Ok, I did some research and came up with two conflicting answers. Some torque wrench manufactures claim that their products can be used to loosen bolts while others warn customers not to using their products to loosen bolts that have been tightened. What I noticed though, is that many (if not all) of the beam-type wrench manufactures claim it can be used to loosen. One of the pros of beam-type torque wrench is its ruggedness and it remains accurate due to its simple construction. But I guess the safest bet would be a breaker bar.