Spoiler
Probably at the hardware store picking up more Phillips head screws.
this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2026
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If it makes you feel any better, the Phillips head was designed specifically to strip out so assembly line workers wouldn't over-torque them. It is stupid that they are the default in so many things when we have things like torx that are infinitely better.
From Wikipedia:
Huh...well guess I was wrong. Thanks for the info!
Acknowledging own error and thanking the counterparty for pointing it out with no sign of spite? Fucking witchcraft! How do I acquire this power?
Well, when you're wrong a lot you get plenty of practice.
I mean you just gotta try it I guess. You know what's more fun that being right? Learning something and then being right.
You absolute legend.
Philips shape is the next step up from a flat head. Its just a double flat head sort of. It self centers and only requires 2 tooling motions if they are being ground.
The dont overtighten thing has always seemed like a weird misunderstanding that all bit types could be designed to do that.
It wasn't an intentional feature. But, when they realized it happened it became a feature that they thought was useful.
There are a lot of things like that, where something has a design quirk that people come to rely on. The quirk is so useful that people assume it was designed to work that way intentionally, but sometimes it was just coincidence.
Sounds like Hyrum's Law.
If you like Philips aside from that feature (being self-centering is nice sometimes), JIS the Japanese industrial standard is basically the same design but its not intended to cam out, stripping the fastner
To my understanding you can safely use a JIS bit with a Philips fastner to reduce likelihood you strip it. But you ideally shouldn't use a Philips bit to turn a JIS screw. You can identify a JIS fastner by a little dimple in the corner by the plus shaped indentation
I'm having trouble picking out the differences beyond the dimple. What makes it harder to strip?
The geometry of the area the bit slots into is different
I believe the difference is that the Philips bit is kind of a star shape, where the blades and the slots that fit together are widest at the middle where they converge, and narrow towards the outside, creating a wedge that ramps the bit out of the fastner. And with JIS they don't narrow, creating a simpler plus shape that functions like two flatheads intersecting with eachother, but with a pointed tip so its self centering
The dot is there to communicate which kind it is since they look a lot like Philips. I believe thats also why posidrive has the little lines- so you can tell the difference. No idea what posidrive is about, maybe its similar 🤷🏻♂️
Edit, I was able to find some diagrams attempting to show the geometry differences (sorry, the side depicting each geometry swaps between the two pictures)
I appreciate it. That was what I suspected, but it's so hard to tell from just a picture.
Note that according to hardware manufacturer Tekton, the differences are smaller than you think and especially the diagrams are highly misleading as they actually compare PH2 and PH0.
Can you elaborate on what comparing PH1 and PH0 means?
The diagram is not comparing between two standards but between two sizes within the same standard. Philips size 0 (PH0) has a slightly different shape than Philips size 1 (PH1) and up.
Jeez... it's like Phillips is DESIGNED to strip. WHY WOULD YOU MAKE IT LIKE THAT?
And TIL that the crappy Philips screw was actually this pozidriv one. I hate it. But at least now I know I just don't have the right tool to use it.
Posidrive bits being mixed in with Phillips also helps strip out a lot of Phillips fasteners
That's what op meant by "iT's A fEaTuRe"