Midland Supplier Offers Slip Flex Handles and Tong Safety Handles to Cut Hand Injuries on the Rig Floor

Simple handle upgrades for manual slips and tongs help keep fingers out of pinch points during every connection

MIDLAND, Texas – October 27, 2026 – Midland Oil Tools (MOT) is putting a spotlight on two small products that make a real difference to rig floor safety: slip flex handles for manual rotary slips and tong safety handles for manual tongs. Both are designed around the same idea. A hand that has somewhere safe to hold is a hand that stays out of a pinch point.

Talk to anyone who has worked floor for a few years, and they can show you a scar or a crooked finger from slips or tongs. These tools get handled hundreds of times a day, often by tired crews working fast in bad weather. Most hand injuries don't come from some rare failure. They come from routine moves, like setting slips or latching tongs, done over and over until one goes wrong.

Why Crews Are Switching to Slip Flex Handles

Older slip handles were either solid steel or made from wire cable. Rigid handles don't give when the slips drop into the bowl, so a hand caught near them takes the full hit. Cable handles bring a different problem: once the cable starts to fray, the loose strands cut through gloves and skin.

Slip flex handles are built to bend with the movement of the slips instead of fighting it. Hand placement also becomes more natural, so crews lift with their legs and a straighter back, not by reaching and twisting over the rotary. 

Where Tong Safety Handles Help Most

With manual tongs, the danger zone is around the jaws, the latch and the hinge. When a hand-hand grabs the tong body to swing it onto the pipe, fingers can end up right where the tong closes. Tong safety handles give the crew a fixed spot to hold, set back from those pinch points. They're easy to see, easy to grab, and they make it obvious where hands belong.

A Practical Note for Safety Managers

Handles only work if crews actually use them. During the pre-job safety meeting, take a minute to show new hands where to hold the slips and the tongs, and why. Check handles during regular equipment inspections, and replace any that are cracked, bent or loose. And when you're rotating in new slips, it's the perfect time to fit slip flex handles at the same time, rather than waiting for the old ones to fail.

How to Order

Handles can be ordered through the sales office at 1110 South FM 1788, Unit 53, Midland, TX 79706, by calling +1-432-280-4017, or by emailing sales@m-o-t.com. Have the slip or tong make and model ready when you call.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are slip flex handles?
They are replacement handles for manual slips that flex with the tool instead of staying rigid, which helps protect hands and reduce strain when setting and pulling slips.

Can tong safety handles be fitted to older tongs?
Usually, yes. Share the tong model with the sales team to confirm fit.

How often should safety handles be replaced?
Replace them whenever inspection shows cracks, bending, loose mounting or worn grips.

Do these handles replace other safety practices?
No. They work alongside proper training, PPE and good hand placement.

About the Company

The company is based in Midland, Texas, and supplies handling tools, hydraulic power tongs, bucking units, mud and frac pump expendables, valves, safety products and rental equipment to drilling and well-service operations.

Visits Us: m-o-t.com/products.php?safety-flex-handles