Glaze Tongs

What it is

The problem with dipping is your hand. Gripping a pot while you submerge it leaves a mark where your fingers were, and that mark becomes a bare patch in the fired glaze. Tongs move the grip to the inside of the form or to a point that will be glazed later, leaving the visible surface clean.

Three-point tongs grip the rim from three directions and are the standard for bowls and open forms. Two-point tongs grip a wall or the base and suit cylinders and mugs. Both are spring-loaded, and both are made with brass or stainless tips that will not scratch a bisque surface.

For small pieces, a pair of tongs plus a bucket is the whole glazing setup. For large or heavy work, tongs are impractical — that is when you switch to a chuck, a band of wax and a pair of gloved hands, or pour the glaze instead of dipping.

How to use it well

• Grip the inside rim, not the outside — the outside is the surface that will be seen.
• Lower slowly and withdraw at a constant speed to avoid drips and thick runs.
• Wipe the tong tips between dips so dried glaze does not build up and flake into the bucket.
• For a foot, wax the base first, then dip holding the tongs inside the form.

Safety notes

• Wear nitrile gloves — glaze on the hands dries into dust and is absorbed through skin for some oxides.
• Inspect tips for sharp edges; a burr will scar a bisque surface and show through the glaze.
• Do not use tongs to lift work out of a hot kiln — that is a job for proper kiln gloves.

Compatible materials

Clay bodies

• All bisque-fired bodies

Glazes & surface

• Dipping glazes
• Cone 6 and cone 10

Where it sits in the process

Applying, resisting and finishing the glaze surface.

Glazing  Glazing & Surface  Entry tier

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