What is the history of the pipe wrench?

The pipe wrench was invented in 1870 by Daniel Stillson. He brought his design to the Walworth Company, where he had to demonstrate the value and reliability of the wrench to the owner of the company before the design was put into production.

Stillson patented the wrench on Sept. 13, 1870, and he received around $80,000 in royalties over the course of his life. In 1888, Johan Petter Johansson patented the first adjustable pipe wrench. Before his invention, workers often had to transport heavy sets of pipe wrenches in all different sizes. Modern pipe wrenches include a series of teeth that adjust the size of the pipe wrench.