What are these tongs?

[frogpatch]

Another weekend dollar deal. These tongs are nickel plated steel and have evidence of the tips being exposed to heat. I thought they may have been used in metal casting for either bullets or jewelry or maybe for holding something over a burner. Extreme heat would conduct back to the fingers and burn the user. There are ridges on the inside of the tips like pliers have except smaller. How would you repurpose them? I would use them for picking up grilled clams. Thanks for your help.

[Rauville]

Look like Barber Tongs, used for taking a hot towel out of the steamer.

[frogpatch]

That is a good thought. Thanks The blackened ends may have been caused later by an alternate use. I have a knife with a black tip from heating it to cut plastic. Not what it was made for.

[mart]

Reminds me of similar tongs used in a science lab when glass vials are heated over a bunsen burner !! Had to lift the vial by the neck !!

[frogpatch]

That was what I thought too. That would explain the carbon and the bowed shape. The tip would serve one purpose and the bow would hold a tube or flask. I think you are right.

[cogar]

Yup, they were multi-purpose, for holding glass test tubes and for inserting/retrieving items from hot and/or caustic liquids, etc. Things you didn't wanna grab between your fingers. 

[frogpatch]

Another mystery solved. Thanks very much.  I guess using them for food might not be a good idea.

[KC]

Reminds me of tongs used for getting baby bottles out of hot boiling water way back when they had to be sterilized (up to the 1960's) before disposable ones.  We had several.

google Ekco tongs, etc.

[frogpatch]

They are laboratory tongs. They sometimes had platinum tips. This link pretty much says it all. Thanks y'all

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=laboratory%20tongs&psj=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=666&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=mZnHT-_dMIqE6AGd8oznDQ