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What tongs should I buy


AaronIronandSteel

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Thanks, Daswulf, I was lucky as it bounced off very quickly so the scar is somewhat superficial.  So it really served as a great lesson. 

The good news is that my new forge heats that leaf spring to bright orange in about 90 sec, so my forging to waiting ratio is high. :)

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Not long ago I burned my nose when a piece bounced out of my tongs. I just called it " sticking my nose where it didn't belong" it was minor and didn't scar. Just recently I caught a piece of hot scale In my nose, and I wasnt even leaning down. It's still healing lol. Stuff happens and we improve from it. More wire brushing, dont stick your face so close, use better tongs for the job.... :)

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I've got a little scar under my right eye from a bit of scale that somehow got past my safety glasses. No idea if the shard of hot coal that went down my extreme lower back left a a scar or not....

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Looks like we started a new "Tell us about your scars" topic. I'd be surprised if this topic didn't already exist somewhere. I'd post a picture of mine, but I don't want to encourage JHCC to do the same with his "extreme lower back" wound.

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I have battle scars all over and plentiful from all kinds of things. I'm lucky to have use of a finger after the worst one from a wood carving accident. An " I knew better" thing. Little burns and cuts are nothing as long as you keep your senses and limbs and digits. Heck I couldn't even tell you what all of them are from, just the worst ones. Almost lost an eye to a chicken when I was 10 or 12yo. Lol.  Guess I missed out on my " cool pirate with an eye patch" status by a few millimeters. 

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Cataloging the scars on your hands can help keep you awake in boring meetings with the management: bow saw * X, 160 pound dog, red hot pipe---sickle moon scar!, molten zinc, grinder, crushed finger tip from moving a full oxy tank on ice covered concrete, using a small veiner trying to carve old ebony gave me my first wound where I could see my blood pulse; unfortunately there is a bunch I don't recall since my TBI...

Why we push SAFETY! SAFETY! SAFETY! here----we want folks to make their own mistakes and not try to copy ours!

(And if you have ever seen the movie JAWS; that seen where they are all comparing their shark scars---that was pretty much spot on to what I got to see at a Knifemakers' Guild Show after hours...)

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I think it's safe to say we hope and try to get you to not get the same scars we got by sharing our knowledge. We want you to get new and original ones on your own then share so others or us can avoid those lol. Actually we hope you dont end up with any at all. 

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My old friend Dick Adams (alas, no longer with us) was a great character: backwoods Vermonter, USMC veteran, logger, carpenter, maker of maple syrup, grower of Christmas trees, the kind of guy that you think someone with an overactive imagination dreamed up, but real. At gatherings of woodsy types, the conversation would inevitably turn to chainsaw injuries (my own was a very slight cut on my left thigh), with everyone trying to top everyone else. After a while, Dick would pipe up with, "So, you want to hear about my chainsaw injury?" Everyone would say, "Yeah! Yeah!", thinking "This guy grew up in the woods -- he's got to have the best story of them all!" Dick would lean back, pause for effect, and say, "I don't have one." Then he would give everyone a lecture on workplace safety.

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I am asking myself the same question right now. I just ordered my crucible tongs, now I need done black smithing tongs. I have a couple of pieces of 1 inch rebar that I want to make into handles for a couple of hatchet heads I have. But for the most part I'll be using 3/8 inch rebar and also making knives. Is there a size that fits that. I called black Smith depot and they said to buy 1 inch chainmaker v bit. Will the one inch actually grip a knife black or the 3/8 rebar?

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You may not have run into this info on here yet so I'll repeat it for you:  Rebar in the U.S. is like the hotdog of the steel world.  All kinds of odds and ends goes into it.  Therefore, one section of one piece of rebar may be perfect for your application and 2 inches away on the same piece of bar may be horrible.  I wasn't sure from what you wrote above if you wanted to make tongs from the rebar you have but if so I caution strongly against it. 

You'll probably have a difficult time finding a set of tongs that does a good job gripping 1 inch diameter stock as well as relatively thin knife blanks.   Even 3/8 inch round and flat stock will typically use different tongs.  There are some "universal tongs" that do a decent job of holding a number of different shapes and sizes of stock, but going from round stock to thin flat stock doesn't work well with any of the tongs I have used. Especially when you are starting out you want to make sure your tongs have a very good hold on the steel you're hammering.  You will inevitably hit in places you do not intend to hit, and if your tongs aren't holding the piece well there will be glowing airborne steel to dodge.

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That may seem like a good idea, but I don't think slip jaw tongs would work out very well in practice.  Maybe for flat stock you could get away with it for similar thicknesses, but as you would change the pivot point that would also change the angle where the jaws make contact with your piece.  You want as much contact with the steel as is reasonably possible for the best grip.  If only the tip of the jaws were in contact that would allow the piece to move side to side easily and would require a lot of squeezing force from your tong hand.  Having to squeeze hard while forging is a good way to develop things like tennis elbow. 

IMO you're better off with tongs made to hold the piece of stock you are working, and there's nothing wrong with heating up the jaws and adjusting them to fit the specific piece you are working at the time to ensure they hold firmly - as long as the tongs are made from mild steel.

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That makes since. well since I'm mainly wanting to get blocks of steel to hammer out to knife blanks, What did you suggest? For the two pieces of rebar I have I'll just weld them on a longer piece of steel to work with.

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I don't use tongs unless I have to.  When hammering out knife blanks that usually means I'll weld a long piece of round stock (or even some rebar) to the blade stock.  For some things that's not an option, but I do it as much as I can.  If you must use tongs it depends on your starting stock and where you are in the process.  Once you get the blank generally flattened out there are several styles of tongs that can work well. You can get away with just flat jawed tongs, but there are a few designs with blade makers in mind that will hold the stock more securely.   Look up knife tongs or blade tongs and you should be able to find a few different options.

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I have I think 7 tongs now.  3 I made.  4 I bought.  If I had bought v bolt tongs in 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 first, I'd probably only have 3 tongs still.  I have a very nice set of wolf jaw tongs from a reputable maker that have almost no trigger time on them. to me V bolt tongs are without doubt the most useful tongs I have.  like these. 1601591564_vbolt.jpg.f2b4ba2425270559b6608f5901999995.jpg

 

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9 hours ago, C.Read said:

I was just hoping to use the rebar as a handle for a old hatchet I have. It's not for use, just a show piece.

I find it hard to picture a show piece anything with rebar as the handle.

Honest, you'll do yourself a real service by just buying a stick of steel, I just bought a 20' stick of 1/2" sq hot rolled for $18 and change Alaska price. Evaluating scrounged steel is a skill that has to be developed with time and experience. Trying to learn basic skills with stock that changes with each new piece, sometimes every heat really slows you down picking up the craft. 

A good size stock for tong making is 5/8" sq. or 3/8" x 1/2" flat bar. However if you just have to use found steel I like coil spring with wire between 3/8" rd - 1/2" rd. Being spring steel you can forge thinner, lighter tongs that are plenty strong. It'll also give you some time working spring steel which makes decent knives as well.

Frosty The Lucky.

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