| US Patent: 178,162 
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| Wrench | 
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| Patentee: |  |
 | Edward H. Knight (exact or similar names) - Philadelphia, PA |  
 
 
 
 
 
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| Patent Dates: |  
| Applied: | Mar. 31, 1876 |  
| Granted: | May 30, 1876 |  
 
USPTO (New site tip)| Patent Pictures: |  |  |  | Edward H. Knight Pat. May 30, 1876 |  Google Patents
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                        Stan Schulz
 
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| Description: |  | The wrench combines a screw-adjusting movable jaw with a "fixed" jaw that can be held in position by an auxiliary handle, or released to move against a tensioning spring. The resulting freedom of motion allows "ratchet" type action in restricted spaces. 
Corresponding British patent GB-187602550 was granted June 20, 1876. 
Ken Cope's "American Wrench Makers 1830-1930" cites an 1877 "Iron Age" listing for Knight's Ratchet Screw Wrench, and the June 1988 issue of the Missouri Valley Wrench Club Newsletter reprints a patent summary and "new product announcement" from 1876 issues of "Iron Age."  One account of the 1876 "Philadelphia World's Fair" notes this wrench among the wrenches displayed. |  |