Have you ever stumbled upon an old item, maybe from your attic or a forgotten box, and had no clue what it was used for? Often, these are vintage tools that were once incredibly useful but have since faded into obscurity.

Case in point, this curious piece of metal. At first glance, you might be puzzled trying to figure out its purpose. However, once its true function is revealed, you’ll realize it was quite an innovative tool.

Years ago, it was fairly common for people to work on their own cars, especially for routine jobs like changing the oil.

When it was time for an oil change, this piece of metal was indispensable. It’s an oil filter wrench! This handy tool made the job of removing and replacing the oil filter much simpler and cleaner.

Without the oil filter wrench, the job could get messy. Oil would often make the filter slippery and hard to handle. But this little device was a lifesaver. You would slip it over the oil filter, and as you turned it in the opposite direction, it would tighten around the filter, making removal easy and efficient.

While almost everyone had an oil filter wrench until the late 1990s, these days, most people go to a professional for oil changes. As a result, the oil filter wrench has taken on a nostalgic, vintage status.