Thieves Claw

Thieves' claws are used to protect an (outside) door against burglary. Thieves' claws are only needed for doors that open outwards. With an outward opening door, the hinges are visible on the outside. Burglars can knock the hinge pin out of the hinge and can then very easily and quickly lift the door out of the frame. You may have good locks, but burglars can easily enter your home without thieves' claws.

A thief's claw is a metal pin that is hammered into a door (or window) just below or above a hinge. A hole is made in the frame at the level of the thief's claw in the door. When you close the door, the steel pin falls into the hole in the frame. As a result, the frame and the door are connected to each other on two sides (one side the lock and the other side the thieves' claws). This means it is no longer possible to knock out the hinge pins and open the door on one side.

Do you have hinges on the outside of the door? Without thieves' claws, burglars will be in your home in no time. So: does the door open outwards? Use thieves' claws!

Hinges with thief's claw

In addition to separate thief claws, there are also hinges with thief claws. With these hinges, the thief's claw is firmly mounted on the hinge. Only a hole now needs to be made in the frame. The advantage is that these are easier and faster to install, as only a single hole needs to be made.

Hinges with thief's claw

Do you not use hinges with thieves' claws, but standard thieves' claws? It is best to use the impact tool . This tool has been specially developed to hammer a thief's claw into a door and hammer the closing bowl into the frame. Do you often install thieves' claws? Then this is an indispensable tool!

How many thieves' claws are needed?

It is recommended to install at least 3 thief claws per outward opening door (or use hinges with a thief claw). Make sure that you drive the thieves' claws deep enough into the frame. Always mount the thief claws a maximum of 5cm from the hinge (top or bottom).

Installing a thief's claw

Thief claws are relatively easy to install. The pin part goes into the door and the hollow bush or closing bowl goes into the frame. It is easiest to install the thief claws one by one and not first install all the pin parts in the door and then the bushing parts in the frame.

Roadmap:

1. Drill a hole in the door and hammer the pin part into the door (possibly using the impact tool).
2. Close the door gently to mark in the frame where the van should go. If necessary, make a dot with a pencil or marker.
3. Then drill out the hole for the van. NB! The pin part swings out slightly when opening and closing the door. That is why it is important to drill the hole for the bushing slightly off center (2 mm).