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My title describes the thing. Seems like maybe it could be for adjusting logs on a fire but the handle is pretty short for that - and it's such heavy duty that it seems like it must've been made for something heavier than small fire logs. Railroad ties maybe?
Ice tongs?
Where are the tynes in relation to each other when it is fully closed? This will give an indication as to what it is for. If they are apart, its something solid like ice, if they mesh together its something loose, like seaweed.
Just theorising tho!
my workplace made something similar simply for cleaning out the drains, someone most likely made them for a specific job (fire logs, gardening, etc) and you'll never know their exact use
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hand made fire tongs
Likely Solved!
That seems to be the general consensus. Just seems odd that the handle is barely over a foot if they're made for reaching into a fire.
People were far more badass back then. :-) That’s the length of most I’ve seen.
Ice tongs for lifting/carrying large blocks of ice? For back when people had ice delivered and put into their iceboxes (before refrigerators).
Ice tongs usually only have one tooth on either side though, pointed inward. Not saying it isn't possible, but seems unlikely
Ones for ice would also be wider.
Yeah, I think you're right.
Coal Tongs?
Maybe - it just seems like it's made for something like REAL heavy
Firewood (while burning)?
Like a steel grabber?
Salad tongs for giants…. No but seriously, they’re for handling logs in a fire place.
My title describes the thing. Seems like maybe it could be for adjusting logs on a fire but the handle is pretty short for that - and it's such heavy duty that it seems like it must've been made for something heavier than small fire logs. Railroad ties maybe?
We use tongs like that to pick up live crabs .
But ours are not as heavy and the pivot point is closer to the handle.
Salad tongs ; we used to have to fight our salads to bring them down.
Ice tongs? Where are the tynes in relation to each other when it is fully closed? This will give an indication as to what it is for. If they are apart, its something solid like ice, if they mesh together its something loose, like seaweed. Just theorising tho!
If the tynes just touch, it is something that fits in the void between the forks, like coal or firewood.
Could they be for harvesting potatoes or other root vegetables?
It's for getting logs out of the fireplace without getting your hands all dirty or burned. Ice tongs have only tooth so they can pierce the ice block.
my workplace made something similar simply for cleaning out the drains, someone most likely made them for a specific job (fire logs, gardening, etc) and you'll never know their exact use
Could be for ice, like when they brought ice blocks to your house and put it in a metal ice box/chest. obviously before the days of refrigerators.