# Screwdriver heads **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 6, 2008, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474 "2008-01-06T04:45:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sockmunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Sockmunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sockmunkey)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/1 "2008-01-06T04:45:37Z")
I was reading this thread, > **[What is this screwdriver head pattern called?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=449989)** > > I’ve got an item of electronics that I’d like to dismantle - it’s a mains PSU for an old Sharp laptop (and I’m aware of the risks of tinkering with such things). The screw holding it together has a head that looks a bit like a Torx - it’s a little... and it made me wonder. Just how many different types of screw heads do we _need_? How many exist just for non-technical resons (tamper prevention licensing or trademark issues etc) How many have physically practical rerasons to exist? (easier for automated manufacturing, less chance of stripping or fouling with corrosion etc) Could we function well enough if we streamlined to only one or two types so we don’t all need buttloads of driver heads? If so, which would be best? ---
**Author:** ![Booker57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Booker57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Booker57)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/2 "2008-01-06T04:51:14Z")
Just off the top of my head Flat Phillips Torx Robinson(square) Posi-Drive Hex (Allen) There are sizes for all of these also. Why do we need all different types? Heck if I know ask an Engineer. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/3 "2008-01-06T05:09:44Z")
Speaking as a repair person who has had to fix things after some untrained knucklehead got inside and bitched things up, the answer to ‘how many do we need’ is, apparently: more. ---
**Author:** ![Sockmunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Sockmunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sockmunkey)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/4 "2008-01-06T05:56:08Z")
[QUOTE=danceswithcats] Speaking as a repair person who has had to fix things after some untrained knucklehead got inside and bitched things up, the answer to ‘how many do we need’ is, apparently: more. [/QUOTE] Yep, crazy people who really want to get into something are going to get in unless it’s welded shut. Sometimes even that didn’t stop me. 😉 (I swear that the only things I messed with that I didn’t fully understand were disconnected and no longer intended for use) ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/5 "2008-01-06T06:30:17Z")
[QUOTE=Booker57] Just off the top of my head Flat Phillips Torx Robinson(square) Posi-Drive Hex (Allen) There are sizes for all of these also. Why do we need all different types? Heck if I know ask an Engineer. [/QUOTE] I add the clutch head screw…but be honest, I know you simply over-looked it… :smack: …and the Frearson head screw [Screw page](http://www.sizes.com/tools/screw_drive.htm) tsfr E/T fix spelling and …awww nevermind ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/6 "2008-01-06T06:37:26Z")
I was told by a person at the factory that Volvo saved 4 million dollars a year in repairs to new cars when they switched from Phillips to Torx. Torx bits don’t skate out of the screw, Phillips do. ---
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/7 "2008-01-06T06:54:02Z")
[QUOTE=Sockmunkey] Just how many different types of screw heads do we _need_? [/QUOTE] I don’t know, but this [company](http://www.tamperproof.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=products) is in the business of making more all the time. Seems mainly for security. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/8 "2008-01-06T06:56:45Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] I was told by a person at the factory that Volvo saved 4 million dollars a year in repairs to new cars when they switched from Phillips to Torx. Torx bits don’t skate out of the screw, Phillips do. [/QUOTE] I enjoy finding Torx fasteners cause I have torx up to T40…damn, they go up to t100. on further research…the spanner, and the Triple square screw(driver)…not to mention Tri-Wing and TorqSet… :smack: :smack: and i take things apart for fun…I’ve see all of them except the Tri-Wing-Thing… :dubious: kind regards, tsfr ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/9 "2008-01-06T07:05:26Z")
[QUOTE=fifty-six] I don’t know, but this [company](http://www.tamperproof.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=products) is in the business of making more all the time. Seems mainly for security. [/QUOTE] Wow…thanks…I need either a Torx® Pin-Head driver or a Socket Pin-Head driver…thank you for the link..it is saved. 😉 damn…should i have been using Torx® the whole thread? tsfr ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/10 "2008-01-06T08:57:24Z")
Nitpick: Robertson, not Robinson. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/11 "2008-01-06T14:45:16Z")
I don’t know what it’s called but there is an offset “phillips” the military used for titanium screws. It was designed so you could recognize the screw. Next time you look at an SR-71 up close look at the screws. ---
**Author:** ![Sockmunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Sockmunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sockmunkey)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/12 "2008-01-06T16:17:18Z")
Is there any data on which has the best functionalllity? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/13 "2008-01-06T16:20:50Z")
[QUOTE=Sockmunkey] Is there any data on which has the best functionalllity? [/QUOTE] It depends on what you are trying to do. Each screw head has its own strengths and weaknesses. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/14 "2008-01-06T16:54:02Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] Torx bits don’t skate out of the screw, Phillips do. [/QUOTE] By design, I might add. Phillips screws were designed to assist mass production by being a) self-centering and b) popping the bit out before overtorquing occurs. Great for one-time rapid assembly; not so great for repeated assembly and disassembly. ---
**Author:** ![for\_good\_measure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@for\_good\_measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/for_good_measure)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/15 "2008-01-06T19:59:55Z")
[QUOTE=fifty-six] I don’t know, but this [company](http://www.tamperproof.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=products) is in the business of making more all the time. [/QUOTE] from that page: > [@](#): > > Opsit™ is a reverse thread sheet metal screw that installs counter-clockwise, thus, tightens if removal is attempted. Man, that’s so utterly _sadistic_, I can’t believe it. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/16 "2008-01-06T21:13:54Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] By design, I might add. Phillips screws were designed to assist mass production by being a) self-centering and b) popping the bit out before overtorquing occurs. Great for one-time rapid assembly; not so great for repeated assembly and disassembly. [/QUOTE] The problem is when the bit skates out, and damages the paint or interior on a brand new car being built. Then the car has to go offline to be repaired before it can be shipped. Torx screws with a torque limiting installation tool is a much better solution. ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/17 "2008-01-06T21:15:25Z")
I was always told that since the Robertson square screw was Canadian it was a nasty American plot to have the inferior Phillips screw be the “default” as American screw makers resisted a Canadian product. I guess I was told wrong. Dang. Maybe Americans aren’t evil, even when they’re screwing you. ---
**Author:** ![Sockmunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Sockmunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sockmunkey)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/18 "2008-01-07T07:17:11Z")
[QUOTE=for good measure] Man, that’s so utterly _sadistic_, I can’t believe it. [/QUOTE] Agreed. I actually felt personally offended. :eek: I’m glad I started this thread, it’s been fun and educational. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/19 "2008-01-07T07:20:08Z")
[QUOTE=for good measure] from that page: Man, that’s so utterly _sadistic_, I can’t believe it. [/QUOTE] Truly sadistic would be use these in every other hole. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474/20 "2008-01-07T08:18:11Z")
[QUOTE=danceswithcats] Speaking as a repair person who has had to fix things after some untrained knucklehead got inside and bitched things up, the answer to ‘how many do we need’ is, apparently: more. [/QUOTE] Speaking as an untrained knucklehead who can usually fix things if I can get in to do so, and who often has more trouble getting in to fix than in fixing, the answer to “how many do we need” is, apparently: undecided. Unless you have statistics that show whether there is a net gain or loss to society due to amateur repair, which I’m guessing you don’t. And your experience is of course limited to instances of people not being able to repair their own stuff, since otherwise they don’t bring it to you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screwdriver-heads/432474.md?page=2)