The Mayhew Dominator screwdriver pry bar, model 60141, is exactly what it sounds like – part slotted screwdriver, part pry bar.
It has a 12″ overall length, and features a straight blade, bi-material ergonomic handle that’s oil, solvent, and temperature resistant, and a metal striking cap at the end.
The shaft has a square profile, and a black oxide finish for rust protection.
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Mayhew knows their way around pry bars. This combination tool looks a little more abusable than construction tool brands’ demolition-style screwdrivers. At the least, its handle should hold up better in certain environments.
Price: $23-25
COO: Made in USA
Mayhew also has curved pry bars and screwdriver pry bars in different sizes and styles. The Dominator series, above, has features these do not, such as the metal striking cap.
IronWood
Well, Stuart, once again you have cost me $23-25. And I thank you!
This looks like a handy little problem solver to just stick in my work bag. My go-to bars and punches are Mayhew or Wilde, so I’m sure this one’s very good.
Mark M.
I have no idea why adding pry bars to my tool arsenal took so long, but a good set (including a shorty like this one) is 100% worth every penny. Saves your screwdrivers and far safer than trying to improvise with nail bars and whatever else I made due with for far too many years. Mayhew and Wilde are great. Wilde also makes kind of a sleeper set for Walmart under the HyperTough brand. You have to look close to make sure they are USA-made but the ones that are are very good.
IronWood
Yeah good prybars are so worth having. One of my absolute favorites is a tiny Mayhew 9” rolling head bar. It has bailed me out a thousand and one times.
I didn’t know about Hyper Tough, but Wilde bars get sold under a ton of brand names. I assume their punches do to, but not as recognizable.
Koko The Talking Ape
Thanks for the Walmart tip!
I heard this piece of advice many years ago: go out and buy a used, abused, beat up, big-ass screwdriver. Keep it with you always. Use it for all the things you’ve misused actual screwdrivers for, like prying up paint can lids, demolishing that old shed, chipping out concrete, etc. Also buy a set of actual screwdrivers and keep them locked away so nobody can use them for aforesaid purposes. Use them ONLY for driving screws.
And that’s worked for me! But my last big-ass screwdriver I lent to a locksmith to get into a neighbor’s house, and he returned it to me with the hardened tip broken off. This Mayhew looks like an ideal replacement!
TomD
There are also “demo drivers” that are screwdrivers designed to be beat on, highly recommended.
PW
I ordered this and sent it back. The tip was just too thick for me. It was thick enough that it wouldn’t fit any screw I would conceivably encounter, nor would I be able to fit it into most places I would want to pry.
According to the Amazon reviews, it seems like the tip varies considerably between examples. I didn’t have the patience to play Amazon roulette until I got one I liked, and I didn’t really want to grind down a brand new one at $20+ a pop.
I do appreciate that Mayhew is making these domestically, and maybe the dimensional variability isn’t a big deal for some.
Koko The Talking Ape
That’s too bad. I would think the tip thickness would matter a lot. For furniture restoration and repair, a super-thin tip is essential. For demo work, a thin tip might not be useful and may even be a liability, because it would reduce the strength of the tool.
I know the days of American factories pouring out clunky but well-made tools is gone, but I fantasize that American manufacturing could enter the market for precise, high-end, well-designed tools that the Germans and Swiss seem to occupy. Milwaukee’s upcoming USA-made tools are encouraging. This kind of thing is not.
I’d prefer to buy USA-made tools, but I”m not going to buy poorly made tools no matter where they’re made.
Kwon
I feel like dominator tools are more appropriate for commercial and industrial work-trucks, plants, etc but I’ve had very good success with them on basic automotive. Wilde tools are a better form factor for regular stuff, but they’re less well -protected and require good discipline to keep rust away.
fred
I have a collection of pry bars scattered about my properties. My longest is a 2400mm long one from Mumme Tools (Klein’s Australian subsidiary) – good around the garden – to get a little extra reach where my 4, 5 and 6 foot bars will not do.
I also find that I still choose some automotive pry bars from Blackhawk and Proto – some with roll heads over the Mayhew bars that I have. They just seem to be ground better to slip into spots that need to be pried apart.
On the smaller end – I find a lot of use for my Avery skin wedge – a look alike sold here:
https://www.amazon.com/Metal-Magery-Sheet-Skin-Wedge/dp/B087ZV91PX
I also find that plastic pry bars often come in handy. I have a batch from Bojo – but CTA ones seem more available:
https://www.amazon.com/CTA-Tools-5160-Extra-Long-Trim/dp/B00D4NB5H2/
AC
That skin wedge is one of my most used tools. One of those you didn’t know you needed, but clear always have
TMedina
I have this, as well as the curved, and I love it. Both live in my tool bag as a daily carry.
Raycr
Craftsman’s $90M plan to bring manufacturing back to Texas flopped because of faulty robots
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12326785/Craftsmans-90M-plan-bring-manufacturing-Texas-flopped-faulty-robots.html
Says tools are being collected
JoeM
I have an extremely similar one from Mastercraft up here in the North. Only real difference might be the curved end to the prybar, but it is still a viable screwdriver as well. Hold it at the curve point, you get a bit more torque from the angled handle.
Also, that strike plate on the end is remarkably useful. Prybar-Screwdrivers are seriously handy. If Mayhew specializes in heavy durability, it’s worth whatever price they ask.
Paul C
Biggest reason I have for “demolition” screwdrivers is when a screw strips out. Then I take a hammer and a “demolition” screwdriver. If you hold it in the messed up screwdriver slot and hit it with the hammer most of the time you can shape whatever is left into a functional screw head.
As far as the rest of the comments, there are these things called pry bars. Guess what they are for?