The Antique Wrench Patent Archive

Every grip the nineteenth century took on a nut

Adjustable jaw wrench

Patent drawing of a 19th-century screw wrench showing a side view with movable and stationary jaws, a threaded shank and nut, a hollow handle, and cross-sectional details of the strap attachment mechanism.SCREW-WRENCH.Jabez C. Terry · July 11, 1854Patent drawing of a rotary wrench showing a face view (Fig. 1) with adjustable jaws, a cogged wheel, and two pawls held by a spring, and an edge view (Fig. 2) showing the wheel, neck, collar, and thumb-screw mechanism, both mounted on a long curved wooden-style handle.Improvement in Rotary-WrenchAlmon Pitcher · October 1, 1872Patent drawing of a monkey wrench showing a fixed jaw at top, a sliding movable jaw with an internal locking screw and thumb-piece, a cross-section of the bar's mutilated threads, and a tapered wooden handle below, with hand-lettered part labels A through h.IMPROVEMENT IN MONKEY-WRENCHESAlbert A. Sanborn and Charles Burroughs · September 11, 1877Patent drawing of an adjustable wrench with a long handle, showing an internal pinion gear meshing with a toothed rack on one jaw, and a spring-loaded pawl block visible in cross-section, with dashed lines indicating the jaws swung to alternate positions.IMPROVEMENT IN WRENCHESHenry W. Brett · September 3, 1878Patent drawing showing three views of a combination hand tool with a crank handle, a slotted stock containing a sliding plunger, and pivoted jaws at the tip that can be adapted to grip a nut, a bit shank, or a screw-driving blade.WRENCH.Fred E. Putnam · December 2, 1890Patent drawing of an adjustable wrench with a long shank, squared bit end, pivoted spreading jaws at the top, and a threaded rod with wing nut for locking the jaw spread, shown in side view, cross-section, and end view.WRENCH.Charles W. Loeffler · April 9, 1895Patent drawing showing five views of a double-jawed adjustable wrench with knurled screw shanks, polygonal screw heads, and oval handles, used for gripping tools or clamping work on a drill-press table.WRENCH OR HOLDING DEVICE.Ferdinand Barrell · February 8, 1898Patent drawing of a vehicle wrench with two hinged jaw arms, an adjustable sliding jaw held by a thumb-screw, and a curved spring hook designed to catch a wheel spoke, shown in side, top, and sectional views alongside an illustration of the wrench clamped onto a wagon wheel.VEHICLE-WRENCH.Granville Davis and James M. Davis · May 10, 1898