Prybars: Who needs them?

The top knife had decorative cuts in the blade ...was begging to be broken ! :(
Bob Denman said:
Well... we do!!
Don't think that it can't happen to your knife.
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Most of my knives are capable of careful , moderate prying .

My SAK's and multi-tools all have something to pry with .

I have lots of pryers in the shop and keep a 42" Stanley wrecking bar in the SUV .

Most of those fancy Ti keychain and tiny pocket devises don't appear worth the pocket real estate taken up , IMO .
 
DocJD said:
The top knife had decorative cuts in the blade ...was begging to be broken ! :(

Most of my knives are capable of careful , moderate prying .

My SAK's and multi-tools all have something to pry with .

I have lots of pryers in the shop and keep a 42" Stanley wrecking bar in the SUV .

Most of those fancy Ti keychain and tiny pocket devises don't appear worth the pocket real estate taken up , IMO .
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Exactly right. I picture the ones with the little decorative pry bars are of the office type. Which is nothing wrong with that. But I sure as hell can't picture doing actual manual labor with one. Like when I bust a boiler apart to replace, that little thing would bend in half, titanium or not lol. But whatever floats your boat as I always say !
 
There's a lot of tiny pry bar tools out there that are less than awesome, but at least they wasted good titanium on them. If there's no screwdriver handy to abuse, the tool I really like is the Boker Plus Cop Tool. Not only is it a 6" bar for actual leverage and has a G10 handle, but it's also designed for other functions, like a belt cutter.

 
Yeah I hate when this happens. I'm just glad I haven't had to learn this lesson on an expensive knife...at least not yet.
 
The Grendels said:
There's a lot of tiny pry bar tools out there that are less than awesome, but at least they wasted good titanium on them. If there's no screwdriver handy to abuse, the tool I really like is the Boker Plus Cop Tool. Not only is it a 6" bar for actual leverage and has a G10 handle, but it's also designed for other functions, like a belt cutter.

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Did not even know this existed, looks really cool! Thank you for sharing
 
The Grendels said:
There's a lot of tiny pry bar tools out there that are less than awesome, but at least they wasted good titanium on them. If there's no screwdriver handy to abuse, the tool I really like is the Boker Plus Cop Tool. Not only is it a 6" bar for actual leverage and has a G10 handle, but it's also designed for other functions, like a belt cutter.

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That's cute! Does it come in adult sizes also? 😁
 
Bob Denman said:
That's cute! Does it come in adult sizes also? 😁
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I believe the right tool for the job is the tool that gets the job done. If a tool is capable of doing the job right, without damaging the tool, then it was the right tool for the job, even if it wasn't designed for that job.

I used the three knives below as prybars over several years at work. I carried the top two (separately) working on a shipping dock, where I was required to cut stuff all day long, and sometimes I had to pry open wooden packing crates. Carrying around a dedicated full-size prybar wasn't practical, I'd hate to think of even trying to carry one around all day. And trying to hunt down a prybar whenever I needed one was often a waste of time. But carrying a strong fixed-blade covered all of my cutting and prying needs in one easy to carry tool.

I also used these knives to cut thick plastic freight straps. They make cutters specific for that task, but I didn't want to have to carry one of those around all day either. My fixed-blades handled that task quite easily.

After that job I used the bottom two knives (separately) for a wide variety of uses on construction sites, including prying, and they served me well.

The picture was taken today, so you can see that they survived everything I put them through.

A good craftsman can adapt and improvise, and accomplish more with a tool than it was ever intended for.

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Paratrooper06 said:
I carry a Swiss Army knife for prying things. People that spend hundreds of dollars on fancy titanium pry bars sure like spending money unnecessarily, IMHO.
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do ya use the flathead screw driver for that task? thats what I use on light prying.

I'm not against them, just i already carry too much dont want another thing on the Keychain or in the pocket.
 
jbmonkey said:
do ya use the flathead screw driver for that task? thats what I use on light prying.

I'm not against them, just i already carry too much dont want another thing on the Keychain or in the pocket.
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I have a cadet with a nail file. I use the flathead for things like paint can lids and similar. I use the nail file part for smaller more delicate things. Last used it to remove a tub drain cover.
 
Hvactech said:
Yeah you're right. But I have several tool bags loaded up with everything I need with me at all times. But like I said, we all roll differently. That's what makes this world interesting !
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This is true. Today I was at Bass Pro and they had the Gerber Dime on sale. I’ve been eyeing a smaller EDC multi tool and really don’t want to support Leatherman. I grabbed one for me and another for my 18 yr son who works as an automotive tech. I took two steps, turned around, and put the one for him back on the rack. He has enough tools in his car to make that Dime look like a joke.
 
I actually own one of those KA-BAR tools I posted above, though I've never used it. I bought it about a decade ago when I had just bought a truck and was loading it out with everything imaginable. It now rides in the spare tire compartment of my SUV (it only has to be useful once to prove worth it).

I did formerly carry one of those small Ti pry-bars back at a time when I was doing alot of fixing up and maintaining of my properties by myself, and carrying lots of things in my pockets. It did prove somewhat handy on occasion, mostly for small prying tasks that (let's face it) most guys we know would use their pocket knife for. It even saved the day once when a friend had a flooding upstairs bathroom behind a locked door (long story) and I used it to pop the door open. Yea, we would've got in somehow no matter what, but seconds mattered, and it was good to just reach in my pocket and solve the problem.

It's hard to believe I used to carry all this stuff, but I must say that I had a good system going with it all secured, and there were no bulky pockets or even signs that I was carrying anything outside of a knife and flashlight. My pants sure did weigh a helluva lot though ;).

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BTW, you never know when inspiration will strike. I just pulled this out of the drawer and gave it a quick flame job and some fresh paracord. Perhaps I'll throw it in the pocket from time to time again. I think it could ride next to the Swisstool without me even noticing the difference.

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My Ortofon MC 3000 MkII moving coil phono cartridge came in a small wooden crate (itself packed in wood wool inside a more standard cardboard box), along with a ca. 4 inch crowbar to open the little wood crate. The point being, Danes have a sense of humor. And they make a hell of a good phono cartridge.

I've never considered using that crowbar for anything else, though it certainly could be.
 
I just impulse bought a little titanium prying tool because I find myself opening boxes and prying shipping material more than I do cutting things.

It's about 4.5", fits in my pocket, has a dull tape ripping wedge of an edge, and a bottle opener. The body even has a groove cut into it as a pocket clip. Kinda cool little tool and I don't mind beating it instead of my microtech.
 
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