Which screwdriver brands have failed for you?

[Gautama]

Just doing an informal survey and was curious to see which brands are failing for people. This is specifically about any screwdriver that failed under normal usage, not a screwdriver used as a chisel or dropped off a ladder.

Polls are limited to 10 options, so I tried to pick the most common types. Sorry if I missed one, feel free to mention it here in the comments.

Edit: Just a reminder that more popular brands are also likely to suffer from more overall failures. This poll is hardly scientific.

 

[firworks]

Re: Poll: Which screwdriver brands have failed for you?

What if it was a chiseldriver that failed during normal chisely usage?

 

[Gautama]

Re: Poll: Which screwdriver brands have failed for you?

I would think that counts as a failure.

 

[bcradio]

Channelock... by far the worst I have ever used.

 

[gdocktor3]

This should be a two part survey. Which have you owned and which have failed. Obviously if someone has only owned Craftsman their whole life, which I'm sure are a lot of people, that's all they'll vote for. Also, where is Harbor Freight?

 

[mopar01]

IV had snap on fail a few times. Never mac. Also had craftsman of course.

 

[K-Dog]

I have snapped the tip off of Snap-On, Matco, and Craftsman. It is no big deal. They were all warrantied.

 

[jumbojak]

An Evercraft from Napa failed on me the other night. That T15 looked like a screw extractor once I was done with it. I've experienced the usual Craftsman failures several times, usually under very light usage.

 

[Gautama]

I'm surprised that Wiha, which I believe is one of the more popular brands, has no failures listed yet.

 

[larry_g]

I've managed to have most of them fail at different times. The ones that I had fail 25-30 years ago are not at all the same tool that is sold under the same brand today. With all the major retailers having multiple levels of quality and various manufactures make their screwdrivers over the years I believe your poll is of little to no value unless you have vintage and part number of the tool included.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[lazer50]

Ive used 5 brands of quality screwdrivers in industrial electrical heavy equipment trucks cranes for 35 years never had one fail and really when used proper dont see how they would.

 

[Know Wosad]

I don't own any you posted.

Vessel and Proto. Nary a problem since Ford was president

 

[Al Borland]

Now let's have a survey where we are asked "which screwdriver brands have failed for you, while being used correctly.

 

[Finky198]

I'm surprised that Wiha, which I believe is one of the more popular brands, has no failures listed yet.

If I had to choose only 1 brand it would be Wiha. They are the "knipex" of screwdrivers IMHO...
.

 

[geartow]

I had a set of mayhew cats paws that were.not on the level with there prybars.

 

[metaldad]

only issue i have had with a driver, was #0 phillips from klein.
bought every one at a supply house, and cammed them out.
some gorilla at the factory tightened the snot out of some electrical terminal screws, that i had to get apart.

 

[Gautama]

Now let's have a survey where we are asked "which screwdriver brands have failed for you, while being used correctly.

It's right there in the first post: "This is specifically about any screwdriver that failed under normal usage, not a screwdriver used as a chisel or dropped off a ladder."

 

[pcmeiners]

I got tired of all my cheap screw driver, especially craftsman.

Thanks a lot guys. Because of these post I just spent $111.58 on a extra heavy duty set of Wiha screw drivers. Reading posts gets expensive.

 

[APEowner]

I've worn out a bunch of Snap-Ons over the years, all of which had the blades replaced under warranty but I don't think I've ever had one fail.

 

[oh1ws6]

Definitely craftsmans regular screwdrivers, but their professional screwdrivers on the other hand are awesome and underrated. I wish they still made them!

 

[Orangestang]

I've shattered the Phillips tips on snap-on and craftsman, broken slotted ones using them as a pry bar, my fault.

 

[pstemari]

I've had Craftsman slotted drivers twist 90 degrees while trying to turn a stuck screw.

Xcelite is missing from the list; they're not bad for electrical work, but recent quality is a bit spotty.

 

[McFarmer]

Pratt-Reed, I've had two sets of the black hard handles that I have twisted the flat tips.

 

[TS3g]

All of them eventually...I blame the operator

 

[gungatim]

FWIW, here's my list of what I own or have owned over the last 30 yrs and what has failed. by failure I mean tip breaking, bending, or wearing pre-maturely (I know, kind of nebulous) through regular use.

Snap-on - no failure
Matco - no failure
Mac - no failure
S-K (old green hard handle) - no failure
S-K (older yellow/red acetate handle) - failure on Phillips, thin chrome rust
Craftsman (acetate handle)- multiple failure Phillips, flat, torx
Craftsman (new diamond tip professional) - no failure
Williams (newer snap-on style) - no failure
HF (freebies, and the blue handle with striking cap) - no failure
Stanley (both cheap blk/yel handle and older quality acetate red/clear handle) - no failure
Xcelite - no failure except the rubber handle cover coming off/slipping
Husky (not China) - no failure

ive' picked up some pretty beat up screwdrivers from lots of brands at yard sales and flea markets that would be considered failures but I did not include them as I really can't verify how they were used, and they just get traded in anyway...

 

[Mechanical Noise]

Screwdrivers wear out eventually, but the only disappointment I've had was with a Vaco #2 phillips. The tip was soft, it twisted easily and started mangling screws almost immediately Vaco has a generally good reputation, so I suppose it was an isolated failure. But I never bothered with Vaco screwdrivers again.

I got a bunch of Craftsman screwdrivers in the 80s. They held up pretty well.

 

[Davefr]

The results of this survey need to be weighted by the market share of screwdrivers out there in order to draw any meaningful conclusions.

I'd venture a guess that there's 10X the number of CM screwdrivers out there over any other brand.

That would make CM look pretty good and Klein to look real bad.

 

[Parrothead]

Definitely craftsmans regular screwdrivers, but their professional screwdrivers on the other hand are awesome and underrated. I wish they still made them!

They still make the Craftsman Pro...but they're green now and are sold by SK.

 

[Parrothead]

I've broken/worn out the Stanley brand the most, but it's not a fair comparison because they were the cheap $0.88 versions. What do you expect for $1. I like their 100 Plus version, and have never had a problem with those.

 

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

My problem isn't outright failure, my problem is that the tips eventually get "mushy".

 

[woody 73]

I've had Craftsman slotted drivers twist 90 degrees while trying to turn a stuck screw.

Xcelite is missing from the list; they're not bad for electrical work, but recent quality is a bit spotty.

First time it happened to me in the 1970's my mouth dropped to the floor while using the largest craftsman screwdriver at the time.

I said it in another post but someone reported they had great luck with the yellow and black handled Stanley screwdrivers (cheap ones) but a fail on every one; the Stanley 100 plus ones are well made no problems there!

 

[Gautama]

One thing is certain: I need some Wiha.

 

[toolmutt]

I voted Craftsman but as many have already stated, I've had more Craftsman through the years than any other brand. With Craftsman, I think it's a "batch" thing. I've had some that I've used, abused, and beyond but the tips still look as good as when new. I've had others fail (twist, chip, etc) first proper use out of the package.

 

[Strouty]

Every brand I have ever owned has had a failure at some time.

The worst failure I have ever had was a HF screwdriver, the handle twisted in two while the shaft did not turn.

 

[M6erfan]

I tried a Vaco recently, the tip was pretty soft, went into the trash

 

[pedrodagr8]

I love my Wera's, for precision work Wiha is damn good. I had an old Husky #2 (made in the USA) that I absolutely abused, and it lasted and lasted. Until finally it just wore out. I have had brand new craftsman acetate handles that didn't last the first use. I have a set of HF Insulated handle screwdrivers that actually are lasting a while but the cut of the tip just isn't that good. They don't have the tight fit that my Wera's do.

 

[TheMadMech]

The regular Craftsman screwdrivers degrade the quality of garbage at a dump. They are beyond worthless.

 

[3TV]

I think what we are seeing here is primarly a poll of which brand of screwdriver most people own. Because the brand that is being used the most is the brand that is going to have the highest number of screwdrivers that fail. And we are also seeing the poor quality of the leading brand. If you sell the most, and have the worst quality, you win this poll.

 

[928'er]

I've got a mish mash set of screwdrivers collected over the years. Some quality, some junk. I consider the junk ones consumables, just throw them away if they twist or chip.

The only one that failed me unexpectedly was a black handled flat blade Snap On that I got from my father. The handle just disintegrated sitting in my tool box - just, literally, fell apart.

 

[Gautama]

I think what we are seeing here is primarly a poll of which brand of screwdriver most people own. Because the brand that is being used the most is the brand that is going to have the highest number of screwdrivers that fail. And we are also seeing the poor quality of the leading brand. If you sell the most, and have the worst quality, you win this poll.

Absolutely. As I noted, this poll is far from scientific, there simply aren't enough options available to draw any solid conclusions. Maybe I should put together a more comprehensive survey using SurveyMonkey and see what turns up. I'll start a new thread to get ideas.