Have you ever noticed how poorly a conventional Phillips screwdriver fits Japanese screws? It's not your imagination. Phillips is actually a trade name for a specific configuration of a + type drive. Although it's the standard for this type of cross point drive in most of the world, it's not used in the Japan Industrial Standard JIS.

All of the cross point screws in Sansui and other Japanese audio equipment and cars are using the JIS standard and a conventional Phillips screwdriver just doesn't fit properly and often leads to damaging the cross point drive.

I recently bought this JIS +2 100 screw driver and I'm in love. It fits these little screws and it's a joy to use. It has a nice magnetic tip to add to it's utility.

This Vessel JIS +2 screwdriver is available on eBay or Amazon. The price varies quite a bit so shop around for the best deal. I got this one for about $8 delivered on a very slow boat from Japan. I've never seen a JIS screwdriver made or distributed by a US company.






My previous favorite screwdriver is also shown in the picture. It's a knock off of a Craftsman screwdriver that I found in the street when I was in high school. It has no markings on it but fits JIS screws properly. It's from the early 1970s, a time when knock offs were made in Japan. Until now, it was the screwdriver I always reached for when working on Sansui but I like this Vessel better. Get one. You will be amazed how well it works.

- Pete