Black smithing ... long for it !

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Jonny:
We used to buy coke for the forge.
Less smoke, lights up, burns better plus you can see what you are doing unless you bury it.
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL15/728921/3960275/49395040.jpg
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL15/728921/3960275/49396649.jpg

Plus cheap to run, imagine the KW involved in electric heat generation.

Funny thing far above blacksmith levels, gaffers used to say use the forge to harden and temper springs, well i did but used the blow lamp over the coke wit job in, never had a breakage.

Have a look at damascus

Fergus OMore:
I was writing about materials used in the hearth and the earliest records start in Genesis with 'Tubal Cain'.
If Jewish history is reasonably correct, there was no coal but only wood and brush would. There is some doubt about the Pillars of Solomons Temple but if the author was right, the smiths were not only capable of making small items with wood as source of heat but did castings-- in the desert!

Whatever but the Egyptians could create metal musical instruments at the time of Tutankhamun. The evidence is there!

And so it goes to DaVinci who probably knew more than most of us but his armour was made- again with wood charcoal.

As for today or perhaps WW1, my father tempered leaf springs -using a wooden stick. gauging the temper with the smoke generated.

More recently, I visited the former copper mines of the Great Orme in North Wales and questioned how the copper was smelted etc.
I got the reply that the Romans did not use wood or coal but brushwood found locally.

I might well have lived on the Northumberland and Durham coal field for most of my 80 odd years but it was wood, wood, even for the first railways.

PTsideshow:
Yes historically it was wood/charcoal but the original question was was about induction heating. He then added an old wives tail type statement

--- Quote ---An old blacksmith will surely say that the "interaction" between the steel and the coal in a normal ess is THE "magic" - and here is no coal att all !

- is it just old superstition that there HAS to be coal involved
--- End quote ---

The point being modern smiths that are using charcoal or coal will need to use the bituminous type or commonly called soft coal,as that is the only type that can be converted into coke. It is a matter of the cleanliness of of the coke fires, it last longer, and as stated less smoke.
As for the casting of metals, In the Upper Michigan the Indians used fires built with wood it just takes more of it to accomplish the given casting.
What was at hand was used till something better came along. To increase the efficiency of forge, hearth for casting whether it was pig iron in dirt forms on the ground. Or the casting of objects.
The interaction he speaks of is the transfer of carbon form the fires of coke/charcoal to the surface of the iron being forged.

ksor:
The reason why I asked this question is this:

I would love to do all the things a blacksmith do but I don't like to be black in my nose, respiratory tract and internal organs - that's why I thought this induction thing was the right tool for me - this way I could be a clean-smith instead :) :) :)

BUT if the "coal" is essential to the process then I have to re-think my choice :med: :med:

On the other hand - if the argument for using coal is based on tradion, religion or some other non scientific things - then I'll stick to "clean"-smith method for the fact that is IS more clean.

PTsideshow:
If you are going to do forging and bending etc. many people use propane forges The bottled gas I don't know what it's called in your area.

Having spent the better part of my adult life dealing with coal fired boilers, and handing coal with a shovel and wheelbarrow or buggy to feed the stokers. A good respirator would help, but the small amounts and little handling a smith generally does with the coal/coke/charcoal there would be little coal dust flying about.

Knowing numerous smiths that use only gas as the fuel of choice far out number the purist using coal. I will say that there are some that use coal only because it is abundant, cheaper, and easy to get in their location. And would and have used bottled gas when available.
anvilfire site
iforge site
The above two are filled with more info than one could even need. archives, links and listing of blacksmithing groups around the world. Anvil fire also has many plans and links to plans, and both have great sections on fuels.

some great free downloadable PDF on blacksmithing go towards the bottom of the page for the link, since copying the link never seems to work great stuff.

And don't forget using the search engines, as they will come up with sites dealing with forging from small to all the historical stuff.

I think the biggest reason the fuel is so varied today, is that the steel/iron is so much better and the variety is such that even with scrap or junkyard steel you can pick it for your intended purpose. And pretty much hit it on spot.
:thumbup:

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