Blame Henry Ford. The superior screw head style was available to him, but he refused to use it.

Torx ftw

It's kinda funny that a screwhead intended to solve one problem went on to create an arguably worse problem for many applications.

Shoulda just payed Robertson.

Torx needs to become the standard for screws. They are just better in every way.

If you do this you have two options. Either put a piece of rubber from a balloon, latex glove etc between the screw and the screwdriver. Or use a hacksaw to put a slot in the top of the screw and use a flathead screwdriver.

I hate Phillips screws. For this very reason.

Where the hell do companies even find these super cheap, shitty screws that strip so easily? When I buy screws at a hardware store, they don't ever get stripped unless I use an impact hammer drill with the wrong size head and the screw is really stuck in something (and it sometimes also just twists and breaks the entire screw at that point). But screws already in a thing I bought almost always get stripped hella easy using a hand tool.

If it needs to be tight, Robertson or Torx is the only way. The benefit of Robertson over Torx is that it is pretty much immediately clear if the bit fits properly or not. I have stripped too many Torx that were in a place that required a human with an extra elbow and a second wrist to reach, that I thought were t20 but were t25, for example. I keep thinking I’ve learned my lesson.

I keep meaning to buy sets of Phillips, Pozi, and JIS, but never manage to time a stripped screw with a tool sale.

The only thing worse than + is -, and even that is situational.

Phillips? JIS? Only way to find out is to ruin that screw!

Canadian look of superiority

That looks like a really shitty screw to begin with.

Looking at this makes me physically ill

The main problem wthe the X shaped model is that there are so many different versions with different angles and points oe lack thereof that it can be hard to tell which is which at a glance, increasing the chance of stripping if you don't check for proper fit.

Not to mention you might be working on something where the prior person mixed and matched different screws head types on the same project!

Security screw with the oval drive.

This literally happened to a screw I have in my literal body

I can snap the heads of cheaply made screws or ones made from softer material like "brass" with a screwdriver let alone an impact driver.

If I am doing something with a lot of screws, say decking, then I will spend more on my screws simply because I want better quality if I am going to be fitting a few hundred in a day. I also want to know that if I come back to it in a few years that the screw will unscrew quickly when I come to it. Sure it can be a significant cost increase but the time and frustration saved makes it back.

Quality screwdrivers like Vessel Megadora or Wera or Swisstools or similar tend to cam out less than the pack of ten you got from the dollar store. Same with the hex bits for your impact or drill driver.

Last test I heard had Roberson above Torx for reducing cam out, but if you camming Torx that easily I would just switch to an actual hex headed screw if it needs that much torque to tighten.

Use your drill's clutch, people (yeah you can strip with a hand driver but that's clearly a drill)

Use JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) screwdriver and bits. If you own a Japanese automobile, motorcycle, etc., you better use them.

I think your drill is the machine that does that, though.

I bought a precision screwdriver set to replace the failing RAM on my thin lenovo laptop, which has super tiny screw on the ram slot, withing the first few turns of the screwdriver, I stripped that screw. Fucking thing would not budge, tried the rubber band trick, tried to even find somewhere I can borrow a dremel to cut a line on the head for a flat head, finally had to take it to the repair center at a Micro center and they somehow got it out. Never buying a thin laptop again, and will always check online for repair ability

“Failed to load media”

Bummer. Mobile using the Voyager app, if anyone else has the same issue.