Tong buying advice

[artificialj]

Tried posting this in the "favorite tongs" thread, but on second thought, I don't really want to derail that thread, so I'm gonna start a new one to ask this:

I've been trying to forge some blades, and until I can afford (and find, craigslist) my own anvil and whatnot, have been using the equipment in my old colleges' sculpture studio. They have a great anvil, and a nice enough forge, but only one pair of really really crappy tongs. Every third hammer hit sends my piece flying out of them, and I constantly have to re-tighten the nut and bolt that loosely holds them together. I have been using little pliers and assorted other things, but they all seem pretty frustrating.

So I want to buy some tongs of my own, but have very little experience, and am not really sure what types and sizes might be best for all-purpose blade making. Anyone want to recommend 2 or so pairs of good, general knife making tongs? Not even sure what styles/sizes of knives I want to be making yet, so really just looking for a couple general use tongs.

Also, links to preferred sellers would be awesome.

Thanks,
Jay

 

[Sam Salvati]

blacksmithsdepot.com

go to tongs and pliers, then scroll to OC blade tongs, purchace on set for 3/4 and one for 1 1/2", that'll pretty much cover basic blade forging from flat bar and round bar.

 

[Dsuitor]

If you are willing to do the final forging and sizing, you can save some money with the Polar Bear tong blanks. I just made up 2 pair for round stock. Easy and quick. Happy customer.

http://www.polarbearforge.com/for_sale.htm

regards,
Dave Suitor

 

[Fred.Rowe]

+1 for these folks. Top quality.:thumbup:

http://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/

 

[Allen Newberry]

http://www.ahilltopforge.com/

Bob Patrick he can forge you whatever type of tongs you want. Plus, they will be forged by him, light, well made, and probably less expensive than most places.

 

[Gary Mulkey]

Hi Jay,

The more that you get into forging then you will realize that "no one does it exactly the same way" and you will probably want to customize your tools to fit your own needs. If you don't feel comfortable in making your own tongs then a viable option that is usually fairly inexpensive is to watch the auctions (either local or ebay) and pick up some old tongs and reshape them to fit your needs. If you are patient enough, you will find a whole box full of them of various shapes for a reasonable price. Reshaping them is not a difficult process and you will end up with tongs custom fit to your personal needs.

 

[frogfish]

You might also check out www.gstongs.com Glenn does a really nice job at a reasonable price.

 

[Burton Harruff]

+1 on the OC blade tongs. I got 3 sets for christmas and man are they nice.

 

[artificialj]

Cool, thanks for all the responses guys. I'll probably pick up some of the OC blade tongs just to start out, and will definitely keep my eye out for auctions.

Ultimately, I know that forging my own tongs would be a worthwhile activity, but I'd really like to start out with at least one pair of non-crappy tongs. I know that if I just go and try to make some, without ever seeing what good tongs feel like, then I'll just end up with more pairs of crappy tongs. Maybe I'll try some of those tong blanks when I feel the urge to try to make some of my own.

 

[raptorvan]

Inknow I know..call me Dr Frankenstein for ressurrecting the dead but I just thought id pass on a link I came across for 80% finished tong blanks...basically all you have to do it finish the shape of the grabbers and then rivet them....$9.99 a pair

http://kensiron.com/quick_tongs.html

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

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