Cory Doctorow, the second most inane and overblown human being on the whole Internet, was pushing this earlier. They're metal freaking washers.

I'm half expecting the next site to preface this with "COOL NEW WAY TO HACK YOUR SCREWS"

geodave

Those are just spark plug gappers.

itchytooth

<sigh> when I read the heading (the image didn't load), I had visions of a coin-shaped thing that split into two, revealing a flathead or philips screwdriver. Now, _that_ would be useful. But this? Meh.

I'll keep my utilikey. No trouble getting that onto aeroplanes..

Repton

@mysdak: Quarters don't work, most of the time. I've tried. Dimes aren't much better off.

Reilao

Ever heard of Philips or posi-drive screws?

aec007

Those just look like washers... Which cost less than a nickel...

lafond66

Why not use a quarter...or a real screwdriver from under the seat of your truck.

mysdak

i just go to the garage, or as we call it round here "the men's crisis center" and grab some real grade 8 washers
and a bolt for leverage

investment? less than a buck

godwhacker

FAA screening? Not to be a dick (or tragically unhip to what could possibly have been a joke of some sort), but I'm pretty sure the "plane" referred to in the product description is the woodworking tool pictured with the product.

That said, I'm pretty sure I could get a dozen dimes, a dozen nickels, and a dozen quarters (to make sure I have varying widths like the beveled washers) for somewhere in the neighborhood of $4.80, and they'd do around the same job. They're pretty cool, just maybe a bit overpriced in my opinion.

Yossarian

20-pack of thin, 1" washers at HD - $1.19.

pj737

I would imagine that these are made of a tougher metal than the sh!t they use for generic washers, I've twisted enough of them NOT using them as screwdrivers to know they're crap.

I too was hoping that there would be some kind of variety here, but alas, no Robertson "washer driver". :(

CapitalC

@Repton: What's scary is that I made a series of business trips back in '04 with a Gerber Multi-plier [www.gerber-tools.com] in my laptop case. I didn't find it until I got back home and unpacked.

GoPadge

and it was already said... but i'll remention it. these look surprisingly similar to a spark plug gapper... which i'm pretty sure i bought for like $0.89 last time i needed one. (possibly less.) it was convenient... as i only needed one. not a dozen.

x23

"you can both screw in and out on the go with nothing but a pocketful of jingling to make anyone the wiser."

indeed.

x23

why so many? you cant really use it on small screw since the wide washers wont be able to reach them and you won't be able to get enough torque to be able to get a large screw. you would probably have just as much luck with a paperclip and your car keys.

mwalker05

The only thing getting screwed here is the buyer. Stupid idea. How often do you need to use a screwdriver after making a business/vacation airplane trip? Even if you did, you could just buy a real screwdriver matching your exact needs at the time (size, type), then just throw it away and the overall cost wouldn't be so much that you'd save anything over these $8.50 washers. Now all it would take is someone to grind these washers down to a nice razor sharp edge and they too will get banned. Besides that, the airlines let you take pens and pencils on the plane which could easily be used to stab and kill someone. That or a shoelace to strangle someone with. Might as well just make all flights completely nude flights to avoid all passenger terrorist scenarios except of course hand to hand attacks.

yougottabekidding

From the product page:

"What makes it so effective is the range of edge thickness (from 0.030" to 0.090") created by a ramp formed on one side."

they aren't 20 different sizes, they're a dozen of the same damned thing (so you can lose them a LOT) - And yes, the plane they're referring to is a carpentry plane, not an aviation plane.

Eilonwynn

They need to have square-ish shapes or you're going to strip some screwheads.

gundamsdontkillpeople

@mwalker05: With the hole in the center, you can insert a wooden or metal rod to get the torque you need. Unfortunately, these things are still pretty cheap looking, so I wouldn't trust them taking enough torque to loosen a moderately tightened screw.

dphagan