On 10/22/2015 7:41 PM, bob_villa wrote:
On Thursday, October 22, 2015 at 9:34:36 PM UTC-5, Don Y wrote:
On 10/22/2015 7:22 PM, bob_villa wrote:
On Thursday, October 22, 2015 at 8:34:52 PM UTC-5, Don Y wrote:

Get a (typical) slotted screwdriver -- AS INDICATED IN THE TEXT OF MY POST.

Hold it up to the screen with the handle off to the left. Considering
the limitations of ASCII art, can you see a resemblance between the
shape of the screwdriver tip and the image on the screen:

------+
/ |
-----/ |
-----\ |
\ |
------+

Now, dig out a dictionary and look up the word "symmetry" -- also indicated
in my TEXT. Study the above illustration and see if you can identify the
SYMMETRY present in THAT image.

Now, consult the OTHER image in my post:

-----+
/ |
------/ |
-----\ |
\ |
------+

With the SYMMETRY concept fresh in your mind, see if you can identify how
this second image differs from the first.

Then, imagine how that would relate to the physical screwdriver in your
hand!

Next, imagine how a machine would *intend* to produce a screwdriver
having the original image's shape and why it might, instead, produce
the shape of the second image.

Finally, imagine why a company would opt for #2 instead of #1 -- or,
conversely, why a BETTER company would strive for #1 and consider #2
to be *scrap*.

The only thing I notice is a straight edge perpendicular to the shaft? Most flat-blades need to be "tuned" anyway on fine grinder...so it makes little difference.

________
______/ |
|
______ | Would it be more like this?
\________|


A *sloppy* product looks like:

_________
_____/ |
|
______ |
\________|

The spacing changes...it looks good on this reply!

Look at the original post and the difference should be just as
obvious (count '-' characters if you must)

You're saying cheap-**** is not ground to a precise shape like old
Stanley, wood handle drivers used to.

They aren't ground (well, the cabinet tip ones ARE ground) but, rather,
are *swaged*. A round (assuming the shaft is round cross section) bar
is put in a machine that *smashes* the bar to deform it to the shape
that you eventually see.

If you put the raw bar stock in the center and the "die" in the machine
is correctly positioned, an identical amount of material will smoosh
out to each side. If you don't care about these "little details",
then you'll get more on one side than the other, etc. and your QC
folks will just shrug and let the items through.

Just like the house painting analogy: you can slop paint on a house
any number of ways! But a *good* house painter doesn't slop it
all over the window glass in the process! If you want to save a
few dollars and hire a "less expensive" painter, then you're
implicitly indicating your willingness to accept paint on your windows!
Maybe even windows that are painted *shut*!

This doesn't significantly impact the strength of the screwdriver, etc.
But, it's a detail that you can easily *see*.

Then, ask yourself, if a manufacturer isn't willing to worry about these
little details, how do you know he's hardened the steel correctly? (can
you verify the hardness of the steel in your tools at home? in the store??)
Or, that the plating is heavy enough and the underlying metal prepared so
that it doesn't flake off 5 minutes after you start using it? Will the
handle *shatter* when you strike it with a hammer (because you don't happen
to have a chisel handy)? Will the markings/lettering come off after
a few minutes of twisting the handle in your palm? Can you verify the
proper taper (how "unparallel" the faces are) of the screwdriver's blade?

Etc.

I could put a R&P screwdriver in your hand and, a moment later, a genuine
Philips. Would you be able to tell the difference (without seeing them
side by side)? Would you know the consequences of such a substitution?
Would you notice it in the store if the set were marked "Special - $1.99!"