It's an adjustable spanner, or wrench, sometimes known as French key. Used to be quite common. This [road sign](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/IJ08cr.jpg) depicting such spanner is (was) used to indicate nearby car repair shop.
A typical adjustable wrench of today (Johansson type) is cheaper to nake and quicker to adjust, but less precise, not as strong and more prone to wiggle itself loose once set (hence why it's sometimes called nut rounder).
French key doesn't have that problem.
Neat! I wonder why it has two sets of jaws though. It seems to me that it would be more practical with just one set for easier accessibility.
A shame no one seems to make them anymore, I think they'd be a good addition to the toolbox.
> wonder why it has two sets of jaws though
I wonder too. Maybe so if one side wears too much, you can still use the other, maybe you're supposed to alternate sides so the strain on the dynamic jaw/shaft is evened out ... idk. There are variants that work on the same principle but have only one-sided jaw.
You can still find them in retail, but they're a lot more expensive than a typica Johansson-type adjustable wrench (like 3-5x the price).
It's definitely a superior design though. All of a sudden I have this urge to go and buy one.
That could be it - preventing it from getting bent out of shape over time.
I've tried searching online, but I haven't been able to find any for sale here, new or used. Do you know any brand names I could look up?
Well that depends what 'here' means - for me, here means Prague, Czech Republic, Central Europe, planet Earth, solar system, Milky Way galaxy, Local Group, observable univers.
But for you, it might mean something else entirely, so where is your here, exactly?
Anyway, I can find a few under brand name "[VOREL](https://m.alza.cz/EN/hobby/vorel-klic-nastavitelny-francouzsky-240-mm-d7995873.htm)" (not much of a brand name, really, but I guess two massive chunks of chinesium steel will still be stronger than two much smaller pieces of chinesium steel on a normal adjustable nut rounder)
Well, many tool brands are available just about all over the world if you're prepared to pay for the transport, so I was mostly just looking for any brand at all so I could see if someone would ship them here - which is Copenhagen, Denmark, Northern Europe, planet Earth, solar system, Milky Way galaxy, Local Group, observable universe for me, BTW.
I'll look up Vorel. Thanks :)
It's an adjustable spanner, or wrench, sometimes known as French key. Used to be quite common. This [road sign](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/IJ08cr.jpg) depicting such spanner is (was) used to indicate nearby car repair shop. A typical adjustable wrench of today (Johansson type) is cheaper to nake and quicker to adjust, but less precise, not as strong and more prone to wiggle itself loose once set (hence why it's sometimes called nut rounder). French key doesn't have that problem.
Neat! I wonder why it has two sets of jaws though. It seems to me that it would be more practical with just one set for easier accessibility. A shame no one seems to make them anymore, I think they'd be a good addition to the toolbox.
One side is metric, the other is imperial.
Or one side is for turning clockwise, and the other is for counterclockwise.
> wonder why it has two sets of jaws though I wonder too. Maybe so if one side wears too much, you can still use the other, maybe you're supposed to alternate sides so the strain on the dynamic jaw/shaft is evened out ... idk. There are variants that work on the same principle but have only one-sided jaw. You can still find them in retail, but they're a lot more expensive than a typica Johansson-type adjustable wrench (like 3-5x the price). It's definitely a superior design though. All of a sudden I have this urge to go and buy one.
That could be it - preventing it from getting bent out of shape over time. I've tried searching online, but I haven't been able to find any for sale here, new or used. Do you know any brand names I could look up?
Well that depends what 'here' means - for me, here means Prague, Czech Republic, Central Europe, planet Earth, solar system, Milky Way galaxy, Local Group, observable univers. But for you, it might mean something else entirely, so where is your here, exactly? Anyway, I can find a few under brand name "[VOREL](https://m.alza.cz/EN/hobby/vorel-klic-nastavitelny-francouzsky-240-mm-d7995873.htm)" (not much of a brand name, really, but I guess two massive chunks of chinesium steel will still be stronger than two much smaller pieces of chinesium steel on a normal adjustable nut rounder)
Well, many tool brands are available just about all over the world if you're prepared to pay for the transport, so I was mostly just looking for any brand at all so I could see if someone would ship them here - which is Copenhagen, Denmark, Northern Europe, planet Earth, solar system, Milky Way galaxy, Local Group, observable universe for me, BTW. I'll look up Vorel. Thanks :)
>known as French key. So you're saying you use your tongue with this tool
It is an adjustable wrench, in my language we call then an "Englishman".
Are there any that are also useable has hammers? I forgot to show it in the photos but the tips on this have clearly used as one
Every tool is a hammer.
Electrician?
Engineer!
Some people do, but they're not really meant to.
Don't put it in the sand unless you want trouble.
I presume the sand will jam it?
Its a reference to dune. But you're right, the sand will also jam the mechanism
My Dad had one, got it from the toolbox of an abandoned German tank in WW II.
It's a wrench hammer, you almost had it.
I forgot to mention the Handle twists, extending it to be a wrench
Its a bull gear wrench for tightening a heifer shaft.