I have been wanting to try a different type of tongs to hold blades while forging. I made these this week end. They seem to work well so far. Anyone use this type to hold thin stock?

Simple and clever design.

I got the idea to do tongs like that off of GS Blacksmith Tongs His blade tongs are pretty sweet. Lol.

Do you get any bounce or wobble with the blades being held with little support on the tang?

Those are cool. Theres something very satisfying about making tongs.

Ive made several pair for myself with a similar jaw design for gripping flat stock. You can leave more material for the bit and make it wider to give more stability to the grip but I havent found it necessary.

Just a thought but you might want to heat the handles behind the hinge, bend them out a bit and then bend them back a little further along. This would allow the tongs to close without the round stock handles trying to climb over each other. Everyone has his own preferences with tongs.

How well do the tong hold the blade while you hammer on the stock? They look unique.

I have seen that design before and have always wanted to try them to see how well they hold the material.

welder19

I have 3 sets of those that I ordered from Glenn at GS. I really like them alot.

I have some of Glen's tongs also and have been using them for about two years. These are a bit different. They grip the stock along the side of the tong ends instead of between them. The grip jaws are offset. This gives more options on how far up you grip the stock. It seems to offer a more firm grip.

Edited September 3, 200817 yr by nc_cooter