Square-Drive Screws

How many stripped screws have people endured. Or how many times have we tried to keep the driver in the center of the slot. Many of us have, for years, resorted to using the screw as a nail for the last 1/2 inch when it has been stripped out. This is one of those "why don't we use it more" ideas. The square-drive and screws also known as the Robertson Screw.

The square drive doesn't let the drive slip off the head of the screw and since it is a simple square hole it doesn't strip very easily if ever. It is a simple, solid design with only one problem, it is so strong that it can be screwed too tight. 

The square drive was actually invented in 1908, nearly thirty years before the Philips head, and was an American standard at the time. (the model T used these screws) 

Like many great designs. the square drive is no longer the standard due to poor business practices by the original inventor that allowed the Philips and other options to gain traction. But this screw is still used heavily in construction and woodwork for its tough, reliable characteristics.

The Robertson screw is really a testament to the idea of making something that lasts. The screw is tough. It gives off this idea from the shape on its head. It isn't a smooth, curving, beautiful thing. It was meant to get stuff done where nothing else worked.

The Leatherman Multi-Tool

A staple in the pockets of handy-men everywhere. The Leatherman Multi-Tool is one of the few gadgets that looks and feels rugged, and is effective at whatever it does.

The Leatherman

Most multi-tools are just hodgepodges. An assortment of blades and can-openers that were slapped onto some kind of handle. It is almost as if someone said, "Fit all the things you can into this wrench." Because of this the user can hardly use any of the options in the tool effectively, and they just look like a shabby "super-tool" that a kid put together and function just about as well. 

A Hodgepodge Multi-tool

But the Leatherman is a tool that feels and is solid. When it is folded, its steel enclosure protects the blades and puts everything in a nice smooth package that is not un-attractive. When one opens it to use the pliers,  the pliers are the only thing you deal with, nothing else is sticking out or dangling. But then if you want to use one of the tools each rotates out firmly, and locks into position and everything else can recede back into the enclosure leaving just a tool and the handle/enclosure.

The Leatherman is an excellent multi-tool because each of its devices feels as if it is the only tool in the multi-tool when you use it. There are few compromises within this gadget. The design was thought out and made to be elegant and effective. When you look at it you can say, "This was thought out with the user in mind."