Phillips head screws are particularly prone to being stripped, when the corners formed by the grooves are worn. This makes it very difficult to unscrew your screw because there are no longer solid grooves in which to insert your tool. Be very careful when using these methods so as not to strip your screw.
If your butter knife is of low quality and strength or the screw is very tight, then you may bend your butter knife rather than unscrewing the screw. Be aware of this potential damage. [1] X Research source
Insert the coin into the larger groove and turn counterclockwise.
Needle nose pliers may work better than regular pliers.
If the screw is very tight then this method might not work very well.
Make sure you do not cut the surface of the wood or whatever the screw is fastened to. Remove the screw as you would a flat head screw, such as with a flat head screwdriver or another flat object such as a credit card. [2] X Research source
This will not work with smaller screws, but it should be fine for normal size and larger screws. Be careful not to damage your screw because there will now be less surface area in contact with the screw head. [3] X Research source
This will usually only work with screws that are not too tight and relatively easy to turn. Be very careful when using the lighter to avoid accidents and make sure to melt the toothbrush slowly so you can monitor the melting and prevent a mess from the melting plastic.
If your butter knife is of low quality and strength or the screw is very tight, then you may bend your butter knife rather than unscrewing the screw. Be aware of this potential damage.
Needle nose pliers may work better than regular pliers.
Torx screws can be easy to damage so be very careful when using an alternative tool to unscrew these screws.
For security torx screws you will need to insert the flat head in against one of the outer grooves and the center nub of the head. This works much the same as non-security torx screws. Security torx screws will usually turn the opposite direction, so you should turn clockwise to remove them.
If you cannot find or use an eyeglass repair kit then you can try one of these methods. Eyeglass repair kits are very cheap and easy to find.
Blunt scissors will not work well for opening very small screws.
