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Comment by nfriedly | Hacker News Reader

When my wife and I bought our house, I thought the previous owner had stripped the hell out of some Phillips screws... then I learned what Robertson (square) screws were.

After getting the proper bit though, I’ve started to really appreciate them. I don’t think I’ve ever stripped a single one.

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Robertson is excellent but they seem to be a uniquely Canadian phenomenon. My company ships robots to the US in big crates, and we've had to switch to building them with Philips screws instead because of issues with local availability.

I'm in Ohio, but I guess that's close to Canada. The bit was pretty easy to find in the first hardware store I tried.

Super common where I live in the US as well. Lots of wood screws use them, but they show up in pretty much every fastener application.

Maybe it's a regional thing? Here in the midwest US the hardware stores carry them and Phillips, in about 50:50 proportion -- At least for construction screws (decking screws for example) this is true. Most of the contractors I know locally prefer them as well.

They are around here, but I'd say star point (not sure if they are double square or Torx), seem to be as prevalent at Home Depot as Robertson. I'm in Colorado, so on the cusp of the West.

> Here in the midwest US the hardware stores carry them and Phillips, in about 50:50 proportion -- At least for construction screws (decking screws for example) this is true.

I've seen them too, but only as construction screws. I've never seen a square drive sheet metal or machine screw in the US, for instance.

Robertson (Square) drive are also gaining popularity in building decking applications in the U.S. I've seen quite a few options in Home Depot / Lowes stores in the Northeast. One of reasons they are less popular than Philips is the price as square drives are a little bit more expensive and tend to be offered at premium brand screws.

Furniture-making often uses them as well. We're slowly coming around to the light.

Torx (star) drive screws too.

My dad used to work at an aluminium joinery company in New Zealand. They only used Robertson screws. I used to work there during shoot holidays. Only screws that never fell off the drill bit and never ended up a mess. Super easy to find st hardware stories too. Dad only used those at home.

It should be noted that Robertson screwdriver holds a screw in without the use of magnets. It makes things so much easier and is by far my favorite type.

Ha I just finished banging out an impassioned comment about how much I appreciate Robertsons compared to terrible, stripped-out Phillips. And don't tell me they were Pozidriv. I've known about that difference for a long time. They're still trash.

I have half a mind that they invented Pozidriv just to have a defense for how terrible the Phillips fastener is.

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