An Unusual (Easier?) Way To Make Blacksmith Tongs 

Great job sir definitely a worthwhile technique for some quick and industrious set of tongs 👏👏

Absolutely genius with myriad potential styles that you could make with that basic idea. Glen, I think you have created something that will open the world of tongs up to a LOT of people.

Forget the "Necessity," - Ingenuity the mother of all inventions. It's a beautiful process.

My first project is making my own tongs (for obvious reasons) and I really like this method. Fairly foolproof design. Thank you!

The finish you achieve on your products is so superior to my projects, it’s really inspiring. Thanks for your channel !!

That is the coolest thing I've ever seen! For someone like myself who is just starting out and has ruined perfectly good steel rods trying to make tongs, I will take this concept and make me another set this weekend! Thank you! Wayne

I feel like this is a great idea, but to make them more useful, after you split them just reforge the jaws into a more useful fit. The body and everythings lined up, just forge the jaws into whatever you need. They seem quick enough to knock out a couple of them at once, and stock up on them as blanks and forge them into whatever type of tong you need as the need arises.

Very clever idea for a simple tong Glen. You never disappoint.

GOOD IDEA ,thank you.I've for some reason ,probably not making enough,struggled with tongs.KISS ,we all know what that means and thank you so much that was a great tutorial.Happy hammering.Rose Lodge Forge ,est.1988.

Really like this one! Thanks for sharing 👍

That's really interesting, Glen -- sometimes there *is* something new under the sun. I can see a load of potential here. Maybe slit & drift the hole for more retained material at the pivot, some strategic upsetting, some simple tooling for refining the jaws, etc. and a new tong making world opens up. Clyde

Brilliant! Something worth testing. Very good work indeed!

That's pretty clever. I'm glad Roy recommended it

I think you have revolutionised the manufacturing of tongs. Great work

I went back to this video for some inspiration for when I get back to the shop this fall, and I thought of a great potential use for this style of tongs. They might make a great pair of needle nose pliers or scrolling tongs!

I've been rolling this idea around in my head for a long while. I'm positive you've done it better than I would have

Finally I found a nice and simple way of making the tongs I need ! More : the sound is perfect ( no noisy music ) the images are great . Everything is perfect . Congratulations from Brasil !

Made some of these today as my first ever blacksmithing project. They didn't turn out nearly as nicely as yours, but I am still proud of them nonetheless! thank you for the great tutotial(s)!

Very innovative! Nice one!

Simple but genius. This should help a lot of people get started tong making. I can't wait to make mine. Thank you for sharing

Once again a total new approach, simplistic,functional!!! You give new meaning to thinking out of the Box your thinking is out of the container LOL Keep them coming Be Safe

Used a very similar method(found it on youtube) to make my first pair of tongs. It was two separate pieces of equal length twisted in a vise. You put the reins in a vise then use a wrench to twist it to form the jaws. Your method looks easier in terms of being able to customize the rein and jaw placement before finishing the tongs. Maybe a combination of the two methods could work even better.

Love this idea, thanks for sharing! Like your new ‘straight down’ camera angle too, fearing for your lense! Great work!

Useful? I think thats simply brilliant, and the concept could be taken so far in so many styles of tongs! I love your tusk tongs I ordered 6 months ago, use them a lot and useful in so many different ways, not just round bar! Super happy with them mate, but now is time to copy and see what these tongs can become!

You have everyone in my circle creatively mulling this one over. Can't wait to see what they come up with. Very inspiring. Fiendishly simple

Simple but Brilliant Glen👍

That’s such an ingenious simple way to make a set of tongs that will take the stigma out of tong making once comfortable with this technique it would be much easier to move forward to a more complex style,,,,,, Thanks for sharing Scott

Hey Glen Love this TONG WITH A TWIST! Your craftsmanship never ceases to amaze me. Thanks again.

That's a beautiful anvil.

For a novice like me, these tongs are a great starting point. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.

I like that you are always thinking "out of the box". More inspiration.

Genius in its simplicity! I’m gonna try it too... just because why not :) Thanks Glen

I have made twisted tongs before and they are my most used tongs. This is a very neat idea that I will have to try. Thank you for posting. Revealed By Fire Blacksmithing.

Hold on to that tong I will buy it from you, thats how I imagined it would be easiest to make tongs perfectly symmetrical and you just proved my point!!!!

Great tongs, the result of your headwork to simply the process. I see limitless applications for your method. Well-done! Thanks, Jerry

Woww, that's nice and simple, and they're some very sleek looking tongs. Obviously looks aren't critical, but they don't hurt either

They look clean, effective and have many potential qualities to go from there. Good work.

My jaw dropped as soon as I saw the first picture of those tongs and I thought "WHY have I never thought of that?" Brilliant idea. Gods, I have spent so many hours hammering out tongs....

Love your work very inspiring excellent new way of making tongs

Been thinking about doing this for sometime now just never got around too trying it, glad someone also got this idea and glad too see it works.... Nice job Glen...kuddo's.

👍 you could leave as is for working sheet metal or put groves in it for holding small round/square stock. I like it. Although maybe I’d draw the rains put a few inches maybe?

I really like the accentt from the brass brushing you give your tongs!!

I love this. And, as always , your personal style shows in the shape and finish. Well done, sir!

The simpler the better. Thank You!!

Tongs look nice Thanks to share your blacksmith's research with us!!

Wow! That was REALLY clear and interesting. I'm gonna make those, first chance I get!

Absolutely love this idea Glenn thank you for sharing! I keep learning new things and I will file this away in my head a bit towards the day when I make my own tongs

An interesting experiment! They seem very effective (if a little short, but that's only because of the limitations of the material you had on hand) I was taught the ABANA method of making tongs, and this seems a lot more simple and time effective. You are most likely correct that some fairly straightforward modifications could make them a lot more usable. They are certainly a better set of tongs than the first set I ever made!

Definitely a good style of tong. You should add they too you sales line up. Take care and God bless.

really great tutorial, i plan on making a few tongs and have a short holiday to do so and this will definitely save me some time to spend on other projects

I respect you for your knowledge, simplyness and perfection seeking

Me encanta como haces herramientas.voy a intentar hacerme una así para mí gracias por enseñar esa técnica

Have done this before. Very serviceable end result, Glen!

when I saw the thumbnail I knew exactly how he made , brilliant and easy make

cool stuff, saw where you where going with that, I cant think that far out of the blacksmithing box yet, glad you showed this, it really broadens my/our horizon

Nice work! Christ centered iron works recommended

What a great way to make tongs! This would be a fast way to make tongs needed for a specialty job where my usual assortment just wouldn't fit the stock.

🇦🇬 I think your experiment was successful. I would buy them if you made them that way. They’re aesthetically pleasing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🙏🏾

That is defiantly a to do tool. Sure you are not the first, just seems simple , but is the first time I have seen it and the idea never came to me! Fantastic and well done! My next tongs are to be wide jaw bolt tongs so this is going to be tested!

Very good idea, I'll try it. Not digging the overhead view so much Glen. Great clean work as usual. Thanks

Great idea Glen, i think i could even make them. thanks pal

Very simple and unique way of making tongs. Well done on your idea!

Neat design. Would've loved that inspiration for my first set of tongs, that way i might have not ended up with scrap but with tongs. very nice!

That's a great way to make light duty tongs. After you split them , you could forge the bits to fill various roles easily. The parallel handles would really suit an ambidexter like me. I use a hammer in either hand depending on whether I need raw power (left) or dexterity ( right). My conventional tongs aren't comfy in my right hand.

That is a really good idea, thank you for sharing. I like this way of making tongs, doing it this way you can't mess up the hinge.

You coulda told me that was the best way to make them and by watching your skills I wouldn't have argued.

Hmmm.... Interesting for sure. I could see that once the center is marked it could be bent around the stock size it's intended to hold and haped with it in the jaws. Seems like a very simple way to make tongs to hold punches, or top tools with all the same size shanks. Would also likely be a very efficient way to make offset jaw tongs.

very cool method. It seems to me that it'd be easier for beginners and once a person made a couple of them, they'd be very quick to make.

Very beautiful. The nicest I've seen on RU-vid so far

This is a great idea with a lot of possibilities. Thank you

Looks like a great way to build a set of tongs do used to build a set of tongs

This is a brilliant way to make tongs! Thanks for the video, I am slowly getting into blacksmithing and I've been researching on youtube.

This would be a great project for as shop class. I would have loved this back in my high school metal shop class.

These would be easy to turn into scroll tongs (going to have to try it I need some). never seen anyone forge while sitting down (I like it, I have a bad knee). That little anvil you have there is slick as well.

very nice glen I like the simplicity of these.

Oh wow, I clicked on this video because these tongs looked exactly like the first project I ever forged, and was surprised to see that we both had pretty much the same exact idea...except that I did the rivet first. After the rivet I adjusted the reins to where I wanted them, made the cut, and trued up the jaws. The biggest problem I had was getting it to open wide enough because there wasn't much clearance in the pivot, but to this day they have a much more precise and smooth pivot than any of the DIY tong sets I've made since. If I made another, I'd be tempted to see how flattening the pivot area a little before making the twist might give it some clearance to open wider.

This really clicked with me seeing the tongs as one continuous piece, rather than two halves. I feel like this particular design is rather utilitarian too in the sense that you can just grab a length of rod, mark the center, and get to work. Thank for sharing this.

Wish I could post a photo. I made it today.. so easy and it does work very well..

Wow, thanks. Easy way to make tongs. I'm going out to make one now.

Those tongs are beautiful! That gives me ideas for some variations. Thanks 🙏 for the info!

Wow. What a really simple, really good idea. Thanks for posting this.

wow, never thought of this. Verry smart

Ok the tongs are awesome but THAT anvil is awesome-er

I've actually used this method to make pliers. Nice work! I never thought about tonges

As my grandpaw would say "now son that is slicker that owl shit". I gonna have to try this. Thanks for posting.

This is pretty cool. Just getting into blacksmithing and I need to make my first pair of tongs. I'll definitely give this a shot.

really cool idea will have to give it a try. thanks for sharing!

That’s genius, great idea Glenn

Roy at Christ Center Ironworks suggested I watch your video on Simple Tongs. Very good idea and fairly easy to make. Thank you. Charlie

Glen - have you updated this great way of making tongs since uploading? Seems quite brilliant imo

THAT has hella potential! I was going to warn you to not put yourself out of business but this video was three years ago and I've have three Gamuts in your production queue right now so I guess my warning would be moot. 😁 I've seen some nice tongs but yours are functional works of art.

Looks like a successful experiment. I'm really liking the birds eye view shots too.

Man honestly I would love to have a set of these tongs, looks good, I need to get some for arrowhead making spearhead making and knife making

Nice idea Glen and they look great.

Nice tongs. I Like them. Makes me want to lean how to blacksmith.

Fantastic. Going to try this weekend.

When I first got into blacksmithing I seen a video that a guy did and made pliers that way but I don’t remember who though. Great video thanks

Very nice. You could change the shape of the mandrel you bend them around at the start to give different shaped openings. Once you cut them apart, you can forge the jaws to whatever shape you needed.

So bloody simple yet beautiful in that simplicity. Subbed, great vid.

Cómo siempre muy bueno. Q gran idea mí máster.