Screw drivers.....

J

Jak147

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Joined
Dec 24, 2013
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113
On the rare occasion that there is a call for an actual screwdriver, I reach into the box and pull out an old beat up Stanley number. The flat heads have the corners chipped off and the pozi's are more of an awls than a screwdriver! All of which makes the expeience even more painful.
So the time has come for a shiny new set. The green and black Wera diamonds are the obvious choice but a colleague already has a set and I need to get something different to avoid getting them muddled.
Does anyone have any reconmendations on a similar quality driver?
All help greatly appreciated
Jk
 
PB Swiss. My favourites. Excellent quality and I like the handles best.

Wera and Wiha are also good quality, but I am not so found of their handle shapes.

And Gedore also makes good screwdrivers.

Those 4 are some of the best I can think off. Whether a handle shape suits you is up to personal taste.

You can get Wera if you want, just mark them with paint or coloured tape to distinguish them from those of your colleague.
 
Mary's thanks [member=5277]Alex[/member] I had never heard of the pb Swiss brand. Exactly what I was looking for. They even have the colour coded tops like my beaten up Stanley's! A feature that the Wera drivers are greatly lacking!
I also ordered the colour coded hex keys they looked too damn sexy to pass up!

Thanks again
Jk
 
I really like my Bacho ratcheting screwdriver.
Not great for screws sunk in tight holes though because of the ratcheting collar.

6 bits will fit in the handle. Can always be replaced by wera ones..
Seems they have a new one now with LED lights.
Might get another:-)
 
In Oz the big hardware stores always seem to have a regular discount on the Stanley sets .. the quality is "ok" and I've never felt the urge to reach for the higher quality tools simply because I see the Stanley drivers as almost disposable based on price and the alternatives effectively working out to be 10X (here).

Sadly, cheap screwdrivers tend to lead you down the path of using them as chisels, paint stirrers, pry bars, etc .. and sometimes as screwdrivers [embarassed] ... I'm starting to feel like a bit of a caveman.

 
I found a Snap On stubby ratchetting screwdriver in a scrap Ford Transit a few years ago.

Surprisingly handy little item, glad I found it cos they cost thirty or so quid new.

Its stubby, black and kind of square handled. Just can't get on with the soft grip things that go manky if you get oil on them.
 
I use Gedore screw drivers and wrenches. Stanley is for me an upper cheap B quality, not quit enough to be an A quality product. Good enough to a tapeline, hammer and "stanley"knife. It's of the Black and Decker company...  [unsure]
 
Check out the selection at KCToolco.com

They carry a pretty broad selection of german tools.

I had a full set of SnapOn screwdrivers that were 20 years old, but gave them to my son and just purchased Wiha's -
New SnapOn's were way too much money for what I did not consider to be any better a driver than you can find in some of the German brands.

I had used Wiha precision drivers in the past and tried out their larger ones and really like them a lot.  Very comfortable handles and tips that hold the screw well.

Nothing against the SnapOn's other than I wanted a more comfortable handle.  At a more affordable price.

 
I recently bought a set of Vessel Megadoras for when I need a higher quality driver, and a $15 set of Husky from Home Depot for beaters. Incidentally, the Huskies came with a P3 which is perfect for the Woodpeckers parallel guides!!
 
Cheese said:
~my Snap-on's are 35 years old and have been used~
Click to expand...
Those are used?  [tongue]

They are in way to good of shape. Mine were used daily for a long time and are pretty trashed. No I never beat on them, I have other tools to beat on, like Craftsman! I also learned black is a horrible color for auto repairs. Snap-on eventually learned this too and started making them out of red, and neon colors. I have never lost an orange screwdriver yet.
 
Peter_C said:
Those are used?  [tongue]
Click to expand...

Yea they are, things mechanical have always been just a hobby for me so they don't get used like they were in a 24/7 environment, and they always get wiped down after each use.

Besides, I try to remain sane when using hand tools and not use the screwdriver handle for a hammer or the shaft for a pry bar, although when you're under the car with a transmission on your chest the dynamics of the situation does change the sanity statement.  [embarassed]

I agree, using black handled tools in a black engine compartment with poor lighting probably added untold $$ to Snap-on's bottom line each year.
 
Blimey, I had no idea so many people used screw drivers!! The pb Swiss drivers that Alex recommended arrived today. Very nice, comfortable handle. Dare I say better than the Wera
 
Re the snap-on drivers...
I advoid oil at all costs, so a hard plastic handle is a torture I do not need to endure. I'm sure the snap-on screwdrivers are the dogs dangles in an automotive environment, but without the rubber eating mineral oils that coat everything in an auto garage, I can have a nice squishy handle and not have it dissolve in 12 months!
 
Jak147 said:
Which is great as usually a slotted screw results in despair and a trip to the truck to search for a suitable pozi replacement
Click to expand...

That's a habit you shouldn't break.

Glad you like the PB's.  [smile]
 
Jak147 said:
Re the snap-on drivers...
I advoid oil at all costs, so a hard plastic handle is a torture I do not need to endure. I'm sure the snap-on screwdrivers are the dogs dangles in an automotive environment, but without the rubber eating mineral oils that coat everything in an auto garage, I can have a nice squishy handle and not have it dissolve in 12 months!
Click to expand...
Well the Soft Grip Snap-on screwdrivers are warrantied for life. They changed the handle again to a newer formula and design. The handle angles are far more important than how soft the handle is.

Cheese, this special Chopper screwdriver is for you because of your avatar. It was a very very limited run, never sold. Some people would call it a collectors edition. I threw it in my toolbox and put it to use. *shrugs* I don't hit mine with a hammer, nor use them as hammers. Well accept the Craftsman as that is what they are for ;)

The closest one is from my Save-A-Boat-Dive-Kit. It is ratcheting and can be used bent or straight.

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Will have to check out the pb Swiss tools. Haven't heard of them.
I own a fair number of screwdrivers, many are part of the original MacTool sets I bought in the '80s before buying Snap-On screwdrivers to fill in or replace missing ones.  Since the handles are Red, they didn't get lost in the interior of a car as easily as the older Snap-On black handled versions did.... [embarassed] [embarassed]
Handle styles and material keep changing. Snap-On ran into a real problem with their earlier Black versions, there was 1 or 2 chemicals that would just eat up the handles over time, and it was fairly common. They quietly would warranty the handles if you asked them.
I think Lacquer Thinner was one of the problem solvents, which used to be very common in body shops and other shops.
 

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