Well, theoretically there is no such thing as "HSS", without any qualification.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_steel
So I'm guessing that if someone is offering "HSS drill bits" without any description of what
sort of HSS they use, it could be almost anything. And possibly not any of the recognised grades.
But this is an interesting topic to have on a DIY site, and a difficult one for anyone to answer. As a DIYer, my needs and priorities are very different from those of a tradesman. I don't get through loads of drills (or jigsaw blades), so I don't want to buy them in bulk, and apart from the common sizes I don't want to even have more than one. I'd rather pay perhaps over the odds for bits which will last, just to minimise the aggro of replacing them. But someone who uses them all day and every day, possibly in a workshop with a reasonable amount of storage space, might well do a cost-per-hole or cost-per-day calculation and treat them as consumables.
When I finally decided to put the Heinz collection of bits I'd acquired out to grass, I bought a set of Hawera jobber bits - seemed pretty good. Also later bought some Irwin bits from
Screwfix (why??
) - not so good.
Have just bought a set of Bosch HSS-G bits. Not used them yet.
Keep wondering whether to buy a sharpener.
