On Fri, 5 Feb 2021 11:23:02 -0500, alan wrote:

On Fri, 05 Feb 2021 09:16:54 -0600, Vic Smith wrote:

You should tell that to many generations of professional plumbers, who typically carry
monkey and strap wrenches to avoid marring what shouldn't be marred.
Otherwise a pipe wrench is their go to wrench.

With all due respect.......

I understand your logic as I get your logic a lot from repair people who
just want to get paid and who don't care about doing a good job, and I get
your exact logic a lot from mechanics who tell me the bolts they removed but
didn't bother to put back "don't do anything."

They look at me like I'm from Mars, as you do, given they can't understand
why I have to tell them the manufacture didn't put them there for no good
reason.

I even had GoodYear tell me that one less lug nut was fine (he lost it).

You're using the same logic with these hex sides on plumbing fixtures.
The manufacturer didn't put them there for no reason as you seem to suggest.

They are there for a hex-sided tool to be used on them.
The fact most of us don't use wrenches is due to their cost.

Which is exactly why I ask this question.
To get the tool for you and for me at the best cost possible.

So that we'll do the job right for once.
Acdtually they are made for parallel jaw tools to work on them -
the 6 sides is to give 3 possible orientations so you can get away
with a shorter swing than you couls on a 2 or 4 sided fastener.

As far as how many points on a combo wrench, virtually every decent
box end wrench (or "ring spanner" as our brit friends call them) are
12 point and the open end or "jaw" wrenches are angled 30 degrees so
you can split the differenc by flipping thne wrench