[TheForge] Real men dont use tongs

[terry l. ridder]

hello;

comments below.

On Tue, 2 Dec 2003, Ries Niemi wrote:

bruce> 
bruce> On Tuesday, December 2, 2003, at 11:49 AM, Bruce Freeman wrote:
bruce> 
bruce> > No tongs?
bruce> > The little bronze I've forged conducted heat a whole lot faster than
bruce> > any steel or iron I've worked.
bruce> > Bruce
bruce> > NJ
bruce> >
bruce> >
ries> 
ries> 
ries> This goes back to the old "I am too macho to wear gloves" argument.
ries> Personally, I wear gloves, pretty much all the time, and so I can 
ries> easily pick up a piece of bronze 2 feet long and forge the end. I do 
ries> use tongs on smaller pieces, say 6" or so, but last winter we forged an 
ries> awful lot of 3/4" square bronze, in lengths from 18" to 24", and found 
ries> the end which stuck out of the forge was not too hot to handle.

i personally wear gloves since the left hand/arm do not sense hot nor
cold since the work accident seven years ago. too many surgeries and
nerve damage. when i cook i have welding gloves in the kitchen to
keep me from taking stuff out of the oven with my bare hands. when
my children were still home there were many a time when they would
be in the kitchen helping and would push me aside upon seeing i was
reaching into the oven bare handed.

the left hand has very little sensory feeling so i do not miss
the feedback from wearing gloves. thick welding gloves have kept
me from burning myself many a time.

my other major problem is more and more i have to see what the left
hand is holding so i am able to control whatever i am holding. the
doctors have a long name for the condition.

the left hand also has a habit of 'going out to lunch' once in awhile
and if it was not for the thick welding glove providing some stiffness
i would be dropping the hot metal more often.

not being able to sense hot nor cold i am getting use to after seven
years. what i have yet to get use to is that i 'preceive' the left
hand to be ice cold. it is not i just 'preceive' it to be.

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

-- 
terry l. ridder ><>