Phillips High-Torque Screwdriver Sets
- Unique three‐sided handles combine maximum power with smooth speed
- Premium alloy steel blades have precisely sized tips for an exact fit in fasteners
- Protective black oxide finish can’t flake off like plated finishes
- Size marking on butt ends is easy to identify in tool belt or drawer
- Handle profile resists rolling on inclines up to 20 degrees
Tip Geometry
Milled on a round shaft, the cruciform (cross-shaped) geometry is cut to exacting tolerances that deliver a consistently exceptional fit and engagement in fasteners. Although visually similar to other cross-type drives, the Phillips design is a distinct form and should not usually be considered interchangeable with designs such as PoziDriv, Frearson, or JIS. Mixing and matching these varied systems will often result in a poor fit that's likely to damage the tool or fasteners.
Versatile Handle
Comfortable Torque
Engages and uses the physical structure of your hand, with a three-sided shape that acts like paddles to push against. This lets you comfortably generate much higher torque for much longer without tiring, even when your hands are slippery.
Smooth Speed
Front and back sections are completely circular in cross section. This allows you to quickly and continuously spin the driver with your fingertips and avoid tripping over the "bumps" around the middle.
Dome End
Smooth, spherical shape lets you comfortably apply as much forward pressure as needed to keep tip engaged with fastener, preventing slipping off or stripping of head.
Natural Fit
Generously sized and organically shaped, the blended contours naturally fit your hand, allowing it to land in the right spot in your palm with each release and re-grip as you turn.
Anti-Roll
A secondary benefit of the 3-sided handle design is that it is very resistant to rolling, staying put on inclines up to 25°.
Materials + Construction
AISI 8650 Steel Blade
- Nickel, chromium, molybdenum alloy hardened to HRC 52-56
- Strong - resists twisting and bending
- Durable - holds fine tip geometry to preserve precise fastener engagement
Polypropylene Handle
- Reinforced with calcium carbonate for dimensional stability
- Shore D 68 durometer
- Impact resistant - won’t chip, crack, or break, even in cold temperatures
- Chemical resistant - unaffected by common chemicals including fuels, oils, grease, antifreeze, solvents, and cleaners
Overmolded Grip
- Soft touch thermoplastic elastomer (TPE)
- Shore A 80 durometer
- Nonslip - excellent grip, soft feel without being tacky
- Durable - permanently bonded to handle body, won’t degrade or become sticky
- Chemical resistant - unaffected by common chemicals including fuels, oils, grease, antifreeze, solvents, and cleaners
- Nickel, chromium, molybdenum alloy hardened to HRC 52-56
- Strong - resists twisting and bending
- Durable - holds fine tip geometry to preserve precise fastener engagement
- Reinforced with calcium carbonate for dimensional stability
- Shore D 68 durometer
- Impact resistant - won’t chip, crack, or break, even in cold temperatures
- Chemical resistant - unaffected by common chemicals including fuels, oils, grease, antifreeze, solvents, and cleaners
- Soft touch thermoplastic elastomer (TPE)
- Shore A 80 durometer
- Nonslip - excellent grip, soft feel without being tacky
- Durable - permanently bonded to handle body, won’t degrade or become sticky
- Chemical resistant - unaffected by common chemicals including fuels, oils, grease, antifreeze, solvents, and cleaners
Easy-to-Read Markings
Imprinted on the butt end of the handle, the driver type and size are easy to identify even while the driver's laying in a drawer or being carried in a toolbelt.
Easy-to-Read Markings
Imprinted on the butt end of the handle, the driver type and size are easy to identify even while the driver's laying in a drawer or being carried in a toolbelt.
A Closer Look at the Blade
The challenge in making the best screwdriver blade is achieving the strength of a relatively high hardness (resists bending and twisting) without becoming brittle (causes breaking of fine tip geometry). To do this, we use AISI 8650, an alloy steel with the right amount of carbon (0.48-0.53 %) for hardenability and the elements nickel, chromium, and molybdenum to aid in machining and preventing brittleness. Through a carefully controlled heat treating process, blades reach a hardness of HRC 52-56. The result is a tough blade that resists bending along the shaft, twisting at the tip, and is durable enough to maintain tip geometry over time.
To prevent rust, the steel surface of the blade is treated with a hot black oxide finish—the same process used to protect firearms. This process is a controlled oxidation of the actual surface of the steel (called a conversion process), resulting in a thin layer of magnetite. This kind of finish prevents rust largely through its ability to absorb and hold a topcoat like oil or wax, creating the barrier between water and raw steel that prevents rusting. To maintain full protection over time, it’s important to periodically apply a thin coat of light machine oil to each blade with a cloth.
Why Black Oxide?
The most important benefit of a black oxide finish is the avoidance of adding plating to the tip. Building up layers of plating (usually chrome, nickel, or zinc) has two main negative side effects: dimensional variance in the tip geometry, since final tip size depends on the plating thickness, and chipping off of the plating material, which could shed metallic particles into your work and cause real damage, especially in electrical systems, motors, or fuse panels.