I've got some boxes that smell like barf when you open them. They are different make boxes, so now you guys have me wondering if it's the screwdriver handles.
It's easy enough to confirm. Just smell your screwdriver handles.
Many screwdriver handles, especially clear or translucent ones, are made of CAB (cellulose acetate butyrate). Over time, products made of CAB resin can deteriorate in two ways:
One is the resin breaking down and forming an acetic acid (vinegar) odor. That usually produces a white residue or bloom on the surface of screwdriver handles.
The other--and worst--is that the breakdown of the resin produces butyric acid. Butyric acid is a byproduct of anaerobic (without air) fermentation of certain types of animal fats and is also what gives vomit its distinctive odor.
Manufacturers of CAB resins have addressed, but not completely prevented, the problem by changing the resin formula or changing to another product entirely.
Nothing you can do will prevent either type of breakdown or remove the odor once it starts, short of disposing the offending object. Leaving stinky screwdrivers in open air instead of in a closed toolbox will help a little, since the odor no longer concentrates in a closed space, but the only real solution is to replace them.
Craftsman screwdrivers from the 1970s and 1980s are prone to the problem, as are some Snap-On black handles from the same era, and worst of all--for the vomit smell--are Xcelite screwdrivers of that era, but it can happen to any brand of CAB handles under the right (or wrong) conditions.
