Hey European & American friends who use tools and do building, repairs, DIY – are Robertson screws common in your area?
Are Robertson screwdrivers common in European toolboxes?
In Canada I suspect that 99% of people who have tools would have Robertson screwdrivers in their toolbox. At least the red & green (#2, #1) sizes. The more intrepid will have the yellow and black (#0, #3) sizes too.
Comments, boosts & elaborations appreciated. Wondering if I send something to European customers with Robertson screws they'll throw them away and use Phillips or Torx or something.
@ottaross@MichaelPorter And some Philips fit nicely in the Robertson holes. It feels like software emulation--good enough to use once or twice, but we'll use the real tool to do serious work.
@ottaross they will. I have a full set of Robertsons which have moved from Berlin to Munich to Boston and not been used. I asked a few people in Germany and none had heard of them.
Use Phillips or include a driver
@ottaross The failure of the Robertson screw internationally is a direct result of Robertson's own abuse of #patents and licensing, so the world is stuck with awkward, easily-stripped Phillips screw heads instead. It's quite the cautionary tale.
@ottaross Probably about 25 years ago, my father sent a homemade box of stuff to family in the UK. A few weeks later he got a letter asking how they were supposed to open a box constructed with these weird screws.
He sent them a Robertson screwdriver by return post.
I'm one of the odd people outside Canada who has one.
Between my grandfather who did woodworking and airplane maintenance, my father who did automotive maintenance, and my own work, I have collected an odd assortment of screwdrivers.
That being said, I don't know where I would go to find a Robertson screwdriver if I wanted to buy a new one.
@ottaross "The History Guy" (Lance Geiger) did a fairly comprehensive background on Robertson and the Robertson screwdriver: https://youtu.be/R-mDqKtivuI
@wpgne It seems one could fill a library - or maybe the wing of a library - with books & videos on the topic. Great to see folks who were so inspired by the topic that they dug so deeply into it.
@ottaross I'm only aware of Robertson screwdrivers because Canadians have a national fetish about them, but over here in Europe I've never seen a single Robertson fastener in the wild.
My bit set may or may not contain Robertson bits, I never had cause to look. And it's got all kinds of exotic stuff like Tri-Wing and those silly Torx with the center pin.
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