A Concise Guide To Blacksmith Tongs

Blacksmithing is unique among arts and crafts in that you can’t actually touch whatever it is you are working on. You must always interact with your stock via a pair of tongs, as the steel you are forging will be blisteringly hot.

This makes your tongs one of the most important tools you will own as a blacksmith. A bad pair of tong will make you clumsy and will slow you down as you move and rotate your work. A bad pair of tongs will also cause you to try and crush your tong handles to hold onto your stock...this is an unpleasant way to work, and may lead to RSI if done over a long period of time.

It’s important to get a good pair of tongs that fit both the project you are working on, and your own hands.

As you gain more experience in the art of forging, you will often find yourself building special tongs that are designed with specific projects in mind. These special tongs will allow you to work efficiently and effortlessly.

But what do you do if you are just starting out? What is the best pair of tongs for a beginner blacksmith?

Good questions. You will want something that is versatile, rather than specialized. You will want a pair of tongs that will allow you to work with multiple bar shapes: round, square, hex, etc. You will also want a pair of tongs that will allow you to work with stock of varying thickness. You don’t want to have to build or buy a new pair of tongs every time you decide to use a different type of stock.

Which brings me to another common question: should I buy or build my first pair of blacksmith tongs? I personally recommend buying your first pair, as this allows you to work on more interesting things for your first few projects. I personally was never excited by the prospect of building tongs, and they can be fairly tricky to build as a beginner, especially if you don’t already have a pair of tongs to begin with.

So what type should you buy? A quick glance will reveal that there are many different types of tongs, each with different trade offs. It can make you go cross eyed the first time you see it:

1. Bolt
2. Pickup
3. Flat Jawed
4. Straight Lipped
5. Box
6. Semi-Box
7. Side Lipped
8. Wedge
9. Hammer
10. Side
11. Adjustable
12. Round Nosed
13. V-Bit
14. Bow Tongs
15. Bolt Jaw Tongs
16. Wolf
17. And more, as many tongs are custom made!

Best Wolf Jaw Tong for Blacksmithing

Wolf jaw tongs have an inset notch in the head of the tong and a series of grooves that run perpendicular to the notch. This allows you to grip both square and round stock.It also allows you to grip steel perpendicular to your tongs and in the same direction as your tong head.

This versatility makes it a great tong for beginner blacksmiths and great for knife making as well. They can be used for horseshoes and just about anything else you can think of.

Which specific brand should you buy? I personally like this pair of tongs made by Picards. They seem to be made with consistent quality, and will allow you to hit the ground running in your new hobby of forge work.

Best V-Bit Tong for Blacksmithing

V-bit tongs are another great option. They are actually very similar to wolf jaw tongs, but they have fewer perpendicular grooves, and have a deeper V-shaped notch in the jaws of the tong. They also are able to handle a variety of stock shapes, and can handle a variety of size - do check the size of the jaws, as there IS a limit to how many sizes one pair of tongs can handle.

If you are looking for a specific pair, I like this pair made by better forge.

It is made with good quality and will serve your needs well.

Best Blacksmith Tong For Knife Making

A lot of knife makers make extensive use of billets. Both of the above tongs types will work well with billets. If you know what size of knives you will be making it can be helpful to buy a tong with a groove that is appropriately sized for your billets. Other than that the needs of a knifesmith are pretty similar to a blacksmith, and the two overlap substantially.

Blacksmith Tong Clips, Clamps,Rings, and Accessories.

As I mentioned above, having to grip your tongs too tightly will cause fatigue and even injury over a long period of time. Unmodified tongs may also have an increased risk (however slight) of you dropping your red hot steel on the ground. If you smith for long enough you are bound to drop something at some point.

There are a number of accessories that help clamp the jaws of your tong around a piece of stock, thus reducing strain on your forearms and making your life easier.

Not all smiths use these accessories, but it’s worth being aware of them as options.

Some of these options include:

• C hook
• S hook
• Rein Rings
• Chain Links
• Custom Solutions made with whatever scrap is lying around.

Personally I think it’s pretty hard to go wrong with a c hook clamp. They are simple to use and simple to make. You could buy one if you want, but I honestly just recommend bending a piece of stock into an appropriately sized c shape and you're done. Make it a little smaller than the width of the tongs and then slide it up from the front of the tongs to the wider base locking the jaws in place. Easy Peasy.

Summary

Tongs are a vital but fairly straight forward tool in the blacksmith’s arsenal. The main thing to remember is that for your first pair of tongs you will want a head that can handle multiple different types and sizes of stock. This provides the much needed flexibility that a first pair of tongs must provide. In this article I recommended people buy either a v-bit tong or a wolf jaw tong. Both will work well for beginners and which you should buy will come down to personal preference. The important thing to remember is that shop time is more important than getting your first pair of tongs perfectly right. Don’t fall victim to paralysis by analysis. Get a solid pair of tongs and start forging away!