I also have a ~ 5" Japanese cat's paw that is incredible for removing nails and screws that won't otherwise budge. I reach for it far more often than I would have imagined.
2 pry bars, or nippers plus pry bar, can be a useful combo for avoiding wood damage - put the "passive" pry bar between the "active" one and the work surface and you can pry much more aggressively with less fear of marring the work - it distributes the pressure, similar to how you use a scrap of wood with a holdfast or vise jaw at the bench
In a pinch I've used a pair of claw hammers this way (on rough carpentry)... I don't l recommend it! But it can be better than nothing if you have nothing else.
Those small stainless steel pry bars are the bee's knees. Just fantastic. For end knippers, some of them have a heavy bevel on the cutting edge, and they keep you from cutting flush to the surface. If you need a really flush cut on wee nails, the Fastcap Flush Cut pliers get right down . . . flush.
Love the tool recommendation + mini tutorial style in this post.
Pry bars are the renovation MVP. One handy modification I recommend is sharpening the flat end of the pry bar. A coarse file will do and a sharper pry bar can perform some real magic tricks!
I am fond of a painter's "5 in one tool". It is kind of a flat putty knife, but heavier, with a sharp front edge and some tapered holes which can catch a nail much like the claw on a hammer. Multiple sizes of pry bars from tiny 6" up to full crow bars allow you to choose an appropriate weapon for the problem.
I’ve used 12 inch and 8 inch Japanese-made cat’s paws for disassembly requiring care for near 20 years. I’ve found both indispensable.
Available from Lee Valley: https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/pry-bars/32014-restorers-cats-paws
And +1 for the Knipex nippers.
I also have a ~ 5" Japanese cat's paw that is incredible for removing nails and screws that won't otherwise budge. I reach for it far more often than I would have imagined.
2 pry bars, or nippers plus pry bar, can be a useful combo for avoiding wood damage - put the "passive" pry bar between the "active" one and the work surface and you can pry much more aggressively with less fear of marring the work - it distributes the pressure, similar to how you use a scrap of wood with a holdfast or vise jaw at the bench
In a pinch I've used a pair of claw hammers this way (on rough carpentry)... I don't l recommend it! But it can be better than nothing if you have nothing else.
Those small stainless steel pry bars are the bee's knees. Just fantastic. For end knippers, some of them have a heavy bevel on the cutting edge, and they keep you from cutting flush to the surface. If you need a really flush cut on wee nails, the Fastcap Flush Cut pliers get right down . . . flush.
Love the tool recommendation + mini tutorial style in this post.
Pry bars are the renovation MVP. One handy modification I recommend is sharpening the flat end of the pry bar. A coarse file will do and a sharper pry bar can perform some real magic tricks!
For pliers, cutters, knippers, there is nothing else at the quality level of Knipex. Not cheap, but you get what you pay for.
I often use a stiff-blade putty knife as the “passive” pry bar. And a wide one to protect plaster or drywall.
I am fond of a painter's "5 in one tool". It is kind of a flat putty knife, but heavier, with a sharp front edge and some tapered holes which can catch a nail much like the claw on a hammer. Multiple sizes of pry bars from tiny 6" up to full crow bars allow you to choose an appropriate weapon for the problem.