Screw This...!

While Rod and I were playing with lots of hand tools last year at the Hardware Fair in Cologne, Germany, I had a go with what I believe is the "Aston Martin" of the screw ever made so far. SPAX is the brand and of course they are made in Germany.

And after trying them, it was very hard for me to believe and understand how the NZ market is still dominated by the square head screws that I find quite unreliable and unsafe to use. Please, trust me on this one, if you try SPAX once, you will never go back to any other kind of screws ever.

SPAX has been manufacturing fasteners since 1967 and they make screws for just about every material you can think of: softwood, hardwood, treated lumber, MDF, sheetrock, sheet metal, etc. Head styles come in flat head, pan head or washer head, driver styles range from Phillips to Torx (my favorite), to hex-head, to what looks like a proprietary take on Pozidrive, and the finishes offered correspond with whether you're using their screws indoors or outdoors.

The video below with Konny Reimann (well known German businessman) gives you a very good understanding of the SPAX range. You will notice the German narrative has been dubbed with an amusingly American accent... it's quite to watch. (and maybe we could use the same technique when we make our future videos. I could speak Spanish and Stu or Rod could cover with their Kiwi accent...??)

Click on the picture to watch the video

The key innovation of a SPAX screw is the wicked-looking serrated edges on the first few coils of the threads. These obviate the need for pre-drilling and preclude splitting, as the serrations cleanly cut into the material rather than shredding it. The serrations also mean the screws require less torque to drive which, for pros who are driving several hundreds or thousands of these on a job, will reduce the time spent swapping batteries on their tool.

And finally the very best of all of this, is that SPAX are available in NZ from SpaxPacific. No, we don’t get any commission for this, it is just for the joy of sharing this with you and I hope more builders and craftsmen will start using a well-deserved screw.

Cheers, Gaston