This paper presents a method to compute con- tact forces for bimanual grasps. The method is based on the optimization of the force distribution of the hands and min- imizing the force exerted by each finger, using two different cost functions. Both cost functions and the constrains of the optimization problem are formulated as functions of the joint torques based on the existing relation between the grasping forces, the hand-jacobian matrix and the torque of the joint fingers. Additionally, a bimanual grasp index is presented to measure the force distribution between the hands. The paper includes some application examples of the proposed approac