It still doesn’t make much sense; why would you use a pipe wrench to adjust electrical cabling?
going to tool shop to see if there is any crowbar to sell
I am quite pleased of all of the responses in this thread. I can picture how a mere piece of metal can be A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION!!! I am also pleased that certain people answered my question of “Why valve chose a crowbar?” and describing how it is A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION!!! There are 2 thing I’m gonna say:
Is it normal that I want to take out my crowbar, run outside and beat the shit out of people in a convenience store?
and a challenge:
Complete HL2 or HL1 with only a crowbar.:retard: sv_cheats cannot be used.
Yes, I have that urge on a daily basis.
Impossible. In HL2 there’s a bunch of puzzles or scenes that -require- the Gravity Gun.
Not to mention gunships, which require a missile launcher to be destroyed.
I always do that at the hardware store, and leave bitterly disappointed to see that they are all blue and not red with silver tips.
That would be depressing.
You can do many things with a crowbar…from breaking a ventilation system to shoving it up a zombie’s ass.
If I needed to choose a weapon from crowbar,wrench,pipe,hammer and all that…it would be the crowbar.
the first time you get the crowbar it is by the sliding glass doors that won’t open, you see the crowbar, break the glass, crawl through, and the crowbar is now a part of your inventory…forever. 
still I love it.
In the event of a zombie apocalypse, a crowbar would be my first choice for primary melee weapon. Not only does it have good reach and can shatter a human skull in a single blow, but it’s also dead useful for prying open doors, crates, making barricades, etc.
Plus they’re very light and durable, especially the titanium models.
No… just no. The only people who would ever claim that just anyone can go to town with a crowbar without any practice are people who’ve never actually picked up a crowbar before. Crowbars are HEAVY and are NOT easy to swing, even two handed. I have no idea how Gordon Freeman does it one handed.
I suppose this is a possibility, but I never figured the crowbar that GF used to be titanium.
Grey Acumen names it… If you want to use this tool as a melee weapon you probably would use both hands unless your forum name is kaze
“Go to town” was just an expression, I never said they weren’t heavy. It would be much easier to use what is essentially a long club/club with a sharp end on it, than a short knife.
You’re still not quite thinking this through logically.
A short knife, even a heavy one maxes out at under a pound, a full fledged SWORD still only ranges about 2 - 4 lbs, and provided either one is even remotely balanced properly the weight is usually less than 6 inches from your hand. This allows you to easily pivot the weapon around that center of gravity in order to keep it aimed at your target.
Sure if you’re completely inept you can cut your hand, but if you’ve got even the most basic amount of dexterity you’ll be able to keep the pointy end pointed towards the bad guy, and for a bladed weapon designed for slashing and stabbing that’s actually the most basic successful strategy you have. (the other half of that strategy is to make sure that pointy end reaches the bad guy enough times before the bad guy’s weapon can reach you)
For a blunt weapon, the most effective point for the center of gravity to be at is behind the striking area. That’s why a bat is designed with the shape it has. The slim grip and wider head of the bat isn’t just to make it easier to hold and more likely to hit the ball, but it’s to keep the center of gravity of a bat behind the area that is going to strike the ball. This also allows it to be swung out like a weight on the end of a rope.
The same is true for a sledgehammer (or any type of hammer), a mace, an ice pick, an axe and many other types of weapons that are based on chopping, bashing, and piercing. The main weight rests (as close as possible to) directly behind the point of impact.
A crowbar actually does not follow those rules. As a weapon, its shape favors a bashing/piercing attack focused around the hooked end of the crowbar, but it’s weight is actually fairly close to the center of the entire crowbar. Holding the crowbar normally will almost always bring the center of gravity of the crowbar closer to your hand than either end of the crowbar, so when the end of the crowbar strikes an object, basic principles of leverage will dictate that forces will be directed more strongly on the side that is closer to the pivot point, which will be your hand instead of the object being struck.
Logically, a crowbar is just about THE most inefficient design for a weapon ever conceived, but a crowbar was designed to lever boxes open, not to use as a melee weapon.
for those who are going tl;dr:
The weight of a crowbar isn’t really the issue. A crowbar isn’t BALANCED properly to let you use it as an efficient bashing weapon. It is literally working against you instead of for you.
Yea well…You got many points right there…but as you said,Gordon Freeman handles the crowbarr well…Maybe the suit gives him extra power to use it?
That’s the only explanation I have. That or Gordon Freeman actually has arms like Arnold Schwarzenegger crossed with Bruce Lee.
Oh, shit, you’re right. I totally forgot about the ergonomics and such.
:retard:
You forgot we are talking about Half Life and headcrabs/zombies, not real life and some dude breaking into your house. After you needlessly displayed a basic understanding of physics, the crowbar IMO, is still the best choice for HL…a VIDEO GAME.
It’s an incredibly iconic weapon. Have you ever played Bioshock, Halo 3, or GTA: San Andreas?
just because it’s a fictional world in a video game doesn’t mean it can’t be a LOGICAL fictional world in a video game.
Sorry a crowbar isn’t a logical enough melee weapon for YOU, but I know I could satisfactorily defend myself from a unarmed assailant with a crowbar in real life. Personally, I feel the designers should have implemented a two-handed model for the crowbar, I’ve always thought swinging a crowbar one-handed is silly. Regardless, the crowbar is not an illogical choice. A crowbar is top heavy towards its curved neck.
What melee weapon would you choose for HL? A simple, uncreative knife? A sledgehammer perhaps?