Screwdrivers or turnscrews, as they were known when they first appeared in the middle of the 18th century, were initially manufactured as specialized tools for gunsmiths and clockmakers. As the applications for screws became more widespread, so did the tools designed to turn them. Screwdrivers designed for screws whose threads were tightened into metal were sold in a vast range of style and sizes—from short and stubby locksmith's screwdrivers with wide, flat grips, to machinist's screwdrivers with so-called double grips on their long handles. Naturally, screwdrivers were also made for turning screws into wood, and here the variation became positively exotic. Cabinetmaker's screwdrivers tended to be long with cylindrical shanks. Other screwdrivers featured blades that widened between their shanks and tips to give the working ends of these tools added strength. Screwdrivers intended for wood screws were manufactured in a seemingly endless number of sizes so that the tips of these tools fit the slots in their corresponding screw's heads as precisely as possible. If a screwdriver's tip was too narrow, the tool could deform the screw's head, which could keep the screw from sinking its threads as deeply and securely as possible into a piece of wood. If the tip was too wide, the edge of the blade would cut against the wood, creating an unsightly mess that required an additional step to put right. A close cousin of the drill, the ratchet or spiral screwdriver, was patented by Isaac Allard of Belfast, Maine, in 1868. Ratchet screwdrivers allowed users to sink a screw with less effort, simply by pushing down on the screwdriver's handle, whose end was often positioned at a right-angle to the tool's shank so that it fit comfortably into the palm of the hand. Some ratchet screwdrivers, such as those made the Ellrich Hardware Manufacturing Co. of Plantsville, Connecticut, were sold in sets so that the tool's ratchet and rosewood handle could be fitted with shanks and tips of varying dimensions. Most famous was the Yankee ratchet screwdriver, which first appeared in 1899 when it was introduced by the North Brothers Manufacturing Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By the middle part of the 20th, Stanley had purchased the Yankee name, which is why many woodworkers and tinkerers associate Yankee with that brand. Another screwdriver with a famous brand name was the Perfect Handle Screwdriver, which was patented in 1904 by William S. Ward, who assigned his patent to H.D. Smith & Co., also of Plantsville. Ward's screwdriver may have been one of the first ergonomic tools, as its wide handle was meant to fit perfectly into the palm of a hand. Like a fixed-blade knife, the screwdriver's shank went all the way through the handle, giving the tool added strength. Some of these screwdrivers were stamped with a size number on the blade near the tip. Finally, there are Phillips screws and screwdrivers, both of which were first patented in 1934 by Henry F. Phillips. Unlike regular screws whose tops feature a single slot for turning, Phillips screws are recessed with crossed and connected slots designed to fit similarly designed drivers. Because Phillips screws and screwdrivers did not appear until the mid-1930s, the presence of Phillips screws in, say, a piece of furniture can be used to date it or determine if it was repaired years after being made.