That forge demo at the county fair changed my whole setup

Watched a guy at the Lane County Fair run a coal forge with a hand-crank blower and now I'm ditching my gas forge for the cheap cast iron one I found at a swap meet, has anyone else switched back to coal after seeing it done right?

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eric_johnson3d ago

That 90 degree bend you can get in a quarter inch bar with a coal fire still amazes me after 30 years of doing this. Gas forges heat the whole piece evenly, but coal lets you concentrate heat exactly where you need it, which changes how you manage the steel completely. The trick nobody talks about is the coke bed, once that coal burns down and turns to coke, you get a cleaner heat that works more like a gas forge but with more control. Also, coal forces you to slow down and read the fire before every heat, and that rhythm makes you a better smith whether you stick with it or go back to gas later.