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Guy at the Appalachian Hammer-In in Boone told me to stop rounding my tong reins, and now my hands don't cramp up
I was at the Appalachian Hammer-In in Boone, North Carolina about 5 months ago, working on a set of flat jaw tongs at one of the demo forges. An old smith named Ray from Tennessee watched me for maybe 10 minutes, then grabbed my tongs and asked why I was rounding off the reins with a file. I told him I thought it looked cleaner and felt better in the hand. He laughed and said rounded reins roll in your grip, so you squeeze harder to keep them steady, and after 20 years of that your hands get wrecked. He showed me how to leave the reins with a slight flat oval shape, forged out with light hammer blows instead of filed round, so the corners bite into your palm just enough to stop the roll. I tried it on the next pair and I could hold them way looser during a 3 hour forging session, no cramping at all. Now I forge my reins flat oval every time and I've been sleeping on it for months. Has anyone else run into this? Curious if other smiths leave their reins flat for grip or if some of you still prefer round ones.
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craig.tessa3d ago
I ran into the same thing with my first pair of bolt tongs, my grip would go numb after an hour and I kept blaming the steel. Switched to a flat oval rein forged with light taps instead of filing it round and the roll stopped completely. The corners give just enough bite that your hand relaxes instead of fighting the tool all day. Still got one old round pair hanging on the wall that I never touch anymore.
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