A metal screw spike, for use in connection with wooden railway ties, having a head and a threaded shank portion, the upper surface of said head being provided with a relatively slender upstanding malleable straight-sided projection extending about of an inch from the upper surface of said head and which will crush-flatten over the adjacent upper surface of the head, when the spike is maul-driven instead of screwdriven, providing a visible tell-tale upon the head of the spike. A metal screw spike to be threaded into wood and having a wrench receiving head and a threaded shank portion, a projection inset into the upper surface of said head and being of a more malleable material than that of the spike, said projection deforming into a malleated splintered mass over the adjacent upper surface of the head, when the spike is maul-driven instead of screw-driven, to provide a visible tell-tale upon the head of said spike. A metal screw spike to be threaded into wood and having a wrench receiving head and a threaded shank portion, a projection of malleable material extending upwardly from the upper surface of said head, said projection being substantially straight sided and of less than half the diameter of the shank of the spike, the upper surface of said head having an upwardly inclined marginal surface converging toward the base of said projection and into which area, provided by said inclined surface, the material of said projection is mashed, when the spike is maul-driven instead of screw-driven, into the form of a flattened rosette of less diameter than the diameter of the head of the spike and provides a visible tell-tale in relief at the head of said spike. A screw spike as set forth in claim 3 and in which the malleable projection is formed integral with and of the same material as the remainder of the spike.