[TheForge] Real men dont use tongs

[Ries Niemi]

On Tuesday, December 2, 2003, at 11:49 AM, Bruce Freeman wrote:

> No tongs?
> The little bronze I've forged conducted heat a whole lot faster than
> any steel or iron I've worked.
> Bruce
> NJ
>
>


This goes back to the old "I am too macho to wear gloves" argument.
Personally, I wear gloves, pretty much all the time, and so I can 
easily pick up a piece of bronze 2 feet long and forge the end. I do 
use tongs on smaller pieces, say 6" or so, but last winter we forged an 
awful lot of 3/4" square bronze, in lengths from 18" to 24", and found 
the end which stuck out of the forge was not too hot to handle.

I have found that I cut myself and burn myself less when I am wearing 
gloves than when I am not, so I tend to wear them. Just my personal 
preference.
Your mileage may vary.

ries