Where to get blacksmith/knife making tongs?

SkagSig40

SkagSig40

Joined
Feb 1, 2001
Messages
2,671
I'm a new knife maker and just doing stock removal at the moment but will be doing forging soon. What is a decent set of tongs to get for the different kind of gripping and holding I will eventually see? I also need a good set of tongs for removing my steel from my Paragon oven. I'm currently using a pair of Harbor Freight long needle nose pliers and would like something a bit more secure and longer. Are these any good for removing steel from the oven? Will these close all the way so you can grip really thin stock like 1/8"
https://www.harryepstein.com/index....bSzK9D7tIoCQswNNSB23be4ty8MLqkexoC1qoQAvD_BwE

Many thanks!
 
The tongs in your link seem fine. I like that they're American made. The reigns (handles) might be on the shorter side but should be fine for taking parts from the oven. Handles are usually in the 14"-18" range. Here are some links to peruse:

https://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/products/tongs-pliers.html

http://www.gstongs.com/tongs.html

http://www.blacksmithsupply.com/catalog.aspx?Merchant=Blacksmith_Supply&DeptID=202755

http://www.centaurforge.com/Tongs/departments/102/

http://usaknifemaker.com/knife-maki...c-172/forges-accessories-tools-c-172-173.html
 
kuraki said:
http://www.centaurforge.com/mobile/Tongs/departments/102/

https://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/products/tongs-pliers/forge-tongs/economy-import-z-jaw-tongs.html

I use wolf jaw tongs for general things like in and out of the oven
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I am thinking of making or buying a set for general forging work and to get knives out of the oven. Would you still recommend the wolf jaw tongs for foil wrapped blades? Anymore, I tend to really stuff my oven and having my long nose plier's grips light up gets old when getting the row of blades from the back.
 
Kevin McGovern said:
I am thinking of making or buying a set for general forging work and to get knives out of the oven. Would you still recommend the wolf jaw tongs for foil wrapped blades? Anymore, I tend to really stuff my oven and having my long nose plier's grips light up gets old when getting the row of blades from the back.
Click to expand...

Out of the tongs I've tried the wolf's jaw type just seems to be the best all around use. Like if I could only have one tong, it'd be a wolf jaw. They're not great at anything, they're like the Leatherman of tongs, but you can do just about anything with them. They hold rounds, squares, flats, they'll pinch onto thicknesses from your foil seem to 1/2" thick, the teeth allow them a much greater gripping range than just about anything else. So for general "move this hot thing from here to there" I usually grab them. They're just not as secure or comfortable to forge with as a purpose made tong.

So to answer your main question, yes, I use them for that. I put envelopes in the furnace with the seam up, and place and remove them by gripping the seam with the wolf jaw tong, rather than grabbing the envelope around the blade.
 
Wow! Thanks for all the great links gentlemen! So for a beginner what types of tongs would you recommend I start with. I have a $200-250 budget. I still need a good anvil too. I have a train track for now but would like a real anvil.
 
tmerkl said:
Make em! Next best thing:
https://kensironstore.com/collections/quick-tongs
He provides laser or waterjet cut tong blanks and you heat them and shape the jaw however you want, then drill and rivet them together. Hard to beat a set of tongs for $12.
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You beat me to it - that really seems like the best price around on tongs, and since you're forging anyway, building them would be easy!
 
Ken H> said:
You beat me to it - that really seems like the best price around on tongs, and since you're forging anyway, building them would be easy!
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I bought a pair of the flat tongs and forged them out. Very easy. I'm thinking of getting a set of the "knife maker tongs" too.
 
Find a blacksmith friend and trade him a knife for some tongs. :thumbsup: I like the bartering economy.
 
SkagSig40 said:
Wow! Thanks for all the great links gentlemen! So for a beginner what types of tongs would you recommend I start with. I have a $200-250 budget. I still need a good anvil too. I have a train track for now but would like a real anvil.
Click to expand...

If you're forging from bar stock it's hard to beat the offset Z Box tongs. Hard to say what type you should get without knowing exactly what you want to do.
 
kuraki said:
If you're forging from bar stock it's hard to beat the offset Z Box tongs. Hard to say what type you should get without knowing exactly what you want to do.
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I plan to start forging with railroad spikes and cut up section of vehicle coil springs and truck leaf springs.
 
Another vote for Ken's Iron. Good people that make a good product. They helped my wife pick out an anvil for me that was a surprise birthday gift because she had no idea what to buy, and THEY DON'T SELL ANVILS. She asked them thinking they did, and they ended up just helping her out with a long thread of back and forth emails helping her through the whole process of buying an anvil from someone else. I figure that means they'll really take care of you when you're buying their stuff. I have a few of their tong kits, and I'm happy with each. They have a special knife makers tongs now that I haven't tried yet. They also have a railroad spike tong set that holds the head of the spike. I have that and it's great for railroad spikes.
 
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