Tongs

[stevenje]

I am looking to buy tongs for my new darkroom. I will be using them for 16x20 papers and smaller. Any recommendations sure would be appreciated.

 

[GregY]

If you can find them the stainless steel print tongs from Kostiner are the finest ones i've seen. Mine have been in use 20+ yrs... nothing like them made today.

 

[blee1996]

If you can find them the stainless steel print tongs from Kostiner are the finest ones i've seen. Mine have been in use 20+ yrs... nothing like them made today.

View attachment 414950

Do they have some kind of rubber pad on the end to improve grip? Or are they purely metal throughout?

 

[GregY]

Do they have some kind of rubber pad on the end to improve grip? Or are they purely metal throughout?

They have a pad on them

 

[Pieter12]

A little different, still available: https://www.freestylephoto.com//204...zEuDAte4OH-THh0yFt3zDcZ816JYRaDs7a1Iryw-tizRw

 

[MattKing]

A little different, still available: https://www.freestylephoto.com//204...zEuDAte4OH-THh0yFt3zDcZ816JYRaDs7a1Iryw-tizRw
View attachment 414969

These are my favorite. Although the clear pads are devilishly difficult to find if they loosen and come off.
But I expect if you ask a dozen darkroom printers, you will get answers that reflect at least 6 different preferences.
I would recommend getting more than you think are necessary, because if you start doing things like toning, extra ones will become useful.

 

[blee1996]

This is a timely post. I hate those new bamboo/wooden tongs with colorful pads. They are often useless in picking up prints from the tray. And easily broken.

 

[Ben 4]

These are my favorite. Although the clear pads are devilishly difficult to find if they loosen and come off.
But I expect if you ask a dozen darkroom printers, you will get answers that reflect at least 6 different preferences.
I would recommend getting more than you think are necessary, because if you start doing things like toning, extra ones will become useful.

That’s what I use too! I do have to clean the pads occasionally or they leave dark marks on print borders.

 

[mshchem]

Paterson tongs.

 

[GregY]

That’s what I use too! I do have to clean the pads occasionally or they leave dark marks on print borders.

I wash my Kostiners after every session.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I prefer tongs with plastic covering the gripping points.

 

[Arthurwg]

A little different, still available: https://www.freestylephoto.com//204...zEuDAte4OH-THh0yFt3zDcZ816JYRaDs7a1Iryw-tizRw
View attachment 414969

I've been using these. They do eventually lose their grip and the spring will rust. But they work very well for years.

 

[thinkbrown]

A little different, still available: https://www.freestylephoto.com//204...zEuDAte4OH-THh0yFt3zDcZ816JYRaDs7a1Iryw-tizRw
View attachment 414969

Funny enough, I bought a set of the adox version of these last week. Basically everyone seems to like them

 

[stevenje]

Funny enough, I bought a set of the adox version of these last week. Basically everyone seems to like them

Do they have enough "gripping power" for 16" x 20" paper?

 

[thinkbrown]

Do they have enough "gripping power" for 16" x 20" paper?

They're still in the mail so I have no idea

 

[Pieter12]

Do they have enough "gripping power" for 16" x 20" paper?

I don't do much 16x20, but when I do, I use 2 tongs to handle the paper. One seems clumsy. With just one I use my fingers a lot, too, with a container of water nearby to rinse them between stages.

 

[Arthurwg]

Do they have enough "gripping power" for 16" x 20" paper?

Yes, 20x24 as well if handled carefully. And yes, two at a time.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

Am I the only one who prefers rubber-tipped bamboo tongs? I have several pairs that work just fine. I have bought extras mostly to use the rubber tips on my old favorite tongs when their tips wear out. I print up to 20x24 and use two pairs of tongs for larger prints. No slips, no marks, cheap, bio-degradable; what's not to like?

Doremus

 

[MattKing]

Am I the only one who prefers rubber-tipped bamboo tongs?

Yes
Like many things in the darkroom, personal preferences are, indeed, personal.

 

[logan2z]

Am I the only one who prefers rubber-tipped bamboo tongs?

That's what I use, I've never had any issues using them

 

[Maris]

Rubber tip bamboo tongs for me too. They are colour coded as a set of three with one dedicated (never swap) for each processing solution: Dev = blue, Stop = yellow, Fix = red.

 

[thinkbrown]

I finally got my metal tongs in and tried them and I think I'm a convert. Much more ergonomic than the bamboo ones and they require less force to work with.