Grips of screwdrivers these days are ergonomically designed and make use of hard and soft resins that are skillfully combined. As a result, their functionalities have been significantly enhanced. In this column, however, I would like to focus on wooden handles used for screwdrivers.

Wooden handles tend to produce cracks under dry conditions and go moldy in the presence of moisture. These days, they are rarely seen on store shelves presumably because they have become costlier in manufacturing. But in the past, handles of various tools were mostly made of wood. Why is that? One reason is that wood is light and suitable for increasing the volume of handles so that their users can grip them with ease. It also has a unique characteristic of absorbing sweat and oil from the hands, which works in favor of creating rough and easy-to-grasp textures.

I’d like to show in the picture above some screwdrivers with wooden handles. They are all taken from my toolbox. The four screwdrivers in the lower part of it are equipped with hexagonal grips. They are made by American maker PROTO. I use them on a regular basis as my favorite tools because I like their hickory materials. The one on the upper left is an old product with its brand name engraved on the bolster at the bottom of the shaft. The one with a red grip indicated on the upper right of the picture is made by the Japanese maker VESSEL, which also has a mark engraved on its bolster. Meanwhile, the latest products usually have their logos printed on their handgrips.

I’ve also pulled out some other tools from my old toolbox, which are no longer in use. As you can see, the two screwdrivers on the right have round-shape grips suitable for screwing while pushing. Look at the grip of the uppermost screwdriver. Don’t you think it has a strange shape? Take a closer look at it and you can see the minus blade was made by hitting and shaving. I think its handle was originally combined to something like a file, but it is too slim to be used for a screwdriver.