MALVEN FIRE TOOL WORKS. Malven Fire Tool Works– “MalvenWorks”– is a firefighter owned and operated designer/producer of premium fire department hand tools. There is no shortage of economical, time-tested tools available to meet the generic needs of the American fire service– but, that’s not our niche. Our goal is to offer experienced, discriminating firefighters a few carefully refined, innovative, high-performance alternatives. Our tools don’t just optimize the completion of basic “bread and butter” fireground tasks (ventilation, roof work, entry, search, overhaul, etc.), they help you prepare for the unexpected, as well. They are refined in detail, to enhance the seasoned firefighter’s skill and ingenuity when dealing with unpredictable, once-in-a-career situations– situations they don’t commonly encounter, but, are expected to handle.
Our approach is simple: 1) study the job, in-depth, 2) analyze factors that may impact future fire operations, 3) give careful, far-sighted design attention to functional details, 4) perform extensive and on-going field testing, 5) pay attention to feedback offered by users and follow-up with appropriate refinements, 6) invest in high-performance materials and fabrication methods, 7) never stand still. In short, we build on the American fire service’s “tradition of innovation.”
The results? We offer you a narrow range of simple, straight-forward designs that mesh perfectly with the user’s experience and creativity– unique tools, devoid of gimmicks, evolved from years of experience with numerous consecutive prototypes and field testing at some of the busiest fire stations in the U.S., by some of America’s most active firefighters and fire instructors. Ours are tools that individuals can prize and depend on for the rest of their careers.
TAKE EVERYTHING YOU’LL NEED– A HAWK AND AN ENTRY BAR. Our line of tools is focused on two principal products: a line of multi-functional overhaul tools– the Malven Hawk Tool family of fire hooks– and a versatile, unique collection of forcible entry tools.
HOOKS– MALVEN “HAWK” TOOLS. The Malven Hawk Tool is actually a collection of different overhaul tool options, designed and refined over the years by Fred Malven. Each is a multi-functional overhaul, ventilation and entry tool comprised of any two of four components– the “Hawk,” “Raptor,” “Hallux,” and “Fork” ends. The selected working ends generally joined by a high-tech, high-strength steel handle. However, handles of solid 1″ diameter fiberglass rod are also available. The individual ends can be combined in several different combinations, including the most popular “Raptor VersaTool,” and the “Hawk Roofman,” “Raptor Roofman,” “Hawk Squadman,” and “Raptor Roofman” variations (see photos, below). Both the Hawk and Raptor heads are also available by themselves, with a straight, capped handle, as the “Hawk Basic” and the “Raptor Basic,” respectively.
The tool ends are cast of the same special stainless steel as Malven entry bars. Hooks are normally sold with a matt gray bead-blasted finish, However, like the entry bars, their users can have them polished to the same mirror finish as shown below on our entry bars. They are available for rapid shipment in standard lengths of 42″, 60″, and 72″, and in custom lengths up to 8′-0″. At this point, the 60″ steel-handled Hawk VersaTool has been, by far, our most popular configuration.
MALVEN ENTRY BARS. Of course, a forcible entry bar has long been the traditional and logical complement to virtually any other tool a firefighter might choose to carry. So, the MalvenWorks line also features several different forcible entry bars. They are available in 24″, 27″, 30″ (the industry standard), and 36″ lengths– additional lengths are available by special order. All of our bars are of one-piece manufacture, investment-cast of our specially formulated and processed stainless steel. Our specs are unparalleled by anything else in the industry. We stand behind them with a lifetime, “no-questions-asked” replacement policy.
All of our entry tools build on the refinement of their ancestors. One of our options, what we call the “Classic” Halligan, has evolved from the straight adze concept that was pioneered by FDNY Chief Hugh Halligan’s original design. Ours was translated into one-piece stainless by MalvenWorks predecessor Aazel Corporation, with guidance from LAFD Captain Jim Porter and well-known LA Firefighter Jason Knight (founder of Fire Axe Incorporated, producers of a premium line of fire axes).
A second bar, the “Monster” Halligan, incorporates the wide symmetrical adze that Aazel pioneered in support of the popular “lever” (or “cam”) method of forcing inward swinging doors– with valuable input from FDNY’s Kevin LeGacy of Squad 61, and well-known technical rescue expert Andrew Brassard of the Milton [Ontario, Canada] Fire Department.
Our third, most recently released Halligan variant is the “All-American” series. It is a major redesign of a curved adze bar we tested and helped redesign for the former Iowa American Firefighting Equipment (Iowa-American) Company. Like the two previous IA-AM versions, ours maintains and builds on solid, time-proven features. But, it also adds several significant functional details. It incorporates the perfect geometry of our signature forks, its bearing surfaces are buttery smooth (minimizing friction), and its edges take advantage of some of the tightest geometry in the field. It is capped off with a revolutionary evolution of the pike. No longer just a punch, the non-equilateral cross-section of its chisel tip transforms the pike’s simple round, conical shape into a working tool– a miniature (but extreme-mechanical-advantage) version of the adze.
The last of our line of entry bars is the “Hayward Claw” Tool. It is one of America’s oldest, most enduring entry tool designs and is recognized as one of two legacy fire tools (the other being the Kelly bar) that originally inspired Chief Halligan’s design. Our claw is the ultimate refinement of the Hayward, embodying a tight, narrow, but stout claw and fully integrated “Cully lugs,” used to open stubborn standpipe valves. The lugs were named for LAFD Assistant Chief Doug Cully who, with his aide, Dave Ford, originated that idea. This version of the Hayward was first introduced into production by MalvenWorks forerunner Iowa-American Fire Equipment and is standard on all LAFD Engines and Trucks.
All of the MalvenWorks bars inherit the perfect fork geometry of ancestor Iowa-American’s Phase II Halligan bars– the investment cast version. They are normally delivered in the same, gray matt bead-blasted finish as our hooks. NOTE: We can deliver our bars in an incomparable, polished mirror finish, but it is an expensive option. But, both polished and unpolished versions are made of the same special stainless steel alloy. So, if desired, owners of matt-finished bars can have them polished later, to the same permanent mirror finish.
OUR “TOOL TEAM.” At this time, that’s our line of tools– the Malven Hawk Tool family of fire hooks, and a versatile range of Malven forcible entry bars. Our production is focused on performance and quality, rather than mass-production. Each tool is a virtual work of art, the result of numerous hands-on steps and quality checks. The functionality of each has been honed to a razor edge. We believe they’re the best of their types on the market. You’ll be able to tell, the first time you handle one. But, good as they are individually, when used together, our hooks and bars amplify the performance of their counterparts, forming a new kind of high-efficiency “Tool Team.”
MALVENWORKS’ PARTNERS. The combined performance of a Hawk Tool and an entry bar always exceeds the sum of their individual potential. That’s true of MalvenWorks, as well. Our contributions as tool designers are greatly amplified by the contributions of our manufacturers, technicians, consultants, and distributors. If you are looking for more information, including the purchase of a tool, contact the RAGE Company https://malvenworks.com/purchasing-tools/ or text MalvenWorks owner Fred Malven at 515-231-7460.
BE READY FOR ANYTHING…AND MORE! As noted earlier, our tools aren’t going to be for everyone. But, for serious agencies, dedicated to meeting their responsibilities in detail, and for hard-core firefighters who understand the endless new challenges of the job and are determined to step off the rig ready for anything, we feel we have something special to offer.