The Crowbar
By: The Working Man



The crowbar, also known as the prybar, pry bar, jimmy bar, jimmy,
or gooseneck, is a tool used as one of the names would indicate,
as a pry. Basically a crowbar is a metal bar that is bent at one
end. The end that is bent is flattened and has a small gap to
make that end look like a fork. The gap can be at either end and
is usually used to pull up nails.

A crowbar is used to lever things apart or to pull up nails. You
can more often see them used in demolition. They pull things
apart, remove nails and you can also use them to break things up.

The curved end of the crow bar is considered to be a first class
lever and the other end is considered to be a second class lever.
There are three levels in all of lever types. The crowbar is
unique in that it can be used in all three levels.

The crowbar is generally made of carbon steel but they can also
be made from titanium, which makes the bar lighter in weight,
spark-resistant and nonmagnetic. Pry Bars also can come with
rubber grips and in all lengths.

The most common crowbars you will come across may be hexagonal or
cylindrical and are made from medium carbon steel. The more
expensive version is designed in an I-shaped cross in the middle
of the shaft. They can take more weight and resist bending.

The crowbar was originally called a crow bar and goes back to the
1400's. William Shakespeare wrote about a crow bar in his plays.
These tools were originally called crow bars because of the
resemblance to the beak and feet of a crow. But some believe that
these tools were used by the African Americans during the slave
days in America and the term crow refers to Jim Crow, a slang
term that the slaves were called.

Crowbars have been used as a weapon in some cases when needed. In
fact, crowbars are often featured as a weapon in many video games
and books.

The crowbar is an excellent tool that was developed to lever
things apart and take up nails from boards. They can be long or
short and of three different types of shapes. They are well used
in demolition and make work easier by giving the user the ability
to apply more force to an object to move it or break it apart.


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