this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2026
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There's a lot of science behind modern screw heads, and things have moved on massively since the battle between flat and cross head screws was a thing - back in the 70's, these were quite common, but recently, particularly on tools and gadgets, torx (6 pointed star head) is more popular, mainly because they reduce the chance of head stripping during manufacture massively. Combo screw heads were introduced into manufacturing because + head drivers are self-centring, are less strippable, and work better with powered drivers, but field repairers often only had flat head drivers. These days, I only carry one or two flat heads when I do the repair cafe, but mostly posi and philips, with a set of torx, and tiny exotic, and security bits. Most electric tools (drills, hedge trimmers, chainsaws, etc.) have torx or security torx. Electronics usually have philips or posi, occasionally torx or exotic. Electric kettles usually have mostly philips with a single exotic security head to prevent end-users from getting inside and electrocuting themselves.
For woodwork, I usually use posidrive heads, and occasionally torx. Most posi heads will work with a philips bit, but chew up more.
Finland here.
From personal experience it appears that pre 80's builds tend to have flat heads and some Philips. After that mostly types similat to Philips. After mid 90's torx started to appear more and more. After 00's torx heads started to be a majority and still are.
Have seen some combined screws but they are rare.
Edit: Shit. Meant to post on OP root. Since i'm on waydroid and copy-paste does not currently work, here it stays.