A spring clutch which has multiple springs disposed between two coaxially mounted cylindrical elements. The springs are designed to slip so that all of the springs are required to support the maximum load. During the onset of rotation, tabs at the ends of the springs contact the load surfaces on one of the cylindrical elements sequentially, with some slippage occurring, so that impulse is reduced. In different embodiments, either releasing or reversing the clutch re-establishes offsets between spring tabs so that the sequential contact can again occur.