I finally tried coal after 4 years of refusing to touch the stuff, and a guy at a demo in Ohio is the reason

Robert Butler · 2026-09-16T10:45:05.510808+00:00

For years I ran strictly propane in my two burner forge and I would kind of smirk when guys talked about coal. Too dirty, too much ash, too much fuss, that was my line and I stuck to it. Then last Saturday I drove out to a living history day in Dayton and watched an older smith named Walt work a coal forge for two hours straight. He never touched a regulator, never checked a gauge, he just read the fire and pushed the coal around with a little rake and pulled the heat exactly where he wanted it. I asked him about it and he said propane gives you one heat all the time while coal gives you any heat you ask for. That stuck with me more than I expected because my whole reason was convenience and honestly I was just avoiding learning a new skill. I picked up a used rivet forge for $150 last week and burned my first batch of coal yesterday and yeah it smells and I got ash on my boots but I shaped a scroll faster than I ever have on gas. Any of you run coal as your main and got tips for keeping the fire clean at the edges?

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I finally tried coal after 4 years of refusing to touch the stuff, and a guy at a demo in Ohio is the reason | Blacksmiths - SMM Buzz