

Seiko screws are different to Swiss and you need to shape the tips to suit the particular screw. I find many Seiko screws need a thicker "point" as the screw slot is usually wider than Swiss.

Although I have a 9pc VOH set, I have to have extra tips shaped for Seikos.

 

[Geezer]

I'm very happy with my sets of Horotec screwdrivers (I think made by Horia). As far as I know, they are very similar to VOH (both aluminum head with ballbearings) but they are easier to find.

 

[Archer]

Geezer

I'm very happy with my sets of Horotec screwdrivers (I think made by Horia). As far as I know, they are very similar to VOH (both aluminum head with ballbearings) but they are easier to find.

I've not seen anything to suggest that Horia makes screwdrivers for Horotec. The sets they offer are different.

VOH is a step above certainly, but much more money.

 

[Geezer]

Archer

I've not seen anything to suggest that Horia makes screwdrivers for Horotec. The sets they offer are different.

VOH is a step above certainly, but much more money.

I’ve handled sets by Horotec and Horia, but never at the same moment so cannot be certain. They seem very similar to me.



Horotec 1.6mm:

Edited: Jun 27, 2024

 

[noless]

I have both Horotec and Bergeon, I personally prefer my bergeon set, I find the POM bearings on the back just feel nicer, and the knurling feels better on the Bergeon.
The price difference wasnt huge but the Bergeon was a bit more expensive.
I also found the flat box that the Horotec set came in to fit neatly into my toolbox for watchmaking school, I keep the Bergeon set at home, but I have also dressed the tips differently for dealing with different types of movements, where older movements typically have finer slots than more modern movements, and then even wider again for Japanese movements, where this time I just dressed a different set of blades since I need other tools more right now, but a 3rd set is almost inevitable at this point. Always been curious about the VOH ones but yet to hold one in person still.

Having also tried the budget range from A&F I would say give those a miss, perhaps only useful for holding the drive blades i modified into springbar tools for particularly narrow slots. A classmate has a set from a Korean company called Time Lab, and they actually seemed decent for the money, but I only picked one up, haven't actually used them, so cant really say if they are worth it or not.

 

[Geezer]

Another set extremely similar to the Horotec and Horia set is by Beco. As I believe Horotec and Beco are mainly suppliers, I would guess that Horia is the company to produce these.

Anyway, it seems that Horotec has also updated its design and they now look a bit different from the ones I posted in this thread.

Beco:


Horia: