What Tongs to Buy?

Tongs are used when blacksmithing to securely hold the stock being forged. Depending on how many different sizes and shapes that needs to be held, a maker might need only a few - or a large selection of tongs.

In March 2023 we got a new batch of tongs and punching tools in, and running bulk-buy pricing on these now.

Check out the tong selection here: LINK

Where to start with tongs?

What tongs to buy depends therefore on what you will forge or need to hold first, over time you tend to build out your tong collection as  you need them. Over time most amateur blacksmiths end up with a whole rack of tongs for specific jobs; for holding small or large stock, round or square stock, sheet metal, scrolling tongs, pickup tongs and so forth.

If starting out in bladesmithing, a great start would be 2 sets of tongs:

• Box Jaw tongs to hold flatbar
• V-Bit tongs for holding the tang end, and for heat treatment

This is probably not a bad start for a more general amateur blacksmith either, being able to hold flat stock and round or shaped stock in a smaller diameter. These are certainly the most used tongs at the Nordic Edge workshop!

From here on out, there are lots of more or less specialised tongs. They all hold stock outside of the dimension listed, these numbers are more to give a benchmark of "sweet spot", by not clamping the reins completely shut, a 3.5 x 38 set of box jaw tongs can hold much thicker than 3.5 mm flat bar.

Bladesmith tongs are specialised tongs for knifemakers, and another very popular style: They are made to hold the opposite side from Box Jaw, clamping the short sides of the bar where the spine and edge of the blade will be. The jaws are narrow V-slits for a strong, secure grip which makes them able to not hold as thick stock as Box Jaw tongs. They are also offset, meaning the jaws are next to the reins, not inline. In the below photo you can see how this makes these tongs able to holder long up on the stock, not just the very end - the stock does not bottom out in the jaws but can slide up past the end of the jaws.

V-Bit tongs are a great all-arounder and the set of tongs I find myself reaching for more than any other. If I can hold it in V-Bit tongs, I generally will. More like a long set of pliers, they grip strongly both in the direction of the reins, and across the jaws. Mostly useless for flat bar, these are for the tang after having forged it to shape, or other smaller diameter stock.

Box Jaw tongs are the first pair you will see if doing a knifemaking workshop at Nordic Edge, these hold flatbar in a little "box" with sidewalls. They are great for flatbar and not much else, holding securely so you can forge on the high side as well on the flats. What they are not great at is holding stock that is much narrower than the "box", so if they are called 3.5 x 50 mm for instance, it means they are for wide flat bar of 50 mm, not 30 mm which might swing sideways when hit on the short side - you then need a smaller set. The below photo shows a narrow set of Box Jaw tongs where the flat bar will lie inside the sidewalls, and the top "lip" will hold the bar securely inside the jaws.

V-Bolt Tongs are a heavy-duty tong for holding thick stock like square or round bar. Forging hammers, round bar etc by hand or power hammer? These are tongs you will use often. Not very useful for smaller stuff like forging knife blades, bottle openers etc as the jaws are generally too big (25 or 40 mm) for small sized stock.

Wolf Jaw tongs are another general-use tong set that can hold stock both end-wise into the jaws, or across the jaws. I am sure they are very useful for something, at Nordic Edge we seem to use V-bit for anything these guys also could hold.

Hammer Eye Tongs are meant for holding large stock like hammer heads, axe heads etc that are not hand-forged. So they are not meant to hold very securely, more for getting large stock out of the forge and under the power hammer, in the press or on an anvil.

Scrolling tongs have smooth, rounded jaws used to bend small-diameter stock. Popular with artist blacksmiths who make scrolls and bends, these are great at doing the bending or straightening and adjusting stock that for instance was bent over the horn and needs a little help to get to final shape. They are generally never used to hold stock being forged directly, they do not provide a very strong grip on most common stock shapes like flat or round bar.

Double pickup tongs are a useful set of tongs to have around. As Jamie SausageMan Bishop says "Blacksmiths are very inventive. We use these to pick up stuff. They are called pick up tongs", and they are great at just that, as well as quickly and easily getting things in and out of the forge, for instance when stamping a blade.

Flat jaw tongs are good for holding sheet metal, flat pieces of material that do not need any special jaws for a secure grip. Often also used for holding smaller pieces like rivets.

Fire Farrier tongs are more commonly used by farriers to hold horseshoes and excel at holding thick stock in the short, strong jaws. The jaws have a ring around the edge with a hollow internally, gripping down only with the outer ring of the jaws. These hold really well for stock in the roughly 1/2" size range.

So what tongs to buy?

Get the tongs you need for the immediate job, and add to the collection over time. Or go all-in and get 5-6 sets straight away rather than struggle the first time you find the ones you have a bit lacking. Over time most hobby makers seem to branch out and try new things, and you often still end up buying or making a new set that are just right for the job you are doing.

At Nordic Edge we try to keep a range of different tongs in stock, the above are some of the most common ones of these, check them out here: blacksmith tongs sydney