Answers.Body: <p>Your second guess was correct. It's not just a wrench. It's listed as a Screwdriver/spanner on Lego.com:</p>
  
  <p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/P9BWG.png" alt="on LEGO.com"></p>
  
  <p>This part was also included in several sets in the Games line as a human tool to remove tiles from the dice. It's unclear (at least to me) whether this part was intended to be used for tile removal when it was introduced in 1979. Here's an example from the Creationary instructions:</p>
  
  <p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/dtdKR.png" alt="Creationary die tile removal"></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-02-03T20:38:36.547Z
Answers.Text: Okay, but that raises more questions: Is it supposed to represent a screwdriver for minifigures' "use" (in which case it's even more disproportionately large) or for humans (in which case, to drive what screws)?
Answers.UserDisplayName: jamesdlin
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-02-03T21:53:07.053Z
Answers.Text: It's intended as a screwdriver for minifigs. As a human tool, it has been included in the Games line for removing tiles from dice. I'm not aware of any instance where this was intended as a usable screwdriver.
Answers.UserDisplayName: jncraton
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-02-04T20:02:00.473Z
Answers.Text: I think what feels a bit unsatisfying is that it seems bizarre as a screwdriver.  While I normally have a suspension of disbelief when it comes to the proportions of minifigures and their handheld tools, it doesn't work for me here since in the real world, screwdrivers are not normally the size of wrenches.  It's odd that they chose to create a combination that, AFAIK, does not commonly exist.  If they wanted minifigures to have a screwdriver tool, a separate piece would have been much better.
Answers.UserDisplayName: jamesdlin
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-02-04T21:39:27.860Z
Answers.Text: I agree. This seems to be a particularly strange decision considering that there is a separate screwdriver tool for minifigs (although it didn't appear until 1995). http://peeron.com/inv/parts/6246a
Answers.UserDisplayName: jncraton
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-02-03T13:31:14.573Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2014-02-04T01:49:23.830Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2014-02-04T01:49:23.830Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: jncraton
Body: <p>The common minifigure wrench is tapered at one end.  Why?  None of the other minifigure tools are shaped this way.  Is the wrench meant to also serve as a minifigure pry bar?  Or perhaps as some sort of flathead screwdriver?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2014-02-03T10:11:42.190Z
Comments.Text: The wrench is also supplied (usually in red) in the LEGO Games sets as a handy way to remove the faces (2x2 tiles) from the die.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Zhaph - Ben Duguid
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2014-02-03T14:38:11.780Z
Comments.Text: @Zhaph-BenDuguid The ones [supplied in games](http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=4006&in=G) were also black. They were indeed later replaced by a red part, but a different one: the [crowbar](http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=92585&in=G), which has a similar tapered end. In general, both do help remove tiles from just everywhere, but I wonder if that was the intend when the part was created for 1979 sets.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Joubarc
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2014-02-03T15:52:14.800Z
Comments.Text: @Joubarc Good point, you're right it's a red crowbar now.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Zhaph - Ben Duguid
Tags: <minifigures><piece-usage>
Title: Why are minifigure wrenches tapered at the end?
UserDisplayName: jamesdlin
ThreadText: # Why are minifigure wrenches tapered at the end?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2014-02-03)
  
  The common minifigure wrench is tapered at one end. Why? None of the other minifigure tools are shaped this way. Is the wrench meant to also serve as a minifigure pry bar? Or perhaps as some sort of flathead screwdriver?
  
  **Tags:** minifigures, piece-usage
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: The wrench is also supplied (usually in red) in the LEGO Games sets as a handy way to remove the faces (2x2 tiles) from the die.  
  > **username_2**: @username_1-BenDuguid The ones [supplied in games](http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=4006&in=G) were also black. They were indeed later replaced by a red part, but a different one: the [crowbar](http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=92585&in=G), which has a similar tapered end. In general, both do help remove tiles from just everywhere, but I wonder if that was the intend when the part was created for 1979 sets.  
  > **username_1**: @username_2 Good point, you're right it's a red crowbar now.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2014-02-03. Score: 15 | Accepted answer
  
  Your second guess was correct. It's not just a wrench. It's listed as a Screwdriver/spanner on Lego.com:
  
  ![on LEGO.com](https://i.sstatic.net/P9BWG.png)
  
  This part was also included in several sets in the Games line as a human tool to remove tiles from the dice. It's unclear (at least to me) whether this part was intended to be used for tile removal when it was introduced in 1979. Here's an example from the Creationary instructions:
  
  ![Creationary die tile removal](https://i.sstatic.net/dtdKR.png)
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: Okay, but that raises more questions: Is it supposed to represent a screwdriver for minifigures' "use" (in which case it's even more disproportionately large) or for humans (in which case, to drive what screws)?  
  > **username_3**: It's intended as a screwdriver for minifigs. As a human tool, it has been included in the Games line for removing tiles from dice. I'm not aware of any instance where this was intended as a usable screwdriver.  
  > **username_0**: I think what feels a bit unsatisfying is that it seems bizarre as a screwdriver.  While I normally have a suspension of disbelief when it comes to the proportions of minifigures and their handheld tools, it doesn't work for me here since in the real world, screwdrivers are not normally the size of wrenches.  It's odd that they chose to create a combination that, AFAIK, does not commonly exist.  If they wanted minifigures to have a screwdriver tool, a separate piece would have been much better.  
  > **username_3**: I agree. This seems to be a particularly strange decision considering that there is a separate screwdriver tool for minifigs (although it didn't appear until 1995). http://peeron.com/inv/parts/6246a  
  
  ---
  
  