Guide Note

The screwdriver's main purpose is to connect with and tighten or loosen fastening screws. Usually the design consists of a molded plastic handle and a thin metal shaft with a special head that fits each particular screw type. The two most widely used screwdrivers are the flathead and the Phillips head screwdrivers.

Fast Facts

1. Invention of the late Middle Ages
2. Origin: Europe
3. Early screwdriving innovator: Leonardo da Vinci
4. Phillips screwdriver debut: 1934
5. Phillips screwdriver inventor: Henry F. Phillips
6. Phillips head screwdrivers fit with screws that have a crosshead design; that is, the screw's groove is shaped like a plus sign
7. Flathead screwdrivers connect with screws that are simply slotted like a minus sign

1. Robertson (screw groove is square-shaped)
2. Hex (screw groove is hexagonal)
3. Torx (screw groove is star-shaped, as if two triangles were placed on top of one another)