A crescent wrench is a brand of adjustable wrench. I believe Gruber meant open-end wrench, or, because I’m Canadian a British etc roots, I call it a spanner. Either way, I agree the “artist” who drew this has never used such a device, and may not, in fact, qualify as an artist.

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minitech 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

> Either way, I agree the “artist” who drew this has never used such a device, and may not, in fact, qualify as an artist.

I was surprised when the article originally leaped to the insane conclusion that someone who created a stylized software icon with (what may not even be) a less-than-perfectly-accurate depiction of a wrench has never used one, but I’m not surprised to see this kind of doubling down on the absurdity from the HN comment section.

	▲	heywoods 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		Every reply to the GP has at least reassured me that I am still on HN. Pedantic. Knowledgeable. Opinionated. My kind of people :)

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JdeBP 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Conversely, I disagree; and assert that it is rather John Gruber who has not used nearly enough open ended spanners.

If one has only ever used modern forged steel spanners, then one might think that they aren't this width, and have the jaws at an angle. But try looking at antique tools. There have been a lot of spanners over the past couple of centuries that have looked like the picture.

If I saw a spanner like this in real life, I'd be thinking first half 20th century, possibly from a motorcycling kit, and Imperial and useless. (-:

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maratc 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I don't know if Gruber has ever used a wrench in any serious capacity, because he doesn't mention how the handle in the icons comes exactly at 0 degrees (instead of 15 degrees as in real life.)

As it stands, both the old and the new icons depict handles at 0 degrees, and the old ones depict octagonal open wrenches and not hexagonal ones.

I think it's a mistake to pick apart the wrench icon, but if you're going to make a major issue out of it, at least be exhaustive and consistent in your criticism.

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nielsbot 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

My guess is they wanted to give more space to the "nut" in the center so you can actually make out what the app is at the expense of realism.

"Hey, it's just an icon, not working wrench after all"

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bombcar 7 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

A crescent wrench is 1: adjustable, and 2: always the wrong tool.

That there is a open-end wrench, or half a combination wrench.

(It could be a crow's foot but we'll leave that aside.)

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Ancapistani 6 days ago | parent [-]

In the rare instance an adjustable wrench is an appropriate tool, I'm partial to the Knipex "pliers wrench".

	▲	bombcar 6 days ago \| parent [-]
		Most things that seem to call for a crescent wrench really want a pipe wrench or vice grips.

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bragr 7 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Crescent wrench is more or less a genericized trademark like Kleenex where I'm from.

	▲	MobiusHorizons 7 days ago \| parent [-]
		I don’t think anyone is saying it’s a brand of wrench. Just that it is a generic term for a very different kind of wrench with an adjustable jaw. Famous for rounding off the corners of perfectly serviceable nuts, bolts, and all manner of pipe fittings. The wrench in the logo is an open end wrench (typically would have a closed end wrench on the other side)