Burnt my first set of tongs trying to forge weld and now I'm hooked

About 3 weeks ago I finally built a little coal forge out of a brake drum in my backyard here in Akron, and I spent the first two sessions just messing around with mild steel and making ugly hooks. Last Saturday I got brave and tried my first forge weld on a chain link, folding it over on itself about four times, and I completely roasted the reins on my only pair of tongs because I kept leaving them in the fire. My neighbor wandered over while I was hammering and said it looked like I was trying to fight the anvil instead of work with it, which honestly was fair. Now I've got one sad pair of tongs and a decent little billet, so what's the move here, do I buy a better pair or just forge my own next time?