For the most part, you’ll be able to rely on near-universal compatibility without too many concerns, as long as you’re using a true ‘hex’ head fastener (i. As most people who’ve ever assembled a flat-pack will know, this can often be an issue with products designed around hex drive assembly, as one ‘feature’ of hex bolts is that they can be manufactured without protruding heads (much like grub screws), and thus squeezed into far lower clearance areas than most standard fasteners. Industrial historians seem to agree that hex socket screw drives were probably conceived rather earlier than this - likely sometime in the mid-to-late 1800s - but that it wasn’t until the early 20th century that hex head fasteners started being produced in any great numbers.

e. screws and other fasteners) than to the driver itself, and thus would seldom be applied to the actual hex key by most professional users. As ever, though, there are some potential compromises to be made in the name of progress, and ball end hex keys are no exception: unlike the most basic and cheapest Allen key sets, you won’t be able to recondition or ‘trim’ a worn ball point hex key without losing access to this additional feature entirely.He successfully marketed these new products as ‘safety screws’, due in part to their ability to be machined without protruding heads (a potential source of snagging and subsequent worker injury). This screwdriver set has been been manufactured from hardened chrome vanadium steel, which has been correctly tempered for greater strength and durability. To counter this, some high-end T-handle hex keys boast a sliding T-handle portion, where the crossbar of the handle can be repositioned off-centre. In short, a ball end hex key features a rounded hexagonal bulb at the driving end, as opposed to the standard flat hexagonal profile you’ll find on the majority of more basic models. The registered Allen key name originated in the US sometime around 1910, when the the Allen Manufacturing Company based in Connecticut first secured the trademark.

The unprecedented production and commercial boom that the 1940s and 1950s brought with them saw the reliable and cheap hex key emerge as an increasingly common feature across a broad swathe of consumer products and DIY assembly kits.The trade-off for this improved user-friendliness is that T-handle hex keys can be less versatile when it comes to working in tighter spaces or with very low clearance above the fastener. Hex keys or Allen wrenches are basic and highly versatile fastening/driving tools, which is largely why they’re so very widely used across an extensive array of applications and product categories today. However, the longer shank can also be used as the ‘handle’ when more torque is required, provided the work area allows enough room to turn a longer-handled tool in.