Spring Bar Tools and Spring Bars: What You Need and How to Use Them
Last updated: 9 November 2026. Who it's for: anyone changing a strap on a watch with spring bars, from a first NATO swap to a full strap rotation.
H2: What Is A Spring Bar Tool?
A spring bar tool is a small steel tool with a fork at one end and a pin at the other, used to compress the spring bars that hold a watch strap between the lugs. With one, you can take a strap off or fit a new one in about a minute, without scratching the watch.
Spring bars are the little spring-loaded pins that run through the end of the strap. Each end has a flanged tip that sits in a hole on the inside of the lug. Press a tip in, and the bar shortens enough to come out; let go, and it springs back into place. That's all a spring bar tool does: it presses the tip for you, more precisely than a fingernail or a kitchen knife.
Which Do You Need? The Short Verdict
- Changing straps now and then, all quick release: no tool. Quick release straps have a small lever on each spring bar that you pull with a fingertip. See our quick release watch straps.
- Any strap with standard spring bars (most leather, rubber and two-piece straps, and every watch's original strap): a spring bar tool. It's the safest way to do it and costs less than a strap.
- A worn, bent or rusty spring bar, or a new strap without bars: a pack of replacement spring bars in your lug width.
- A NATO or Zulu strap: the spring bars stay on the watch, so you only need the tool once, to take the old strap off.
- An Apple Watch: no spring bars and no tool. The strap slides out after you press the release button on the back of the watch.
How To Use A Spring Bar Tool To Remove A Strap
Step 1: Protect the watch
Lay the watch face down on a soft cloth. If you're nervous about scratches, put a strip of protective tape over the inside of each lug.
Step 2: Find the spring bar
Look between the strap and the lug. You'll see the end of the spring bar, or the small gap where the strap meets the case.
Step 3: Slide in the fork
Slide the forked end of the tool between the strap and the lug until it catches the flange at the end of the spring bar.
Step 4: Press and lift
Push the tip of the bar towards the middle of the strap. As it comes out of the lug hole, tilt the strap away from the watch and it will drop free. Do the same with the other side.
Step 5: Keep the spring bars
Slide the bars out of the old strap and keep them, unless they're bent or rusty. A spring bar under tension can fly off, so work over a table rather than a carpet.
If your lugs have small holes on the outside (drilled lugs, common on older and sports watches), use the pin end instead: push it into the hole from the outside to press the bar in, and the strap comes out without the fork going anywhere near the case.
How To Fit A New Strap With Spring Bars
1. Push a spring bar through the end of the new strap so the same length sticks out on each side.
2. Seat one tip in its lug hole.
3. Press the other tip in with the forked end of the spring bar tool, slide it between the lugs and let go when it lines up with the hole. You'll feel it click home.
4. Give the strap a relatively firm tug. If the bar moves or one end shows a gap, it isn't seated: press it again until it clicks.
5. Do the other half of the strap the same way.
Changing to a NATO? Fit the bars back in the watch on their own first, then thread the strap under them. Our NATO watch straps are double pass (meaning the strap passes behind the watch case a second time), so the watch stays on your wrist even if one bar gives way.
Which Spring Bars Fit My Watch?
Length: match your lug width
The spring bar's length is the same as your lug width: 20mm lugs take 20mm spring bars (which is the length of the spring bar when it is compressed). Measure the gap between the lugs in millimetres, or read the number on the back of your old strap. Our heavier duty spring bars come in 18mm, 20mm and 22mm, the three widths most watches use and most straps come with a couple of standard issue spring bars in the correct size.
Diameter: thin bars for thin straps
Diameter is the thickness of the bar. Most dress and everyday watches use bars around 1.5mm to 1.8mm; dive watches often use thicker ones that need a strap with a bigger hole. The spring bars you can buy from The Thrifty Gentleman are 1.6mm in diameter, which suit most leather, nylon and rubber straps.
Standard or quick release?
Quick release spring bars have a tiny lever on one side so you can swap straps by hand. They fit the same way as standard bars and turn almost any strap into a quick release one. Our quick release spring bars come in a pack of four.
Spring Bar Tool Questions
Do I need a spring bar tool to change my watch strap?
Not always. Quick release straps need no tool, and a NATO goes on under the existing spring bars. For everything else a tool is the safe choice. Our guide on whether you need a tool to change your watch strap covers the alternatives if you're stuck without one.
What should I look for in a spring bar tool?
A steel tool with a fine, flat fork that slips between the strap and the lug, and a pin end for drilled lugs. Ours is a two-ended tool.
Can I use a spring bar tool on any watch?
On any watch with spring bars, yes. It won't help on watches with screw bars, integrated bracelets, or straps built into the case, such as some smartwatches or digital watches.
Do new straps come with spring bars?
Most of ours do, and quick release straps have them already fitted. If yours doesn't, or your old bars are tired, a pack of replacements costs less than a coffee.
Why does my spring bar keep popping out?
Usually because it's the wrong length, a worn spring, or a tip that isn't seated in the lug hole. Check the length matches your lug width, fit a new bar if the spring feels weak, and always give the strap a firm tug before you put the watch on.
Final Word
Once you've done it twice, changing a strap with a spring bar tool takes a minute, and it opens up every strap style there is. Pick up a spring bar tool and a spare set of bars in your width from our watch strap tools, and you're set for every strap change after that.