Everyone needs a wrench. I've seen tool sets consisting of a can opener, a single screwdriver, a hammer with a plastic handle–and an adjustable wrench. All stashed in a kitchen drawer. I'm not one to look askance at such a collection. It served the owner's need, and that's that. But the fact that it includes a wrench is telling. Even the most humble tool set is not complete without one.
How did the universal importance come to be? It started long ago.
The word wrench is itself a delightful tour of language. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word wrench comes to us from Old English (wrencan) and Old High German (renken) "to twist." Go even farther back in human history and you stumble into Sanskrit and Lithuanian words to twist and writhe. Go still further back and you find the word's relationship to an even more profound turning tool, the wheel.
If that doesn't indicate ancient and universal importance, I don't know what does. As I say, you need one. But which one? Literally, there are many dozens of wrenches. We show some of the common varieties below, along with a few specialty products and a few hybrids, such as the plier-wrench.
Read on to learn about wrenches and to find the one that's right for you. |
Everyone needs a wrench. I've seen tool sets consisting of a can opener, a single screwdriver, a hammer with a plastic handle–and an adjustable wrench. All stashed in a kitchen drawer. I'm not one to look askance at such a collection. It served the owner's need, and that's that. But the fact that it includes a wrench is telling. Even the most humble tool set is not complete without one.
How did the universal importance come to be? It started long ago.
The word wrench is itself a delightful tour of language. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word wrench comes to us from Old English (wrencan) and Old High German (renken) "to twist." Go even farther back in human history and you stumble into Sanskrit and Lithuanian words to twist and writhe. Go still further back and you find the word's relationship to an even more profound turning tool, the wheel.
If that doesn't indicate ancient and universal importance, I don't know what does. As I say, you need one. But which one? Literally, there are many dozens of wrenches. We show some of the common varieties below, along with a few specialty products and a few hybrids, such as the plier-wrench.
Read on to learn about wrenches and to find the one that's right for you. |
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