Forging a leaf and my tongs gave out right at the critical bend

I was in my backyard shop working on a decorative leaf for a gate project. The piece was at a bright orange heat, and I was about to make the final curve for the stem. Just as I went to pull it from the fire, the jaw on my old cross-peen tongs snapped clean off with a loud ping. The hot steel dropped onto my concrete floor and started to cool fast. I had maybe ten seconds before it was too cold to work. I grabbed it with my heavy welding gloves, ran to the vise, and used a small ball-peen hammer to tap the curve into shape by hand before it turned black. It worked, but my hand was sore for two days. What's your go-to method when a tool fails mid-forge? Do you keep a backup pair of tongs right by the anvil?

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2 Comments

barnes.shane5mo ago

Ever try to grab hot metal with a pair of pliers from your junk drawer?

9

leo_thomas25mo ago

Junk drawer pliers are the worst. I once tried to fix a loose doorknob with mine and the whole thing just fell apart.

4