It’s no secret that forging is hard on tools. However, sometimes little adjustments can go a long way toward lengthening their lives.

Take the pritchel, for instance. Do you find that at times you twist off the end of your pritchel? The solution can be as simple as how you hold it, says Dusty Franklin, owner of Five Star Horseshoeing School in Minco, Okla.

“It goes right back to how you grip the tool,” he told attendees at the Heartland Horseshoeing School’s 20th anniversary clinic and contest. “When you grab your pritchel, a lot of people will turn it as it’s being hit. When you drive it into square holes, it just shears off the end. So, just be loose when you strike the tool.”

For more forging tips from the clinic, be sure to pick up a copy of the July/August issue of American Farriers Journal.

Do you have a tip that can help farriers in their day-to-day work? Email Jeff Cota at jcota@lesspub.com.