DeWalt 1-1/2 in 23GA pin nail, chisel point (2000 pk)

I reach for 23-gauge pins when I want fasteners to practically disappear. This pack of DeWalt 23-gauge headless pins has been riding in my trim bag for a stretch of cabinet installs and finish carpentry, and I’ve put them through the usual suspects: tiny returns, beaded face frames, delicate quarter-round, scribe molding, and light decorative trim. They’re designed to keep your work clean, avoid splitting fragile stock, and offer just enough bite to hold while adhesives do the heavy lifting. Here’s how they stacked up on site and in the shop.

What these pins are good at

These are headless, 23-gauge pins, so the primary goal is invisibility and minimal disturbance to the workpiece. On painted poplar, pre-primed MDF, and even soft maple, the holes are pinpricks—easy to leave as-is on paint-grade and nearly imperceptible on stain-grade if you’re careful with depth-of-drive. The chisel point matters; it helps the pin track straight and reduces the tendency to split skinny moldings or blow out near edges. I noticed fewer edge splits on delicate shoe and scribe compared with blunt-point budget pins I’ve used.

Holding power is in line with the category. On its own, a 23-gauge pin does not replace a brad; withdrawal resistance is modest. Where these shine is in tacking parts while glue cures, preventing tiny returns from shifting, and pinning thin, brittle materials you don’t want to mar with a larger fastener. The light resin-style coating on these pins offers a small but noticeable bump in grip without gumming up the nailer’s nose.

Drive consistency and surface quality

I ran these pins through a pneumatic 23-gauge pinner rated for longer pins and a compact cordless pinner rated shorter. In the pneumatic gun, feed was smooth and consistent. I didn’t fight any strip breakage in the magazine, and I didn’t see the telltale smear that some heavy coatings leave on a nosepiece over time. Depth-of-drive stayed predictable across poplar, MDF, and maple face frames at around 80–90 PSI. Heads are, of course, nonexistent; that’s the point. Even at slight angles, the pins sank cleanly without creating surface divots.

On dense hardwood (maple rail ends and some white oak edging), 1-1/2-inch pins are more prone to wandering off-line inside the wood, which is more a function of length and gauge than of brand. The chisel point helped, but I still aim the gun so that any potential deflection goes into waste or away from a show edge. When I needed extra insurance against wandering or blowout, I stepped down to shorter pins and added a dot of CA glue. For MDF casing miters, these held well enough to keep a tight seam while the adhesive set, with no surface fuzz or mushrooming.

Compatibility: the length matters

This pack is sold as 1-1/2-inch pins, which puts it at the top of what many 23-gauge nailers can handle. Some pinners only accept up to 1-3/8 inch; others are explicitly rated for 1-1/2 inch. That difference is crucial. In my cordless pinner that tops out at 1-3/8, these pins simply don’t fit the magazine, and trying to force the issue is a recipe for jams. In my pneumatic gun rated for 1-1/2, they worked exactly as expected.

There’s one more note on clarity. I’ve seen listings and spec tables that mix up lengths across catalog numbers for these pins. The box in my hand is clearly labeled for the long length, but I’ve seen product tables quoting shorter sizes. If you’re ordering online, confirm the printed length on the pack image and the UPC, and make sure your nailer is rated for that length before you buy. If you need shorter (say, 1" or 1-1/4"), choose the matching pack to avoid frustration on the job.

Splitting and wandering behavior

Chisel points do a better job than blunt pins at parting fibers rather than wedging them apart. On thin colonial stop, tiny lattice, and fragile miter returns, I could fasten close to edges without hairline splits. That said, with 1-1/2-inch pins, your technique matters:

• Favor a slight angle so the pin has more material to bite.
• Keep a finger on the workpiece to feel for deflection or approaching blowout.
• Avoid shooting into end grain at this length; step down or move the shot.
• On brittle hardwoods, test a scrap—if you see surface bulge or wander, shorten pin length.

Working this way, I kept surfaces clean and avoided the classic little eruptions that ruin stain-grade parts.

Coating and corrosion considerations

These pins are coated for interior use. That’s the right call for cabinet work, interior trim, and built-ins. I wouldn’t use them for exterior exposure or in high-humidity, wet areas where corrosion can creep in under paint (think baths without adequate ventilation). For those environments, I’d reach for stainless or galvanized fasteners and, at that point, probably move up in gauge. Inside the envelope, the coating on these pins provided consistent drive and a small boost in holding compared with uncoated, bright pins.

Strip quality and packaging

The pack includes 2,000 pins, collated in strips that held together well without being brittle. I didn’t open the box to a mess of loose fasteners, and I didn’t see bent pins at the ends of strips—a small thing, but it matters when you’re loading one-handed on a ladder. The compact box fits cleanly in a systainer drawer or trim tote without shedding debris everywhere.

Common use cases from the field

• Decorative moldings: Tiny ogee and bead details tacked in place with no visible holes after paint.
• Miter returns: The tiny “cap” pieces on base and crown stayed put with a dot of glue and a couple of pins, no splitting.
• Cabinet scribe and fillers: Light pins let me sneak up on a fit and tack parts without clamps getting in the way.
• Light assemblies: Face frames and applied moldings where the glue joint is primary and the fastener is insurance.

In each case, the pins did exactly what I expect a 23-gauge fastener to do: hold discreetly and disappear.

Limitations and cautions

• Not for structural or high-load tasks. If you need real holding power, move up to 18-gauge brads or even 15/16-gauge nails.
• Length compatibility is real. Many pinners cap at 1-3/8 inch; verify your tool’s max length.
• Interior-only. Don’t count on these in wet or exterior environments.
• Long pins can wander in dense or ring-porous hardwoods. Adjust length and shot angle accordingly.

None of those are unique to this pack; they’re part of using 23-gauge pins effectively. But it’s worth stating so you don’t ask a tiny fastener to do a big fastener’s job.

Tips for best results

• Pair pins with glue. Treat the fastener as a clamp, not a screw.
• Dial in depth-of-drive on scrap. Aim for just sub-flush without crushing fibers.
• Keep the nosepiece clean. Even light coatings can build up over time.
• Load the right length. If your nailer tops out at 1-3/8, keep a box of shorter pins on hand for hardwoods anyway.

The bottom line

As a working set of 23-gauge pins for trim and cabinet work, this DeWalt pack delivers: consistent collation, clean driving, a coating that adds a touch of bite without gumming things up, and a point that reduces splitting on delicate moldings. The 1-1/2-inch length is useful for deeper penetration on thicker stock, but it demands a nailer rated for it and a bit more care to prevent wandering in hard, dense woods.

Recommendation: I recommend this pack for anyone whose 23-gauge pinner is rated for 1-1/2-inch pins and who does a steady mix of interior trim, cabinetry, and detail work where invisible fastening matters. If your pin nailer tops out at 1-3/8 inch—or you mostly work in dense hardwoods—opt for a shorter length in the same line to improve compatibility and control. With that caveat, these pins have been reliable, clean-driving, and exactly the kind of consumable you forget about once you pull the trigger—which is the best compliment a 23-gauge pin can get.