Yeah that’s just what Big Torx wants us to think man

So square is a close second in terms of quality, while being vastly simpler and cheaper to manufacture. Seems to me like i’d prefer square.

Also i’d be terrified of getting dirt in a torx screw, good luck cleaning it to make it usable again. Though i haven’t actually had this problem personally so it’s just a hunch

Because a hex key can fit (albeit imperfectly) into a Torx opening and loosen or tighten the fastener as needed.

It’s more likely to slip or strip, but it’s better than nothing.

That’s right, it goes in the square hole.

Robertson! Say his name!

Fun fact: There are plenty of times a screw that looks like a Philips head is also compatible with a square drive. I’ve mostly seen this on electrical outlets and Ikea furniture.

I don’t know why Robertson/square drives aren’t more common. They’re stable and they resist stripping and rounding.

Robertson is the proto-torxs. It is a vast improvement over Phillips but has a tendency to snap the head off due to the increased amount of torque you can apply. Torxs maintains the amount of torque that a Robertson can apply, but adds some material back to the head giving it a little extra strength.
It’s really unfortunate that the greed of Robertson and Ford got in the way of such a vastly superior design.

Phillips strips way, way easier than Torx. Stripping generally happens when a screwdriver cams out, or pops out of the screw. Here are some excerpts from Wikipedia of Torx vs Phillips.

The hexalobular socket screw drive, often referred to by the original proprietary brand name Torx ( /ˈtɔːrks/) or by the alternative generic name star drive, uses a star-shaped recess in the fastener with six rounded points. It was designed to permit increased torque transfer from the driver to the bit compared to other drive systems. The drive was developed in 1967[44] by Camcar Textron.[45] Torx is very popular in the automotive and electronics industries because of resistance to cam out, and extended bit life, as well as reduced operator fatigue by minimizing the need to bear down on the drive tool to prevent cam out.

And Philips on the other hand:

The Phillips screwdriver design has a tendency to cam out during operation due to angled contact surfaces which create an axial force pushing the driver out of the recess as torque is applied. Despite popular belief,[2] there is no clear evidence that this was a deliberate design feature. When the original patent application was filed in 1933, the inventors described the key objectives as providing a screw head recess that (a) may be produced by a simple punching operation and which (b) is adapted for firm engagement with a driving tool with “no tendency of the driver to cam out”.

I’m not sure about Alan. It doesn’t cam out very much, but it does still strip a lot easier than Torx. Probably due to the smaller contact points.

Yes I’ve always referred to them as Compaq screws but mainly because I personally saw them on Compaq first. I think HP bought Compaq at some point and that might explain why they are used on both brands. Don’t know which brand started using them first.

I would have rather had they just used Phillips screws but as far as weird screwheads go these aren’t too bad.

At least the good thing about them is the threads are standard and they can be replaced with a Phillipshead case screw just as well.

After wrecking some JIS screws on a vintage reciever, I bought a nice Vessel-brand JIS driver set, and use it for all my crosshead needs.

Pozidriv reliably makes me projectile vomit ☹️

Yeah but JIS for screws/bolts has been abandoned by the Japanese govt as of… 2005?

My JIS screwdrivers are fantastic, not easy to torque out on a regular Phillips screw. Stick with the “vessel” brand.

Philips doesn’t cam out that easily either. Most people just don’t realize there’s three common sizes.

For some reason, Ford decided to use Security Torx to hold together their hybrid battery packs. Couldn’t tell you why that was better then regular Torx.

I’d guess that was some sort of safety standard designed to protect vehicle owners from themselves.

As Torx gets more and more common, it’s presence is less and less likely to be a serious hurdle, so the security screws are a simple way for them to sort of say to the owner “don’t mess with the stuff below this”. If they want to, they still can, but it’s a specific effort at that point…so Ford can say they’ve implemented a safety measure. Might even be some sort of government standard too, where using a less common fastener style brings them into compliance without needing some sort of even less accessible design, like a sealed off system.

Once they’re determined to fuck with your stuff, they’re no longer random. It’s just to delay the occasional dingleberry with a multi tool until they get distracted and forget.

“Huh, doesnt fit. Oh well, guess I’ll carve some folk art into the shitter door.”

Then you can just spackle over the swastikas, but you don’t usually have to reassemble the privacy panels.

Every lock can be broken. My step grandfather would use tamper proof screws to board up his lake house for winter. Otherwise you risk some drunk ice fishing fuck breaking into your house.

If someone really wanted to get in, it doesn’t really matter what fasteners you use, they would just cut the wood. It just prevents common vandals that happen to have a screwdriver, not determined criminals.