Punch and manufacturing method for recessed head fastener

A method for forming a recess in the head of a threaded fastener comprising:

• impacting the face of a punch against the end of the fastener, the end of the punch being contoured to define at least part of the outer shape of the fastener had;
• during said impacting, causing metal in the head end of the fastener to flow to form a recess having a central portion and a plurality of wings radiating from the central portion, each of the wings having a pair of sidewalls and an end wall;
• during formation of the wings, causing a portion of the head that defines the sidewall to flow to form a relieved region along the sidewall.

A method for making a threaded fastener having modified drive characteristics from those of a threaded fastener having a standardized driver-engageable recess, the recess having a central portion, a plurality of wings radiating outwardly from the central portion, the wings each being defined by a pair of sidewalls and an end wall adjoining the sidewalls, the drive walls of the standardized recess having a geometry that defines a first center of effort located at a predetermined radial distance from the central axis of the fastener, the method comprising:

• impacting a punch into the head end of a fastener blank to form a recess having substantially the configuration of the standardized recess but with a portion of the drive wall being recessed to leave a relatively raised torque pad along the outer region of the drive wall, the geometry of the face of the torque pad defining a second center of effort disposed radially outwardly of the first center of effort.