Where people need to assemble fixtures or connect assemblies, but they don’t want them taken apart again, tamper proof screws are the common go-to hardware used. This applies to all sorts of constructions, ranging from separations in public areas to connection points holding furniture or cabinetry together. Originally designed to stop unscrupulous types from disconnecting and stealing equipment, tamper-proof screws have found their way into all types of assemblies, from fencing to public restroom fixtures to lockers and tool sheds connections to playground equipment. That said, not every tamper-proof screw design works well, as proven by characters who continue to find ways to disconnect them and steal property.
What Makes a Tamper Proof Screw Different?
The normal screw head that drives the hardware into a socket or twists it to connect with a nut on the other side comes in two universal forms: flathead and Phillips. Both are designed for the screwdriver tools or bit that either twists them tight or loosens the hardware. A third and fourth type, known as a star or torque screw as well as hex types exist, but they work the same way, just with a different type of tool.
A tamper-proof screw involves hardware that is impossible to use or twist with common tools. Clearly, the flathead slot or Phillips cross-hatch shape isn’t going to work on this type of hardware. The belief for a long time was that such a design was sufficient. Unfortunately, thieves and property criminals have proven this assumption to be dead wrong. For example, if one simply brings a file that can grind metal, they can essentially make enough of a slot in a screw head to use a flathead screwdriver on it. The security feature has then been overcome. Another simple method is to use a vice-grip plier on the same hardware, grab down with sufficient bite, and twist. Off comes the hardware. Something more has to be done, and that’s how generic security hardware became a lower standard than true, tamper-proof screws.
Hardware Isn’t a Luxury Item
What works against novel improvement of hardware is the fact that much of it is made generically. Go to any hardware store and even some big box stores, and you’ll find boxes and boxes of every screw, fastener, nut and rod available. They are produced and sold as commodities versus anything special. So the market for security hardware tends to be small and requires a lot of awareness building. That happens when a type of security hardware is fabricated with performance in mind versus just fitting the bill of a type of screw or nut.
Demand Drives Improvement
Of course, as thieves and vandals became better at taking things apart, that drove the need for improved hardware. Especially as people started realizing the need for more and more physical protection to at least make their property more difficult to access than someone else, better hardware started being sought. The thing is, thieves don’t have all night long to figure out how get something to disassemble. They need to work quickly, or their activity gathers attention. So, if hardware makes access more and more difficult, it stands to reason that thieves end up going towards easier targets. This strategy sort of solved the problem, but it wasn’t anything close to being foolproof. So, evolved hardware was still sub-par when it came to actually stopping break-ins or unauthorized disassembly.
Stepping Up the Design of a Real Tamper Proof Screw
The key solution is a proprietary approach to both the tools used for fastening and the hardware used for security assemblies. Why? Every major type of hardware on the market has the tools to operate and install it on the same market. Thieves aren’t dumb; they’ve taken time to collect all the right tools into kits that they can use and apply quickly and effectively on all types of generic security hardware. If it’s sold at a hardware store for anyone to buy, a thief probably has their own copy of the same tool as well.
Instead, the installation of real security hardware needs to be applied by propriety tool sets that aren’t widely available or easy to buy in any store. By controlling access, the failure rate of security hardware is controlled as well. This is why products like Bryce Fastener hardware has been so much more successful in practice and performance than other hardware choices. The proof is in how many applications of advanced hardware have held up against real attempts to circumvent its tamperproof design. Unlike the generic models, proprietary forms with controlled tool access have done markedly better.
You Get What You Pay For
Generic hardware is, of course, lower in cost. And that adds up with large assembly projects and volume. However, the cost of break-ins, vandalism, and failure also adds up as well. And with a far higher frequency with generic tamper hardware, the cost overall begins to outweigh what would have been saved with better quality security screws.
No one is going to promise that proprietary hardware like that from Bryce Fastener and similar are the perfect security solution. There are other ways around physical assemblies. However, thieves don’t have all the time in the world either. So, hardware that does its job and stays together under extreme demand is by far worth its price with long-term performance. And that’s the case with true tamper-proof screws and hardware – install once and not again.
