Of the nail puller counts firmly on the tooling of upholsterers and carpenters. It is used to remove small nails, thumbtacks and staples from materials such as wood or plastic. Typical is the shape of the nail lifter, which has a wooden or plastic handle, an approximately 10 to 15 centimeters long iron and a flattening forward blade, which is notched in the middle. With this shape he is reminiscent of the claw of a cow or goat. Actually, that is nail puller related to the cow’s foot, which is also referred to as a nail iron. The cow’s foot, however, is considerably larger and heavier than that nail puller and designed for pulling large metal nails in the construction of, for example, roof trusses.

Application areas of a nail lifter

DIY hobbyists and professional craftsmen know exactly how hard it can be to remove diagonally broken nails. Although it is possible to pull a nail with pliers. However, there is always the risk of slipping, which can quickly lead to injury. With a nail puller Nails can be removed from beams and slats with considerably less effort and much more safely. Simply position the blade with the notch between the nail head and the underlying wood. By gently levering the nail is loosened and transported out of the wood.

The flat tapered blade is with a nail puller It is also possible to remove completely hammered nails without major damage to the wood. This is hardly possible by other means (exception: drilling out the nail or using a screwdriver). With the nail lifter you can try to push the blade carefully under the nail head. The subsequent movement of the lever causes the nail to move out of the wood. If more force is required and minor damage to the wood surface is not a problem, you can use one hammerbe helped. With blows on the head of the nail lifter, it can be driven into the wood and finally under the nail head. Just as easily can be removed with the nail lifter staples and stuck tacks of furniture or walls. Who, for example, his chairs or his sofawith a new fabric and first has to remove countless braces, has easy play with a nail lifter. The practical Toolspares a lot of frustration, which in the laborious work with screwdriverand pliers is preprogrammed.

This is to be considered when buying a nail lifter

When buying a nail lifter is to distinguish between cheap and professional tools that consist of different materials. On riskwith nail lifters is that the blade breaks in case of overload. This makes the tool useless and there is a certain risk of injury. Therefore, home improvement enthusiasts and professionals who want to use their nail lifters regularly, should refrain from very cheap tools.

Recommended and very durable are nail lifter made of forged and nickel-plated steel. They are more robust than industrially manufactured nail poles made of chrome vanadium steel and usually cost between 15 and 30 euros. The ideal combination is a wooden handle (wood handle) made of a durable hardwood. This should be impact resistant when used with a hammer. Cheap nail lifter with plastic handle often do not meet this requirement and splinter or tear quickly. There are differences in the total length of the nail lifters, the length of the blades and the weight of the tools. Generally it can be said: The tool should be well in the hand and have a certain weight. Optimal are 80 to 100 grams. This gives the user a good feeling when guiding the nail lifter and ensures more safety.