Stiletto Tools - TICLW12 Clawbar with Dimpler Nail Puller

Editor's Review: Lightweight Nail Puller

The cat's paw, aka the nail puller, is a tool that just about every carpenter has but seldom admits to needing. Recently, I found one that I like, the Clawbar with Dimpler. It works like a regular nail puller with an in-line claw on one end and a 90 degree claw on the other.

Right away, I noticed that this tool was light-about half the weight of my old steel cat's paw. That's partly because it's made of titanium, but it's also because the shaft isn't solid. The body is more trusslike, with a continuous "W" running between the two cords.

The other feature that sets apart this cat's paw from others is its stubby "dimpler" cylinder, designed to help you extract nails that are flush or slightly below the surface. Instead of chiseling around the nail head to create clearance for a claw, you can place the dimpler over the nail, give the tool a sharp rap with your hammer, and-voilà!-you've got the clearance you need to pull the nail.

Editor Test Results:

Editor's Review:

A hammer and a cat’s paw make up a significant chunk of my tool bag’s heft. Luckily, Stiletto Tools (www.stiletto.com) has found a way for me to shed some weight without shedding tools. Besides their famously light hammers, Stiletto has introduced a claw bar (model TICLW12) that tips the scale at just over 8 oz., about half the weight of the one I usually carry. This lighter titanium tool is pound for pound much stronger than steel. It has an engineered webbed handle and sharp pry tongs. The cool feature on this claw bar is its Dimpler, located on the side of the head. When positioned over a nail head and struck with a hammer, it crushes the wood fibers and allows the pry tongs to grab the nail easily. The Dimpler lets me remove an embedded nail without digging into the wood. The only drawback is that at $89, the lighter weight and convenience of this claw bar don’t come cheap.

Editor Test Results: