About Wrenches. The most common wrench is the crescent wrench or C wrench. This adjusts to any size bolt head you need to tighten or loosen. A thumb screw opens and closes the jaws. The C wrench is available in many different sizes. Another common wrench is a box wrench available in all standard sizes. There is an open and closed end side. This is good for getting around the top of a bolt head. If you can only get to a side of a nut, you can use the open end. A self ratcheting box wrench allows you to loosen or tighten without removing the wrench from the bolt. A pipe wrench is a heavy duty tool. You can clamp on to a piece of pipe and simply tighten the thumb screw.