Using prybars.

One of the disadvantages of EDCing one in your BOB or on your person is the possibility of being charged with possession of burglary tools, if you get approached by an officer. (One of the reasons I don't carry my BOB when in Manhattan is because officers in the subway system can randomly search bags. I don't live or work in Manhattan, so it's not an issue for me.)

I don't mean the small prybars such as most of the ones sold through County Comm, Peter Atwood's Prybaby (I own one. Excellent example of the breed), or a Gerber Shard. I mean the larger ones. The compact examples of full-sized prybars that can be used for a variety of chores.

Would like to hears stories of prybars in use. Please let us know what you've used your prybar for. And, if you needed to rely on one of the really small ones to get the job done; let us know about those as well.

My girlfriend accidentally closed her trunk on her keys (actually, the pepper spray I had given her - luckily it didn't break)... Only the tip of one key was visible from outside the car... I used a one of those old County Comm U.S. Government prybars and it worked a charm... Luckily she was only about 3 blocks away from the house...

Impressive. I own a couple of those CC prybars as well. But didn't realize they'd be strong enough for prying open a car trunk.

Used to carry one of those Stanley Fubars in my truck - donated it to the build team when I realised the implications of getting stopped with it in he car.

I have a TAD Skeleton key, but don't carry it as it has sharp corners and chews up pockets.

Someone needs to convince me to get a CC one for my keys.....

Meganoggin said:

Someone needs to convince me to get a CC one for my keys.....

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Strong enough to open a car trunk, and now available in titanium.

(Less likely to get you arrested.)

Monocrom said:

Impressive. I own a couple of those CC prybars as well. But didn't realize they'd be strong enough for prying open a car trunk.

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Yeah, it worked perfectly, and the good news: the trunk was fine afterwards!

"Burglary tools, officer? I guess I could use it for that, but I just carry it to brain little old ladies with."

The biggest prybar I've been known to carry is a (fully sharpened) countycomm breacher bar strapped to the side of the ammo-can in a EOD-bag toolkit in my BOB, along with a Gerber hatchet, a t-handle saw, and a large knife. The whole mess lived behind the drivers seat when I had a truck, so I was more concerned with weapons charges. AFAICT, in my state, the "possession of tools" statute requires evidence of intent -- so it's an easy addition to trespassing, but almost certainly inapplicable if you haven't done anything wrong. But of course, the arresting officer may or may not realize that distinction...

Only really had occasion to use it once I recall: when installing a serpentine belt, to hold the tensioner over with one hand while popping the belt on. Smaller wouldn't have worked in this case (though I do keep a pocket widgy in my jacket), and larger would have been better.

Bought a Stanley Wonder Bar II prybar while looking for a good heavy-duty multi-tool at Ace Hardware. Not bad for $10. Should handle any light to medium-duty chores. Anything close to heavy-duty? . . . No.

I'm considering getting a handful, and having the nail-puller end ground off. Bit of gunmetal blue coating to reduce the glare from the ground off end. Bit of friction-tape or even a paracord wrap (if a hole gets drilled near the opposite end). Should make a very nice addition to a BOB, without spending too much. Not quite as strong as my EOD breacher bar from County Comm. But less expensive, and locally available. Plus, you can still use the slightly curved end to pull out nails. This one isn't getting modified. I'll keep it in my car as an emergency tool. Overall, quite happy I picked it up.

Now I just need to pick up that multi-tool.

I've been carrying a small prybar that I bought from Home Depot in my Condor T&T pouch with a BUNCH of other tools.
Gets used most often for putting the chain back on my mountain bike so my hands don't get greasy.
It's also come in handy for a lot of other small tasks.

My key chain has a JDR Beta. A tiny pry tool that also gets used for all sorts of tasks that I see others using the tip of thier knives for.

I have about 6 large prybars in my toolbox, with my largest being about 5 feet long.

I don't have any concerns with being stopped and accused of possesing burglery tools.
First of all, its NOT illigal to own a prybar (the one I carry is 6") and I'd never even consider stealing. You can't be prosecuted for something you didn't do.
I also know almost every local officer and even dated one of thier daughters. They're all pretty cool.:thumbsup:

DaFABRICATA said:

You can't be prosecuted for something you didn't do.

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Whole different topic that I'm not going to touch here.

I'm curious if all your larger prybars are the same brand, or if there's one you prefer over others.

Monocrom said:

Whole different topic that I'm not going to touch here.

I'm curious if all your larger prybars are the same brand, or if there's one you prefer over others.

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I should have chose better words to describe what I was trying to say...we'll leave that one alone...lol

Most are from a four piece Mayhew set varying in size from about one foot to two and a half.
The others are the standard Fla and hex round end style.
The five foot one is a hex shaped rod with a flat end. I also got this one for free when I moved into a storage unit several years back! Bonus!

Free one? Aw . . . So lucky! My luck is never that good. Thanks for the reply.

I've usually got half a dozen prybars in my vehicle, but they're accompanied by a few hundred other tools that make it totally credible to have them. In my EDC I've got a crate hammer, which is an old tool that's sort of a cross between a hammer and prybar, shaped like a "T". Here's a link to a picture of one: http://images.cloud.worthpoint.com/...707/05/1_4cb7c36c85be93c2679ee5197f948ada.jpg. They come in several sizes, and I carry a large one with tape on it so it doesn't wear through the bag. Don't usually use it because I have other prybars better suited to the task at hand. I also keep a tape measure and some other tools in the bag, and I've got the hands to show I do this stuff for a living so it'd be awfully hard to convict me of possession of burglary tools. Not that it means someone couldn't try.

For a bugout kit, I like the Estwing I-beam bars: http://www.estwing.com/product.php?product_id=4000. Lightweight, not terribly expensive, and I've seen them in use for decades. Big enough to get serious leverage, too. I'd like to find a way to attach a shovel head to one so it also serves that purpose.

I've used prybars for just about everything, from removing nails to lifting appliances to moving vehicles around. Some of my other favorites are those goose-neck crowbars which also serve as a hammer for knocking stuff apart, and my 4' long quasi-halligan prybar that I could literally rip industrial doors off the hinges with. Those flatbars (like the Stanley Wonderbar) are really useful for medium duty general use and are really good to get in small areas and then turn them sideways to get a lot of movement. And finally, another competitor for the EDC bag was the Shark Tools prybar, which has a cat's paw at the end for digging out nails. It's the ultimate bar for getting into really tight areas without damaging stuff.

i've never even thought about carrying a prybar...


apparently there are more uses than one would think

monocrom, would you have a link or a picture somewhere of those smaller prybars you were talking about?

redaudi said:

monocrom, would you have a link or a picture somewhere of those smaller prybars you were talking about?

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Sure thing.

CountyComm prybars:
http://www.countycomm.com/widgy.htm (scroll down a bit for the two even smaller sizes.)

Gerber Shard:
http://uncrate.com/p/2009/10/gerber-shard-2.jpg (Clearly smaller than indicated by the link.)

I've been carrying a Pico Widgy bar for a couple years. I like it. It's so tiny. I probably use it most often to slit open boxes instead of pulling out my knife. Even as tiny as it is I think it's a versatile addition for anyone who EDCs a knife.

I have four: two single ended of short and medium sizes, a short flat one, and an regular one
Two have rubber grip ends, hexagonal shaft to a flat pry-end that's bent 20 degrees or so. These came in a 'demolition' package set of tools my partner gave me as a birthday present a few weeks after we bought our first house. (yes, she's cool - she bought me a 15A circular saw for xmas that year.) With the rubber ends, they're more often used for lifting or holding.
I've a flat pry-bar (maybe 15" long, 1.5" wide?) that is extremely useful for tearing appart wooden structures. A flat end and a goose-neck end, both with nail-pulls, it's slim enough to slide under a 2x4 to pry pieces apart. The goose-neck end makes for a decent surface to hammer (actually I use a heavy rubber mallet) if I don't want to risk my chisel demolitioning something. It's also very handy to removing floor / wall tiles, hammers through the grout and wide flat surface pops up the tiles. Very handy for removing stuck or odd nails, as I can use the side of my hammer to whack the teeth in. Lastly, this flat prybar is my first-choice for picking up cement paving stones - the bent neck lets me get around the side and under the bottom, extremely handly for picking up paving stones that are deeply recessed into a lawn. Ok, another last use- best tool for moving / placing large sheets of plywood when installing a new sub-floor or re-sheeting a roof. So this bar is like a foot long extension to my arm and there's many times I've pulled it off my belt.
I've got a standard crobar, used for tearing down cabinets, wallboard, walls.

re: edc - there's been times i've had tools like these in my car, never used them. I don't care them now, though after reading this I'm thinking I should put a smaller (1foot) one under the trunk 'just in case.' But I've only ever used these tools for a project that was planned in advance.