Core77

Lightweight Tools of the Future: CarbonLite's Carbon Fiber Wrenches

By Rain Noe - May 8, 2014

in Materials | Hand Tools

When I think of carbon fiber, I think of its automotive applications, like F1 guys making monocoques out of the stuff. But it never occurred to me that carbon fiber could be used to make the hand tools we use to work on cars. A company called CarbonLite Tools is now producing a line of carbon fiber box-end wrenches.

The wrenches are, of course, insanely light; a set of five weighs just 6.7 ounces (190 grams), which the company reckons is lighter than your average steel single 15mm wrench. And yet they're not made completely from carbon fiber—the teeth are made from hardened stainless steel inserts, which you can see in the photo below, so that stubborn nuts won't shred those expensive layers of fiber.

And yes, they are expensive: A set of five—metric on one side, Imperial on the other, from 3/8" & 10mm up to 5/8" & 15mm—will set you back US $140. Beyond the price, the only thing that might give you pause is this caveat from the company: "We recommend using gloves as there is a small possibility the carbon fiber can leave splinters in your hand if the carbon fiber is damaged. The possibility of splinters from the carbon fiber wrench is about the same as with a wood handle on a shovel or hammer."

o

Favorite This
Q
9

Comment

Comments

Gus

10 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

Why don't they just coat the wrenches to avoid splinters?
!Report as spam
dirdam

10 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

You cannot just cut a spanner like this from laminated carbon fiber board. There is no understanding of carbon fiber in this product at all. It is like making the legs of a chair from wood with the fibers running perpendicular to them.
!Report as spam
jay

10 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

"It looks poorly made aesthetically and fiber orientation is wrong" My first thought too. A really neat idea but why is it made this bad? Just cut from bought carbon fiber board and not even finished well. I would pay 140 for that if they had put some thought into it. The fibers should run along the handle and in a loop around the insert and nothing would be able to break that spanner.
!Report as spam
peter

10 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

just reading that splinter comment made me clutch at my hands scars with tremors of pain. No thnx. Fun for outerspace!
!Report as spam
Andrew

10 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

I agree with Nick. Also, what's with the hard edges? They didn't want to add extra cost to make them somewhat comfortable to use without digging into the fingers?
!Report as spam
Tom Mc

10 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

When a bolt is stuck, can I hit the other end of the wrench with a hammer to loosen it or will that damage the wrench?

Great concept. Totally impractical for your average mechanic or maker who has a workshop.
!Report as spam
J.Eriksson

10 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

I'm skeptical. The steel insert looks like it would come loose if you use too much torque. Not a problem if it can handle more torque then the bolt. It looks poorly made aesthetically and fiber orientation is wrong. Cheap to manufacture but that's it.
!Report as spam
Nick

10 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

That splinter issue is a pretty big deal-breaker: anyone who's ever got a splinter from a synthetic fibre would be able to attest to it being an order-of-magnitude less pleasant than a wood splinter.
!Report as spam
Toby

10 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

Obviously NASA needs to order a few sets, for the rest of us, if they make some bike multitools (one obvious choice would be to make a small wrench handle with an insert sized to hold standard bit-driver bits), then the rest of us may be more interested...
!Report as spam