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Pry Bar Recommendation

Nineeightyone

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Mar 21, 2018
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Pennsylvania
So I could use a good handled prybar for the garage. It isn't something I'd use super frequently, but right now I'm using a Stanley crowbar and sometimes it's not the best idea due to the hooked end.

Harbor Freight sketches me out for pry bars, and the Lowes/Kobalt ones don't look much better. My friend has a pair of Snap-On prybars, but I don't really want to spend that kind of money for something that isn't going to see regular/heavy use.

What prybar/set is a decent value for the money? Generally I'm using them to shift engines into place, remove stuck shift towers, and other nonsense of the sort. I'd like to have a couple different lengths.
 
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NUTTSGT

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Another vote for the Cman. Usually they go on sale for about $20 around Christmas, or atleast they did.

Generally good enough for the home mechanic or DIY'er.
 

djcslice

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Aug 9, 2012
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Craftsman with strike caps go on sale for $20 regularly at Sears. That being said, sears is #$%ed so it may be worth just buying at $25

Craftsman professional are also really good and they go on sale for $35.

Mayhew dominators are the bee's knees but they are much more expensive.
 
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Nineeightyone

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Mar 21, 2018
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Are you looking for the plastic handle type like the Craftsman above or all steel with a point on one end?

The Craftsman style is what I'm looking for, and that's a pretty decent price point.

These are USA made, correct? CoO isn't normally an issue for me, but I'd like to be confident in the quality of a pry bar, given that usually it's receiving the bulk of my weight and force.

Otherwise, what's everyone's opinion of the similarly-priced Tekton set? I looked at the Wilde, and that's more than I'd like to spend.
 

Shane6377

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The Craftsman set is what you want. They are made by Wilde. I have the striking cap style and my brother has the non-striking. Both are great.


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Tallpilot

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Orlando
The Tekton set is also Wilde. They are pretty much identical to the Craftsman striking set except color.
 
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jd_1138

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May 8, 2013
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NE Ohio
If there's an Ollie's Bargain Outlet nearby, they carry Richard pry bars (made in Canada) that are nice. Pretty cheap too and they come in straight and curved in various sizes. There's a 3 piece set and individual ones too. They don't have strike caps at the end, however, so the CM ones are probably better if you want strike caps.
 

Mr_B

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Yeah craftsman tekton or wilde striking cap all the same .
Kind of prefer color of craftsman handles over the black of tekton but both decent (u pay more for tekton because of warranty).
Craftsman do go on silly sale prices, I had 3pc set on sale and could of got longer ones at silly prices too but I was too slow in going back .
Nice pry bars even at full retail .
Not biggest fan of mayhew ...
 

AA/FC

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The Craftsman set by WILDE is made in the USA for an excellent price. The old style without the striking cap would go on sale for $19.99 all the time and I bought 3 or 4 of those sets over the years. I got those pry bars coming out of my ears. lol. They are like tape measures to me.... you can never have enough! The old style was a killer deal, and now that they come with the striking cap it's even better! Look no further...
 

Professional Tool User

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Depends on how much money you want to spend. For hard handled striking ones there's the Wilde/Craftsman/Tekton ones. The handles on them are identical in shape, so they should all be from Wilde. Based on the ones that I have, the Craftsman ones have more angled tips than the Tekton ones.The Snap on ones that appear on the flyers are also hard handled. For soft handled steiking ones, there's the Craftsman Pro ones, Mayhew Dominator ones, and the Mac ones. Based on the pictures of the Craftsman Pro ones I've seen, it looks like there's a P marking on thwm, so they should also be Wilde. The Mayhew ones have a KK USA marking on the shaft and the Mac ones I saw on the truck are marked LL USA, so the shafts should be from the same source.
 
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Zapp Branigan

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Mar 16, 2014
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220
If there's an Ollie's Bargain Outlet nearby, they carry Richard pry bars (made in Canada) that are nice. Pretty cheap too and they come in straight and curved in various sizes. There's a 3 piece set and individual ones too. They don't have strike caps at the end, however, so the CM ones are probably better if you want strike caps.

I got these from Ollie's and they do have striking caps. They are every bit as nice as the Cman ones, and about 50% cheaper. Again though, you'll need a local Ollie's.
 
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Nineeightyone

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I got these from Ollie's and they do have striking caps. They are every bit as nice as the Cman ones, and about 50% cheaper. Again though, you'll need a local Ollie's.

I'll have to check the locations around us, I know there's one not terribly far from me (something like half an hour). If I can't get that, I'll start looking at the other brands -- I had an issue with Sears that causes me to want to avoid giving them money where I can, so I may wind up with the Tekton set, but it's good to know that they're pretty much the same and of similar quality.

Always a helpful group here, I appreciate it everybody!
 

PFSard

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Mesa, AZ
I have a Mayhew Dominator set with caps; cheap money when I bought them; good stuff. I would go with Craftsman set recommended already if I were to have to buy again (mainly because of the money when bought on sale).
 
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