Recommendation? Tell me about pocket pry bars

S

SuzukiGS750EZ

Joined
Dec 30, 2008
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4,475
How often do you use one?
Besides prying up nails and staples, what are they useful for day to day?
Which one do you have?
How do you carry it?

They’ve always interested me but I guess if I need one I just never really think about it until I’m surfing county comm or something.
 
I can't see spending big bucks on a fancy EDC pry bar. I carry a Nite Ize pry bar / bottle opener / nut wrench / screw driver on my key ring. Picked up for less than $5 at a big box hardware store. At that price it's worth it's keep. I use it occasionally to pry, open a bottle, or for odds and ends that I don't want to do with my knife blade. It has a pseudo sharpened edge for piercing package tape. I've used that feature also. The bottle opener on it could use some improvement, but for the usage frequency it's acceptable.

I don't remember ever needing a bigger pry bar on the fly. I do have a pry bar in my take-along tool kit which I have found useful over the years, but that tool kit isn't an EDC thing.

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I love a good pry tool. Sure, some of that is having it just in case you need it. Having a reliable pry tool that you can really crank down when you do is great. My most common uses are perhaps less exciting: popping open certain types of containers and accessing the nail nicks on multitools. Being able to scrape or to dig at something with a corner is handy too. Overall, I like titanium for this because it is relatively light, strong for its weight, non-toxic, hypo-allergenic, and resistant to the elements. It's just a great EDC material.

From today's carry post, notice the TwoSun titanium pry tool on my key ring. It's a Night Morning design. It is remarkably comfortable in my hand and fun to use. Those little indentations are just right for a particular grip. The edges in my hand are tumbled and feel pleasant. The edge at the end is crisp and has good geometry. At first, I thought it would be too large for key-ring carry. It is just a little longer than my AA flashlight, which some people also consider a little large. However, it has been on there for months now and at least in Wrangler pockets, it has been fine.

I was a little concerned about that the sharper corners at the end might combine with the protrusion to wear at my pocket. I haven't noticed any issues yet. However, with some other pry tools and a couple of pocket organizers waiting in the wings; I don't know if this will be permanent. My key ring situation is modular and I have a bunch of stuff that can quickly go on or off. At the very least, this pry tool has earned a permanent slot on the selection rack.

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The county comm bars are the only ones I'd ever consider worth a damn.
Just a useful little no nonsense tool good for paint / stain cans, staples, tacks, rocks in my boot tread , just a lot of things you'r probably never think of till they come up.
With the flat one you can forget it's even there till you need it depending on where it's carried.
I think the fancy custom types are just stupid, and can't stand anything with a bottle opener either.
I just want my pry bar to be a pry bar, not a worthless makeshift wrench or barely sharp corner for package opening, or a screwdriver that sort of works in some situations.

I just don't understand those fancy custom machined titanium novelty pry tools that are bulkier than they need to be and don't really function any better for the added bulk.

I suppose that's probably because I'm not into modern knives, I'm a traditionalist when it comes to a lot of things.

If I wanted a bigger pry bar I'd carry one of these Dasco pry bar - scrapers.
I have a few of them, carry one at work, and find them to be one of the greatest things ever.
They're only $5 too.
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Or I'd carry one of my Vaughan / Dasco mini pry bars.
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Otherwise I like the Flat 2.5" bar from Countycomm.
 
Hickory n steel said:
The county comm bars are the only ones I'd ever consider worth a damn.
Just a useful little no nonsense tool good for paint / stain cans, staples, tacks, rocks in my boot tread , just a lot of things you'r probably never think of till they come up.
With the flat one you can forget it's even there till you need it depending on where it's carried.
I think the fancy custom types are just stupid, and can't stand anything with a bottle opener either.
I just want my pry bar to be a pry bar, not a worthless makeshift wrench or barely sharp corner for package opening, or a screwdriver that sort of works in some situations.

I just don't understand those fancy custom machined titanium novelty pry tools that are bulkier than they need to be and don't really function any better for the added bulk.

I suppose that's probably because I'm not into modern knives, I'm a traditionalist when it comes to a lot of things.

If I wanted a bigger pry bar I'd carry one of these Dasco pry bar - scrapers.
I have a few of them, carry one at work, and find them to be one of the greatest things ever.
They're only $5 too. ...
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I'll agree that some of the modern titanium pry tools I've looked at aren't as practical as I'd like, seem to care more about looking cool, have extra functions that I don't care about, or cost like $100 or more. That's not true of all of them.

Check mine out in the post above. It really is remarkably comfortable in hand. It's also very light for the size. Another thing that could be good is that it has a pen-like form factor. It can fit into the pen slots on various pocket organizers, bags, cases, etc. Some but not all of those carry spots could use a lanyard or cord fob. It was a little under $50 but somebody could easily "one and done" it.

I have a couple of other ones that are winners from my perspective. I'll post a pic of them sometime in the next couple of days.
 
SuzukiGS750EZ said:
How often do you use one?
Besides prying up nails and staples, what are they useful for day to day?
Which one do you have?
How do you carry it?

They’ve always interested me but I guess if I need one I just never really think about it until I’m surfing county comm or something.
Click to expand...
99% of edc prybars have very little utility. A prybar is just a lever. A 4” piece of material with a blunt edge is a terrible lever.

That’s why I bought one of these…Maverick Pen Pry.
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For me what / how I carry and the frequency I actually use a little pocket pry bar on a daily off work situation this is as much as I'll carry.
I can forget it's there till the occasional times I need it, it gets the job done, and it doesn't have that modern look that I'm not into.
 
Hickory n steel said:
View attachment 1785417

For me what / how I carry and the frequency I actually use a little pocket pry bar on a daily off work situation this is as much as I'll carry.
I can forget it's there till the occasional times I need it, it gets the job done, and it doesn't have that modern look that I'm not into.
Click to expand...


I carry one of these in my belt pouch everyday. I’m like you, I prefer the simple pry bars.

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jeepin said:
I carry one of these in my belt pouch everyday. I’m like you, I prefer the simple pry bars.
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I mentioned stubborn nail nicks. That little guy looks just right.

What is it and where did you get it?
 
I've been kicking around the idea of carrying something simple, tough and cheap just to have an expendable tool I can use to pry stuff and stick in self locking doors that I want to re-enter. Watching for more ideas.
 
Chronovore said:
I mentioned stubborn nail nicks. That little guy looks just right.

What is it and where did you get it?
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countycomm.com

Ti Fulcro Leva Tool

Ultra Heavy Duty Universal Tool The Ti Fulcro Leva Tool tools are universally used daily and have been proven effective cleaning tools in Glocks, Beretta M-9, 1911, AR-15, M16, M-4 weapons systems. There really isn't a weapon made that couldn't benefit from the extra good cleaning that a U.C.S...
countycomm.com countycomm.com
 
I have a 4” titanium countycomm that I like the idea of, but I’ve never actually used it for much.
 
Jcsixx01 said:
Full tang flathead screwdriver.
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So long as you have a good way to carry it, a sturdy flathead can do a lot of things.

Coincidentally, lots of people seem to use the broad flatheads on some multi-tools as miscellaneous pokers, scrapers, pushers, etc. I know I have. The main reason I went to separate pry tools in the first place is because as I got older, my nails got less good at operating the nail nicks to access such tools. Now I've really come round on having a small but sturdy standalone pry tool.
 
Okay, here are three of the more compelling titanium pry tools I've encountered. From left to right, I forget who makes the first but the second two are from TwoSun. Both TwoSun tools are very ergonomic. The finger indentations are "just right". The edges are nicely done, crisp at the end and nowhere else. They just feel great in hand.

As far as carry, the first two have a round profile. They can work in the pen slots on various cases, packs, pocket organizers, etc. The first is more Sharpie-like and just big enough that it stays off my key ring. (A lanyard or fob situation could be good and the hole is generous.) The second has been living on my key ring for months now. The third hasn't but only because I got the second first.

The first is interesting because it has a built-in bottle opener at the tool end. Many pry tools with bottle openers put them near the attachment end, close to the hole. I find the latter annoying when the tool is attached to a mass of keys or other doodads. Right now, my main bottle opener is on a small titanium whistle and suffers from that problem. However, I haven't had much occasion to worry about it because I somehow got old and now only rarely drink craft beers on the fly.


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Never found much use for one. I have a countycomm prybar in my leatherman surge sheath and can’t recall ever needing it when it was my edc for about a year.

The lightweight prying that can be accomplished with a tiny prybar can also be done with the screwdriver of a leatherman or SAK, so I use that instead. If you want to go with a tiny prybar the countycomm ones or a small one made by a real tool company are your best bet.
 
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