You may not even need to reach into your toolbox to weaken a magnet. Simply dropping one might be enough to weaken some magnets.
This technique was originally developed by navies during World War II to deal with the threat of magnetically activated mines destroying ships made of metal. [4] X Research source
Iron: 1043 Kelvin (770 degrees Celsius, or 1418 degrees Fahrenheit) Cobalt: 1388 Kelvin (1115 degrees Celsius, or 2039 degrees Fahrenheit) Nickel: 627 Kelvin (354 degrees Celsius, or 667 degrees Fahrenheit)
If you are really concerned about someone accessing your hard drive data, the best way to destroy any information on it is to use a hammer and smash it.
For demagnetizing a screwdriver or other tool, blunt force should be sufficient. Hit the tools really hard, then test them on non-magnet metals to check their strength. There are also handy and affordable devices that can demagnetize your tools easily. As a bonus, these tools can also remagnetize magnets as well.
Iron, cobalt, and nickel are ferromagnetic substances. Ferromagnetism is the strongest type of magnetism, and the one you’re most likely to encounter when you’re dealing with magnets. [10] X Research source
A magnetized substance needs to be exposed to a strong magnet to become a magnet itself because of how its electrons are oriented. Although the electrons in a magnetic substance are spinning in the same direction in relation to their atoms, these electrons need to spin in the same direction in relation to the other atoms in the substance too. Magnetic fields are also produced by electric currents, which means that you don’t necessarily need another magnet to magnetize a substance.
