Originally Posted by
smd4
In 10 years of professional wrenching, I had never banged my knuckles on a chainring while trying to remove a pedal. I suppose for home mechanics without a stand it’s a pretty good common-sense idea.
40+ years of unprofessional (very!, lol) bike mechanic-ing and I've never racked my knuckles on a chainring removing a pedal.
I've never found one I couldn't remove although more than once I brought the threads out too. I didn't use penetrating oil.
Use the penetrating oil, it'll save your crank arm.