Borntoolate Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 They work fine. I kinda like them... in a way. In case it was too hard to see what I was trying to show is that the reigns and the business end are on the same side of the boss. This confused me a lot when I first assembled them. They work but they are wonky. They work kinda like chopsticks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewayforge Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 That's a unique idea, how is their gripping strength when compared with other tongs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borntoolate Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 Gripping strength is fine. Not so much a unique idea as much as a mistake. Not even sure how I ended up here. These are to hold about 1.25" by ~3/16" flat bar. Due to the fact that the business end fits this size very well I would say holding strength is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewayforge Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 What did you make them out of, and I'm still trying to ponder what, if anything could be an issue with them being shaped this way. The way I figure it, they've been done the other way for a long time, and why hasn't this style caught on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy k Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I would say mainly because the reins cross behind the boss and when you hang them the reins will want to open very wide and cause hanging issues. Tongs made with a shouldered boss will hang with reins straight down vs. wanting to open up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borntoolate Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 Jeremy is quite correct! They are ok when they hang but they definitely stick out more than the others. I guess I could do a bit of major adjusting to the handles at the boss to reduce this... These will require slightly more metal make... I could possibly see that the stresses at the boss from the handles could be spread over this extra metal at a bend which could help with that issue if it were a problem. Plus some added flex... Working hard to see an upside! I could also see where you could help yourself reduce tong hand stresses by holding somewhat as shown and use light finger (Maybe even a single finger) grip at the bottom rein to hold the piece. This is really what I am doing in the pic with only my finger next to my pinky holding the bottom rein. This grip reminds me a little bit of a relaxed pool stroke. I shoot a lot of pool and on the break the grip should be loose with gentle finger control and your wrist in a rather relaxed state. Yeah I know, blacksmithing ain't pool. However, with anything repetitive there are huge similarities in proper grip and so forth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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