Mr. Wrenchy

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Mr. Wrenchy

Richard Wrenchton III a.k.a. Mr. Wrenchy is one half of Mr. Wrenchy & Nutso, the unofficial mascot duo of Knox Makers. He represents the positive aspects of making, safety and community, and serves as a reminder of best practices in the workshop.

Overview

Mr. Wrenchy is a sentient wrench who currently serves as one of the unofficial mascots of Knox Makers. He is approximately 6'3" tall, has four fingers and a thumb that are constantly covered in large gloves, and two feet, though it is unknown if he possesses toes. He is capable of speaking English and talks in a high-pitched cartoon-like voice. Like Nutso, Mr. Wrenchy's body is made of an unknown black metallic substance that reflects almost no light. All attempts to collect the metal for analysis have failed, as no tool so far has been able to break the surface, including diamond-tipped drill bits.

Mr. Wrenchy is depicted on posters in Knox Makers promoting the value of safety consciousness, community, volunteerism and good member conduct, often through rhyming phrases such as "Clean Up Your Dust, It's A Must!" and "Don't Be A Fool, Report A Broken Tool!"

Early Life and Education

Mr. Wrenchy was born on July 20, 1969 in Vanadium, New Mexico. He is the only child of Richard Wrenchton II, the mining and magnet magnate, and Saskia Kasemets, an Estonian immigrant responsible for popularizing birch beer in the United States. His grandfather, Richard Wrenchton I, founded Wrenchton Ionic Mechanics in 1889 and controlled much of the mining and metal goods production in the American Southwest throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Mr. Wrenchy attended several boarding schools throughout his youth, including St. Boudreaux's in Alsace, Kitheringsford School for Boys in Schrucester, and the LeDonkey Academy in New Geneva. He graduated from the Billingham Maker Institute in 1990 with a Ph.D. in Makerspace Studies, the youngest graduate in the school's history.

Maker Career and Nutso Partnership

Since the mid-1990s, Mr. Wrenchy has served as a maker consultant and mascot for several prominent maker and hackerspaces around the United States, including the Bay Area Buzzers in San Francisco, Command Line Hackers of Seattle, HackSheboygan, DIYABQ in Albuquerque, and Tampa Tech Town.

In 2008, he met Nutso and formed an immediate bond, describing their initial meeting as "the clash of two universal fates, bound by the invisible strings of destiny, foreseen by the blind mystics of a long-dead civilization." They took their partnership on the road, delivering messages of safety and community, and the consequences of ignoring them, to makers across the country.

At some point between 2018 and 2022, Mr. Wrenchy and Nutso became the mascots of Knox Makers in Knoxville, Tennessee. The exact date, or even year, is unknown, as no member remembers when they first saw them, with most stating that "they kinda assumed they were always there." Even long-time members and those on the board of directors cannot pinpoint the time or recall ever discussing the prospect of adopting them as the mascots, describing the feeling as "being reminded of a memory by someone else and not exactly remembering it at first, but then it starts to piece together in your head until you have convinced yourself you remember it all." When asked when they started as mascots, both Mr. Wrench and Nutso have refused to answer and usually deflect from the question by doing a little jig.