Stainless Steel Tongs
 

These stainless steel Friscer Aquascaping Forceps are rusting after just a few weeks of use. Is this reasonable? I love the them, they are great for target feeding and working in the tank without putting your hands in.

They should not be rusting if there are made of a quality stainless steal. Do you rinse & dry them after use?

No rinsing or drying until I noticed the rust.

BLANK

I bought the same ones from Jl, same deal here, even after rinsing it with water and drying it they still rust. I guess that's why they are 10 bucks. I had a pair of medical snips that I used since my fresh water tank, never ever did I rinse them but they never rust. I think we have a verdict, junk!

Stainless dosent rust..... if it is its an alloy and good for salads ;)
Ive seen tanks built with it..... still going.....no rust.
Thats my 2 bits

unless your mother is a nurse haha :wink:

I got mine from tailored aquatics, I rinse & dry, & still they get a bit of rust....

As Greg said, poor or low quality stainless will rust, especially if exposed to salt water.

I think you have to pay $20-30+ for a pair that won't rust. Those ones are too cheap...they will just be SS coated. I would take them back...if enough people do that then J&L will quit stocking crappy forceps. :D

it isn't that its a low grade ect.. there are different grades of stainless for different aplications.. some stainless aloys are more expensive than others which is usaly a function of the amount on nickel in the aloy.. also the more nickel in the aloy the more resistant to rust.

what this is, is a company trying to maximize the money they make by using a less expenisve aloy of stainless that is not suited for this aplication.

another isue is that you should be rincing and drying your tools after use.. in this case to prevent rust, but you also want to prevent salt crystals from forming on the tools. this is just part of good tank keeping habbits and such.

Steve

Pisces now carries ADA equipment. Very expensive but also very nice tweezers.

Got mine at Princess Auto. They are cheap & rusting but I don't care, use 'em anyway, don't rinse or clean. The small amount of rust does not appear to be hurting anything in my system. If you think about it, the GFO (granulated ferric oxide) many of us use to absorb phosphate is basically the same thing, a pile of rusty iron.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll rinse and dry them but not worry too much about the rust.

Just head to your local kitchen supply store and grab a set of 'Kitchen Tweezers' less than $20 and they don't rust.

http://di1-4.shoppingshadow.com/imag...ing+tongs+.jpg

Colin

Ok, when I read forceps I automatically assumed the locking/hinged variety with handles more like scissors. After seeing the 'tweezers' Colin's post I checked the J&L link and was surprised that the thing they call forceps are actually tweezers as well. Bottom line for me is, the locking jobs I got from PA are much more functional than the J&L offering. A bit shorter @ 31cm (12") but that's minor compared to having the locking feature. Mine have the curved tip, but straight ones are available as well.

Note the "Kelly" forceps in the following link, this is similar to what I have.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forceps

I guess J&L version would be considered "Thumb" forceps.

Edit: I guess what I have is also referred to as a Hemostat.

I have the same type s you but 24" long and they came with silicone sleves you can put on the jaws.

Steve

i use plastic...... never rusted once :)

If you give them a scrub with one of those green scrub pads the rust will come off (if it hasn't gone in too deep). I use it on my tailored aquatics pair and they're relatively rust free, except for the grooved "grip" part.