I use a cats paw my grandfather gave me Back in the 70s. And he said he got it in the early 50s. My wife says don't use it. But my grandfathers voice in my head says "its made to be used" so I do. I have a lot of old hand me down tools. Keep up the great videos.
Me too. I have several tools from my grandpa. Probably most of them are older than I am. Some, like a framing square, haven't aged so well or were well used. But most of them are still great. The one thing I still don't understand is why he had so many socket sets. Was he buying them every time they went on sale? Did he lose them in his garage and buy another? Unclear. But after he passed and my dad collected tools from his house every possible family member you could think of got a socket set.
Over the last few days, I've used my Cat's Paw more than 800 times, a conservative estimate. Saved a tremendous amount of time. I didn't worry about damaging the wood surface as the material was destined to be recycled. This tool goes everywhere with me. Everything in this video was spot on.
I’ve had one of those for years. I had no idea it had an actual name, i just call it the tiny crowbar. I did massive revos on my house a few years back, it was worth its weight in gold!
Im a painter (considering switching to carpentry) And a lot of the time, i have to pull nails out of walls I find this little tool more efficient than carrying a hammer
A fan who gives a thumbs up before watching the entire video is a True fan . Estwing tools are top of the line . American made drop forged 52100 steel and watching how they are made is fascinating to an old machinist . The price for this heirloom quality tool is Excellent . Thanks again .
Just start immediately next to the nail head with the points of the nail puller and you won't make huge craters in the wood surface. Finesse and precision always work better than brute strength.
I remember using this tool when I worked on a condo framing crew 30 years ago, and forgot all about it until now. Is very handy, thanks for the reminder!
A friend of mine who happens to be a trim carpenter came by one day to help me with a project. When I pulled out my little Cat's Paw (it's only 8 inches long) he went nuts. He had never seen one that small. I bought him two of them, one for his tool bucket and the other as a spare to keep in his van. They are branded "Makuma Shark Grip 200" and are made in Japan. I don't remember where I got them at but that little tool has proven to be quite helpful.
I always had a cat's paw in my tool bags, there is so may different things kinda like a 5 in 1. Screw guns are for pulling screws out hammers are for driving screws
I Watched your video on deck repairs yesterday and made a list of tools we needed to proceed. The cats paw was on the list. I decided to clean out our tool box and luckily found that we actually had a cats paw in there. Your video’s are great for someone like me just learning how to do some of my own home repairs. Thanks for explaining things in a way that helps a newbie learn.
Just stumbled onto your channel today. I ordered the DeWalt one from your link. I have a project that I’ve been procrastinating on for months. A few rotted cedar boards on the front porch that I put in with nails back in the 1980's. I turn 75 next month and it’s hell doing anything on my knees anymore. This little tool will help a lot.
When I started out the only nail pullers were the old school American one like you showed. When the Japanese style came to the American tool scene it was a revelation. The tube punch on the side I haven’t seen. I had to remove a jack stud that twisted out of plane and the gunned nails were in 3/8. I had to drill holes next to the nails to get the tool on them. Pretty hard to trim a doorway if the jack curls 3/8” out pushing the drywall with it.
"Rounded scoop shape" seems better. I'm a huge fan. So I bought the one you recommend. Even in your vid, ya have to really dig into the wood. Then I came across my old generic black one. Way better and faster. Doesn't take as many hammer swings. The long side of the old style is the one to dig out a bit of wood before knocking the paw side under the nail. I'm turning over all the boards on my parents' deck. Been using that old one with far quicker success. I gave up on the nice new one.
These work great! I used one too remove some closet shelf rails that were nailed in with finishing nails about three inches long. Made a lot of firewood lol
This is one of the single best tools I have when we are doing work with Appalachia Service Project, doing demo where we need to salvage useable material. Great video and great advice, as always.
I wish I had never bought mine! This tool cost me 10’s of thousand of £! I bought it to remove one skirting board and then rebuilt my house! Have to say it’s probably my most used tool though
Great video. I am about to go shopping for one to use for the first time. This answered all my questions. Bonus that you even explained what that round cylinder is that some have protruding from the side. Thanks again!
I am replacing the nails in my deck with screws and was so hoping there was something magical out there to make the job easier. I am using a pry bar and hammer which seems pretty similar to the cats paw, but I will definitely get a cats paw because I love tools. Thanks !
I am a carpenter here in UK and have been using pry bars for many years. The one mentioned above is a nail pry bar and there is another pattern for lifting trims, such as architraves, which has a different, wide and flatter shape on the long end.
If you are willing to consider something old, google "antique nail puller" and you will see what I have. It is a bigger contraption; but, it also does a good job of getting out a large nail like 16D. The two teeth are only about 1/4 inch wide and they pinch together in the wood underneath the head of the pesky nail. Then, you just rock the entire tool over on the lever foot and the nail will come up and out. Good video, as usual.
It wasn't until I worked a few construction jobs where I learned the name cats paw. They were great when I was removing old decks, door jams and wooden siding.
My brother had this n couldn’t remember where he got it but works great. U can beat it without wrecking it. I’ve got one saved for later I been looking for years for it !! 👍
One of my favorite tools. I have two sizes of the one you show and one with a flat blade on one end for prying and lifting things like base cabinets up to perfect level while I put the shims in.
@@henri6595 they are on their 18th yr with no sign on stopping. I do however wash, and oil them about twice a year to keep them from cracking... just like you'd care for a baseball Mitt. In my opinion, unless they get stolen, they'll be the last set of bags you'll ever buy...you can also check out "essential craftsman Occidental bags" he does a great review video on them.
@@donb8447 18 years and still going you say! I really like the sound of that quality! I assume you have the all leather Occidental bags? How does the leather hold up to screws, nails, and random sharp objects being thrown directly into the leather pockets?
We used to use " Rosen nails for plywood" they held like crazy but dont try to pull them out, the head broke and that was it, you had a hole the size of the Grand Canyon in order to pull it out with Plyers. I haven't seen them in 20 years now, good.
I have one, found it in my Mother’s garage when I was cleaning her house and garage out. I assume my Dad bought it some time in the past. Like you said, very handy.
Down thru the years, I've used it. I have the older one with a wider paw, but it works real well. Hard to think of what I would replace it with. Love it.
I have the same exact same one and if i got half way to work and forgot it I would stop and run in at the first H.D or Lws to get another . But wait there's more!! in most cases the tip of the fork and curve makes pulling med /large cotter pins and snap rings easy with out busting your knuckle
Just used it now to redo some trim boards I put in last night, and woke up to this morning to a huge shift in the boards. I didn’t drive the nails into the boards, but apparently the foam insulation 🙄🤦♀️🤦♀️. There was a little bit of mark on the PVC boards I was using, but it didn’t break the board (which is easy to break when taking nails out), and came out clean.
My favorite is the Shark brand cats paws (Japanese), the claws are the sharpest I have found (grip the nails better), & gets into the wood better also.
That little tool gives back in so many ways, always very handy to have around. @John Ross, that's very true; chiva for the longer ones but "chivita" for these little paws.
It’s weird my dad had a mini I mean tiny pry bar he called a cats claw? Maybe it was paw. I just bought one of those ironically the new one like yours. I got it to remove staples in upholstery. Nothing was working sometimes and it’s not cool to wreck the wood even if it’s covered. Anyway the staple puller that came with my pneumatic staple gun didn’t work nearly as well as this tool and I don’t find it causes much damage. I was getting the hang of what you just did here, but now that you went through the physics of it it will be a ton easier next time. Thanks again for excellent logical explanation 👍
Perfect video. Just got back home from HD w/my new one: if anything- don't buy the cheap ass ones that are just 5-10 bucks or so. The 'paw' is way too thick to do anything decent. I'm reclaiming skids for home furniture and as long as there's one good side, I'll be fine. I have to de-nail v cutting w/ Sawzall b/c the nails used in construting them are hardened (as in cheap) and burned out 2 Milwaukee nail blades. GREAT vid.
Favorite tool in my pouch next to my stiletto hammer. Might be a toss up. Most cats paws also have a small striking face, and can be used for tiny nails where you don't need a lot of force
You can use it pry/ leverage over a good amount of weight as well. And once you get the nail about a 1/3 of the way out hook it with the flat side of the paw and smack it with your hammer and the nail will fly out about a million miles per hour. But be mindful doing that.
Many years ago, that was known as a crow bar, at least in my area. Named after many different animals in different parts of the world it seems. Regardless of the animal or name, it is an invaluable tool for many uses.
35 + Year's & it Out-Lasted Me ! Still Work'in Fine . YYZ , Mohawk-Planker , Open's Beer Bottle's like a Champ !!! The Taller End of Mine is a 1.5 inch Cold Hard Flat Chisel of Which Work's Great 4 a Start 2 facilitate the Digging in of the Other End of the Tool . Will Cut Common Nail's in T Joint's with the Appropriate Nock-Ometer ! Great 4 Prying Joint's 4 Shimming ; Window's , Kitchen & Bathroom + Everything !
Hi, you can do the first movement with the long part and use the hammers grip under the paw making a lever action to force the nail out more easily, and the shot part of the tool it's also used to force a panel deeper into some surface to nailed more inside, sorry for my English, i don't know if you understand me at all haha
Pulled thousands of nails last year when rebuilding my deck. Used a 30” pipe for leverage. Just slid it over the cats paw. If a nail wouldn’t budge I’d drive it in a bit to break it free. ** Wear safety glasses! A joist hangar nail popped out and flew into my eye. No lasting damage but it was scary!
Learn how to start tool. Will be very useful in the futures. Previous tries always slid over nail and ended up making a mess of the wood. Thx for the tip.
I use it for getting baseboard up. I find that lots of times the baseboard is installed before the flooring which makes removing it difficult. Cat’s paw allows me to dig into the baseboard and pry it above the flooring for removal.
Yeah, I have a cats paw and have always known it as that since I first saw one working on a habitat for humanity project where I had to fix stuff from a prior crew who did it wrong... not unusual!
