Stanley Fubar II 15"

[eeph]

I got a Stanley Fubar for Christmas the year before last but due to the recent lack of zombie apocalypses it's only had occasional use (mostly for hammering things) since. Fortunately today brought a challenge in the shape of an armchair that needed disassembling, so out it came. I also grabbed a hammer, a smallish crow-bar and a retractable Stanley knife. Also, of course, eye protection.

I've previously taken apart a small sofa with similar tools, minus the Fubar, so I had a basis for comparison.

The verdict: the Fubar is bloody brilliant for this type of job. The jaws were great for gripping and twisting bits of the wood frame apart, and for the stronger joints (with wooden dowels) I simply smashed the wood with a few blows of the pick, which was much easier than trying to pry or twist it apart. Overall it was a much easier and quicker job with the Fubar than my previous attack on the sofa. It also worked perfectly well as a hammer with the crow-bar.

The only thing I didn't find useful was the crow-bar end of the Fubar. It was a bit too thick to get in where it was needed, and the smooth, somewhat slippery, coating seemed to make it a bit unstable. Hitting the top of the Fubar with the hammer to drive it in also didn't work well, possibly due to the mass of the Fubar.

That isn't to say the pry-bar end isn't good for anything, but I don't consider it a replacement for a crow-bar.

Anyway, if you need an excuse for a Fubar maybe it's time for some new soft furnishings. Just make sure you don't buy from somewhere that offers to take the old one away...

(Also, the Stanley knife's short blade was somewhat difficult when dealing with bunched-up fabric, so I grabbed a Mora with an unused factory edge. This did ok but not brilliantly - I'm now inclined to get a serrated Mora or other semi-disposable knife.)

[SLT.AMBEMC]

The only thing I didn't find useful was the crow-bar end of the Fubar.

Now, this is interesting... Naively I would have thought that the Fubar was indeed a prybar with added hammer/jaws. How foolish of me.
I have a Rough Neck Gorilla bar; can't hammer anything with it but it very good at prying stuff back to Kingdom come.

[eeph]

Now, this is interesting... Naively I would have thought that the Fubar was indeed a prybar with added hammer/jaws. How foolish of me.

Yes - given the name of the thing. I think the problem is, for smaller stuff it's too thick, and for heavier stuff the bar is too short to apply enough force anyway. The coating doesn't help.

If I get a bench grinder sometime I might be tempted to make it a bit thinner and remove the coating.

[SLT.AMBEMC]

I nearly bought one as it looks very nice; the price put me a bit off and I got the Gorilla instead (£10) but with a bit of regret. Thanks to your review it seems I actually made the right choice (I really needed it to pry stuff).