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The Fenrir is a screw and fastener-gripping attachment that can be used with most cordless drills and locking screwdriver handles.
Described as The First Truly One-Handed Screwdriver, the Fenrir is a unique attachment that holds onto fasteners with enough strength to resist more than 100 pounds of pulling force.
It has a standard 1/4″ hex shaft for use with different driving tools, and it works with common 2″ power bits.
The Fenrir comes with what looks to be a Wera screwdriver bit holder, but it can also be used with power tools (presumably non-impact).
There are two sizes, one for medium-sized fasteners, and one for larger fasteners.
Fenrir Screw Gripper Sizes
- Medium: 0.20″ to 0.32″ head diameters (5 to 8.1mm)
- Large: 0.25″ to 0.40″ head diameters (6.4 to 10.1mm)
How Does it Work?
The Fenrir has a special recess that allows side-entry of a screw head.
When set with a fastener, it creates a contact force between your screwdriver bit and the screw or fastener you wish to install. You insert the fastener, release the mechanism, and it’s held in place.
Here’s a GIF:
The Fenrir looks to be quick and easy to operate.
There is also an alternate use mode in case you want to use the same tool to reach into a recess.
Fenrir is seeking crowdfunding for the initial production run, with the goal of being able to make the product in the USA.
The Indiegogo campaign is set to run until 9/30/2021. At the time of this posting, they are 38% on the way towards meeting their funding goals.
“Perks” range in price from $31 for either size (plus screwdriver handle and 3 bits) to $58 for both sets.
Discussion
I spoke with the inventor, David Levinson, and two things were made clear to me – 1) he believes this will be a time and frustration saver, and 2) he hopes to be able to have the Fenrir made in the USA (there are more details about this on the crowdfunding page.
They claim that with the Fenrir you will never drop a screw again. The design does look to be effective in doing that.
In addition to being useful for securing screws during the installation processes, this can also be used to secure screws that are being removed.
I have dropped screws and fasteners before, during both installation and removal tasks, and could absolutely see this attachment helping me to avoid that.
Additionally, because it promotes contact between the screwdriver bit and the fastener, it should help reduce the potential for slippage. Does that make sense? The contact pressure that helps to retain the screw also looks to help prevent cam-out or slipping that could be caused by insufficient pressure. This could be a big deal when driving fasteners at awkward angles
What about passive or magnetic screw holders? There are various existing attachments that can be used to help secure screws to driver bits. Most work by either using thin plastic prongs to hold onto the underside of a fastener head, or through the use of magnets. I have had a mixed success rate with such accessories over the years.
The Fenrir takes a completely different approach, as it’s more of an active screw retention device, rather than passive.
The product has been in development for several years (I’ve seen coverage of the prototypes dating back at least to 2019), and in my opinion it looks to be a sound design.
I declined the opportunity to check out a test sample, but there might still be time if you guys are interested. Judging from what I have seen so far, I think the Fenrir looks to be effective at what it claims to do. This won’t be a universal type of accessory in the way that bit holders are, but it has the makings of a time-saver and frustration-solver.
Early prototypes show the Fenrir having what looks to be an integrated handle. I think it was smart to launch as an accessory that can work with locking handles as well as cordless drill chucks.
I would hesitate to use this in tight spaces, as it does add quite a bit of length your screwdriver or drill, but that’s the price of active screw retention. I’ve knocked fasteners off of passive screw holding attachments before, but I can’t see that happening with this design.
I think there’s a lot of promise here.
Demo Videos
