Forging tong choices

izafireman

izafireman

Well-Known Member
Ok so I have decided I will be making an electric kiln in the coming months and so need forging tongs.

This is the choice I found on my first UK search, which would be the best for removing knives up to say 11-14 inches in length please? I would imagine you ther will be a better choice when choosing your first pair and I would rather not make a mistake.

Thanks in advance.

Amazon.co.uk : forging tongs

www.amazon.co.uk

I was thinking these

Gedore 8842510 Blacksmith's Tong, 300mm Length : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

Gedore 8842510 Blacksmith's Tong, 300mm Length : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools
www.amazon.co.uk

or maybe these as a tag longer

Gedore 8842780 400mm Blacksmith's Tongs, 230-400 : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

Gedore 8842780 400mm Blacksmith's Tongs, 230-400 : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools
www.amazon.co.uk
 
I'd go for the longer handle just to keep my hand further away from flare ups.

You might find that regardless of which tongs you choose those long blades will still tend to want to slip while you're picking them up. Assuming that your blade is on edge when you pick it up, just rotate it 90deg when you get it clear of the kiln. So it don't wind up on the floor.
 
I forge almost all my blades but I do have some models that are stock removal.When heat treating I where welders gloves and the reason I use the slip joint pliers is I do 4 to 6 blades at a time and I dont want to grab a blade with the wrong set of tongs and drop it.I may have a hidden tang in the oven right next to a full tang or a 1/8 inch thick blade in with a 1/4 inch blade.when I do blades wrapped in stainless tool wrap the pliers also work the best for me anyway.
 
My very limited experience is that, despite their apparent simplicity, blacksmiths tongs have a learning curve (I consider them the work of the devil). Since you are asking, it seems possible you have not spent much time using them. I would not recommend making your first acquaintance with them while trying to get a hot blade out of the oven and into the quenchant against the clock.

Most times I’ve seen folk using heat-treat ovens, they’ve used either slip-joint pliers or long-reach locking pliers. I’ve only ever used whatever (short) pliers I have had to hand, with a tig-welding glove, but that’s been on short, thin, stuff.

If you are going to be stock-removing and using stock of a single thickness, or just treating one blade at a time, I’d take a look at the cheap long locking pliers. If you are going to be forging or otherwise treating several blades of different thicknesses at a time, the slip-joint pliers may be a better bet. Either way, it would be a good idea to put some careful thought into a blade rack that will allow you to get at the blades, using whatever pliers you intend to use, without the remaining blades getting in the way.

You have indicated in another thread that you intend to build your own HT oven. Give some thought to the door mechanism. The first oven I built had an overcentre catch that required two hands to close: schoolboy error. The redesign used a one-handed catch to allow batch treating.
 
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