I was looking for something in an old tool bag and dug out a Craftsman screwdriver-handled bottle opener. It smells like vomit.
Why?
Advertisement
Acetate-handled screwdrivers are fairly tough, durable, and easy to clean, but like a lot of materials they age over time and outgas. What’s basically happening is that the Cellulose Acetate Butyrate (CAB) material is slowly decomposing, and the byproduct has a particular smell to it.
I’ve read that it’s the butyric acid component from the chemical breakdown that causes the vomit-like stink.
Should you pass on acetate-handled screwdrivers? That’s up to you. I prefer other handle materials most of the time for greater comfort and ergonomics, but acetate tool handles are usually easier to clean. Cellulose Acetate Butyrate can withstand certain shop chemicals, it’s impact-resistant, and it’s a biopolymer that’s made from renewable resources.
Many brands currently offer acetate-handled screwdrivers, such as Channellock, Craftsman, and Gearwrench.
In my experience, some acetate screwdriver and tool handles will develop a smell over time, but not all of them. The foul odor usually develops when the screwdriver is kept in enclosed storage for a long period of time. The smell will usually go away when you air out a tool, or there are ways you can clean them to remove surface residues.
Advertisement
Acetate tool handles are usually clear or translucent, often accented with a brand’s colors.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t my first whiff of acetate-handled tools. I once opened a small plastic tool box and was greeted with the combined stink of an entire set of Craftsman acetate-handled screwdrivers that I had forgotten about for a couple of years.
Buy Now(Acetate screwdrivers via Amazon)
Oh, and I also found my Dewalt hickory-handled hammer, with the handle still a sticky mess that’s still wrapped in plastic from a few years ago. Certain plastics and adhesives decompose over time and under specific conditions, sometimes quite unexpectedly. For instance, I have an eraser that melted itself into a clear pen it was in prolonged contact with.
Want to avoid plastics? There are still some decent wood-handled screwdrivers out there, such as from Felo and Grace.
Buy Now(Wood-handled screwdrivers via Amazon)
Hilton
I have a set of Grace screw drivers but they arrived quite raw (if that’s the correct word).
I had to sand down all the hard edges and apply a sealer but now they’re super handy.
Can’t say I’ve encountered a smelly screw driver but I don’t live in a very humid climate so maybe that has something to do with it?
Dt
These: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Xcelite-Ps-120-Nut-Driver-Set/dp/B0002JT7O4
are the WORST.
Farid
Yep. We have several tool drawers and tool boxes that have these and they stink.
Flotsam
Agreed! I had loved Xcelite screwdrivers for years (don’t see them much now) but i have to say they are the smelliest.
What to do about it?
Mike (the other one)
I had to get rid of a set of Xcelite screwdrivers because the smell was so bad. They were good drivers, but they were smelling up my work space.
Them and Craftsman seem to be the worst ones. I have other drivers from PC repair kits that I’ve had for years, and no smell.
Brian Ferus
Had a set of their nut drivers, and yes every time I opened up the case it reeked
John Pommon
I sprayed my handles with clear acyrlic.
They coated the handle. The odor was sealed of.
Andy
They do stink. But they remind me of my grandfather, so I love that stink. I keep some in a toolbox in a shed just for that reason.
Brian Ferus
Got a set of Xeilite nut drivers back in the late 70s, still smell like someone peed in the case.
Peter Fox
There’s nothing quite like a the smell from a long closed case of xcelite nut drivers. They can definitely take your breath away. Great tools otherwise.
Altan
Thanks for the post, great information, appreciated. That is why I say it is good to carry E6.3 1/4″ hex shank screwdriver bits with one handle just :)))
fred
Butyric acid was isolated by Michel Chevreul (you can see his name inscribed on the Eiffel Tower as a great man of science). I believe that he named it after “beurre – or butter” – since it is the compound that gives rancid butter its odor. A little bit goes a long way as a flavoring agent in phony parmesan cheese – while (as they will tell you when you visit) a true Parmigiano Reggiano gets its aroma naturally.
When I come home from northern Italy – my dog can smell the Parmigiano through its cryovac packaging and over-wrap plastic bag.
Farid
Thanks Fred. I would not call it vomit smell, but your explanation fits. I thought it always smelled like a really bad cheese, a really bad fungus.
The smell always reminds me of elementary school. There was a kid that sat near me in 3rd grade. Every time he opened his bag, I got a whiff of that smell. The bag was made of some kind of vinyl. We used to have Bic pens (and other brands) with clear bodies. Probably the combination of the vinyl and the acetate made the smell pretty bad.
Smell is a really powerful memory trigger and sometimes unforgettable. It helps keep us safe, not only from bad food, but good tools with bad handles as well!
MrS85
PB Swiss puts vanilla in their handles to counteract the smell from the breakdown. Don’t know if anyone else does, but it’s always a pleasant new tool day to open them.
Frank D
Thank you for the heads up.
Will avoid this style for any future purchases.
Recently bought a 20, ft 4ā dust collector hose and inexpensive dust collector on Amazon, from one of the prominent value brands. Had to take the hose outside of my little one car space Iām working on outfitting, within 20 min. The smell filled the room and started to make me ill. The hose been off-gassing for two weeks. Still smells from several feet away. Unreal.
Stuart
Vinyl definitely has an unpleasant outgassing. Rubber too. New plastic tool boxes also stink, although I’m never sure if that’s the plastic or some kind of mold release agent.
GEORGE MICHENER
I believe AvE coined the phrase “smells like China” lol
Altan
Not just these, new cars are also smelly like those you said, I remember when I was a child and was getting in a car I never had headache from the smell of interior plastic, does not matter cheap or expensive car, but with new cars I can not stand the smell even the expensive cars. I think it is the new plastic types that they started to use after 1990 approximately. Nowadays everything smells.
fred
How about the wood and leather in a Bentley?
Altan
Bentley? lool, Even an Audi with leather seats smells, the leather smells, I remember when I was child leather jackets were smelling nice also but now they don’t….
Steve
I’ve been wondering about this for a while, I have some old Xcelite tools from the 1980s that (a) smell, and (b) develop a white mold-like layer on the handles after periods of non-use. It scrapes off easily, leaving the acetate looking new… but then it comes back. Is there any way to prevent it? Would it help to not keep them in their original Heathkit case?
Mike (the other one)
I’ve heard of people using a mild solution of dish detergent and vinegar to clean the handles. As for prevention, I once red that someone spray-painted their handles with clear coat, but I’m not sure how effective that is. I’d imagine the coat would wear off over time.
Stuart
Cleaning or treating the surface and then creating an oxygen or air barrier might do the trick, but possibly at the expense of grip. It’s a temporary meaure given than the varnish is unlikely to be permanent. If you build up enough layers it might work, but at that point it’s probably a better idea to consider choosing different tools.
For tools from the 1980s, if you use them irregularly, maybe just air them out when you’re ready to use them, and wipe them down with a mild cleaner.
Long-term applications of coatings or varnishings might lead to other side effects.
Mike (the other one)
Not all acetate-handle screwdrivers have butyrate, correct? THose don’t seem to smell at all.
Trouble is, there’s rarely a list of ingredients on the packaging. š
Andrew
That is correct, some are cellulose acetate propionate.
There are differing grades of both flavours, with differing characteristics.
Swiss army knives have used this kind of polymer for years (under the supplier’s brand name of Cellidor), as have (the awesome) CK Classic screwdriver range.
Tyler
I bought a few charcoal air purifying bags and tossed them in with the drawers that had tools with acetate handles. It seemed to work pretty decent. I could start to pickup the smell of the acetate again after the life of the bags came due.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0099K6OVQ/
Jim Metzger
Yup,
My 50 year old Craftsman screwdrivers have that smell but still work like new.
Jim Felt
Stuart. Based on the tricky Swiss adding vanilla extract to their plastic I wonder if briefly soaking the offending out gassing Craftsman et al tools would make any detectable odor difference?
Anyone? Thoughts? Prayers?
Stuart
It might be possible, but I don’t know of any specifics. Food can stain and lock smells into certain plastic containers, so maybe a counteracting fragrance can be added to plastic screwdriver handles.
Mike (the other one)
I actually like acetate handle screwdrivers, if the handle properly designed. I have some from a Black Box electronics tool kit that have very comfortable handles, which are sort of rounded off hexagons.
On the other hand, I have a set of Stanley 100 Plus drivers, which have excellent shanks and tips, but the handles are like giant Torx bits. They dig into my hand and are very uncomfortable. They are fine if I’m wearing gloves, but otherwise they are nearly unusable. I guess that’s what I get for sleepy-ordering from Amazon.
Jon
Finally, I have an answer to my stinkin’ screwdriver drawer. I was never sure what was going on in there.
Bryan
Smells like fatherhood to me. Smells like purpose.
Andy
They do stink. But they remind me of my grandfather, so I love that stink. I keep some in a toolbox in a shed just for that reason.
JeffD
I like tools that smell. Keep the borrowers away!
Altan
My dad had a lot of American made hand tools, neighbours were borrowing and abusing or loosing them and my dad had lots of problems with neighbours, he could not say no also. But this made me learn how to say no, if any one asks for any tools I say I know where to find them cheapest.
Bob
I have experienced the same smell. Plus, some drivers ( notably yellow Proto and old USA Channellock) develop a white haze. Yes, I also collect tools. On these 2 brands, which I consider desirable, cleaned with mineral spirits, then 3 coats of spray gloss urethane. I have drivers ‘dressed ‘ like that, 5 years +. No degradation. However, they are not daily users.
John Pommon
I’ve been annoyed by puke-flavored Xcelite tool handles and cases. The plastic breaks down & stinks of old French cheese & or vomit.
The solution:
Stick an extension on. With a 24″ length of masking taped to the end of extension spray the plastic handle while rotating the tape with MINIWAX fast drying POLURETHANE GLOSS.
The odor is locked inside! The coating dries hard and provides a tough plastic skin. The stink is gone forever!
Dennis Spadini
I have several older USA Proto yellow acetate handled screwdrivers. They smell exactly as you describe, especially offensive when kept closed up in a box or drawer. I had the same experience with some Xcelite screwdrivers that I got rid of some years ago. I will probably discard the Protos as I have other non-small drivers.
John Pommon
Spray them with clear laquer or polyetheylene.
John Pommon
Spray the handles with polyurethane. May take a few coats.
Lee Adams
I have to totally disagree. As a kid I would get out my Dad’s Craftsman screwdrivers just to smell the handles. I love the smell and it brings back fond memories for me. That’s one of the main reasons I buy Craftsman now.
ROBERT KLONOSKI
Way back, I worked over the Summers making screwdrivers at Stanley, including for Craftsman. The next building over built the Stanley taperules. What didn’t smell like acetate (a crisper, nicer smell than when it’s been decomposing) smelled of mylar. Good times!
Brett
Thanks to all of you.. I can now stop looking for the family of dead mice in my toolbox.š¤¢