County Comm Screwdrivers

[admin]

Time to review a few of County Comm’s screwdriver offerings.

4 drivers in this review, they are:

1×4 Technician’s Pocket Screw Driver (orange plastic)
1×4 Deluxe Technician’s Pocket Screw Driver (alodine model)
Machinist Screw Driver (alodine model)
Multibit Driver (orange driver in the pics)

The Technicians (TD)and Deluxe Technicians (DTD) drivers employ the same double ended bits. One has Philips PH0 and PH00. The other is slotted in 1.5mm and 3mm widths. These are good size for precision work, eyeglasses, pc, etc.

The Machinist driver has one long doubled ended bit in Philips PH1 and 3/16 inch slotted. Larger sizes here, more useful for general work, like changing a wall switch, working on larger equipment, etc.

The Multibit driver has 7 bits. Phillips PH0 and PH00. Slotted in 2mm and 3mm. And Torx in T5, 6, and 8. Basically the same size as the technicians with the inclusion of Torx. Good for small electronics and knives.

All 4 of these came directly from County Comm, paid for with my own coin. I have no ties to County Comm, and have not been bribed, seduced or otherwise leveraged on!

Impressions and thoughts:

The TD and DTD attack the same problem from 2 different angles. The TD is very light, full plastic construction. It would easily ride in a shirt pocket. Caps can be posted on each other during use, so no loose parts. The DTD is considerably heavier, owing to the metal construction. Aluminum body and the hex insert appears to be brass? Not steel as it is not magnetic. The DTD does have a magnet on the clip cap, good for retrieval. Caps do not post, so you will have a loose cap to deal with during use. The stainless pocket clip on the DTD is superior to the molded plastic clip integral to the TD cap.

The machinist driver is good alternative to a full size driver. The bit sizes are large enough to be used on commonly encountered screws on larger equipment and electronics. The insert is steel and is held to the aluminum body via red Loctite. The stainless pocket clip is attached via 2 .050 hex screws. At the top is a strong magnet for retrieval. The knurling on the handle is deep enough to afford a good grip. Simple design, only 2 parts, the assembled body and the double ended bit. I could see using this in an edc pouch or just dropped in a pocket.

Here is a pics of the TD and DTD caps showing the identical clips:

And the caps stuck together, the magnets are strong, the DTD has a stronger magnet, so much better retrieval.

The Multibit driver is a stubby bit driver with 7 bits. One is held in the magnetic bit driver and the other 6 are in the handle. 2 captured o rings retain the bits in the handle. Extraction of the bits cannot be done by hand, generally I use the 7th bit to push the desired bit through the handle, thus replacing the desired bit with the current bit. That way there is less chance of loosing the bits. Clever design. Main body is plastic with an aluminum bit driver with a strong magnet. Quite light, and very well made. On a side note the yellow driver pictured is the identical driver, purchased by me at the local Sears. It is branded as the “Picquic Teeny Turner”. Web research indicates that Picquic is a Canadian company that makes a nice selection of tools including various sized drivers in this style. If these 2 drivers indicate the quality I would be very interested to obtain more of Picquic’s product line!

Conclusion:

Any of these would be a great addition to a practical toolkit. The DTD and TD package better than the Multibit driver, but the Multibit is more hand friendly and has Torx bits. The DTD is heavier than the TD, so if weight is a concern and lack of a magnet is not, the TD is the best bet. The Machinist driver is sized for larger tasks than the other 3, and I can recommend it without reservation.

[Author]

Posts