Choose Topic Wrenchisma - The Allure of Wrenches - Judy Friedman (1998) Introduction to Wrenches - Martin J Donnelly (1996) Wrenchisma - The Allure of Wrenches
Wrench-isma as in "charisma". What is it that draws a great number of us to these devices that many consider the most mundane and ordinary of tools? They are often found dirty, rusty, oily and lots of times heavy, to hoot. A rare wrench weighing in at 7pounds looks mighty enticing when one gets to the tool or antique market in the morning, but feels much more weighty after the first hour of walking. Fortunately, backpacks were made with wrench collectors in mind.
At first glance, when most think of wrenches, the term Monkey Wrench comes to mind. Well, relax!! When confronted with all the other choices there is no need to even consider these, unless you are going after a particular brand and need them to fill out a collection. One can start small, literally, with pocket size adjustables or even micrometer wrenches.
Additional choices include fascinating combination wrenches that may incorporate a number of tools all in one article, such as a jack knife with a crescent wrench. Then there are those dear to the hearts of many, the carriage, wagon and farm implement wrenches. Look carefully at them and you'll find that many craftsmen were true artisans who included beauty and intricacy along with usefulness.
The Victorian charm of detailed, graceful and flowing lines was not limited to other equipment. Aside from common versions, it's simply amazing how many ways inventors thought of to grip, grasp & clutch an article. Non adjustables, screw adjusts, quick adjusts, lever adjusts, slide or wedge adjusts, the list just goes on and on. Take a good look at the Toolshop catalogues and other venues, then dive right in. Great Wrenches are great tools, no matter what your collecting field. As is said about some people, "they Clean Up Good!!"
Introduction to Wrenches
The editors of Knight 's Mechanical Dictionary, writing in 1877, defined the wrench as 'A bar having jaws adapted to catch upon the head of a bolt or upon a nut to turn it'. Since the time of that writing there have been tens of thousands of different wrenches produced in every corner of the earth. From the time the very first wrench was wrought and filed from iron at some forgotten time and place to the completion of the most recent complex mechanical innovation in this category (which was most likely finished some time this morning), wrenches have been made as simple, as complex, as ugly, as beautiful, as sleek and as ungainly as the unique individuals who invented them and those who collect them today.
What is it about these 'bars having jaws' that has made wrenches one of the fastest growing areas of tool collecting? For some, it is their simplicity. Artfully executed handforged wrenches express the relationship between a tool and the person who created it in a way that can be understood, but never really put adequately into words. For others, it is the complexity of wrenches that yields endless fascination.
Beginning soon after the first wrench was produced, inventors have found ways to apply ingenious and foolish mechanical principles (preferably in combination) to the creation of these tools in countless variety. Collectors who approach wrench collecting from the perspective of the mechanically perverse see a great collectable wrench as one that incorporates a design idea that is wholly impractical from a utilitarian perspective and is executed with a combination of craftsmanship and engineering in a way that is both aesthetically and mechanically pleasing. Still others find in wrenches an outlet for the 'one of each' obsession that is virtually inexhaustible.
Whatever the individual perspective of the collector, there is one inescapable truth of wrenches that has no real parallel in any other collectable tool Wrenches, a product of the Industrial Age, are almost always a creation of one man working in concert with machine. One man could, working alone in his shop, give flight to his dreams, and, even if limited in technical precision, produce a working example of his 'better mousetrap', either for himself or for sale to others. Most of these dreams never saw the light of day; others, which did were perhaps best left back on the bench; many were justifiably unique and awarded patents, thus documenting the history of the ideas behind them for future generations of collectors. Only a choice few found favour in the marketplace, and, for the sake of their success, they are held in derision today as 'common'.
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