Carbide—The hardest and most wear-resistant taps. They last 10 times longer than high-speed steel for the best performance on hard and abrasive materials like nickel and fiberglass. Carbide can be brittle, however, so these taps require a rigid machine tool holder to prevent breakage and should not be used for hand tapping.

Titanium Aluminum Nitride (TiAlN) Coated—No taps last longer. These are the best for high-speed, high-temperature drilling of tough materials such as iron.

Plug Chamfer—Our go-to chamfer type, these thread both through holes and blind holes. The tapered section is shorter than a taper chamfer and longer than bottoming chamfer. As a result, they're easier to turn than bottoming taps but require more force than taper taps.

Bottoming Chamfer—Cut all the way to the bottom of blind holes with taps that have the shortest taper. Since these require the most force to turn, they’re often used to finish holes started by taper- or plug-chamfer taps.

Number of Flutes—Taps with fewer flutes have more space to capture chips, so you won’t have to clear them as often. However, they can be more difficult to keep straight in the hole.