I bought one---years ago---thought it might come in handy. It did--a couple of days ago--or at least it should have.

An el-cheapo Lowes screwdriver got magnetized (and less than handy). I actually found my demagnetizer---and it didn't work. I ended up watching a YouTube video (God forgive me!!) to see if I was doing it wrong. I was doing it right. I just now noticed a couple of Magna-Tip bits had also become magnetized---and tried to demagnetize them. It worked---perfectly---first crack out of the box!!

What's going on? Does cheap steel not like to be demagnetized, while the good stuff loves it---or what?

Speaking of Lowes el-cheapo screwdrivers, these are from their Precision Screwdiver Set, #0525844---10 tools---$10-$12-----gotta be junk. They are GREAT for pre-war sight screws, handles big enough to hold onto---and be PRECISE---and hollow ground yet. I only use 2 of the 10, not counting another when my glasses needed fixing, but I'm glad I have them.

Ralph Tremaine

Maybe your not getting enough of the shaft in the coil to take away all the magnetism

You can magnetize a screwdriver simply by stroking any strong magnet across the screw driver blade (in one direction) a few times. To demagnetize, give it a sharp wrap on a wooden table. No special or fancy magnetizing tools necessary.

Brownell's screwdriver bits are only a few bucks each, hollow ground, (made by Apex I believe) and the best I've found to date. No extra wasted ones in kits, lifetime warranty, and precision ground.

I have a Craftsman magnetizer, it's 30 yrs old and still works
both ways.

When I was an apprentice a hundred or so years ago, they had an induction heater which could also be used to magnetize/demagnetize things, and it really worked! Literally only a couple seconds, and whatever metal object you stuck in there was magnetized big time. Of course it's other use was neat too - it would turn something red hot in a very brief period of time, faster than using a torch. No idea how much current it drew, but it had to be a lot.

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!