Slot screw drives have a single horizontal indentation (the slot) in the fastener head and is driven by a "common blade" or flat-bladed screwdriver. This form was the first type of screw drive to be developed, and, for centuries, it was the simplest and cheapest to make because it can just be sawed or filed. Blunt or damaged tools can easily be re-ground as required in any workshop. It is unique because the slot head is straightforward to manufacture, and because it can be driven by a simple handtool. The slotted screw is commonly found in existing products and installations, along with use in simple carpentry work and in applications where minimal torque is needed.
Coin-slot drives are so-called because of the curved bottom of the recess, which facilitates driving them with a suitable coin. They are often used on items where the user is not likely to have a screwdriver when needed, such as recessed screws that attach cameras to tripod adapters, and battery compartments in some equipment such as children's toys.
A Robertson screw, also known as a square or Scrulox screw drive, is specified as ANSI Type III Square Center and has a square-shaped socket in the screw head and a square protrusion on the tool. Both the tool and the socket have a slight taper. Originally to make the manufacture of the screws practical using cold forming of the heads,: 79–81 this taper provides two other advantages which have served to popularize the drive: it makes inserting the tool easier, and tends to help keep the screw on the tool tip without the user needing to hold it there.
The hexalobular socket screw drive, often referred to by the original proprietary brand name Torx ( /ˈtɔːrks/) or by the alternative generic name star drive, uses a star-shaped recess in the fastener with six rounded points. It was designed to permit increased torque transfer from the driver to the bit compared to other drive systems. The drive was developed in 1967 by Camcar Textron. Torx is very popular in the automotive and electronics industries because of resistance to cam-out and extended bit life, as well as reduced operator fatigue by minimizing the need to bear down on the drive tool to prevent cam-out.
A thumbscrew is a type of screw drive with either a tall head and ridged or knurled sides, or a key-like flat-sided vertical head. They are intended to be tightened and loosened with the bare hand, and are usually not found in structural applications.
A pentagon screw drive uses five-sided fastener heads, and the fastener is known as a penta screw or penta bolt. It is designed to be intrinsically incompatible with many tools. Since five is an odd number, it cannot be turned by open-end or adjustable wrenches, which have parallel faces (and thus require a fastener with an even number of sides). Moreover, it cannot be turned by typical consumer-grade and professional-grade socket drivers, which possess either six or twelve points (neither of which are multiples of five). Penta nut security fasteners also are available, which can only be driven by specialized five-sided socket drivers. However, the security feature of this design can be bypassed by using some type of pliers if enough force is applied.
Due to the difficulty of turning these fasteners without specialized (and uncommon) five-point wrenches such as hydrant wrenches, they are commonly used for tamper resistance by public utilities on water meter covers, natural gas valves, electrical cabinets, and fire hydrants.