Blacksmithing
and Cutlery
by Gérard HEUTTE
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Charcoal
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Choice of fuel
To work with a forge, you need a fuel.
There is no perfect fuel! Each one has its advantages and
disadvantages. Several are available:
Mineral coal said forge coal
- Advantages: Strong calorific value, moderate price
- Disadvantages: Need for degassing, emission of toxic fume
Gas
- Advantages: Strong calorific value, average price, rise quickly in temperature
- Disadvantages: Forge more expensive, impossible local heating
Charcoal
- Advantages: Clean fuel, easy to use
- Disadvantages: Rather high price
My personal choice is charcoal.
How to choose Charcoal?
About packaging, I advise the purchase of
bag of 50 liters. Here hare some points to recognize a good charcoal:
- Parts of homogeneous size.
- Part of charcoal coal should not be crumble under the fingers.
- No badly cooked wood.
- Not too much bark.
- No nails or of screws which would indicate that wood is second-use.
- The parts must "tinkle clearly" and give a crystalline sound
when it is dropped.
You can buy the charcoal in do-it-yourself shops (in France). Attention,
it is in general available only during the barbecue period!
Consequently, think of making a stock for the winter.
I regularly use the french mark "La Forestière du Nord". It is in
general necessary to count 12 euros for a bag of 50 liters.
Preparation of the Charcoal
When supplied, the parts are in general too
large. It is thus necessary to break them and to gauge
them. Three cases will be distinguished:
The large gauge will be
useful for standard heating. Keep for that the parts
of 30mm size.
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The small gauge will be
useful for homogeneous heating, typically for hardening. Keep for that the pieces
of 10mm size.
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The residues will be kept to
make the Charcoal powder, used in the coating for case hardening.
The small parts can be used to limit fire in the
hearth, once humidified.
To break charcoal, use an old knife with a long blade. Use it as a machete. So you can cut up the
big parts in smaller parts. The hammer tends to crush the charcoal making a lot of loss.
Temperature indicator
The charcoal embers (without ventilation) are between 800 and 850°C.
This temperature range can be used as reference for hardening.
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