Bolt Base 10mm Metric Short Arm Allen Key/Hex Wrench / M10 Hexagon Keys/Wrenches - 1 Key

Product Information

However, while the basic applications and qualities of Allen key sets don’t vary that much from brand to brand and product to product, there is a bit of potential variety in exactly how to use a hex key properly, depending on which type and format of tool you decide to buy. In particular, the T-handle design provides a more comfortable grip than the standard L-shaped hex key, but importantly it can also allow for significantly increased torque (provided the gauge of the hex wrench itself is high enough), because the additional weight of the T-handle acts as a counterbalance that can help to seat the tool more firmly and securely in the head of the fastener.

A ball end Allen key set is also an increasingly popular choice for both professional and hobbyist users alike, and with good reason - ball end hex wrenches (sometimes known as ball end hex keys, or ball point hex keys) offer a far greater degree of versatility and flexibility in terms of access to smaller spaces. They achieve this by dramatically increasing the range of positions the user can stand in relative to the fastener they’re working on at the time.

Although there’s always some potential for confusion wherever two different terms are used for the same item, in this case it’s pretty straightforward - to all practical intents and purposes, hex keys/wrenches and Allen keys are indeed essentially the same thing. So why do we even have two widely used names for one very simple type of hand tool? Hex key sets with T-handles are especially popular with mechanics and automobile enthusiasts, thanks in part to the fact that the T-handle Allen wrench offers certain user luxuries that standard hex keys don’t.

Are typically double-ended, thus offering a ‘spare’ hex driver in case of damage or rounding to one end of the toolThe registered Allen key name originated in the US sometime around 1910, when the the Allen Manufacturing Company based in Connecticut first secured the trademark.