• @ramenshaman
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      141 day ago

      Officially, “flathead” refers to countersunk screws. Slotted screws are terrible for my purposes, but they actually do have 1 advantage. If they get mud or something caked up in the slot it’s relatively easy to use a knife or some other pointy thing to clean it out. Guns and other things used in dirty environments often use slotted fasteners for that reason.

    • @[email protected]
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      224 hours ago

      I don’t get the problem with flathead, for household applications it seems the most superior because I can use literally anything in my house to drive the screw (butter knife, credit card, a housekey)

      plus almost every size of flathead screwdriver can fit in almost every size of flathead screw.

      • @[email protected]
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        416 hours ago

        You can use everything, but everything works badly. Even a fitting screwdriver will just randomly jump out after half a turn and scratch whatever you’re working on.

      • AtHeartEngineer
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        210 hours ago

        Torx for anything that needs to be torqued or used with power tools, Robertson (square) for anything intended to be used with hand tools or more finer work (a screwdriver)

        • Krafty Kactus
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          11 day ago

          I don’t think I had ever actually seen a torx screw head until this conversation lol

          • @[email protected]
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            316 hours ago

            If you have an iPhone, you can see two tiny torx screws on the bottom by the lightning/USB-C port

          • @[email protected]
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            112 hours ago

            Seems to be common on furniture that you’re supposed to assemble and rearrange, such as convertible crib/beds. One of my kids’ cribs was brand new and the other we got at a garage sale and would be from 2003 or so, and both use torx for this reason

      • AtHeartEngineer
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        51 day ago

        Square (Robertson) and/or torx depending on application. Square should be for everyday things and torx should be for anything mechanical, yes I know there is a big gray area in the middle there, but flat head, phillips, and hex need to go.

        • kronisk
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          161 day ago

          Honest question, why not torx across the board? What do square do well that’s not covered by torx?

          • AtHeartEngineer
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            321 hours ago

            The way I see it, anything with a square bit can be done by with a hand held screw driver, and anything with a torx bit should probably be torqued to a certain amount and/or be used with a screw gun. Square/Robertson bits are used super often in things like electrical panels and electronics. They are becoming pretty common for cabinetry also. I doubt you’ll see a torx screw in cabinets.

            • kronisk
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              215 hours ago

              Thank you for replying. Robertson screws are not common in Scandinavia - at least I’ve never seen one IRL. I use torx for everything, never had an issue with hand screwing them, which is why I asked. But I’m not an expert or professional, just a home owner that tries to DIY as much as I can.

              Not having to deal with stripped screws is the biggest plus for me, I hate having to remove a Philips or flathead screw that someone else put in some hard-to-reach location that can’t be turned without breaking. (Which happens surprisingly often, actually.)

              • AtHeartEngineer
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                111 hours ago

                Lol absolutely, stripped screws are the worst

          • BarqsHasBite
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            22 hours ago

            Robertson is tapered, so you just have to hit the hole somewhat and it’ll guide itself in real easy. Torx is fickle to line up and orientate.

        • @[email protected]
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          11 day ago

          I have never in my life seen such a screw. Hexagon is the shit here, when it isnt Phillips. Maybe coming from Ikea, I don’t know. Is this format a (popular) US thing?

          • AtHeartEngineer
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            221 hours ago

            Ya Ikea standardized on hex because it’s cheap to mass produce. It definitely strips though.

            Torx has slowly been gaining popularity in the US for a decade or two now, but sadly Phillips is still pretty popular and hex is pretty common also, you will see the square/Robertson screws a lot in electrical panels and in cabinetry but not super common at the hardware store.