[Bluntpoint]

These are the tongs use when I play with my giant Rubic's Cube I got at Sam's Club:

[VadeRetro]

Ice tongs. On a summer job back in 1969 I encountered a similar instrument which was at least locally known as "tie dogs." They were used for dragging (by one man) or carrying (by two men) railroad ties around. They had an ingenious but simple design. The handle part was formed as horizontal cross bars. The weight of the railroad tie basically made the points of the tongs bite deeper.