To the Editor…
To the Editor,
[Please note: this letter is intended to be read in a stentorian, Monty Pythonesque, Graham Chapman-like, stuffy-British-officer voice. – Author]
I feel compelled to write regarding the screwdriver article in last month’s issue. (Tool-Time, Revisited/The First Must-Have Tool/LM, April 2026)
Mr. Coddington’s statement that “the vast majority of screws need either a Phillips or flat bladed screwdriver” is correct—in the US.
However, it certainly isn’t true for those North of the border, we who live in Igloos, drink maple syrup, say eh every other word and, incidentally, make up more than a third of MDI’s membership.
In point of fact, the world’s most reliable, safe, and time-saving screw design was the predecessor of (and possible catalyst for) the Phillips—by about 25 years.
Around the turn of the 20th century, as a young tool rep. was demonstrating a screwdriver, it slipped from the screw slot. It cut him severely enough for him to think there had to be a better way. He evolved the idea of a square socket, essentially putting a square hole in a round peg.
The rep, Canadian P.L. Robertson, was granted patents for his Robertson screw around 1909.
Robertson designed the socket as a slightly tapered inverted pyramid, allowing the screws to ‘grip’ the screwdriver without placing another hand in harm’s way. This, coupled with additional torque, has made it the Canadian choice for more than a century.
British forces used it during WWI. Henry Ford became interested when he found that two hours of production time per vehicle could thus be saved.
Phillips screws were designed by an Oregon auto mechanic, John P Thompson, whom Coddington rightly credits. Phillips persuaded The American Screw Company to manufacture and General Motors was the first industrial customer to use them, in 1937.
The Robertson brand has changed ownership several times and most production has been moved to China. But the Company’s HQ is still located in Burlington, Ontario.
Most screws sold in Canada still have the ubiquitous Robertson head or the Square Drive derivative. No Hardware or DIY dealer in Canada could stay in business without them, including the American-owned big-box stores like Home Depot and Rona. This tool is so popular here that a Canadian MDI division was once named after Robertson.
I invite all our southern brothers to just try Robertson or Square Drive screws. Sorry, all you flatheads and Phillips lovers, but you’ll never go back!
Do try them.
– Rear Admiral Sir Victor Bloodnok, KTG, CBE, DFC & Bar
[John Dunham, Ontario, Canada]
