the day before the tournament, i realized that i didn't have a tong for holding round stock smaller than 12-15mm round stock

so i decided to take on this long overdue project and made myself this pretty pair of short reined tongs that hold 8mm round and will also hold flat stock pretty well, it's very nice for holding knives by the tang

i had a bit of a problem with the rivet, first when i thought i was done the parts were a bit wiggly to the sides, so i popped it back in the forge and whacked the rivet better down, turns out i did it a bit too well and it was so well stuck together that i had to put the reins on the horn of the anvil pointing up and wedge it down on the horn, but it eventually came loose and i could hit it with a bit of WD-40 and it works like a charm now, no moving side to side, just up and down

i prefer short and thick reins like this for a few reasons, one is that i can move it infront of my body and still stand close to the anvil, other is that i feel like i have a better grip on it if i have the reins thick like that, if anyone knows/thinks otherwise, do tell me, im always open for suggestions and advice

 

 

I also prefer shorter reins than average, most of my main tongs have them around a foot though I have a couple pair even shorter (and several longer, too).  Leaving them thick like that, though, seems like it would put too much stress right behind the joint since that's where almost all the spring will be.  If you flatten them more like pliers then they will have spring through their length but still have the width for grip.  You could even swage them to give them a bit of roundness.

working in a gas forge tends to make me like longer reins I like light reins as well as they have more spring to absorb shock rather than imparting it into my hands.