Allen key

Looks like a bunch of far east crap to me.

I've bent and burred a few, and snapped the odd one, but never turned one into fusili..

In message , andrew heggie writes

looks cheap and nasty to me

So, you've prolly split the allen screw now

The harder you turn, the harder the screw digs itself into the thread

Looks like it's made of cheese!

For tough jobs I always use a hex bit with a socket set rather than a conventional L-shaped Allen key.

I suspect it is but why bother marking it 1/8 ALLEN USA when all the free ones that come with flat packs and other self assebly toys have no markings?

It was the fact that when I have broken them they've snapped that make me suspicious of this one.

AJH

Agreed, they do tend to be stronger, have the advantage that one can give them a gentle hammer to seat them better and free the threads. Could I also suggest the old engineer trick of slightly tightening the screw first then undoing it. The idea is that that is the last direction it was moving and is less likely to round off the head.

Slatts

...that technique also stops you being caught out by wrong-handed threads, such as you get on, ooh, motor shafts and things...

If you can get it in, an impact driver - manual or cordless might shift it. I remain amazed at how good my cordless impact screwdriver is at removing difficult screws/bolts etc.

I've got a pneumatic impact wrench and a 1/2" to 5/16" hex impact chuck but I doubt I'd find a 1/8" hex bit to fit, let alone stand the stress.

AJH