Sonic screwdriver The sonic screwdriver , also called a sonic probe or simply the sonic , was a highly versatile tool used by the Doctor . He modified and ostensibly upgraded it over the years , giving it an increasing number of applications . Early versions were used mainly for the picking of lock s and for projecting sound so as to , for example , detonate objects and fry circuit ry . By the time of the Ninth Doctor , the sonic was able to also be used as a sophisticated scanning device , with medical applications . Subsequent incarnations gave it even wider functionality , such as the ability to hack into computer s , provide geolocation and actively defend against some types of assault weapon s by frying their internal mechanics and causing the weapons to burst into flames and spark from the inside . The tool seemed to have electromagnetic properties and abilities , as it could be used to electrify the nervous system , and could create powerful frequencies and signals , as well as use sound to carry out its functions , even to the point where three of its latest incarnations where able to create a sonic force blast powerful enough to repel and destroy a Dalek while working together , as well as shoot green sonic energy waves to briefly incapacitate or stun a target . All of these incarnation s utilised the same software , though they used different cases . For all intents and purposes , the War Doctor ' s sonic was the same as the Eleventh Doctor ' s some 400 years later . ( TV : " The Day of the Doctor " ) While almost always referred to as a sonic screwdriver , it has on occasion been referred to as a sonic probe by people other than the Doctor , such as Dalek Sec and a version of Amy Pond who had been stuck on Apalapucia for 36 years . The Tenth Doctor openly disliked this , and corrected those who did so . ( TV : " Doomsday " , " The Girl Who Waited " ) Technology and functions . The sonic screwdriver was considered to be very advanced Gallifrey an technology . ( PROSE : " Heart of TARDIS " ) The Doctor claimed that he either invented or designed the specific sonic screwdriver which he owned . When Kazran Sardick was confused as to what to do when it looked like Abigail Pettigrew was about to kiss him , the Eleventh Doctor told Kazran to trust him and kiss Abigail , as " It ' s this , or go to your room and design a new kind of screwdriver . Don ' t make my mistakes . Now , go . " ( TV : " A Christmas Carol " ) When Captain Jack Harkness asked the Ninth Doctor , " Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks ' Ooh , this could be a little more sonic ' ? " , the Ninth Doctor defensively responded , " What ? You never been bored ? Never had a long night ? Never had a lot of cabinet s to put up ? " ( TV : " The Doctor Dances " ) Other individuals had similar devices , such as the sonic pen used by Miss Foster ( TV : " Partners in Crime " ) and the sonic blaster used first by Captain Jack Harkness ( TV : " The Empty Child " / " The Doctor Dances " ) and later River Song . ( TV : " Silence in the Library " / " Forest of the Dead " ) Sarah Jane Smith had her sonic lipstick , ( TV : " Invasion of the Bane " , et al . ) and the Doctor himself once used a sonic cane . ( TV : " Let ' s Kill Hitler " ) Even Missy used a sonic umbrella . ( TV : " World Enough and Time " / " The Doctor Falls " ) At least one version of the screwdriver used a crystal similar to the Metebelis crystal sought after by the Eight Legs of Metebelis III . ( COMIC : " The Forgotten " ) There were also electrical components . ( COMIC : " The Halls of Sacrifice " ) The screwdriver had a multitude of settings and different versions of settings . The Tenth Doctor told Rose to use " setting 15B " to triangulate the source of the ghosts ( TV : " Army of Ghosts " ) and used 34 - H to sink a ship . ( COMIC : " Second Wave " ) It had a setting 85 that undid security codes to unlock doors . ( TV : " The Lazarus Experiment " ) The Ninth Doctor told Rose to use setting 2428D to re - attach barbed wire . ( TV : " The Doctor Dances " ) Sarah Jane used the Theta Omega setting to melt plastic vines . ( TV : " The Android Invasion " ) The Twelfth Doctor told Clara to use setting number 41 to send out random bursts of helicon energy to distract the Skovox Blitzer . ( TV : " The Caretaker " ) The Twelfth Doctor himself used setting sixty - one to knock out a cybernetically augmented dinosaur with a " sonic brainstorm " . ( COMIC : " Spirits of the Jungle " ) However , at least one version of the screwdriver was able to use thoughts as well as settings . ( TV : " The Big Bang " , " Amy ' s Choice " , " Let ' s Kill Hitler " , " Death in Heaven " ) The different versions of the Doctor ' s sonic screwdrivers exhibited different capabilities and uses , such as the interception of signals ranging from transmat beams to conscious thought ; ( TV : " The End of the World " ) medical diagnostics ( TV : " The Empty Child " ) and repair of organic parts ; ( TV : " The Vampires of Venice " ) cutting , but also re - attaching materials such as barbed wire ; ( TV : " The Doctor Dances " ) operating Earth machinery such as computers ( TV : " School Reunion " ) and even cash machines ( at regular and high eject speeds ) ; ( TV : " The Runaway Bride " ) creating a spark to light a candle ( TV : " The Girl in the Fireplace " ) or Bunsen burner ; ( TV : " Evolution of the Daleks " ) opening and holding doors with acoustic locks ; ( TV : " The Rings of Akhaten " ) and , on the rare occasion , driving screws without touching them . ( TV : " The War Games " , " The Ark in Space " , " The Doctor ' s Wife " ) Although it was primarily a tool , the sonic screwdriver could also be used as a defensive weapon , able to combine with other sonic device s to form a shield around a hostile target to either force them back or slow their advance . ( TV : " The Day of the Doctor " , " The Doctor Falls " ) The Tenth Doctor put it in a sound board to destroy the Robot Santa s by overloading their sensors . ( TV : " The Runaway Bride " ) The Eleventh Doctor used it to bounce sound waves off a knife held by Melody Pond , knocking it out of her hand . ( TV : " Let ' s Kill Hitler " ) The sonic screwdriver was also capable of holding off sound waves from creatures who relied on sound in order to attack such as the Vigil . ( TV : " The Rings of Akhaten " ) The Doctor also used it to try and help River Song defeat a group of Silent s although River teased him by saying it would be better if he used it to " build a cabinet " . However , the Doctor implied that although it couldn ' t actually hurt the Silents it could weaken the power of their electricity , therefore allowing him to provide River with a certain degree of protection while she shot down their foes . ( TV : " Day of the Moon " ) It could also destroy ice creatures when it received the latest update . ( TV : " The Snowmen " ) Although the Eighth Doctor once claimed the device could destroy a Dalek ' s brain if held directly against the casing when activated , ( PROSE : " War of the Daleks " ) according to the Tenth Doctor , the device could not be used to wound , maim or kill living things . ( TV : " Doomsday " , " The Doctor ' s Daughter " ) It could destroy non - living objects or mechanisms or place living creatures in circumstances where they might die , if the situation required . ( TV : " The End of the World " , " The Christmas Invasion " ) The War Doctor claimed that it was a scientific instrument rather than a water pistol . ( TV : " The Day of the Doctor " ) From time to time , the sonic screwdriver needed to be recharged . ( TV : " Silence in the Library " / " Forest of the Dead " , PROSE : " The Monsters Inside " , COMIC : " Bizarre Zero " ) It was self - repairing and could send out a homing signal to any parts that had been separated . ( TV : " A Christmas Carol " ) However , it was up to the owner to collect the parts for reassembly . Sonic screwdrivers and similar technology could not unlock a deadlock seal . ( TV : " School Reunion " , " The Night of the Doctor " ) However , Miss Foster ' s sonic pen could open the deadlock seals that it was programmed to within her own facility when the Doctor ' s screwdriver could not . ( TV : " Partners in Crime " ) It also couldn ' t unlock the doors to the TARDIS if they had been manually locked at the console . ( TV : " Utopia " ) Some or all versions were ineffective against wood . ( TV : " Night Terrors " , " The Doctor , the Widow and the Wardrobe " , " The Time of the Doctor " , " Empress of Mars " ) It didn ' t work in the presence of some models of hairdryer s , although the Tenth Doctor stated he was working on it . ( TV : " Forest of the Dead " , PROSE : " Catastrophea " ) During his lifetime as the Twelfth Doctor , the Time Lord claimed to have abandoned sonic screwdrivers in favour of wearable technology like his sonic sunglasses . ( TV : " The Witch ' s Familiar " , " Under the Lake " ) However , after returning to Gallifrey and departing again , he resumed using them , as his TARDIS fashioned a new one for him as a gift . Furthermore , after the Doctor had lost sight of who he was , Clara Oswald left him a reminder to " be a Doctor " after leaving his company . As part of his role of being a Doctor to use a sonic screwdriver , the Doctor accepted the TARDIS ' s gift . ( TV : " Hell Bent " ) Variants of the Doctor ' s sonic screwdriver . The First and Second Doctors ' sonic . One sonic screwdriver , a small , simple metal rod similar to a penlight , was used by the First ( PROSE : " Venusian Lullaby " ) and Second ( TV : " Fury from the Deep " ) Doctors . It was also used by the Eighth Doctor after being destroyed " centuries ago " , with the Doctor claiming to his companion Samantha Jones that this was possible because " It ' s a Time Lord tool . Time doesn ' t work the same way for Time Lord tools . " ( PROSE : " Alien Bodies " ) However , according to one account , the First Doctor did not possess a sonic screwdriver , leaving him confused when the Twelfth Doctor utilised a future model . ( TV : " Twice Upon a Time " ) The Eighth Doctor carried a similar model near the end of his life . Cylindrical and silver , with a blue emitter diode tip , he used it in a surgical procedure to scan his patient and to seal incisions . This model could glow with an " almost white " light and emit great heat , be used to sharpen surgical instruments and be turned " on " and " off " . ( PROSE : " Osskah " ) The Third , Fourth and Fifth Doctors ' sonic . The Third Doctor ' s most - used model of the sonic screwdriver was much larger than the one his first and second incarnation used ; its elaborately detailed silver collar featured black and yellow stripes and red trim , and could be pulled down to activate the screwdriver . It had a removable burgundy emitter head which the Doctor would change with others , each performing a different function . ( TV : " The Sea Devils " ) On one occasion he removed the head entirely and replaced it with a small , round mirror , which span rapidly when he tapped its edge with his finger and hypnotized anyone who looked at it . Accompanied by a yellow light on the collar of his sonic screwdriver and the Doctor singing a Venusian lullaby , it hypnotized the aggressive Aggedor into calmness . ( TV : " The Curse of Peladon " ) The Third Doctor later fitted the head of his sonic screwdriver with a cylindrical black magnet which enabled it to open bolted doors , especially when its polarity was reversed . This refit left the metal mostly unpainted , with a dark red emitter ring . The head of this model could be extended . ( TV : " Frontier in Space " ) Before this model met its demise , its head was repainted twice after the original coat wore off . ( TV : " The Keeper of Traken " , " Castrovalva " ) It was ultimately destroyed when a Terileptil leader forced the Fifth Doctor to drop the screwdriver inside a holding cell , then incinerated it with a laser gun — causing the Doctor to remark " I feel as though you ' ve just killed an old friend . " ( TV : " The Visitation " ) The Doctor went without a sonic screwdriver for some time after this model , with Nyssa lamenting his decision not to replace it . ( TV : " Snakedance " ) The Tenth Doctor also lightly mocked his past incarnation for going " hands - free " following this incident when their TARDISes accidentally collided . ( TV : " Time Crash " ) This sonic operated at a frequency of 80 kilohertz . ( PROSE : " Light Fantastic " ) The Doctor , leaving UNIT , left behind a prototype . UNIT scientists then tried to use reverse - engineering to understand its workings ; this went on into the 21st century . Despite them trying to keep it quiet from the Doctor , he was well aware of the project by his seventh incarnation . ( AUDIO : " Persuasion " ) A version of this screwdriver was kept in the Twelfth Doctor ' s office at St Luke ' s University . His companion Nardole made use of it in a war zone where the Dalek s and Movellan s skirmished . ( TV : " The Pilot " ) Used by the Sixth Doctor . The Sixth Doctor once carried an unspecified replacement model for the sonic screwdriver , but had to leave it tied to the side of a video camera in a dungeon cell in order for it to keep the visual feed disabled . ( PROSE : " The Nightmare Fair " ) He later carried another sonic model during his adventures with Crystal , Jason , and Zog . ( AUDIO : " The Ultimate Adventure " ) The Seventh and Eighth Doctors ' sonic . The Seventh Doctor acquired a sonic screwdriver at an unspecified point of his life . Many contradictory accounts existed , including one which claimed he had acquired it at some point before meeting Bernice Summerfield , ( AUDIO : " Love and War " et al . ) and another , which claimed he acquired it from himself on a parallel Earth where the species Homo Reptilicus had conquered the Earth and killed his third incarnation . ( PROSE : " Blood Heat " , " First Frontier " ) The Doctor himself claimed that he had only recently built one shortly before re - encountering the Monk , ( PROSE : " No Future " ) and that he received it as compensation after suing the Terileptils for criminal damage . ( PROSE : " GodEngine " ) This model looked similar to the screwdriver used up until his fifth incarnation : it was silver with a brass trim ring in the lower grip and a handle that resembled that of the previous sonic screwdrivers ' , now with a flat base . Its upper section was able to undergo telescopic collapse for ease of carrying , and , at its top , it held an emitter with a silver ring and a red bullet - shaped crystal at its centre . ( TV : " Doctor Who " ) Once , while suffering from amnesia , the Doctor was able to operate this sonic screwdriver on instinct . ( PROSE : " EarthWorld " ) This version remained in the Eighth Doctor ' s use throughout his life , up until its destruction at the hands of a Cyber - Leader on Earth . ( COMIC : " The Flood " ) The Eighth Doctor had resumed using this model by the end of his life during the Last Great Time War . It was the second and final model the Doctor used thus far that bore an emitter - ring head . ( TV : " The Night of the Doctor " ) The Eighth Doctor ' s other choice of a diode - tipped model would become the standard for his later incarnations . ( TV : " The Day of the Doctor " , " Rose " , " The Christmas Invasion " , " The Eleventh Hour " , " Deep Breath " ) The Eighth Doctor once commented that he felt undressed without his sonic screwdriver . ( AUDIO : " The Sontaran Ordeal " ) Replacement on Ha ' olam . During his imprisonment by INC on Ha ' olam , the Doctor ' s sonic screwdriver was confiscated . After his escape , he briefly used a replacement screwdriver resembling a slender metal rod with a crystal at its tip . ( PROSE : " Seeing I " ) The Eighth Doctor ' s second screwdriver . Later in his eighth incarnation , the Doctor carried a sonic screwdriver with a wooden handle . It had a metallic tip with six prongs that nested a clear diode at the end , which glowed blue when activated . ( AUDIO : " The Great War " ) Its handle doubled as a torch . ( AUDIO : " Sword of Orion " ) The Doctor claimed that he made this version of the sonic screwdriver to do more than open doors and blow up land mines . ( AUDIO : " X and the Daleks " ) He later made further modifications to the screwdriver . ( AUDIO : " Beachhead " ) It was referred to as a pennywhistle by numerous World War I medics . ( AUDIO : " The Great War " ) The Doctor possessed it as early on as his travels with Charley Pollard , ( AUDIO : " The Light at the End " ) and was still using it in the early part of the Last Great Time War . ( PROSE : " Natural Regression " ) He had returned to using his original model by the end of his life . ( TV : " The Night of the Doctor " ) The War Doctor ' s sonic . By the end of his life , the War Doctor used a sonic screwdriver with a simple metallic handle and a red - light - emitting diode at the end . It appeared to be a further upgraded version of the Eighth Doctor ' s first sonic screwdriver , which he kept strapped in a bandoleer on his chest . It shared the same casing type as the screwdriver used by the Fourth Doctor , but had an extending diode head instead of an emitter head , and an additional piece added to the end of the handle that looked like a small red cap . In this way , much like the Doctor who used it and his TARDIS control room ( which , also like the sonic , was primarily of a silver colour scheme , with red highlights ) , this sonic combined visual elements of both the classic and revived eras of the show , as its casing was more or less shared by all of the classic sonics , and having a light - emitting diode emitter and a kind of pommel at the end of the handle are characteristic of the revived sonics . ( TV : " The Day of the Doctor " ) After regenerating at the end of the Last Great Time War , the Doctor kept this model with him during the early adventures of his ninth incarnation . This version was destroyed when the Doctor rigged it to explode in order to seal a rift in interstital space . ( AUDIO : " The Bleeding Heart " ) The Ninth and Tenth Doctors ' sonic . After the destruction of his last model , the Ninth Doctor built himself a new sonic screwdriver . This one had a creamy light grey handle with a " cracked - porcelain " texture matching elements on his TARDIS console and rings around the roundels on the control room walls , silver metal at both the bottom of the handle and the top , and was capped off with a black pommel . Its emitter was blue and sat atop a silver metal section attached to a transparent tube containing black and red wires twisted around each other in the centre that was hidden inside the handle until extended by the slider on the side . The Doctor used this model far more frequently than his previous incarnations had done before . ( TV : " Rose " , et al . ) The Tenth Doctor also used this model , as he liked tinkering with technology to make devices he needed . This version was burnt out by accident after the Tenth Doctor used it to modify an X - ray output to over 5000 % , however , and he replaced it with a similar one with a flatter slider , two yellow wires in the tube instead of the black and red ones , and a greyer handle , ( TV : " Smith and Jones " ) though it reverted to its cream handle during his time with Queen Elizabeth ( TV : " The Day of the Doctor " ) and appeared to have a blue handle following his regeneration . ( TV : " The Eleventh Hour " ) The model underwent several changes in shape and colouration , some inadvertent . ( COMIC : " Laundro - Room of Doom " ) This version of the sonic screwdriver was also the first to be shown to have a direct connection to the Doctor ' s TARDIS ( TV : " Aliens of London " ) and could be used to override its functions . ( TV : " Utopia " ) The Tenth Doctor had this screwdriver on his person during his regeneration , but it was damaged repeatedly afterwards , leading to many malfunctions . Despite the damage , the Eleventh Doctor used it to overload technology in an attempt to alert the Atraxi to Prisoner Zero ' s location . This fried it into useless , charred metal , much to his growing annoyance and anger . ( TV : " The Eleventh Hour " ) The Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors ' sonic . After the loss of the previous sonic screwdriver , the TARDIS gifted the Doctor with a new model . Differing radically from the last , with its extendible " claws " and green crystalline emitter resembling the inner structure of the TARDIS ' s new time rotor , it also had copper plating similar to the new control room . ( TV : " The Eleventh Hour " ) A psychic interface allowed its user to point it at a target and think of the function they wanted . ( TV : " Let ' s Kill Hitler " , " Death in Heaven " ) Having been mentioned to be more than sonic , ( TV : " Night Terrors " ) this screwdriver also shot beams of green energy in the shape of sonic waves . ( TV : " Day of the Moon " , " Closing Time " ) By at least the time of the Doctor ' s thirteenth regeneration , it had a voice - activation feature , which the Doctor forgot about when he needed it . ( TV : " Deep Breath " ) It had a charge that could last centuries ; it once lasted 300 years before the Doctor could charge it in the TARDIS . ( TV : " The Time of the Doctor " ) Retaining ineffectiveness against wood , it also didn ' t work against Peg Doll s ( TV : " Night Terrors " ) or the Wooden King and Queen . ( TV : " The Doctor , the Widow and the Wardrobe " ) The Doctor considered it embarrassing and said that " I need to invent a setting for wood . " ( TV : " Night Terrors " ) In similar situations , he yelled at it in panic ; " Aliens made of wood , you know this was always going to happen ! " , " Yes , I know it ' s wood . Get over it ! " ( TV : " The Doctor , the Widow and the Wardrobe " ) Though aware of this flaw , he was still able to successfully bluff a Wooden Cyberman into destroying itself . ( TV : " The Time of the Doctor " ) He also once defended this weakness , saying " Oi ! Don ' t diss the sonic ! " ( TV : " The Hungry Earth " ) At some point it had an anti - freeze setting . ( TV : " The Snowmen " ) This screwdriver was also shown to have a " red setting " , ( TV : " Cold War " ) similar to River ' s sonic screwdriver . This model was lost and replaced by the Doctor repeatedly , having been bitten in half by a sky shark and left behind , ( TV : " A Christmas Carol " ) left with the Ganger Doctor , ( TV : " The Rebel Flesh " ) destroyed by Danny Fisher ( COMIC : " The Blood of Azrael " ) and , in one instance , simply burnt out due to overuse . In the latter instance , a replacement was given to him by Santa Claus . ( COMIC : " Silent Knight " ) One of the Twelfth Doctor ' s sonic screwdrivers was incinerated by the Governor when he was admitted into the Prison . Clara Oswald attempted to give him a new one disguised as a large candle in a birthday cake , but the Governor refused to give the cake to the Doctor . He created a sonic spoon in the interim . ( PROSE : " The Blood Cell " ) Ultimately , he left one of his screwdrivers with Davros after abandoning him as a child . Davros had it in his possession for many years after , until Colony Sarff returned it to the Doctor . By this point , it was no longer of any real use to him , as it had become heavily damaged and inoperable , visibly weather - beaten from exposure to war and conflict , and with one of the clawed prongs broken off . ( TV : " The Magician ' s Apprentice , The Witch ' s Familiar " ) The Doctor eventually declared that he was " over " sonic screwdrivers , saying that they " spoil the line of your jacket " . He replaced the screwdriver with a pair of sonic sunglasses . ( TV : " The Witch ' s Familiar " ) However , he did not keep this promise , as he used this sonic screwdriver several times afterwards . ( COMIC : " Clara Oswald and the School of Death " , " The Fourth Wall " ) When the Eleventh Doctor met the Tenth Doctor in England , 1562 , upon the latter realising that the former was a future incarnation of himself , they both got out their sonic screwdrivers . The Eleventh Doctor immediately showed off how much bigger his was , to which the Tenth Doctor claimed that his future incarnation was compensating , remarking that " regeneration , it ' s a lottery . " ( TV : " The Day of the Doctor " ) The Twelfth Doctor ' s second screwdriver . After spending a period of time using a combination of sonic sunglasses and his green - emitter sonic screwdriver , ( COMIC : " Clara Oswald and the School of Death " ) the Twelfth Doctor was gifted a new model by the TARDIS . While one account showed him gaining it after he had found Gallifrey at the end of the universe , ( TV : " Hell Bent " ) another account depicted him using it whilst travelling with Clara Oswald . ( COMIC : " The Day at the Doctors " ) This new model had a very mechanical and complicated - looking , TARDIS blue , metal handle with multiple emitters , once again resembling the inner structure of the time rotor itself . The emitter was once again blue in colour , and the ring of emitters could all light up in a circling motion when activated . ( TV : " Hell Bent " ) He continued to use his sonic sunglasses as well , thus giving him two choices of sonic instruments . ( TV : " The Husbands of River Song " , " Extremis " ) While it usually emitted a blue light , this screwdriver could also glow red ( COMIC : " Robo Rampage " ) or green . ( COMIC : " Gallery " , TV : " For Tonight We Might Die " ) It was still ineffectual against wood . ( TV : " Empress of Mars " ) The Doctor sometimes attached this screwdriver to his guitar so that he could use both at the same time . ( COMIC : " The Pestilent Heart " ) When the Doctor was stuck in 1972 , the screwdriver " ran out of juice " and the Doctor was unable to charge it because he was without his TARDIS . ( COMIC : " Moving In " ) Others ' sonic screwdrivers . River ' s screwdriver . The Twelfth Doctor gave River Song another screwdriver before River ' s final date with him at the Singing Towers of Darillium . ( TV : " The Husbands of River Song " , " Silence in the Library " ) This version of the sonic screwdriver somewhat resembled the Tenth Doctor ' s model when he met her at the Library , though it looked elaborately decorated and modified , featuring increased and enhanced functionality , including " dampers " and a " red setting " that allowed it to work without interference from the Doctor Moon . The Doctor gave it to River so she would be ready when she met his tenth incarnation in the Library . ( TV : " Forest of the Dead " ) Other screwdrivers . Vastra had a sonic screwdriver that was a gift from the Doctor . She used it to shatter the glass of the Crystal Palace . It had a red tip , and was similar in design to that used by his eleventh incarnation . ( COMIC : " The Crystal Throne " ) A clone of the Second Doctor also possessed a sonic screwdriver , which he used along with the Fourth Doctor ' s to send Hexford home . ( AUDIO : " Survivors in Space " ) Romana II constructed her own sonic screwdriver . Her version was so impressive that the Doctor offered to swap sonic screwdrivers with her . ( TV : " The Horns of Nimon " ) Her version also included a silencer . ( AUDIO : " Luna Romana " ) She later gave it to the Doctor . ( PROSE : " Lungbarrow " ) Nonetheless , during the final term of her presidency , her third incarnation used a sonic screwdriver . ( AUDIO : " Intervention Earth " ) Jackson Lake carried a primitive iteration of the sonic screwdriver . His version was a regular 19th century screwdriver , which he claimed was sonic by virtue of it making a sound when it was struck against a surface . ( TV : " The Next Doctor " ) While trapped on Apalapucia for thirty - six years , Amy Pond cobbled together a sonic device from various pieces of technology , but insisted upon calling it a sonic probe . She later conceded that it was a " sonic screwdriver " . ( TV : " The Girl Who Waited " ) Related tools . The Fifth Doctor had a device called a sonic prodder , although he didn ' t consider it a tool like " his beloved sonic screwdriver " ( PROSE : " Falling from Xi ' an " ) The Fifth Doctor also kept a Molenski Univarius in the TARDIS for repairs . He described it as a Gallifreyan " Swiss Army knife " . While exploring the Axis , he carried it with him and used it in the same fashion as later models of the sonic screwdriver , once even using the sonic properties to fend off creatures with sound waves before it ran out of power and was discarded . ( AUDIO : " The Axis of Insanity " ) The Eighth Doctor , despite having lost his memories , built a device he called a sonic suitcase using technology from Earth in the 1980s . ( PROSE : " Father Time " ) Captain Jack Harkness had a sonic blaster , ( TV : " The Empty Child " / " The Doctor Dances " ) which was later used by River Song . ( TV : " Silence in the Library " / " Forest of the Dead " ) Using stolen and incomplete UNIT design plans , Toshiko Sato created a sonic modulator . ( TV : " Fragments " ) Miss Foster had a sonic pen with a design similar to the Tenth Doctor ' s sonic screwdriver . ( TV : " Partners in Crime " ) Sarah Jane Smith possessed a sonic lipstick , a similar tool . ( TV : " Invasion of the Bane " ) The Doctor claimed that he once had a laser spanner as well , but Emmeline Pankhurst took it from him . ( TV : " Smith and Jones " ) Mrs Wormwood was in possession of a ring called a phonic disruptor . ( TV : " Enemy of the Bane " ) The Sixth Doctor defeated Cybermen using a sonic lance . It was similar in function to the sonic screwdriver , but as a weapon instead . ( TV : " Attack of the Cybermen " ) Banto Zame , a con artist who posed as the Doctor , used a psychic screwdriver to seemingly foil an attack on Generios 1 by the Skelloid s , which were in fact a holographic illusion created by him . ( AUDIO : " The One Doctor " ) The Eleventh Doctor used a sonic cane to scan the " Teselecta " and to contact Amy Pond and Rory Williams , who were miniaturised inside . ( TV : " Let ' s Kill Hitler " ) Gabriel created a similar device that was made out of guns . ( PROSE : " The Pirate Loop " ) While in the Prison , the Twelfth Doctor created a sonic spoon when his sonic screwdriver was destroyed by the Governor . He created it from items in the Prison workshop and a spoon he took from mealtime . ( PROSE : " The Blood Cell " ) The Twelfth Doctor eventually grew tired of using sonic screwdrivers and instead created a pair of sonic sunglasses . ( TV : " The Witch ' s Familiar " ) He eventually switched back though . ( TV : " The Husbands of River Song " ) River Song used a sonic trowel before she was given a sonic screwdriver by the Doctor . ( AUDIO : " The Boundless Sea " , TV : " The Husbands of River Song " ) Behind the scenes . " Attack of the Graske " . In NOTVALID : " Attack of the Graske " , the Tenth Doctor appears to break the fourth wall by noting the player at home ' s been watching his adventures . Later , he points the sonic screwdriver at the television screen , transferring its powers to the player ' s digital remote control . This , along with having the player choose multiple endings to this game , disqualifies it as a valid source on this wiki .