Overheard a young smith saying he only does gas forges now

Made me think about all those years I spent learning on coal and coke, getting the fire right before even touching metal. Has anyone else noticed a shift away from solid fuel in the newer crowd?

2 comments

2 Comments

shanec613h ago

Exactly right. Nothing teaches heat control like a coal fire.

the_sean2h ago

Yeah, that's the thing - 'nothing teaches heat control like a coal fire,' but I remember reading some old blacksmith's blog years back saying gas forges are basically cheating yourself out of learning the basics. Makes sense when you think about it, you don't get that real feedback of watching the color change and feeling the draft. Guess the younger guys just want results faster, but they're missing out on a big part of the craft.