Crowbar

Lore & Background

The accepted etymology identifies the first component of the word crowbar with the bird-name 'crow', perhaps due to the crowbar's resemblance to the feet or beak of a crow. The first use of the term is dated back to an unspecified time. It was also called simply a crow, or iron crow; William Shakespeare used the latter, as in Romeo and Juliet, Act 5, Scene 2: 'Get me an iron crow and bring it straight unto my cell.' In Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe, the protagonist lacks a pickaxe so uses a crowbar instead.

Reader's Guide

The design can be used as any of the three lever classes. The curved end is usually used as a first-class lever, and the flat end as a second-class lever. Designs made from thick flat steel bar are often referred to as utility bars.

Did You Know?

• Crowbars are occasionally used by criminals as a tool for forcible entry or as an offensive weapon.
• The use of a crowbar as a weapon is also common in fictional media, and it is considered an iconic part of the Half-Life franchise.
• A common hand tool, the crowbar is typically made of medium-carbon steel, possibly hardened on its ends.
• Types of crowbar include alignment pry bar, cat’s claw pry bar, digging pry bar, flat pry bar, gooseneck pry bar, heavy-duty pry bar, molding pry bar, and rolling head pry bar.