A very late thank you for your kind comment.

Cecil, Thanks for watching and for your support - I appreciate it. I think some would say I make it look harder than it really is! Glen

I'm really glad you got something from this video. I'm planning to make more tong making videos showing different jaw styles - maybe sometimes just showing the process and in others, explaining as I go along. Thanks for watching and for your positive comment. Glen

Serge, I'm very happy you are able to get some inspiration from my work. I have a friend who always used to say, "Take care of your tools and they'll take care of you". I will definitely use my horned anvil (Peddinghaus) in an upcoming video. I appreciate you taking the time to comment and for the interesting language information. Glen

Thanks James.

Adam, You're being too kind...but I'll take it. Thanks for your support. Glen

Hi Bob, I really appreciate your kind comment. Thanks.

Ron, I'm very glad you enjoy my channel. I'm hoping to improve my video quality and make them more instructive but it's easier said than done. Good luck in your blacksmithing and thanks for taking the time to watch and comment. Glen

+Lance Pratt I'm glad you got something from my video Lance. Since sitting down while forging for so long now, I think it may be difficult for me to go back to standing, at least when working at an anvil. Good luck with your tongs and blacksmithing endeavor - if you decide to purchase any from me, be sure to mention watching my channel and I will give you a discount. Thanks. Glen

+Paul Tooley When it comes to filming, for me if it's not one thing that goes awry then it's another... Some of this (like the glare issue) has to do with my unenclosed work space which leads to varying light conditions. Glad you still enjoyed... Thanks. Glen

It's my pleasure. I'm very glad you find my videos instructive. In this video, I really didn't give too much "how to" on the process but I will make future tong videos for sure. Thanks. Glen

+Windsor Forge I'm very glad you found some inspiration from this video. I just wish the quality of my filming were better... I'm planning to make more tong videos and try to use more close in filming to let viewers see the process more clearly. And in some, I'll give more detailed explanations of each step. As this has lit a spark in you, kind comments like yours light a spark in me to make more videos. Thanks. Glen

James, Thanks for your support. It's very much appreciated. I'll do my best moving forward to provide better quality videos. Glen

I'm very glad you like this video. I struggle with my videos and although I've made progress, it's slow. I will post better tongs making videos for sure. Thanks for watching. Glen

I do appreciate you taking the time. But some of my older videos are sketchy at best. Thanks Dan.

+Harry McLane It really does help with rust protection and lasts for a very long time. Thanks for watching. Glen

Dave, You make a good point for sure, I personally will continue to wet my glove, being aware (I hope) to not grab a hot workpiece. Without the wetting, I have very minimal time before the end I'm holding gets too hot. Also, the wet glove makes it fit tighter and gives me a bit more dexterity. I was taught to treat every piece of steel around the forge as hot (if unsure). But your advice is good and can save someone from getting badly burned. Thanks for sharing. Glen

Glen GS Tongs I recently saw Alec Steele wearing a chain male glove. he was able to grab some seriously hot steel for a while before he had to put it down.

+Christopher Thiessen I'm glad you were able to get some inspiration. Sometimes seeing what others are up to also lights a fire in me and in this regard, KZfaq is very good. Keep watching. Thanks. Glen

+Adam Satterfield Yes, I certainly remember. I really appreciate your endorsement - word of mouth really helps. If you or anyone who mentions watching my videos wants any tongs, etc., I am willing to offer a discount. I hope all is well with you. Thanks. Glen

Thanks for watching and for your kind word. Glen

Glad you like this. I hope you had success with your tongs. Thanks. Glen

That's great to know - you're a super quick learner. I'm glad my video here could be of some assistance. Keep it the good work and thanks for watching. Glen

Did you miss the step when he sprayed it down with WD-40? That could be the shinyness you were seeing...

+Drew Bywater When the weather really heats up here, you'd be lucky to see me with a shirt on when blacksmithing. Hence, I need to keep the camera angle as discreet as possible! But I always wear eye protection... Thanks for watching. Glen

Xd the heat is why i live north of 60 in the summer time...outdoor heat+forge is damn near unbearable (dare i say, un-bare-able? Xd) Love the videos either way

Glad you like this. I will show another simple but maybe ridiculous way too make a pair of tongs some time soon. Thanks.

Arnold, Very glad you like it. Thanks for watching and for your kind comment. Glen

Glad you liked this video Alexander. Good luck with the tong making. I'm going to upload some other tong making videos in the near future. There are certain instances where a hand-held punch make sense and other instances where a handled punch is more suitable. Thanks for watching, subscribing and for your purchase. Glen

I'm glad you like this video. I will certainly do more tongs making videos and explain more clearly. Thanks for watching and for subscribing. Glen

I'm very happy you like this video and subscribed. I'm not the best at filming myself but will do my best moving forward. I appreciate you watching and your kind comment. Thanks. Glen

Just keep doing what yer doing...I think you'll be just fine matey. ;)

Charis, Glad you like it. Thanks for watching. Glen

+Jeffrey Vastine Glad you enjoyed. More similar videos will follow... Thanks. Glen

Fantastic! I will be on the lookout for them.

That's been in my mind for a while and I'll eventually get to making that video. One issue is that when I'm hammering for a KZfaq video I often like to work on things that I don't normally do. One-off stuff that I find fun or projects for friends and family. Really glad you like my videos. Keep watching... Thanks. Glen

I remember that comment - not sure how accurate that is but good stuff. However I can gain a subscriber, it's all good with me. I'll continue to be the "Christopher Walken" of blacksmiths. Thanks. Glen

Shaun, Thanks for your support. I'll my best moving forward. Glen

Glad you like this. Some have said they wished I could explain more (details) about the process and I will certainly do so in future videos. Thanks for watching and subscribing. Glen

+Deuce 70 19701979 I appreciate you taking time to comment. Thanks. Glen

+jeffery biddix The steel is 1018 mild steel. This is my preference for most tongs though I do sometimes use 1045 medium carbon steel. I constantly quench my tongs and with the mild steel, there's no worry of cracking. I forgot to mention this in the video so thanks. Glen

+knives&stuff Give it a try and let me know how your tongs come out. Thanks so much. Glen

Try making something similar to this. But being flat jawed, this style tong might not be best for knife making with wide, flat stock. If you will need to hold your stock on edge when hammering (like when making a tang), unless the tongs grasps the thickness just perfectly, your stock might move around as you hammer. I will demo some different tongs in videos when I get a chance. Good luck in your work and thanks for watching. Glen

+Dayostr Vladimere Very much appreciate that - thanks. Glen

Thanks for watching. Glen

Shayne, For most of my tongs, I use mild steel. The reason being is that mild steel can be quenched over and over again without fear of cracking (I often cool my tongs so they are less likely to deform). Steels with more carbon (medium, or high carbon) may crack from thermal cycling (going from cold to hot to cold) too much or too quickly. Other tools are better made with higher carbon, tool or alloy steels. It really depends on what type of tool it is and how it is to be used. Tools like hot punches and cutters would be fairly useless if made from mild steel. Other tools, like twisting wrenches or upsetting blocks could be made from mild steel. Any tool that needs to hold an edge should have more carbon - like chisels, knives, saw blades, punches and the like. But nowadays, there are so many specialty steels; alloys and tools steels, and many blacksmiths make use of steels that are suited for high heat, shock resistance, deforming resistance and so on. For hammers, my personal preference is standard medium carbon steel but others like high carbon. A hammer made for mild steel has a place in a blacksmith shop but it may not make a good general forging hammer. I hope this helps. Thanks for watching. Glen

That's very helpful, explained well. Thanks for your time replying, and I look forward to your future video's. Regards Shayne......

The hornless anvils you see me using are my own designs which I had made here in Taiwan, where I live. For someone starting out, buying an anvil would probably make more sense. But if you're sure of what you want and have the resources available to get it done, then getting a custom anvil made is an option. Thanks for watching. Glen

Slightly bigger is OK but not absolutely necessary. If the hole you drift is almost exactly the size of your rivets, it will work, so long as the rivet can fit in when hot. When you rivet the tong blanks together, the rivet shank will upset some and cause the tongs to stick tightly together. At this point (while still hot), you can open and close the tong and this will wear the rivet to a good fit. Some people do this while simultaneously dunking in water, so as to not deform any surrounding parts. Thanks for watching. Glen

+cherkezinho Thanks for that info. I will look into it. I just made another tong video and though the glare isn't as bad, it's still annoying. I will upload that video anyway... I appreciate you taking time to comment. Glen

+dunch88 The anvils are my own design. I couldn't find anything to suit my style of work and found the resources here to have anvils made to my own specs. All told, I had three styles made. They are great and I enjoy working on them everyday. Thanks for watching. Glen

I'm glad you like this video. I will do more tong making videos and some will be more instructional than this. Actually, you're the second person to make the comment that I sound like Christopher Walken so it must be true. Thanks for watching.

Danny, I used 1018 cold rolled mild steel for these tongs (not tool steel). I sometimes use 1045 medium carbon steel but 1018 is my preference. The stuff that you might find at a local hardware store is more likely to be A36 hot milled mild steel (construction type steel). That will work just fine but is a more inconsistent material when compared to cold rolled. Thanks for watching. Glen

That's a good suggestion. This video is fairly old and I have (mostly) rectified the glare issue. Now I just need to fix the audio, camera angle, editing, video content, and so on! Thanks for watching and for your suggestion. Glen

Yes, I made the rivet from a piece of round 8mm (~ 5/16"). You can head a rivet prior to joining the tong halves (as I normally do) or you can even do this while joining the tongs. To do it the latter way, you would be need to back up the side of the tong facing the anvil so that the round rivet stock can pass through but only to a point. Then once the top is peened over, you can turn over and peen the other side. I may show this in a future video, for those who don't want to pre-make rivets. Thanks for watching. Good luck in your work. Glen

I personally think chalk should work better

Rich, A flat landing would be the way to go. But it could be tapered to a point and still work, depending on the sort of hole you want to create. However, most punches should have crisp edges where the taper meets the very end, in order to cut as it penetrates. Thanks for watching. Glen

Glen GS Tongs thanks for the reply. I've messing about and found my way there.

+ARGROAS 1 I currently use only gas. In the past, I only used coal. I used to live in the country and had a very traditional style shop. Now, I am in a big city and burning coal isn't an option. However, some blacksmiths here use forge coke (basically, purified coal). It's a great fuel but needs constant airflow to keep it burning. I am planning a quick video to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of coal and gas. Thanks for watching. Glen

+Don Motz Thanks for watching. I will definitely upload more tong making videos - different styles and methods of making tongs. Glen

+Eric Joyce I use 8mm rod for my rivets. Thanks for watching. Glen

The rivet is the same style of steel (1018 mild steel) but is a smaller diameter. This tong is made from 13mm (~1/2") and the rivet is 8mm (~ 5/16"). Thanks for watching. I will definitely do more tong making videos and do more explaining in some of those. Glen

John, With this tong, I just approximated. I would say I flattened three inches of the round bar and punched the hole about two inches from the end of the jaws.

If you are willing, captions saying what an action's goal is - what you have in mind -would make it easier for me to make sense of what I am seeing - e.g. "squaring the jaws" or "flattening the pivot". Thanks again for the video!

Scott, In some future tong making videos, I will explain out each step - what I'm doing and what techniques I'm employing. Thanks for watching. Glen

Scott Willis

David, I sit while forging. In my limited space, I found it better for me to operate in this way. I am going to post a video soon showing this in detail since others have also inquired regarding this. Thanks for watching. Glen

That explains it. I'm glad your not kneeling :)

I'm Bored sounds like he is using a propane forge, keep in mind that he is working with two things at the time so when he is working on one of them the other is being heated and the water part is that he is cooling the parts that he is holding so he wont burn his hand.

Zaio Hellgren didn't think of that haha

Yes, Zaio Hellgren is correct. I'm using a propane forge and when I take a tong blank out, I'm cooling the back end to make it so I can hold it longer (when using a glove) and also to not have certain areas deform when hammering. Since most tong balances are identical halves, I'm just rotating from one half to the other so the reheat time is fairly quick. Thanks to both of you and have a Happy New Year. Glen

Cameron, I designed and had these anvil made. I was having trouble finding an anvil that suited my work style and work space here in Taiwan and so took advantage of the resources available to me here. I made three different styles altogether and am planning a forth. I'm very pleased with these... Thanks for watching. Glen

Steve, The stock I use for tong is cold rolled 1018. I will make a similar video but be sure to make it more instructional next time... Thanks for watching. Glen

James, very good observation. I was using that hammer (a super soft, engineer style hammer) for striking my top tools (punches, etc.) It's so soft, it only takes a week or two of use, after redressing, to mushroom significantly. And I started to get into the habit of using the other side for general forging because I really like using a "soft" hammer at times. Well, if you saw that hammer now, you would admonish me pretty badly. You're 100% right. It's just plain dangerous. The good news is that I've basically stopped using it. And if I use it again, I will grind it down. This hammer started at 3 pounds and I swear it's close to 2 pounds now! Thanks for the reminder. Glen

+Glen GS Tongs Two lbs remaining from three! You've gotten your money's worth. It's better to swing an extra time or two than to have to repair or re-dress something you're creating. Striking tools get consumed, no way around it.

+Deuce 70 19701979 I definitely prefer my shorter length, single face style hammers. Basically a shorter version of a cutler or dog ear hammer as some call it. I just prefer the feel when swinging. The mechanics of this style just seem different and easier on my arm. I also like my hammers to be of a medium hardness - not too hard. Might be a little slower moving steel but feels better to me. I will get a video of my preferred hammer in a future video. Thanks for watching. Glen

Glen GS Tongs awesome thank you Glenn for the videos much appreciated

Aimwork in wrought iron yes, cast iron, not happening

who's man? Any idea how to figure out steel from iron.. I gave a lot of rusted stuff around but I can't know unless I grtvthe rust out..do you have like a go-to for steel? Like ,,tools are aleays made of steel" or something?

Aimwork in any mild steel is fine for forging, If you have steel laying around its most likely mild steel. To tell steel and iron apart is to just hit it with a hammer when it's at a forging temp and if it chips or crumbles it is cast iron

Aimwork in rebar is fine if you have it laying around. I go to tractor supply or any hardware store and buy steel for what I want to make

Thanks a lot man! I am glad people answer comments these days :) Btw, I watch you all the way from Romania!

Ethan, My tongs are made from 1018 mild steel so no heat is necessary (or even possible to any degree). I prefer tongs made from mild steel because they can be quenched over and over again without fear of cracking. Thanks for watching. Glen

John, I made the rivet. I have shown this before but will demonstrate this again in a future video. Thanks.

Tapping the anvil between strikes is basically a timing device - helps maintain a rhythm. But I mainly use this technique to give myself a second to examine the workpiece after some striking. But in my opinion, some people overuse this technique (almost one-to-one real strikes to hot off strikes, as you call it) and it becomes more of an unnecessary preparation to strike because the person is not exactly sure or because the person doesn't feel confident in his or her eye-hand coordination. Good luck in your blacksmithing and thanks for watching. Glen

I tend to do that with my 4 pound hammer, the bounce I get off the anvil makes lifting the hammer effortless and makes life easier after a few hours of swinging it.

it's a really hard hammer though, been abusing it for over a year while learning and the face has no real marks on it.

The block anvils you see are my own designs that I had made. All told, I had three different styles made and am very pleased with all. Thanks for watching. Glen

James, The block style anvils you see me using are my own designs which I had made here in Taiwan. Thanks for watching. Glen

Jay, I'm glad you enjoy this video. Not everyone is fond of this style of not explaining every detail. To each his own, I guess... Thanks for watching. Glen

Good morning, GS. What is a spray sound that we listen to sometimes in your videos?

Luiz Henrique Machado .

Luiz, The background noise is my gas forge (I'm working on reducing this sound in videos) and the "spraying" sound is when I quench my steel to cool one end. I will show this in an upcoming video. Thanks for watching. Glen

Others have mentioned this and I don't doubt it. But I have still found that dipping my glove in water gives me extra time when handling hot pieces. Granted, I repeatedly dip in water which helps dissipate any heat buildup. But it can go from comfortable to unbearable rather quickly if I hold on too long. Anyway, I appreciate the advice. Glen

Wet gloves can lead to NASTY steam scalds. Bad advice.

glen03@earthlink.net ( I just visited his site and his prices are really reasonable for the amount of craftsmaship this man puts into these tools )

+Marc Aldrich That was him dipping the steel in water at one end so that he could hold it with a glove.

+Marc Aldrich Dylan has answered your question correctly. I am dipping the back end of the tong blanks in my slack tub to cool them so I can hold onto them while hammering (so as to not need a tong to make a tong). Assuming a blank is 12 inches long, I am cooling about 8 inches and leaving the front 4 inches at forging temp. I will show this in a future tong making video. Thanks for watching. Glen

+Dylan Waters Thanks Dylan. Appreciate you watching and taking time to comment. Glen

It's just way too hot and humid here in Taiwan during half of the year. I know some people will say this is unsafe and to that point I couldn't argue. But if I wore long pants, it would be extremely uncomfortable and to me, this could pose a bigger safety hazard since I could lose focus from the discomfort. No matter, thanks for watching. Glen

hawkdaddy64 whats wrong with it?

Yes, I make my own rivets. I did a video a long while back on that but maybe I'll do another. Thanks for watching.

+Креативная ковка Thanks for watching. Glen

We welcome your comments to our work)

Caleb, Yes, depending on the length of the piece, that would be possible. It would give you some extra time before significant heat radiated to your hand. When I use a glove, I always soak it in water first for exactly this reason. Thanks. Glen