Burglar bars: can I cut yours with this hand tool?

Burglar bars come in 2 different forms. Are you using the correct one? Make no mistake and purchase anti-theft bars that will put your property and that of your family at risk. Find out what common mistake people make.

Burglar bars must be made of tubular steel. Most customers automatically say they want “solid” bars because they think they are stronger. Solid doesn’t always mean stronger. Solid bars can be easily cut with long-handled bolt cutters.

“What?! How can that be?”

Bolt cutters are a tool that uses the physics of leverage. They use 2 very short blades, 2 very long handles, and compound hinges to maximize leverage. When you bring the ends of the handles together, the force is multiplied exponentially. This means that the further away from the hinge the force is applied, the greater the cutting force.

Typical bolt cutters can produce 4,000 pounds of cutting force with only 50 pounds of force applied to the handle. That’s a lot of strength!

Combine this with hardened steel blades and you have a poor cutting tool capable of cutting through solid steel bars.

“If bolt cutters can cut through solid bars, what’s the point of burglar bars?”

This is where tubular bars come into play. When you try to use cutters on tubular burglar bars, the bar will pinch and collapse under the force of the bolt cutters, then continue to shred around the blades and never cut.

Think back to when you had to use boring scissors at school. When she tried to cut the paper, it would bend, get caught in the blades but never cut cleanly. The same general principle applies here. You may eventually be able to cut tubular bar, but it will be a slow process that will frustrate intruders, cause a lot of noise, and break bolt cutter blades.

Cutting through solid steel burglar bars is a doddle. With a new set of long-handled bolt cutters and a little muscle, a burglar could get through a few bars and gain quick access to your home and his family. Don’t make the mistake of going with solid bars because the word “solid” sounds safer. Knowledge is power.