Brass Tongs, For Embers/Coals? What Are/Were They Called?

Discussion in 'Metalware' started by wlwhittier, Sep 12, 2023.

  1. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    ~9 3/8" long, ~6 1/4" tip to hinge rivet, ~1/2" wide at tip, tapering to ~5/16" at grip, ~11 ounces. Both limbs are identically cast, an' very nicely finished, with no file or other tool marks remnant.
    I have a sense these tongs were a fairly common item in a household or other space where there was usually a fire available, for lighting tobacco pipes, moving embers to start another fire, etc.
    They must have been known by some convenient name...it seems too simple for them to have been simply 'the tongs', but it could be that's all there is.
    This pair isn't real old, I don't think, based on the severely angular treatment of the grips. They're not just decorative, though; They're obviously built to use.
    Your comments are welcome, an' thanks for lookin'!

    77C503FE-0C82-4322-AB5F-7ADB099F0504_1_201_a.jpeg 0EC247CC-3CCC-4EA3-8162-E86CD825716D_1_201_a.jpeg 024C1529-4D7D-47E7-8702-0514CD59711C_1_201_a.jpeg A5753EEC-37AD-4647-9356-DE4A44AC5BF5_1_201_a.jpeg 0CDDDAB0-2207-4AE1-B9C2-6085C1582EBF_1_201_a.jpeg 097ABEBD-DB5F-416B-A384-579FA71FAA6E_1_201_a.jpeg
     
    Rayo56 and moreotherstuff like this.
  2. Bakersgma

    Bakersgma Well-Known Member

    Fireplace tongs. No need to be fancier.
     
  3. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    But at 9" long I'd think kitchen tongs rather than fireplace. Mine are a different design but they're still in service.
     
    wlwhittier likes this.
  4. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

  5. bosko69

    bosko69 Well-Known Member

    Dear Brother Whit-Just how big is your vault ? I would've loved to have seen yr pile in it's prime,prob jaw-droppin !
     
    wlwhittier likes this.
  6. Rayo56

    Rayo56 Well-Known Member

    Any Jewelry, wlwhittier and komokwa like this.
  7. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    way to get lucky.......!!! :hilarious::hilarious: :happy:
     
    wlwhittier likes this.
  8. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    900 sq ft, plus a single-car garage, with accessible attic over. That's at home...then there are 2 storage spaces ($2K/year total) of about another ~250 sq ft, together. Some of the stuff stored here an' there hasn't been seen for >10 years. Although I no longer add to the hoard (for that's what it is), it is an enormous albatross at this point in my dotage. I have shame...but as mehitable remarked more than once: toujours gai, archie, toujours gai.
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2023
  9. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Huh. Sometimes I think I need a keeper. Thank you!
     
    Rayo56 likes this.
  10. bosko69

    bosko69 Well-Known Member

    Whit-I'd like to hear about your most amazing finds someday.I know you been at this a few weeks.
     
    wlwhittier likes this.
  11. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Yessir...this ain't my first rodeo.
     
  12. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Very nice, whit, and I agree with the listing, Art Deco.
    :dead:
    And I thought my house was bad. My biggest worry is my husband's studio, which is filled to the rafters with loudspeaker parts etc. I want to downsize, get an appartment, but can't until I get rid of much of the 'stuff'.
     
  13. bosko69

    bosko69 Well-Known Member

    AJ & Whit-What to do with larger stuff ? I've got a 200 lb new portable generator,125 lb Italian drafting table.
    I guess a Garage Sale's the way to go,but having a mass of strangers scoping out the house is creepy.With FB Mkt & Craigslist folks also have to come by-this stuff doesn't fit in the back seat !
    Re: Garage Sales-Journey Mag seems to do it regularly & successfully,anyone out there w/ suggestions ?
     
  14. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    I would still list those, on Craig's list or a specialist site. People who need them will arrange transport.
    Overhere are shipping firms for large and heavy items, I'm sure you have them too.
    Not my kind of thing either. Even when I sold stuff on the Dutch "marktplaats", it was always shipping only, no sales from home. Not just because of the safety of your valuables, but also your own safety.
     
  15. bosko69

    bosko69 Well-Known Member

    Thanks AJ,I'll research heavier shipping options.Setting up at a Flea Mkt works,turning our home into a Dollar Store's something else.
     
  16. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    I'm right there with you, bosko...an' I'm near the end of a narrow, dead-end street, so there's almost no available parking. Once the word got out that I've got a sale going, everybody in this town an' the next will be plugging streets for blocks around, trying to get a look at what is surely known as a legendary hoard. I've been dragging this stuff home locally for 5 decades...I'm well known hereabouts.
    So that's not a viable option for me, either. As for the large, heavy items...I have only a few, mostly power tools. They'll be left to my son, an' he knows it.
    One of my weaknesses has been chairs, an' a few stools. Perhaps as many as 40 of 'em, mostly wooden, an' largely 20th C. They're assets, y'know? They sure take up a lot of room!
     
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  17. bosko69

    bosko69 Well-Known Member

    Could you & your son sell at a few of the larger regional flea markets up there ? While were on the subject-are there any worth hitting in your neck of the woods ? I love the area but we never get up there anymore.
     
    wlwhittier likes this.
  18. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    years ago, I wondered why I wasn't dealing in stamps and coins.........

    they'd all fit in one room!!!;):wideyed::wideyed:
     
    wlwhittier likes this.
  19. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    That's why I switched to buying small items, like jewellery.;)
     
    evelyb30, wlwhittier and komokwa like this.
  20. bosko69

    bosko69 Well-Known Member

    Jewelry specifically (as opposed to loose gems) is probably the item w/ the most liquidity on this forum. With a loose gem,coin or stamp-buyers will be going over these with a hi-powered microscope,but offer a Lalique dragonfly woman corsage & buyers will be more prone to ignore an inclusion.
    With stamps & coins it's the grading thing.I sold some coins last year to a local highly rated coin shop & still think I got taken.
    I would've liked to have gotten into jewelry buying 40-50 yrs ago but was turned off to it by the rude extremely aggressive competition.Same physically aggressive folks at all the sales & booths that had hint of bling.
    Congrats to all our 'Joolies' who've successfully negotiated this game.
     
    Any Jewelry and wlwhittier like this.
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