Does anybody make the flat bike wrench anymore?

[Sgt. Howard]

... you know the one I'm talking about. Back in the 50's, 60's and 70's EVERY bike shop sold these things... stamped flat cheap chump of steel with a multitude of six sided holes in a variety of sizes plus several critical dimentioned notches cut into the side. I seem to recall it to be about 5" long, 2" wide and 1/16th thick... but that is at best a guess. Two of these, a couple of screwdrivers, two junk table knives and a patch kit would be tucked into the sewn up cut-off bluejeans leg and strapped under the rear rack- the pump tagged onto your frame completed the kit.
Anybody know about this?
the Old Sgt.

 

[BigBlue]

Sgt,

you mean one of those multi-wrenches?

I know some of them had open ends. Here's the one I have. It has a tire lever on the end:



Chris
AKA: BigBlue

 

[PatrickW]

I have two of them, Sgt. One is the stamped, cheap (but shiny) metal one you described and of unknown origin. The other is a real work of art milled from black, hardened steel with a multitude of hex wrench knocks and several spanners for the drive sprocket nut and 3-speed rear hub. It came with two 6" tire spoons and a typical 50's era British screwdriver and pliers. All were enclosed in a small oilcloth pouch.

With that kit, I could fix any nut, bolt, screw or what-have-you on my sparkling, maroon, Hercules bicycle right on the side of the road. Sure-nuff, the pouch was strapped to the back of the seat, and the tire pump fit into hooks built into the down-tube for the seat-post.

This brings back a lot of memories, Sgt. both good and bad. The Hercules is long time sold and gone (it was a good bike, too), but I still have the the wrench and wouldn't part with it for anything. My wife would probably say it is just another leftover piece of my misspent youth...go figure!

Patrick

 

[darwin]

Check out niagracycle they have the flat metric cone wrenches at reasonable prices, probably cost as much to ship unless you order other stuff. Those wrenches are handy when adjusting the bearings.