Which Pry bar for edc?

hank_rearden said:
A real pocket pry bar should be thick and monolithic, almost as heavy as a cold chisel. No holes or notches that will weaken it. It should allow a steel pipe to be slipped over the handle for increased leverage. The pinch edge should gradually thicken into the shank. Best example I see online.

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That cold chisel there would probably work, WILDE makes a good tool.
 
I have several small pry tools and have used them for a variety of tasks. I prefer steel because my titanium pry tools get chewed up more easily. The most recent acquisition is the Maserin "Saw" pry tool. I used it yesterday as a makeshift shoe horn in the fitting room of a store while trying on some pants.
maserin-pry.jpg
 
Sears used to sell a Craftsman 4 way flat head screwdriver key chain. For most simple things that may work. If you need some more force you can grab it with pliers. It does not have a nail puller, though.

SAK bottle opener also works as a low load pry bar.
 
powernoodle said:
Want an honest answer, or a feel good answer?

Here's the honest answer:

You aren't going to use an EDC pry bar, so it doesn't matter which one you buy.

We buy toys like this to feel good. To distract ourselves from reality for a little while. Nothing wrong with that whatsoever, because we all like to feel good. But once every 4 years when you open a paint can, you can use a wide screwdriver or the little gizmo they give you at the paint store. You'll never have an emergency pry job on the way home from Chic-Fil-A. "Thank goodness I had that 2" County Comm pry thing with me!"

The same holds true for EDC fire kits, water purifier straws and paracord bracelets. These are the grownup versions of binkies and blankies and pacifiers. They serve to distract, but that's about it.

I'm qualified to give an honest answer because I've spent 35 years buying and hoarding thousands of dollars worth of this kind of crap. I know what I'm talking about. You aren't going to use any of it. Its there to make you feel good.

So buy the one that makes you feel the best. You yourself said you wanted it to be "cool".

But just admit to yourself that you will never use it. Present company excluded, of course. You guys who use your EDC pry bars 20 times a day.

#paradigmshift
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Nobody wants to hear the truth, but there it is nonetheless.

I could’ve used a small prybar a total of once. We went for a walk and left out the back door. The front door was locked including the chain and we didn’t have a key to the back door.

Opened the front door, saw the chain, weighed the $2 chain vs. $50+ window in my mind... Just happened to be carrying a 1/4” thick streeet scalpel so I stuck it in behind the chain mount. “PING!” Snapped like glass. Got the damn thing pried off but lost about 1/4” of the tip.
 
...have used my keychain widgy just about every week for years to pick rocks out'a tire tread while giving them them the once over...
 
A while back I bought one of those 4” pry bars from county comm, just to see if a pry bar that small was worth a crap. I like the idea, but unsurprisingly found they are pretty much useless. A screwdriver works better than those tiny things.
 
I have a Lunch All-Access Pry. I mostly got it for the bottle opener and as a TSA-safe tool for travel in my carry-on, because the pry tip will open the zip ties that some of the tools working at TSA will sometimes use to zip tie my suitcase zippers together.
 
Ive had a county comm 4 inch widgy on my work keys for years. I’d bet its opened 100’s of paint cans and removed even more floor receptacle plugs. It’s indispensable at work. I have a gerber shard on personal keys for as many years, opened 10-20 paint cans, pulled several nails and turned more loose screws then I could count. Best 3-4 bucks I have ever spent.
 
I have a Widgy too. In the summer I got one of these from Country Comm and find myself looking for stuff to pry. Also have the Ti Fulco Levera and a Norton UCS in Ti.

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Danke42 said:
I have a Widgy too. In the summer I got one of these from Country Comm and find myself looking for stuff to pry. Also have the Ti Fulco Levera and a Norton UCS in Ti.

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I also have the Ti Fulcro Leva tool, I carry it everyday. I liked it so much that I bought a spare.
 
For me away from work a little pocket pry bar is one of those things that seems to come in handy all the time for awhile, then not at all for a good while, then it starts to come in handy all the time for awhile again.

Paint cans ? I don't use much paint that doesn't rattle but I do use wood stain frequently, I have a couple paint can openers but misplaced both recently.
I can grab a screwdriver from the draw and misuse it, I can walk across the shop and grab one of the many pry bars off the wall, or I could just reach into my pocket.
At work ? Definitely, I carried a 6" Vaughan wonder bar then their 6" pry / scraper combo ( one of the greatest tools ever ) but some things change in my carry and those are now in my bag or toolbox, I have just been using the 1/4 standard on my leatherman bond, but that's less convenient and again a misuse of the tool.


Countycomm accidentally sent me their little 3" flat bar the other day by mistake so now I own one, and lately I've been having the need so in my pocket organizer it goes.
 
Hickory n steel said:
For me away from work a little pocket pry bar is one of those things that seems to come in handy all the time for awhile, then not at all for a good while, then it starts to come in handy all the time for awhile again.

Paint cans ? I don't use much paint that doesn't rattle but I do use wood stain frequently, I have a couple paint can openers but misplaced both recently.
I can grab a screwdriver from the draw and misuse it, I can walk across the shop and grab one of the many pry bars off the wall, or I could just reach into my pocket.
At work ? Definitely, I carried a 6" Vaughan wonder bar then their 6" pry / scraper combo ( one of the greatest tools ever ) but some things change in my carry and those are now in my bag or toolbox, I have just been using the 1/4 standard on my leatherman bond, but that's less convenient and again a misuse of the tool.


Countycomm accidentally sent me their little 3" flat bar the other day by mistake so now I own one, and lately I've been having the need so in my pocket organizer it goes.
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I've been carrying Enderes version of that same model.
 
Not a "traditional" pry tool.... but I have a GST.
The large version, which isn't very big.
I use it a lot.
It's a wedge, scraper, knife/tool sharpener, chisel, pry tool, fire steel..... All kinds of things!

He's a maker here, and has his own subforum. G Gossman Knives
hopefully it's ok to post a link, I have No affiliation, I'm just a happy customer.
shop.gossmanknives.com

Welcome to Gossman Knives Sharp Hardware for Big Timber

shop.gossmanknives.com shop.gossmanknives.com
 
SouthernRhino said:
I have this, the bare titanium bar from County Comm, and a friend lit it on fire for me. Too pretty to actually use, mostly good for taking pictures of it,
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Surprised I haven't seen this before, it looks near perfect for general prying.
 
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I have a couple that look like the 5-pack shown above from the big river. I don't use them every day or even every week, but I do use them occasionally. I was very glad to have them available each time, so to me the tiny weight to add is worth it. All of my knives have their tips and none of my SAKs are damages from applying too much lateral force on the screwdriver because of them. They're also handy if you need to shim something briefly.
 
I still love my CountyComm Ti Leva Fulcra pry bar. Pic from CountyComm.


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I keep an old PocketTool X keychain tool with my keys, but am really impressed by Zach Wood's MF Tool in CPM 3v. The Defiant 7 (Les George) S7 Prybar is handy to have in the back pocket when out on the farm a half mile away from the truck or tractor and real tools.
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