Why Tongs Matter at the Forge

You can forge with little more than a hammer and an anvil, but the moment hot steel goes into the fire you need something to hold it. Tongs are the extension of your hand: they carry the workpiece from fire to anvil, hold it steady under the hammer, and turn it accurately between blows. A pair that fits well feels almost invisible. A pair that fits badly costs you effort, accuracy and, sooner or later, a burn.

Most smiths start with one pair and build a rack slowly. You do not need dozens. Three or four well-chosen pairs cover the vast majority of work in a small workshop. The trick is matching the jaw to the stock.

Flat Tongs: The General Purpose Workhorse

Flat tongs have two squarish jaws that meet face to face across their full width. They grip flat bar, square bar, and anything with a parallel face. Jaw widths from about 12mm to 25mm handle most day-to-day work.

Their virtue is contact area. Because the jaws meet flat, the load spreads along the whole face, so they bite without marking the work — good for anything that stays visible in the finished piece.

• Use them for: flat bar, square bar, flat stock on edge, and general handling in and out of the fire.
• Watch out for: round stock, which can rotate in flat jaws however hard you squeeze.
• Typical size: a pair sized for 20mm x 5mm flat bar is a sensible first purchase.

If you only ever own one pair, make it flat tongs. They are forgiving to use and easy to adjust with a little heat and a vice.

Wolf-Jaw Tongs: Grip That Bites

Wolf-jaw tongs have jaws that step inward, forming a V or notched profile rather than a flat face. That notch grabs the corners of square stock and the curve of round bar, so the work cannot spin as easily.

Where flat jaws spread the load, wolf jaws concentrate it, biting at two or three points. That purchase is exactly what you want when you hold a bar on the anvil and strike it hard.

• Use them for: square bar, round bar, and mixed stock where the section changes.
• Watch out for: soft or finished work, which picks up jaw marks where the notch bites.
• Typical size: a medium pair holds roughly 10mm to 20mm across.

Many smiths treat wolf-jaw tongs as their everyday pair, keeping flat tongs for work that must stay unmarked.

Bolt Tongs: For Round Stock and Upsetting

Bolt tongs have a circular recess formed into the jaws, so they cradle round bar along a good length of its circumference rather than pinching it at a single point. The name comes from their traditional job: holding a bolt blank while the head is upset and shaped.

The recess holds round stock firmly without crushing it and without letting it twist. If you forge hooks, pokers or rings from round bar, bolt tongs quickly become a favourite. They are also excellent for holding a bar end-on while you upset it — thickening the end by hammering it back into itself.

• Use them for: round bar, rivet and bolt blanks, and upsetting work.
• Watch out for: square stock, which will not sit properly in a round recess.
• Typical size: match the recess to your most-used bar diameter, often 10mm or 12mm.

Other Pairs Worth Having on the Rack

Once the three basics are covered, a few specialist pairs earn their place. You need not buy them all at once, and many smiths forge their own as the work demands.

• Pick-up tongs: long, light jaws for moving stock around the fire without scorching your knuckles.
• Scrolling tongs: short jaws that hold a scroll close to its curve while you bend it on the anvil or around a form.
• V-bit tongs: a sharp V in each jaw, gripping square and round stock at the corners.
• Hammer-eye tongs: slim jaws that pass through a punched eye to hold a workpiece by its hole.

Choosing and Fitting a Pair

The most important thing about any pair is fit. Tongs sized for 12mm bar will not hold 20mm bar, and forcing them will bend the jaws out of shape. Match the jaw to the stock you actually use, not the stock you imagine using one day.

Check three points before you commit:

• The bite: with the jaws closed on your stock, the reins should sit roughly a hand's width apart. Too wide and you cannot close them; too narrow and your knuckles collide.
• The length: reins of about 400mm to 500mm keep your hand clear of both hot metal and radiant heat. Longer reins are safer but harder to control.
• The pivot: the joint should be snug with no sideways slop, yet free enough to open and close smoothly. A loose rivet will rattle and lose grip.

New tongs rarely arrive perfectly adjusted. Open the jaws slightly while they are warm and let them cool to set the fit; a quick tweak in the vice with a little heat brings the reins into line in minutes.

Buy or make the pair that matches your stock, learn what each jaw shape does, and your forging will be quicker, more accurate and far more comfortable. Tongs are not glamorous tools, but they are the ones you reach for every single session at the forge.