Showerthought: I used to think a 2-inch coal fire was the only way to heat a blade for quenching

For years, I ran my forge with a deep coal bed, maybe 2 inches thick, thinking it gave a steady soak. Then last fall, a guy at the Knoxville hammer-in showed me his setup with just a half inch of coke over the tuyere. I tried it, and my blades hit critical temp in half the time with way less scale. Now I run a thin, hot fire and get cleaner steel. Anyone else made a big switch in how they manage their forge fire?

3 comments

3 Comments

green.mason1mo ago

Man, that hits home. I ran a deep coal fire for ages because that's how I was taught. Switched to a shallow, ripping hot fire after a demo at a meetup and it was a total game changer. My steel gets up to temp so much faster now, and I'm not fighting scale all the time. It felt wrong at first, like the fire was too thin, but the results don't lie. What other little changes have made a big difference for you?

betty_fisher51mo ago

Totally agree with @green.mason, switching to a shallow fire made my work so much cleaner and faster.

alice_barnes359d ago

Ever try a piece of firebrick to really focus the heat? I started putting a small block right in the fire to make a little pocket for the blade. It keeps the steel in the sweet spot of that shallow fire and cuts down on cold air hitting it. My heats got way more even and I use less fuel now. It's a cheap trick but it made a huge difference for me.