I have been a carpenter and woodworker over 30 years. Ive always used 8" crescent brand end cutters for nail removal. Along with a small sharp cat claw type pry bar and hammer, I can usually extract any nail I need to. I thought this tool would serve to replace both the pry bar and end nippers that I almost always have in my pouch or apron. I tried it for 2 days on a siding replacement job. It did not even come close to the pulling power of the end nippers.
I did not realize from the pictures that it lacks any biting capacity, so cannot grip a nail well enough to pull it out. Even when you do get a sufficient grip, the fulcrum is usually too far from the nail to pull it out without excessive exertion.
The one thing it is useful for is backing out screws that have missed the substrate, and spin freely. The hollow of the plier end allows surrounding the screw head and applying gentle removal pressure while spinning the screw in reverse with the drill/driver.
I appreciate the effort that went into the design of the tool, and it appears to be well made, but it just doesn't perform well enough to justify the space and weight it takes up in my pouch or apron. Nail Jack Tools 85NH 8-1/2-Inch Nail Hunter
I got this tool to remove hundreds of staples for a new carpet job. If you point the tips of this tool straight down on the embedded staple, then squeeze the handles, you can grab the staple then rock down the handles and Wow! Job done. Love it.
Great product...works exactly as advertised. You can pull nails from the back of your trim molding easily and fast with this tool. This will enable you to re-use door, window,baseboard and crown molding saving you time and money. I give this tool an A+.
Everyone makes mistakes, and it sure is great to have just the right tool to fix them! I managed to put an Ikea bookshelf together upside down (grrrrrrrrr), and only discovered this AFTER attaching the backing with 49 small nails. I struggled with my hammer's claw for half an hour and managed to extract 2 nails, and was ready to throw the whole thing into the alley. I did a little searching on the Internet and found the Nail Hunter, which I had overnighted with my Amazon Prime membership. Voila! I had all of the nails pulled out and the shelf put to rights in very short order. I was able to do this without damaging the shelf or the nails. Everyone should have one of these things in their toolbox!
We are redoing a old kitchen into a laundry room. When we were tearing it apart there were staples all over. My husband spent hours removing the staples on such a small area. I looked on the internet thinking there had to be something out there that was used for this kind of work. I watched the video online and ordered the Nail Hunter. Best tool ever, my husband was very happy. He removed all the staples and some nails in such a short time. I would recommend this handy tool to anyone. I am also ordering another one for my son in-law for Christmas.
This thing doesn't look like much but it is by far the best nail extractor I have ever seen. It's all in the wedge behind the jaws which allows you to pry against the wood surface and the raised handles which don't contact the wood surface when the tool is rotated. A simple but ingenious concept.
I used the tool today, for the first serious work need, pulling finishing nails out of very old 3/4" wood paneling that I'm tearing off of a wall. Some of the nails are pretty stubborn and won't come out easily. The nail hunter wasn't up to the task. One of the points broke off of the jaw as I was squeezing the grip and trying to lever the nail out. I have the nail hunter's big brother, a nail jack too, bought at the same time. It didn't break, but it doesn't work very well for pulling those nails either. It's unfortunate that I'm a week or so beyond the Amazon 30 day return period... :(
I guess that the nail hunter is good for pulling staples and maybe nails with big heads.
So, while the nail jack/hunter looked like good ideas, I'm back to using the shark, Shark Corp 21-2225 10-Inch Prybar and Nail Puller which works as well as anything I've ever found for tough nail pulling jobs like this, with a lot less effort. - Nail Pullers - Staple Remover'
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