Shoutout to the guy who made me switch from a coal forge to a propane one

I used to swear by my old coal forge, thought it was the only way to get that traditional heat you read about in the books. Then last spring, a buddy at a hammer-in let me try his propane setup for a few heats on a deer hoof knife. The temp control was just so much easier, no constant fiddling with the air blast or dealing with clinkers every 15 minutes. I held out for two more months before I caved and bought a used Mr. Volcano off someone moving out of state. Now I can actually focus on the steel instead of fighting the fire the whole time. Has anyone else made a similar jump and felt like kicking themselves for waiting so long?

2 comments

2 Comments

rubyj1115d ago

Yeah my buddy kept telling me the same thing for years before I finally switched.

derek_burns14d ago

Man, I feel that! The thing nobody talks about though is how much less fatigue you have at the end of a long day on propane - @rubyj11 probably noticed that too. Coal forges just beat you down with all that constant tending and smoke, but with gas you can actually save your energy for the hammer work. It's a game changer for your back and lungs even if you miss the nostalgia of coal.