Pry Bars Tradie Tough Test

Pry Bars Tradie Tough Test

In the latest What Tradies Want Magazine Tradie Tough Test article below, Matt Page and Jamie Gray put the new range of WB Tools pry bars to the ultimate test.

All tradies have used a pry bar before. A bottom plate may have gone down on the wrong line or a tricky old window or door frame needed to be ripped out. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of potential uses for this tool. The leverage reduces the amount of pure muscle needed to do the job, but what happens when there is a restricted space that won’t allow the set angle of a traditional pry bar, jimmy bar or cat’s claw to work in the given space? 

That’s where the Warren & Brown Tools range of double-locking pry bars come into their own.

The beauty of the system is rather than working to a fixed angle, you can push in the two blue buttons at the fulcrum of the lever and select the desired angle to fit perfectly into a restricted place or space where a normal bar just wouldn’t fit. I personally hadn’t worked with one of these double-locking pry bars before, but now I’ve experienced it first-hand I am totally converted.

The bars range in size from the stubby 4" version all the way through to the unbreakable 33" version.

TEST #1: TEST ITS METAL

The versatile, adjustable-claw 33" pry bar features a double-lock mechanism which allows for easy angle selection with extra-strength hold.

The handles have been constructed using high-quality CR-V and the heads using CR-MO. Adjustable-claw pry bars are one of the newest designs available and have become a toolbox favourite due to their versatility. The adjustable claw can easily be locked at the preferred working angle, and this includes straight or bent claw, eliminating the need for a second claw.

In our first test I wanted to see exactly how tough this bar was. So I found a couple of fully loaded, full-sized shipping containers, slid the claw in under and edge and proceeded to give it my full body weight and strength to see if I could shift the massive container.

The container itself didn’t budge, but what did happen was the handle of the prybar showed amazing strength and flexibility. The metal of the container around the claw actually buckled and bent due to the massive load transferred through the bar. The 33" inch pry bar itself remained perfectly straight, and the locking mechanism showed amazing resilience and build quality with absolutely zero negative effects.

This thing has been extremely well designed and built seriously tough for serious applications.

TEST #2: EASE OF ADJUSTMENT

The double push-lock system of adjustment is so easy to change, and only takes a two- finger grab or squeeze to adjust the claw head through the 12 locking positions which range across a 180-degree head sweep. Impressively, the ease of adjustment hasn’t impacted on the strength and quality of the push-lock itself.

   

Warren & Brown tools are renowned for their precision and quality for both mechanics and trades, and the double-locking pry bar range will easily meet the high expectations of other Warren & Brown Tools owners.

The range of double-locking pry bars includes the 33", 24", the 2-piece set of both the 16" and 8", and lastly the 4" stubby pry bar being perfect for tasks where you need to slightly adjust the height or angle of a door or similar. Where previously you would use a chisel with something underneath as the lever, with the 4" stubby pry bar you can set the perfect angle to lift the door or window with more control and stability

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

The strength and build quality of this system of pry bars was impressive.

The combination of flex and power of the metal shows a top-quality material. The more you start thinking about the potential uses of a product like this, over the course of a build for example, the more you realise how versatile it is.

Onsite safety is of optimum importance, so using a pry bar like this to lift steel beams, heavy timbers or other similar items to get wedges under before lifting will save a pile of the nasty pinches that occur regularly.

Well done Warren & Brown Tools on a great product.

- Matt Page, What Tradies Want Aug/Sep 2019