Designed to be hit with a hammer

It got lazy. If in doubt, hit it. If it still doesn't work, hit it harder. If it disintegrates, it wasn't any good in the first place.

I have two such screwdrivers, the older around fifty years old. The newer one has not been used as a chisel, lever etc. and is still good for very large screws. They were bought specifically for severe abuse, I have many other normal screwdrivers and cold chisels, but sometimes something with a screwdriver head is just right for a bit of brute force and ignorance.

I also have two of my grandfather's tyre levers, for when a higher grade of BFI is required.

My neighbour has a couple like that, about 18" long and 1/2" wide.

I have a couple of Wera Chiseldrivers, not only do they work with hammers they work with spanners, and stand up to abuse very well.

They secretly dream that they are (manual) impact drivers.

The *identify* as (manual) impact drivers.

Don't hurt their feelings

Its true that often a whack with a hammer will loosen a tight or corroded screw. Often needed to loosen screws in Japanese motor cycle engines.

Dave

Nearly 60 years since I bought my manual impact driver; I still have it.

And yes, it was for the engine casing on my Honda CB72.

I have tapped a screwdriver but never whacked one.

The problem I was faced with was a slotted screw that subsequently painted over and I was in someone else's house and working with the tools they could find. So I took the screwdriver, put one corner at an angle at the beginning of the slot and by repeatedly tapping the screwdriver (with a claw hammer!) I gradually cleared the paint out of the slot, and then I could unscrew it.

Needs must, sometimes.

As a point of interest I have seen a screwdriver designed for use with a hammer (in a shop - I don't own one) and the bit you hit with the hammer is the end of the screwdriver shaft extended beyond the handle, you are not supposed to hit the handle.

'Pound-thru' is the proper (?) terminology. My fifty-year-old one is the first I ever saw, in a surplus tool shop opposite the original West Ham football ground.

Yes, that it the term I couldn't think of.

I remember the Boleyn pub, but not the tool shop.

It was towards the station on Green Street, the same side as the station. It might have been on a corner, I can't remember now.

Some screwdrivers blades are also made out of some form of soft cheese :)

I recently picked one up (including full set of bits, in metal case) at a car boot sale, for £2! I don't have a M/bike but am now looking for things to try it out on...

I moved out of the area in 1968, so I surprised myself remembering the name of the pub.

I bit like the screws provided with some things that can be screwed to a wall.

I have one of those, and its at least 60 years old (the rest of the handle is made from a real tree)

So ... whatever it was thats happened to the world has happened a long time ago.

I also have one of those posh Snap-On screwdrivers with the extra long shaft. The handle end of the shaft is formed in to a hexagon so that you can easily use a spanner to help with the turning :-\

You can unscrew a screw where the slot is badly malformed as it makes its own slot. Also useful to unscrew a screw in something that rotates like the end of the crank shaft of the Honda I used to have.

I end up with a whole load of sealed plastic bags, each containing two tiny screws and two tiny wallplugs. I would never use them to attach anything to our walls, but can't bring myself to throw them straight into the bin.

I once rebuilt a CB72 from mostly a box of bits. I nearly dropped it testing as I was keen and the front tyre was soft. It was much heavier than my CB200 ...

Dave