How to Choose the Right Pry Bar
In cases where you're doing construction or home handiwork and need to apply leverage to an object, a pry bar is a solution. Featuring one or multiple chisels on their ends, these steel bars are shaped to wedge into materials and exert force to help with both construction and destruction. Some brands of pry bar include GearWrench, Titan Tools, and Klein Tools.
What Types of Pry Bar Are There?
As a tool with many uses and purposes, pry bars come in different shapes, lengths and makes so that they may suit specific tasks. Types of pry bar include:
- Wrecking Bar: Designed for heavy duty purposes on construction sites, these bars are 3 to 5 feet long and feature a curved pry bar head to maximize their leverage.
- Claw Bar: Suited to digging out and removing nails, this short double-ended tool features two different sized claws to handle nails of different sizes. They are often also called cat's paws.
- Molding Bar: With a wide and flat pry bar head, the molding bar is a short tool specifically suited to carefully separating carpentry materials like molding and trim.
What Are Some Features of Pry Bars?
In order to improve their usefulness and effectiveness, some pry bars come with special design features, like:
- Ergonomic Handle: As these bars may be in your hands for long periods of time, ergonomic handles provide you with a more comfortable grip as you work.
- Enhanced Durability: Certain bars are forged with carbon steel rather than regular steel in order to provide them with greater strength and hardened durability.
- Offset Bend: To help with a twisting motion when levering items, some bars feature a 90-degree twist or offset. This places your hand in a more effective way.
What Are Pry Bars Used For?
In your hands, these tools are able to be used in a number of different manners and contexts, such as:
- Prying Apart Materials: With their flat and bevelled chisel heads, these steel bars are able to wedge into tight spaces to pry apart materials, like floorboards and carpentry.
- Removing Nails: Pry bars usually feature a small gap or claw at one end that can be placed around a nail and allow you to lever it out as a nail puller.
- Moving Heavy Objects: With enough leverage, these tools can move heavy objects like stones when wedged underneath.