I can't find the post I read some time back about a one-handed, tong-like grapple or carrier for small dia' logs and or firewood. There was a photo posted in said post and a source for a supplier.
I think I know what you mean, and have a set for handling small diam. logs.
Trying to locate on Google, as I didn't find them at Bailey's.
Will keep looking.
Found a picture...does it look like this?
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10180/Log_tong_hand.jpg)
Baileys sells them,
A timber carrier (two man) 12.2 pounds #15815 $99.95 pg 61 of their 2008 catalog
A pulp hook (one man) 1.2 pounds #15840 $5.95
Sandvic manufactures what you want, they are actual tongs not pulp hooks. Ben Meadows has them item #180039 8 in. jaw spread $26.70 #180040 11 in. jaw spread $45.70
Check your Husky dealer. They did have 2 different sizes available.
Ed
Husqvarna sells two sizes: one with a 7 or 8" opening which is great to hang on your belt when working on the woods. The other has an 11" or 12" opening, which I use quite a bit when splitting firewood... it saves a LOT of bending and allows better body mechanics when picking up round wood. It's been a real back saver for me.
Any Husky dealer should be able to order you one, if they don't have any in stock.
John Mc
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=51107&cat=1,41131
I appreciate each response and I thank you all.
look on www.northerntool.com I have three of them .I like them.
sawmill
Welcome to the forum.
I looked at the northerntool site, and didn't see what I thought Jasperfield was looking for..
but I'll have to leave that up to Jasperfield to confirm.
Jasperfield:
Which of the several responses matched what you were originally looking for??
My local Husky dealer sold me the Husqvarna tongs for the same price that northern tool
Note:Please read the Forestry Forum's postion on this company advertises theirs (bought about a year ago). I'd much rather support the local guy, so I bought from him. Another consideration was that I couldn't actually see and hold the NT offering before ordering. Given the significant difference between the quality of some of the other tools they offer as compared to more "known" manufacturers (see the LogRite vs NT Hookaroon thread), that was a concern for me.
John Mc
I get mine from http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/
I have three. they work great. I dont have to go all the way to the ground after a block of wood. they call them pulpwood tongs in the catalog.
I've got a pair from Husky, must have bought them about ten years ago. Haven't used them in about four, but made a special trip home for them today. I'm sawing locust fenceposts from small logs, and handling rounds is hard on the wrists. With the tongs you just grab and drag. 8) They'll be staying in the truck now. Also good for handling chunks. I've taken more than one tree out of a backyard one piece at a time with them. On one job, they got nicknamed Chunk Buddies by one happy user. ;D
Mine are marked "EM" "Sweden"
Dave
Re, Recently bought an Oregon, and love it! One of best tools I have, is stamped Mfg. Austria opens about 9”. Should be available lots of places. I will buy a larger one soon. Happy 2024
I have a Fiskars set and it works well for me. They call them log tongs. Amazon carries them.
I got mine from Wood-Mizer (https://woodmizer.com/store/Product/Index?id=47)
PoginyHill,
I looked at the Fiskers on Amazon. They are 12" but the picture show 9" wide open point-to-point. You found that adequate or are you wanting something bigger?
Mine are 14"+ between the points.
My Husqvarna tongs open about 8" or so. I regularly pick up rounds that are up to about 12" diameter with them. A real back saver. Since I'm not really interested in carrying around hardwood logs larger than about 12" diameter with just one hand, these tongs are a perfect size for me. I carry them on my belt in a holster which Husqvarna also sells which fits them perfectly. You can find them on Amazon: search "Husqvarna Tongs". Make sure you get the size you want.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/16836/Husqvarna_Firewood_tongs.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1704163436)
Holster:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/16836/Husqvarna_Tool_Holster.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1704163486)
They make larger tongs (12" opening), which I tried for a while. They could pick up to somewhere around a 18" diameter logs. I no longer use these - gave them away. After a few trips to the chiropractor, I was finally convinced that one-handing 18" logs was not a great idea for me.
I too have the Husqvarna tongs and sheath/scabbard bolted to my tractor chainsaw scabbard for quick access.
Plus a firewood gripper with hooks connected by a rubber hose. Relieves stooping to the ground to pick up blocked firewood for splitting. Easy on the back and the knees.
https://www.amazon.com/Lockharts-Firewood-Gripper-18-Logs/dp/B005FQ0XX8
I like a hookaroon for this purpose. I have the husqvarna brand. Saves my back from too much bending.
Tractor Supply sells Timber Tuff brand for under $45. 16"
Quote from: ljohnsaw on January 01, 2024, 08:23:32 PM
PoginyHill,
I looked at the Fiskers on Amazon. They are 12" but the picture show 9" wide open point-to-point. You found that adequate or are you wanting something bigger?
There are a few occasions where it'd be nice to have a slightly larger opening. But since most of what I move around is 16ft in length, for most of what I move the size is fine. Couldn't drag much bigger anyhow.
Quote from: rusticretreater on January 02, 2024, 12:58:11 AM
Tractor Supply sells Timber Tuff brand for under $45. 16"
I tried out a friend's pair of Timber Tuff tongs (in their smaller size) when helping him clean up some storm damage a few years ago. The handle kept slipping off the tool (which was not a lot of fun when carrying a heavy log or trying to load the wood splitter), and the teeth just would not seem to grab the logs very well. They cost a bit more, but the tongs sold by Husqvarna, Oregon, and Fiskars do not seem to have these problems. They all work reliably... you just might have to touch up the tips every few years to sharpen them (especially of you are handling a log of hard smooth-barked species like Beech or Birch).
I've not been impressed with the Timber Tough brand. Their pulp hooks don't stick in the wood, neither do their stump vises (which also suffer from a sloppy clamp screw which loosens up in use). The price is usually low enough to attract interest, but after using some of their tools purchased by friends, I've pretty much given up on them as a brand.
I have 2 Husky 12" and one 8", the small one we never use. too small. the big ones are designed alot better too. We use them alot since 15 years and they are still in perfect working condition. buy the quality ones
I have the 12" Husky tongs, and a short Ochsenkopf sappie. Both work well, and I use them together so I can use both arms.
edit:
The sappie...
Hookeron with ash handle 38 cm (https://www.ochsenkopf.com/en-de/produkte/forestry-and-carpentry-tools/tools-for-lifting-and-moving/sappies/ox-173-e--plus--h-hand-hookeroon/ox-173-e-0500---1592408)
I broke the ash handle and replaced with a Link house axe hickory handle.
Quote from: teakwood on January 03, 2024, 07:37:48 AM
I have 2 Husky 12" and one 8", the small one we never use. too small. the big ones are designed alot better too. We use them alot since 15 years and they are still in perfect working condition. buy the quality ones
Interesting how different people (and different situations) can create such different impressions of a tool. I owned both at one point. I ended up using the larger ones so infrequently that I gave them to a friend. The main reason for infrequent use was my style of work. I'm often a good distance from my tractor or the landing where I'm doing more concentrated work. Carrying the larger tongs around was awkward, and I was always forgetting where I set them down and losing a lot of time looking for them. I've not found a convenient way to carry the larger tongs with me. If I was working more on the landing in a central area bucking logs or cutting firewood in the same area every time, I might have kept the large ones as well.
That same thing also happened with my smaller tongs, but the holster solved that issue. They now ride on my tool belt, and are as easy to draw as a pistol and always ready when I need them.
I've also found that my back is no longer up to repeatedly lifting the sizes the larger tongs can handle. It's usually not the actual lifting of those logs. It's after a day of such lifting, I blow my low back out over something stupid like just bending down to pick up the hitch pin for my trailer that I dropped on the the ground. If not that, I'll go to be feeling half decent, but wake up in the morning with my upper back locked up so hard even my Physical Therapist wife can't free it up. It takes a visit to the chiropractor to clear up.
I guess it's really a mater of personal preference, and the type of work being done. There's a good reason they make more than one size.
I have to clarify, i don't have a holster nor carry them around, you have a good point there John. we only use them on the log deck when we buck logs and need to slip them over the deck to the transport belt, i'm talking of a area no bigger than 30 by 30 foot.
Teakwood: For that kind of work, the larger size would be great. You can probably use a two-handed grip for the larger logs as well (two handed grip is possible for the smaller tongs, but not as convenient.)
I just spent too much time losing and then searching for them out in the woods (both the large and the small size), so the holster was a welcome relief.