I dropped $400 on a new gas forge and it's been a total game changer

I got the Hell's Forge HF2 burner model after using a cheap homemade coal set up for years. Some folks say sticking with coal is the real, traditional way to learn heat control, but this thing heats up so fast and holds temp perfectly for Damascus billets. It saved me hours of messing with fuel and air flow. What's your take, is a good gas forge worth the cash or does it make you a lazy smith?

3 comments

3 Comments

smith.elliot3d agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, that reminds me of when I finally got a decent bench grinder! It felt like cheating at first, but man, it just lets you focus on the actual work. Sometimes the right tool just gets you to the fun part faster.

marybutler3d ago

Four hundred bucks... that's a serious chunk of change for a forge. Sounds like it's paying off big time if you're saving hours on setup alone. Who cares about "lazy" when you're getting more time at the anvil.

jenny_lane123d ago

My old man taught me on a hand crank forge. Took forever to get it hot, but you learned the fire's mood. Sometimes slow is part of the craft.