Crowbars & Pry Bars

Most often manufactured from steel, crowbars and pry bars are tools that are designed for wrenching apart two materials or objects from one another with less effort on the part of the user. Here at Cromwell, we have a wide range of crowbars and pry bars from our trusted own brand Kennedy® as well as national leading brands such as Stanley®, Spear & Jackson and Sealey.

Why crowbars and pry bars?

Most often used when opening wooden crates or large shipping boxes, crowbars and pry bars work by providing leverage and thus making it easier on the part of the user to exert force that will open the crate by prising the pieces of material apart. Manufactured from steel in most cases, crowbars and pry bars are durable and designed for punishing use.

Crowbar and pry bar types

The terms crowbar and pry bar are often used interchangeably. Whist they do share similarities, there are marked differences between them. To make it easier for you to shop our range of crowbars and pry bars, we have listed the five most commonly used forms of bars that operate by providing leverage when trying to prise apart objects or materials.

• Wrecking bar   -   Often wrongly used interchangeably with a crowbar, wrecking bars are usually manufactured from steel and the steel stock is most often hexagonal in shape. They normally boast a nail puller at one end - most often the curved end - and a prying wedge on the opposite end.

• Pry bar   -   Generally longer and thinner than a crowbar, pry bars are - as they sound - used for prying apart two materials or objects by using the force of the leverage. They are used for more delicate tasks than a crowbar, where you ideally wish to limit damage to the two attached pieces as you prise them apart.

• Crowbar   -   Essentially a larger and thicker version of a pry bar, crowbars are generally used in applications where keeping the two pieces you are trying to detach from each other intact is not a priority.

• Breaker bar   -   Also referred to as a power bar, breaker bars possess a ratcheting socket end that is designed for removing extremely tight or seized nuts and bolts.

• Nail puller   -   As they sound, nail pullers are designed for inserting under the nail head and wrenching it free. Wrecking bars and crowbars often have a nail puller at one end.

FAQs

Are crowbars illegal in the UK?

No, as long as you have a "good reason" by law for carrying one. However, like almost all tools, if they are being carried without good reason then they can be construed as a weapon.

How do crowbars work?

Crowbars work by providing much needed leverage which makes objects and materials easier to separate. By gaining leverage instead of trying to use brute force, it becomes easier to put pressure and strain on the materials which will eventually detach them.