CRJ200 Captain reports failure of the nose gear to retract following takeoff. The QRH is consulted and the manual extension handle is used to extend the mains prior to returning to departure airport. Excessive force was required to actuate the manual extension handle.

Narrative

Shortly after raising gear handle a gear disagree warning was posted with a nose door open warning message. The main gear was up but the nose gear was showing down. The airspeed was about 170 knots. The First Officer was pilot flying. The QRH items were performed. The manual extension handle was pulled but almost would not come up. I was out of my seat and would estimate 200 lbs of force was used. The first click was the easiest and the other two were very hard to set. The mains came down then showing three green for the gear. When it came time to stow the handle I pulled up as per QRH and pushed down on the handle only to get about 2 inches of travel before the bar stopped and started to bow. Something was obviously wrong with the manual gear extension handle. The manual handle was then placed in the full up position after other stowing attempts failed. Some discussion ensued between the First Officer and myself to make sure we thought we were making the best out of this situation. Dispatch was notified; maintenance was contacted; the Flight Attendant notified; and an emergency was declared; with C.F.R. requested since the handle was not able to be stowed not allowing the hydraulic lock. Controls were transferred; so the First Officer was PM due to the possibility of compromised gear and possible loss of nose steering. All remaining checklist and briefings were completed. The landing was uneventful. The aircraft was taxied to the gate and pins were installed. In retrospect I would have pins installed off the runway next time for a similar case. The company's information that was recently published was very helpful in Knowing I should feel three clicks and not stop early because the handle felt like it was in full travel position after the first click. I hope some interest will take place in this because the force required was far beyond what was expected. If the handle had ripped free I would not have been surprised. The aircraft landing weight was about 48300 lbs. The maintenance log was filled out for the overweight landing and gear disagree.