What kind of tongs y'all using?

Greenberg Woods

Greenberg Woods

Joined
Dec 27, 2013
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I have been using a pair of modified nail pullers to hold my blades, but I was thinking about buying or making a new pair "god knows how difficult it is to find them in L.A", but i was wondering what you guys used? flatbill? box jaw? just looking for input. Happy holidays guys.
 
1/4" "Z-Box" tongs, also called blade box tongs.
1/4" "U-Box" tongs.
A pair of pick up tongs for doing HT and general put-in/take-out tasks.
A pair of wolf jaw or 1/4" "V-bit" general use tongs

Kayne and Sons (blacksmith depot) has good tongs.
http://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/


Mote:
The term "box" and "bit" are sort of interchangeable, so some may say Z-bit and others may say Z-box.
 
I was just given a pair of brand-new OCP offset blade box tongs from Blacksmith Depot. http://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/pro...gs/off-center-tongs-usa/ubox-blade-tongs.html

I've seen them around, but I wasn't sure how much I would like them and certainly didn't want to spend $50 on a hope and a dream.

Well, color me surprised when I got them in hand. From the pictures, you'd think that they are going to be really heavy, but they're not at all. They wrap around the blade stock and give you a very solid hold. Good light reins that have a bit of spring to them.

Overall, I'd give them a 5/5, or two thumbs up. The offset design has proven really great for blades that you want to choke up on, but also for projects that have a bend in them. I'm working on a set of short stair railings that have a lamb's tongue on one end, and these tongs have been great for holding on to them with complete control.

I've got quite a few pair of home-made and flea market tongs that I've acquired over the years, and the OCP tongs are every bit as nice as old Champion and Heller tongs from back in the day. Very nice quality and design. I'd say they're definitely worth looking into.
 
My bad. I forgot that Kayne & Sons lists some of their tongs by the bar width they handle, and others list by the bar thickness. In Blade Box tongs, it is the size blade you would normally forge with the tongs that determines the size to get. In the case of 3/4" tongs, 3/4" is the minimum width of stock/blade they will grip. They all handle about 1/4" thickness. If you do a lot of 1.5" bowies, a 1.5" set of tongs would be nice.

A set of 1" blade box tongs is pretty universal, ....and a pair of 3/4" plus a pair of 1 1/4" would allow you to do most any blade normally made.

Just a note, but you can re-shape most tongs a bit to get a desired opening size or such if you need to.
 
My blade box tongs are the 1.5" variety and they will securely hold 1.25"x.25" stock, but give no grip on 1"x.25" stock. I could adjust them in the forge, but I probably won't simply because I like them as they are.
 
hellspawn415 said:
I have been using a pair of modified nail pullers to hold my blades, but I was thinking about buying or making a new pair "god knows how difficult it is to find them in L.A", but i was wondering what you guys used? flatbill? box jaw? just looking for input. Happy holidays guys.
Click to expand...

Rusty ones. One-hundred year-old, handmade, beasts.
 
Update: I just ordered two more sets of tongs from Blacksmith Supply.

After several weeks of watching and bidding on ebay as well as combing through craigslist, I calculate that I've burned up at least three hours of my time and a month of waiting on bids to end... only to end up with nothing. How much money did I really save? Yea, the order was $97 total, a big lump of cash, but in return for that I get quality tongs in precisely the size I need... and they'll be here in a few days. If I had simply ordered them in the beginning, I would have been finished with the project by now.

Could I have made two pairs of tongs for the same money? No. I could have made some tongs that would get the job done, but they wouldn't be anywhere near the same quality.

Something to think about!
 
So, I'm also really needing a couple of tongs. I've been using a pair I modified from a farrier tongs and they are absolutely destroying my forearms. Always Cramping up after about 20 min of forging because of how inefficient they are but I work through it. Want to be DONE with that crap.

I'm going to get 2 to start with, I like building bowies, hunters, combat, and camp knives, mostly full tang. Majority of the stock I order is flat bar 2"W x .25"T. Most of my blades run from 1" to 2" wide 1/8-1/4" thick... I cut my blanks out in a rectangular fashion so not to waist any stock and then forge out the profile dims of the blade then the tang. For example, I'll cut a blank that has a rectangle section measuring 4"L from the 2"W x .25"T stock for the blade with a rectangular tang attached measuring approx 1"W x 2-3"L for a camp knife that will measure approx 10"L x 1.75"W x .25"T

What would you guys suggest to me?

Edit: here is a pic of the blanks marked on the flat bar before I cut...

 
Cajun, my blade tongs from Off Center Products will easily hold stock that's .25" thick, and the groove is deep enough that you don't ever have to worry about the metal slipping out! Very durable and comfortable.

The Toms Tongs are every bit as nice, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

As you noted, home-made tongs can be a real bear to work with, causing cramps and muscle fatigue because of their design and construction. Using the two pairs of mass-produced tongs, forging is now a real pleasure and I'm able to do a lot more.

If you have the time, take a look at OCP's offset blade box tongs. Two or three pairs would cover all your forging needs and make your life a lot easier.
 
VaughnT said:
Cajun, my blade tongs from Off Center Products will easily hold stock that's .25" thick, and the groove is deep enough that you don't ever have to worry about the metal slipping out! Very durable and comfortable.

The Toms Tongs are every bit as nice, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

As you noted, home-made tongs can be a real bear to work with, causing cramps and muscle fatigue because of their design and construction. Using the two pairs of mass-produced tongs, forging is now a real pleasure and I'm able to do a lot more.

If you have the time, take a look at OCP's offset blade box tongs. Two or three pairs would cover all your forging needs and make your life a lot easier.
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Thanks a ton for the information, it is much appreciated! Dropping 140$ on a set of tongs that isn't ideal for what I'm doing would really chap my arse :D
 
VaughnT said:
Cajun, my blade tongs from Off Center Products will easily hold stock that's .25" thick, and the groove is deep enough that you don't ever have to worry about the metal slipping out! Very durable and comfortable.

The Toms Tongs are every bit as nice, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

As you noted, home-made tongs can be a real bear to work with, causing cramps and muscle fatigue because of their design and construction. Using the two pairs of mass-produced tongs, forging is now a real pleasure and I'm able to do a lot more.

If you have the time, take a look at OCP's offset blade box tongs. Two or three pairs would cover all your forging needs and make your life a lot easier.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking a pair of 1" and a pair of 1.5"... Do you think that would do? can 1.5" tong hold 2" stock?
 
http://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/pro...gs/off-center-tongs-usa/ubox-blade-tongs.html These look good, but I've got probably 30 tongs I've bought over the years or made and I don't have a set of them. Not saying they wouldn't be useful, and I may wind up making a set, but I really like box jaw tongs like these, http://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/products/tongs-pliers/forge-tongs/german-box-jaw.html I've got a couple pair of them and they work great for holding the tang while forging the blade. I normally use a set of wolf jaw tongs to hold the blade while working on the tang. Also it's a good idea to have a set of pick up tongs like a set of flat bit tongs. A handy set can be made from pliers like these, http://chriscrawfordknives.com/#/quick-tongs-from-pliers/4561064685

If you have a decent anvil, or even just a square block of steel with rounded corners you can forge your own tongs pretty easy. First set I did turned out horrible, next set was a lot better, and so on and so forth. I really like making them from cold rolled, it's cheap and easy to work and makes a good set of tongs that your not afraid to quench in between grabbing hot steel.

One thing I've done is to keep an eye on flea markets and antique tool stores and such and have picked up several old pairs. Also you can pic up old tongs and nippers and reforge the ends to suit you.

You just about can not have too many tongs. I screwed up several years ago when I ordered a couple tongs and two were wolf jaw tongs that were for way larger stock than I thought I'd ever use, but wound up needing them the other day.

Also don't be afraid to reforge a set to suit you, have several that were just not quite rite for what I was doing, a few minutes in the forge and a little tweaking and they worked much better.
 
Will52100 said:
http://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/pro...gs/off-center-tongs-usa/ubox-blade-tongs.html These look good, but I've got probably 30 tongs I've bought over the years or made and I don't have a set of them. Not saying they wouldn't be useful, and I may wind up making a set, but I really like box jaw tongs like these, http://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/products/tongs-pliers/forge-tongs/german-box-jaw.html I've got a couple pair of them and they work great for holding the tang while forging the blade. I normally use a set of wolf jaw tongs to hold the blade while working on the tang. Also it's a good idea to have a set of pick up tongs like a set of flat bit tongs. A handy set can be made from pliers like these, http://chriscrawfordknives.com/#/quick-tongs-from-pliers/4561064685

If you have a decent anvil, or even just a square block of steel with rounded corners you can forge your own tongs pretty easy. First set I did turned out horrible, next set was a lot better, and so on and so forth. I really like making them from cold rolled, it's cheap and easy to work and makes a good set of tongs that your not afraid to quench in between grabbing hot steel.

One thing I've done is to keep an eye on flea markets and antique tool stores and such and have picked up several old pairs. Also you can pic up old tongs and nippers and reforge the ends to suit you.

You just about can not have too many tongs. I screwed up several years ago when I ordered a couple tongs and two were wolf jaw tongs that were for way larger stock than I thought I'd ever use, but wound up needing them the other day.

Also don't be afraid to reforge a set to suit you, have several that were just not quite rite for what I was doing, a few minutes in the forge and a little tweaking and they worked much better.
Click to expand...



The first set took me so long to build I'm reluctant to tackle it again considering the # of knives I have to produce in the next 6 months. Not a who lot (11) but it takes me a while to complete a knife considering my schedule. I put in a request to David Kayne @ Kayne and sons and this it what he told me.


Cajun says - "Comment: Novice knife maker here. Quick question about the Box Blade Tongs. I would like to get 2 pair for starters but am having difficulty in deciding what sizes to get. Would the 1" tong be able to hold 3/4" or 1-1/4" wide stock that is .25" thick? And would the 1-3/4" tong be able to hold 1-1/2" and 2" wide stock that is also .25" thick? Just trying to decide the 2 which would benefit me most right now without buy the entire line up."

David says - "Unfortunately there is a tradeoff when it comes to the two types of blade tongs. While the blade box do hold a particular size more securely there is less versatility than the regular blade tongs. In my opinion there is only 1/8" above and below the size of blade box. However on the regular blade you would get 1/4" above and below listed size."

Think I'l be going with the regular blade tongs for more versatility since I am only buying 2 or 3. I should have started buying tongs a long time ago. There is a huge antique district where I live bu it's all farrier type tongs all the time... One day I'll get lucky.
 
I understand the time issue, I'm still not what I'd call fast on making tongs. I can knock a decent set out in about 2 hours if I'm not pushing it. First set took me 3 days of evenings and looked like crap. Next pair went faster, only about 4 hours, after I figured out what to do and how it's pretty easy. I still don't do a highly finished set, but there comfortable and exactly what I need for the job. That's one reason I like the idea of the "quick tongs", the hard work is already done and would make for a good learning tool.

Box jaw vs. blade jaw, ect, a lot is personal preference and what you get used to.

Honestly, 30-40$ for a set of tongs is cheap vs. my time, it's just the satisfaction of doing them myself and having exactly what I need is why I like making my own.
 
My blade box tongs will open wide enough to hold 2" stock, but that spreads the handles really wide and they are almost impossible to hold. From 1.5" to 1.75" isn't too bad, but still not an ideal holding situation. Better and more secure than vice grips or flat-jaw tongs, though, and I like that I'm not worried about the steel flying out.

If you figure on an eighth-inch plus and minus of the marked size, you'll do great. My half-inch v-bit Toms Tongs easily hold three-eighths inch stock or five-eighths inch, and neither presents an uncomfortable hold. Going up to three-quarters, though, makes the handles so far apart that it's troubling.

Were I in your shoes, I'd buy the sizes the two sizes that use the most.
 
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