Old fire place tongs?

[Vermont treasure hunter]

Was finally able to get out this weekend, although the ground is still pretty hard in the shade so it made hunting much harder. Found this in an old dump, I have dated to to about turn of the century at the oldest and was used well into the 20th century. My best guess was there was an other iron thing on the other side, which it looks like there definitely was, and was some sort of tongs. Also, the end on the iron piece makes this even more likely. Maybe fire place tongs? The top thing seems to be copper or brass or bronze. There is also a little square hole on the bottom, just like the ones on the sides. Also, whatever this is, any idea on a date? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

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[bradyboy]

tie rod?

 

[Tpmetal]

you are correct, old fireplace tongs. i have a pair just like them somewhere

 

[bradyboy]

not to second guess anyone - but
mechanically i cant see tongs.
one end makes sense the jointed end confuses me.
brady

 

[Vermont treasure hunter]

not to second guess anyone - but
mechanically i cant see tongs.
one end makes sense the jointed end confuses me.
brady

My gusse is that you would bend the metal on the rods to bring the to ends together.

 

[Vermont treasure hunter]

you are correct, old fireplace tongs. i have a pair just like them somewhere

Thanks! Can you show me a pic of yours? Also, any idea for a date? I would guess early 20th C because that is where most of the stuff like this from this dump dates to and other similar ones that I found on line from this time period.

 

[Sparlo]

Fireplace tongs is close but their size indicates they are ember tongs used to remove an ember from a burning fire to light a pipe. Used from the 1700's through the 1800's. They are usually iron or brass with many variations in style. Here are a couple of examples: