Halligan tool

The Halligan tool , also known as a lever and breaking tool in Germany , is a special type of crowbar , as it is often used by the fire service. A blade and a spike are attached to one end of the steel rod, and a cow foot or sheet metal cutter is attached to the other end .

First, the blade or the mandrel is taken, if necessary with the help of a suitable impact tool, as Maul , ax , sledgehammer or TNT tool / Denver tool. Then the created hole is pried open.

Blade shapes

Halligan tool with wedge, round mandrel and sheet metal cutting claw

The blade is wedge-shaped and protrudes at right angles to the rod. It can, for example, be knocked into a narrow gap in order to widen it by the flank forces of the wedge. The tapering round mandrel is also at right angles to the rod. It is commonly used to create holes in thin sheet metal and soft building materials.

On the other side of the bar is a cow's foot , also called a goat's foot. This is a blade in the shape of a nail iron, which protrudes at a 30 ° angle to the rod. As an alternative to the cow foot, a version with a sheet metal cutting claw is available, which can also be used as a cow foot.

Naming

The name Halligan tool goes back to the name of the inventor, Hugh Halligan. Halligan was the First Deputy Fire Commissioner in the New York City Fire Department . He developed the tool in the late 1940s, the original weighed 8.5 pounds (3.9 kilograms) and was forged from one piece.

Different manufacturers use other names for the tool, some of which also enjoy trademark protection : Haligan-Tool, Pro-Bar, Hallagan bar, Hooligan-Tool and others.

Executions

The products differ in length from 0.5 to 1.5 m, material ( steel , aluminum , non-sparking alloys, electrically non-conductive materials), the connections (shrunk, splinted, forged from one piece) and the design of the blades in detail.

Together with a tension belt, a splitting hammer or other striking tools can be used to form a package so that both tools can be removed with one grip and carried with one hand.

literature

Björn Liedtke: Halligan-Tool (= The red booklets, device practice compact . No. 403 ). 2nd Edition. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-17-022665-4 .

Web links

Commons : Halligan Tool - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

^ Paul Hashagen: New York City Fire Department - The Bravest: An Illustrated History 1865 to 2002 . Paducah, 2002, ISBN 1-56311-832-7 , p. 72.

[1] Paul Hashagen: New York City Fire Department - The Bravest: An Illustrated History 1865 to 2002 . Paducah, 2002, ISBN 1-56311-832-7 , p. 72.