Why the Hell Do We Have Two Types of Screws, Anyway?

Despite what my job as an internet writer would suggest, I’m at least passably handy. At least as much as you need to be in the year 2025, which basically just means “own basic tools.” If you are as well and if you’ve ever been working on something and called for a screwdriver, inevitably the same question will come back: “Flat or Phillips head?” 

I appreciate efficiency. Therefore, these two varieties of screws continuing to exist irk me.

It’s fairly obvious that the flat head came first, just based on simplicity. They’re cheaper to produce as well. A Reddit thread bemoaning their continued existence also sees people chiming in that they're more aesthetically pleasing for things like light switches, and I don’t disagree. 

So the question is, then, why did we ever complicate things with Phillips heads? I understand the need for things like security screws, or hex screws that work with an Allen wrench, but the Phillips seems like a much smaller improvement. Also, who the hell is Phillip?

Well, his name was Henry Phillips, and he took a patent for a screw from a man named John Thompson and refined it into the Phillips head that bears his name. As it turns out, however, Phillips’ success was predicated on the stubbornness of a different man: P.L. Robertson. 

Let’s step back a little, to the final days of slotted screws. They worked, but they had problems. First, centering a slotted screw in a screwdriver while applying downward pressure was precarious. The screwdriver would often slip out, as Robertson’s did while demonstrating a new spring-loaded screwdriver he’d invented, injuring his hand. He took this anger and developed the Robertson screw: a screw with a recessed, square hole and square bit. They were much more stable, and they centered themselves under pressure, which made them a marked improvement for both home and industrial use.

So why don’t we use Robertson screws? 

Weirdly, some of us do. Namely, his home country of Canada. Robertson screws are still common up north, and they work perfectly well. In fact, some consider them the superior screw. Phillips only made themselves the most common screw in America because of a business disagreement. One field that needed a lot of good screws was the automobile industry — e.g., the Ford Model T was put together with Robertson screws. Henry Ford, no peach as history tells it, wanted to use Robertson screws in all his plants, but he wanted some control over their manufacture. Robertson refused, and Ford’s search for a replacement brought him to Henry Phillips and his new screw. Phillips was happy to license his screw out, and automakers across America started slapping together their cars with hundreds of Phillips heads.

So, to bring it all together: The slotted screw is a shitty, but charming screw. The Phillips is a good all-around screw, and the Robertson might be the best, but only Canada will ever know.