200 year old colonial tongs

[SergeySindri]

I recently received a set of antique colonial flat bit tongs. The tongs are in moderate condition for being that old one of the reins is just bent and wavy but the other has several cracks less than halfway down from the rivot I was thinking about taking off the broken piece and forging a new one so I can use them again. I hate seeing tools just sitting there and doing nothing. But is it a good idea  for something so old?

 

 

- Sergey 

[Daswulf]

Personally, I would keep them as is in antique condition if they are that old. I would rather try to make a copy of them and use those. I do Love usable antique tools but hate to risk ruining something that old to use it. Also being that old they are most likely wrought iron and being there are different grades of wrought iron a repair might not take well if not experimented with or not done right. 

Just my idea on it. 

 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

I agree with Daswulf, make a replica pair and give those a place of honor in the forge. How was the age arrived at?

[George N. M.]

It's pretty hard to date tongs unless you have some sort of context.  Tongs haven't changed much in thousands of years.  If you can determine that they are wrought iron you can probably say confidently that they are pre-20th century but not much more.  Tongs with certain jaw shapes associated with certain uses might be dated to those uses. 

I always like to put old tools back into use, it seems to me that is the right karma, but if there is a chance of damaging them with repairs or use it is time to honorably retire them

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[ThomasPowers]

When I lived in Central Ohio I found a number of tongs that were exact duplicates of Roman and Viking ones for my "historical demo kit(s). Most 19th century IMNSHO.
 

The "crunchy breaks" on those look to me like someone tried to cold straighten real wrought iron. NOT a good idea.

[SergeySindri]

A friend of mine gave them to me. He said that it was his great great great grandfathers that he used in his shop. 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

In that context I would definitely retire them. Unless you or someone you know is well versed in real wrought iron and how to forge weld it trying to repair them would likely just ruin them. I only know of one blacksmith in my area that I would trust with that repair and I know how to work wrought iron but wouldn't attempt it.

[VaughnT]

Just because someone says they were used by their great, great, great, great grandfather doesn't actually mean they were.  He might honestly believe it, but memories are fickle things and those tongs might be confused with another set.  Or, the guy added a couple "great" to the equation.  No intent to defraud, but honest mistakes happen all the time.

Personally, the tongs aren't anything special and I wouldn't try to repair them unless you're well versed in working wrought iron.  They aren't especially well designed tongs since the boss area around the rivet is so very thin.  I have a pair of tongs very similar and they're great for holding little things and moving them around in the forge.  I don't use them for much more than pick-up tongs, though they do fairly well when I'm forging small stuff.

New tongs aren't so expensive, and yours have a nice story.  Use them as pick-up tongs for light/thin stuff and enjoy having them around.

[MC Hammer]

I have to agree with the others.  Retire those tong and keep them as is.  It is difficult to date tongs.  Many of the antique tongs I use could very well be really old or not.  The only ones I can determine age are the ones stamped "Champion" on them.  

[SergeySindri]

Well here’s the pair I forged it’s my first pair that I’ve done myself

[JHCC]

Nice job. A bit skimpy around the bosses, but if they're a copy, that makes sense. 

One detail is that the jaws of the original had more space between them than yours do. If these are to hold anything thicker than cardboard, you're going to need to adjust the jaws to suit.