Bought a $400 propane forge and it changed my whole approach to the craft

I've been working with a coal forge for years, thinking the extra control was worth the mess. Last fall, I finally got a two-burner propane forge for about four hundred bucks. The first time I used it, I realized how much time I was wasting just managing the fire and cleaning up soot. Now I can get to a consistent heat in minutes and focus entirely on the metal. It feels like I'm actually forging more and fussing less. Has anyone else found a tool that just made everything click like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

sam_murphy396d ago

Honestly, I get the appeal of propane for the clean up, but I miss the feel of a coal fire. There's a kind of art to managing that heat and reading the fire colors that propane just flattens out for me. I tried a gas forge for a while and felt like I lost some of the connection to the work, even if it was faster. I went back to coal because that extra bit of control lets me do more detailed work.

derekjenkins6d ago

Man, @sam_murphy39, I can't even manage the fire in my backyard grill.