Drill bit shank shaft and shank, is usually of the same diameter. It is held usually in a three-jaw drill chuck. Bits of diameter too small to grip firmly can have straight shanks of larger diameter than the drill, which can be held firmly in a standard size collet or chuck. Large drill bits can have straight shanks narrower than the drill diameter so that they can be fitted in chucks not able to chuck the full diameter. Such a drill bit is called a reduced-shank or blacksmith's drill. For example, this allows a bit to be used in a pistol-grip drill's chuck.
Drill bit sizes for jobber-length straight-shank twist drill bits from 1/64 inch through 1 inch in 1/64 inch increments. For Morse taper-shank drill bits, the standard continues in 1/64 inch increments up to 1¾ inch, then 1/32 inch increments up to 2¼ inch, 1/16 inch increments up to 3 inches, 1/8 inch increments up to 3¼ inches, and a single 1/4 inch increment to 3½ inches. One aspect of this method of sizing is that the size increment between drill bits becomes larger as bit sizes get smaller: 100% for the step from 1/64th to 1/32nd, but a much smaller percentage between 1