New gas forge

[ES Blade 0]

http://cgi.ebay.com/...2a#ht_500wt_947

 

Is this a good deal?

Edited September 24, 2010 by ES Blade

[C.Anderson 15]

Nothing against the maker....but for $200+, making your own forge seems a much better option.

 

For general blacksmithing that forge may work well...but for knifemaking I can see a few drawbacks...mostly in the chamber design. With my little paint can forge I found that having the flame shooting directly onto the work caused a substantial amount of scale as compared to having it enter at a tangent angle and swirl around the (round) chamber. Additionally, that kind of burner placement won't heat evenly...and we all know for bladesmithing an even heat is often critical.

 

So I guess it comes down to you. The forge will heat stock and allow you to shape metal, but it may not be optimum for your intended usage.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Cris

[alexb 0]

Seems similar to this http://www.diamondbackironworks.com/catalog/item/2754775/4753617.htm

I have one one these and have nothing but good things to say about it.

That being said you can build your own for a lot less money.

Good luck..........it can be really hard to decide especially when everyone says there's is the best.

[dragoncutlery 85]

the hardest part about making your own forge is not making a second or a third i have one almost done and im already thinking i might like a different design better im using one right now that i built that resembles dons forge but a hair smaller and i have a whisper baby on the floor next to it that was my starter forge

 

ok the real hardest part is getting refractory i used to have a place in town they closed but i found a place one hour away that kind of wanted to talk to me (and one that decidedly didn't it was like talking to that one cute girl in high school that would have rather stepped on your face but you had a crush on any way)and i got 2 box of brick and a bag of high temp to finish a forge and repair a kiln and ill be going back for another project some day

[ES Blade 0]

Thanks y'all!

[ES Blade 0]

Nothing against the maker....but for $200+, making your own forge seems a much better option.

 

For general blacksmithing that forge may work well...but for knifemaking I can see a few drawbacks...mostly in the chamber design. With my little paint can forge I found that having the flame shooting directly onto the work caused a substantial amount of scale as compared to having it enter at a tangent angle and swirl around the (round) chamber. Additionally, that kind of burner placement won't heat evenly...and we all know for bladesmithing an even heat is often critical.

 

So I guess it comes down to you. The forge will heat stock and allow you to shape metal, but it may not be optimum for your intended usage.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Cris

 

how big of knife can you make with that paint can forge.

[John Smith 4]

I have used forges like those in the links and I found at best they last about a year, tops as knife makers tend to use hotter fires. for longer periods of time. Mine always seemed to deteriorate and I woul dhave to buy a new forge. I will post images of the forge I got from Three Sisters Forge, it cost me $400+ but it is well worth it and the forge is super great. Like I said I will post pictures soon.

[ES Blade 0]

I have used forges like those in the links and I found at best they last about a year, tops as knife makers tend to use hotter fires. for longer periods of time. Mine always seemed to deteriorate and I woul dhave to buy a new forge. I will post images of the forge I got from Three Sisters Forge, it cost me $400+ but it is well worth it and the forge is super great. Like I said I will post pictures soon.

 

ok cool, thank you

[kevin_k 0]

I just got a chili forge and I LOVE IT! Reaches welding heats no problem. If you want to buy the forge in the link and want it last a while just use some Satanite or Mizou to line the inside with, it'll make it last longer and up the insulation. I used a whisper daddy for about eight years and only relined it once(cause I didn't and the mizou right off the bat).

Kevin

[ES Blade 0]

I just got a chili forge and I LOVE IT! Reaches welding heats no problem. If you want to buy the forge in the link and want it last a while just use some Satanite or Mizou to line the inside with, it'll make it last longer and up the insulation. I used a whisper daddy for about eight years and only relined it once(cause I didn't and the mizou right off the bat).

Kevin

 

Thanks

[JMJones 0]

I bought that same forge about 18 months ago. As is, it really does not get that hot. I used some satinite and itc 100 and that helped. I also blocked off the back hole and covered some of the front hole with firebrick, that helped alot more. I thought forging was really tough and time consuming until I purchased a forge with a blown burner and realized I was not getting the steel hot enough or that it took a long time to get hot enough with this setup. I am actually thinking about relining this with a round chamber and canting the burners to produce a more tangent entry into the forge to increase heat and reduce warm up time. Bottom line as it sits it is lacking but if that is your budget, and you dont want to build, it can me made to work for general forging but is not really for welding.