ASME B107: The Hand Tool Standards Series

ASME B107 is the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' family of standards for hand tools. It is the reference a tool-crib manager, procurement writer, or maintenance planner reaches for when a spec says a wrench, socket, or torque wrench has to be built to a recognized American standard: each B107 standard sets dimensional, performance, and safety requirements for one category of hand tool, so that a 3/4" drive socket from one conforming maker fits and performs like a 3/4" drive socket from another.

The series was historically published as dozens of individual standards, one per tool type. ASME has since consolidated them into category volumes: flat wrenches in B107.100, socket-drive tools in B107.110, hand torque tools and torque testers in B107.300, striking tools in B107.400, and struck tools in B107.410, among others. The consolidation matters in practice because older specs still cite the legacy numbers — a federal torque-wrench spec citing ASME B107.14, for example, maps to today's B107.300.

The most common mistake with B107 is citing the wrong category standard — usually stretching B107.100 to cover everything. B107.100 covers flat wrenches only. Sockets, ratchets, torque wrenches, hammers, and chisels each have their own standard:

The series continues beyond these five — other B107 category standards cover tool types such as pliers and screwdrivers. Boundary cases worth knowing: the difference between B107.400 and B107.410 is which end of the blow the tool is on (a hammer strikes; a slugging wrench is struck); a torque wrench lives in B107.300, not with the other wrenches in B107.100; and some hand tools have no B107 category at all — pipe wrenches, hook and pin spanner wrenches, and torque multipliers fall outside the published scopes.

Each category standard defines the tool types it covers, then sets the requirements a conforming tool has to meet — and those requirements are category-specific, not one uniform checklist:

• Wrenches and sockets (B107.100, B107.110). Dimensional and fit requirements for wrench and socket geometry, so conforming tools interchange across manufacturers and fit the fasteners and drives they are marked for, alongside performance and safety requirements.
• Torque tools (B107.300). Torque-tool performance: accuracy, ranges, endurance, and safety requirements, plus the electronic torque testers used to check hand torque wrenches and screwdrivers.
• Striking and struck tools (B107.400, B107.410).Performance and safety requirements, test methods, and limitations of safe use — the categories where chipping, mushrooming, and safe-use warnings matter most.

For buyers, the practical payoff follows the category. For wrenches and sockets, it is fastener and drive fit and cross-brand interchangeability. For torque tools, it is specified performance and accuracy. For striking and struck tools, it is tested safety requirements and clear limits on safe use. What no B107 standard does is grade tools above its floor — two conforming wrenches can still differ meaningfully in alloy, forging, and finish.

No law or OSHA rule requires hand tools to conform to ASME B107. OSHA's hand-tool rules — 29 CFR 1926.301 in construction and 1910.242 in general industry — require employers to keep tools in safe condition and use them properly; they do not incorporate B107 by reference or mandate conforming tools.

Where B107 does carry force is in procurement. Government, aerospace, utility, and industrial MRO purchase specifications routinely cite the relevant B107 category standard as the quality floor for bid-eligible tools. Legacy federal supply specifications (the GGG series) and federal solicitations point back to ASME B107 the same way — torque-wrench procurement, for example, referencing ASME B107.14, the legacy designation consolidated into today's B107.300. If you sell into or buy against those specs, the category mapping above is the difference between a conforming bid and a rejected one.

That procurement role is why US manufacturers design to the series. Wright Tool, for example, states that its hand tools meet and exceed the applicable ASME B107 standards — a manufacturer conformance statement of exactly the kind procurement specs ask for.

Unlike UL listing for fire equipment, there is no ASME certification mark or third-party listing program for B107 hand tools. Conformance is manufacturer-stated: the maker designs and tests to the standard and says so. That statement is meaningful — it is what procurement specs rely on — but it is a different thing from an independent certification, and product copy that says "ASME certified" is overclaiming.