Hand-shaped tongs and a forged upvote arrow

Oct 15, 2026 Last reply: 3 hours ago 2 Replies
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Gripping odd-shaped stock is a familiar headache at the anvil, since ordinary tongs tend to suit a narrow range of workpieces. This build takes that problem on with real imagination: a pair of tongs forged as a hand, complete with individual fingers, alongside a companion arrowhead shaped like an upvote arrow, flat, with a pointed head, flared base edges, a straight shaft and rear prongs.



The process shown is classic forge work. A gas forge with stacked firebricks lining its circular opening brings the workpiece up to an orange glow. The hand-shaped tongs then reach into that opening, retrieve the glowing piece, and hold it up against the dark workshop background while it still burns red-orange.



Two details stand out to me. First, the fingers themselves: each one is distinct, and the maker says they can be tweaked to grip weirdly shaped items, which seems like exactly the flexibility most tong sets lack. Second, there is a textured, perforated pattern worked into the metal near the base of the arrowhead's head, a small decorative touch on an otherwise simple form. The maker reports the tongs actually work really well and calls them a favorite set.



One thing stays open. The maker jokes that the pieces turn into a storm of downvotes as they cool off, and what the arrow actually looks like once cold has not been described. That is the question I would most want answered, because the hot color is clearly part of the charm here.


The individual fingers are what got me. I would love to know how the maker tweaks them for weirdly shaped stock. Is each finger bent to match a particular piece, or re-heated and reformed whenever a new shape comes along? Either way, the idea of a tong jaw you can adjust by hand is very appealing.

On the tweaking question, the maker has said the fingers can be adjusted to hold weirdly shaped items, and that the tongs work really well in practice, well enough to be called a favorite set. Whether each finger is bent cold or re-heated for a new shape is something the maker has not said.

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