Primitive forge help

[climberslacker]

Hello, I am am making a primitive forge, to harden the knife I am making following greenpete's instructions and I was wondering what is best to use as the charcol for it. Will just plain old barbecue charcol work or does it have to be the charcol from a fire?? Thanks much!

-Jace

 

[Mike Ameling]

Charcoal Briquettes can work, but will be more ... finicky. Those briquettes are made by taking lump charcoal, grinding it up, adding clays and glue, then pressing them into that shape. That added "clay" is the problem. It can or might interfere with the heating. It can insulate the burning coals in some places and give you hot/cool spots.

So "lump charcoal" is better. It is just wood that has burnt down to just the carbon fuel left. The coals in your campfire are charcoal. To make some of your own, you can fish a bunch of those coals out of your campfire and put them out. They will be almost pure burnable carbon for fuel.

I have made my own using several methods, but I now prefer to just buy it. Some stores sell "lump charcoal" right next to their charcoal briquettes. But many stores don't carry it. A store that sells stuff for gourmet cooking, or outdoor grilling should have it or be able to get it. Cooks like Martha Stewart have been pushing the use of lump charcoal on their TV shows and in their magazines for several years. That way you get a pure wood fire for cooking food, while those briquettes can add some of their own "flavor" to it because of those other ingredients mixed into them.

I know that Royal Oak makes/sells it over here. And the last bag I bought was Cowboy brand from Menards (large building supplies and tools chain store). So check around and see what you might find.

Or build a large campfire, let it burn down to a deep/big pile of coals, and heat treat your knife blade in it. Use a length of small pipe as a blowpipe to increase the heat in specific areas.

But those briquettes could probably work. But they will require more work and learning/experimenting to get things to work right.

Hope this helps.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

 

[climberslacker]

Ya, mike, im from California. I will look for the lump charcoal but if not, i will resort to normal bbq charcoal

Thanks for the detailed reply!

 

[SkogKniv]

I have used plain old grill briquettes for my in ground forge. They seem to work fine for just TEMPERING Knives.

 

[Dave Budd]

briquettes I would rather use plain wood than that stuff in my forge!

I spend most of my summer using an Iron Age set up for teaching and demonstrating and I use lumpwood charcoal exclusively (archaeologically correct apart from anything else). You can use anything that will burn, I've used wood, peat and coal in the ground with bellows; but decent poo will do to (sheep poo or cow pats here or 'buffalo chips' I've heard some US friends using).

The only time I tried briquettes it was dusty and full of crud that got in the way of my work, the large lumps weren't very helpful when it came to trying to harden a delicate blade either If you find 'instant lighting charcoal' avoid it, it's full of volatiles that aren't pleasent to sit next to apart from anything else

just my opinion of course

 

[stanley lake]

Hi i have used wood i have also tried barbecue brickets i have also used the coman house hold coke witch i found to give the best results its what the blacksmiths use

 

[Dave Budd]

no it's not

blacksmithing coke is different stuff to house coke. smithing coke is finer and cleaner, being converted coal but house coke has binders and is lumpier and smellier. and most likely cheaper

 

[Mike Ameling]

It's all a matter of learning to use the type of fuel you have available. I know several old-timer blacksmiths that still use Oil-Fired forges! It's what they learned on, still use, and know how to work with. And I've used blacksmith coal, blacksmith coke, LP gas, lump charcoal, and an open campfire. Each has it's own quirks to learn. But those clays/binders/glues in briquettes have always stopped me from trying them - especially when I could find and buy lump charcoal for the same or less cost.

But I also do almost no knife heat-treating. Just some occasional simple stuff with "trade knife" blades or wood working tools. So I stick with what I know.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

 

[stanley lake]

no it's not

blacksmithing coke is different stuff to house coke. smithing coke is finer and cleaner, being converted coal but house coke has binders and is lumpier and smellier. and most likely cheaper

im no expert like you coke is coke for my purposes it works fine I've just heat treated 5 blade ill post a thread when there finished

 

[Dave Budd]

:swordfigh

You can use pretty much anything that will burn to forge in, but you'll soon find your preferences I've used the anthracite boiler at my parents house in the past, I wouldn't choose to but it can be done.

have fun and show a pic of the reusults

 

[climberslacker]

Just one more question, If I take the charcoal out of my fireplace, then what do I do to light it? will just a match do, or is there something better?
Thanks so much!

 

[Mike Ameling]

Just one more question, If I take the charcoal out of my fireplace, then what do I do to light it? will just a match do, or is there something better?
Thanks so much!

It's just like starting back up an old campfire. You will generally need more than just a match to get that lump charcoal burning.

I generally start a small fire with sticks/twigs like starting a normal campfire. Then I start laying the lumps of charcoal around and on top of that fire. That will light them up pretty quickly, and slowly start to spread all throughout those lumps. A little extra ... air ... helps build up the heat and spread the burning faster. Once you have your "fire" going, you will need extra air blown into it anyway - to increase the heat for the heat-treating.

You can use stuff like bar-b-q briquette lighter fluid or kerosene. Even what is called "parafin" on your side of the "pond". Those all do ... help ... get it burning. I've also got it burning just by crumpling up some newspaper and shredding some cardboard. Light a pile of that and slowly push lumps of charcoal around it and place some on top. And sprinkle the finer "dust" on top of the fire. Or "crumple" some of those lumps over the top of your fire.

So just treat it like fine/thin sticks/kindling.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands