Mini pry bars

Cereal_killer · Dec 22, 2013

For the first time ever I found myself in a tight situation the other day and I needed a pry bar ASAP, after much debate about using one of my knives (it was between my mora or my 710) I ended up improvising and using a wrench to get the job done.

Now I'm wanting to pick up one of those mini Ti pry bars to EDC, I'm wonderin how much use I could actually get out of one of the 2 or 3" keychain ones. Does anyone have any stories about how one of the micro (aka Pico) ones actually helped them do something, anything? I don't mind adding a larger one to my belt in a kydex sheath if the micro ones arnt going to offer much help. How much force can a 3" long piece of Ti really create? Also do I need a curved one or a straight one? What about one of those slightly larger "robotics breeched bars" would that help me any?

Basically I'm a total FNG when it comes to this. As for the jobs I'm goin to ask of it, well I don't plan on ever needing to pry an elevator door open but that would be a worse case, more realistically it would be things like prying stuck battery cables off a corroded car battery, prying boards off windows of old houses I need to access to inspect, maybe prying rusted on parts off a car on the side of the road. Things like that...
My budget on this piece of gear is ~$50 but that includes the $14 worth of kydex/fasteners/paracord. Just by what I've looked at I think I should be able to get one around $30-40 as log as I don't want it anodized pretty colors.

I did look in the makers section but the only thing I saw was tiny things that were more of a screwdriver/bottle opener than a real prying tool.

mark greenman · Dec 23, 2013

The 3" Ti Bar from county comm offers enough leverage for opening paint cans, ripping through tape, and prying up staples. It would offer some ability in shifting doors, but certainly not going to pry one open. Basic physics at work here.

For the purposes you describe you're going to need something that's 5-6" long at least.

m_calingo · Dec 25, 2013

As mentioned above Countycomm.com has a nice selection of small pry bars. I'd go with the stainless steel pry bars over titanium to keep the price down.

22-rimfire · Dec 25, 2013

I believe Lowes and Home Depot sell the small pry bars.

Tripwire895 · Dec 25, 2013

If you do decide to go for one of the smaller (2 or 3 inch) pry bars, realize you can make your own and it'll probably be cheaper too. I bought one from Home Depot for $4 and just cut it down to my liking. I've used it to open stubborn cans and the corners are sharp enough to do things like cut tape (as mentioned above). Don't expect to pry apart cars, but it's pretty useful.

dr_fosg8 · Dec 25, 2013

22-rimfire said:
I believe Lowes and Home Depot sell the small pry bars.

This! I just seen them at lowes. They are about 5 inches and have notches cut in them to be common sized wrenches also. Less than 5 bucks each. Not keychain size but easily pocketable.

hank_rearden · Dec 30, 2013

I was wondering. Is there a pocketable pry that can pull a 3-inch nail out and jimmy open a standard swing door?

Random Dan · Dec 30, 2013

I have a 4" steel pry bar from CountyComm. I honestly don't use it very often but it comes in handy on occasion. Pulling out small nails, separating objects that have been frozen together, removing wheel-weights, etc.