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[Karakzon]

if you have a bit of a woodland, you can go learn the ancient art of coppercing that goes hand in hand with charcoal making.

Gather simular sized chunks of wood without cutting down trees, just the odd right size and shape branch, pile together, cover in dirt, set on fire but make sure it only smolders, watch for three days without falling asleep and walla, charcoal, iwch works almost as well as coal when burnt in a forge, and if anyone asks, its actualy classed as a) environmentaly freindly and b) it actualy helps increase biodiversity since the small clearings used for coppercing/charcoal makign act as perfect sites for rare species of butterflys and other species classicaly not found in woodland, wich, isent as biodiverse as you would think, since the trees block out light for foliage on the floor.

[kisame12794]

Yes that is true but you need a large amount of charcoal, which means you need a large amount of wood, plus your coal forge may not burn charcoal as well.

[Anvilfolk]

I tried using charcoal a while back and really couldn't. I think you need a pretty deep forge to use charcoal, and I can only get pinewood charcoal, which is horrible. You'd need a heavy, thick type of wood to make decent charcoal. I would consume massive amounts for very, very little heat!

[kisame12794]

Something like oak or maple makes good charcoal.

[Hitty40]

Being interesting in medival weaponry and wanting to make my own sword/axe/pike, posting to watch.

[Anvilfolk]

That's what everyone wants to do, but I never got why (actually, I did. That's what I wanted to do before I learned blacksmithing). With so many interesting, aesthetic, useful things you can do, why would you want to spend your life grinding and polishing away?

[Eagleon]

I for one still find it interesting. There's so much to consider in a good weapon, so much room for improvement. It's not like I need them, but I'm a martial artist as well, so that helps.

I tried using charcoal a while back and really couldn't. I think you need a pretty deep forge to use charcoal, and I can only get pinewood charcoal, which is horrible. You'd need a heavy, thick type of wood to make decent charcoal. I would consume massive amounts for very, very little heat!

You need to build your fire differently, and change your timing up. It takes a very short time for a charcoal fire to be ready compared to coal, with less air needed. On the flipside you need to feed it more, and you'll get a lot of ash at the bottom when you're done which will soak up your heat if you don't clean it out religiously. The nice thing is you can dump it straight into the garden, which would be a terrible idea for coal.

Charcoal also won't compact and stick as much as coal, so the techniques for concentrating heat with coal will be much more difficult (but still possible). And you need to have a deep, narrow pile, since everything will be burning at once, including whatever you have off to the sides. It's really a different beast entirely, but I think it's honestly cheaper than coal for a beginner when you take into consideration that you can get a huge bag of it at most Walmarts or grocery stores without having to worry about shipping, sulphur content, build times, etc.

[Girlinhat]

My local grocery store sells 25 pound bags of charcoal for like $10 I think, been a while since I checked.  The only reason I know at all is because I worked there and, being the tall one, I was always dragging bags off the top shelf and carrying them out to the car for an old lady.  Damned old ladies, what are they burning anyways?!

[kisame12794]

Weather or not you use charcoal, coal, or gas is all a matter of preference. I work with coal because I am used to it and it is easy to get. I order it from home hardware in 80lb bags. If you do go that route make sure to ask for bituminous coal instead of anthracite. Bituminous coal is softer and cokes, which is what blacksmiths are really using to heat the metal. Coke is just coal with most of the impurities burned out. It reflects heat really well but it needs a near constant flow of air to keep it going.

[Reudh]

I'd love to try bladesmithing. Minor problem being financing it. :p

[kisame12794]

I am a bit of a bladesmith myself, and just be aware, it takes a LONG FREAKING time. I have put 8 hours of work into the pointy RR spike knife. Be prepared to practice a lot. On the topic of money, RR spikes are a good source of high carbon steel and are really easy to find if you have a railway track near your house. If you have an old brake drum that would make a good forge. There are designs for bellows on the internet. You could use a chunk of metal as an anvil. How much it costs to start up is really up to you.

[Reudh]

I'm perfectly happy to put many hours into it. The closest railway track to my house is fairly far away, though I know of a place that sells old railway spikes. I don't know how strong they would be.
I've always loved blades, dunno why, perhaps it's the viking/Frisian coming out in me. My dream is to own a Damascene blade, because the artwork on the blades is so intricate and gorgeous.

I've never actually done and bladesmithing before, however I've whittled a knife out of heartwood from a cut down oak. It took bloody ages and then it snapped...

[kisame12794]

I would get a gas forge if you are going to do damascus a lot because it makes it easier to see the welding colors. Check out a guy named Jake Powell, he does viking swords out of damascus. I saw him make a billet, and it had 600 odd layers of steel.

[Reudh]

Oh no, I could never make a damascus blade. I merely wanted to buy one one day.

[OddTheTall]

@kisame12794: are you sure the name is not Jake Powning? - Jake Powell seems to have been a baseballer or musician.

What is on his site seems to be pattern welding with modern iron/steel rather then Damascus. What was originally called Damascus steel was (probably) Indian Wootz steel billets worked with the same technique (so far as I'm aware).

There's a guy in Britain by the name of Paul Binns who does very similar stuff - though more museum-quality find replicas (and probably the best reenactment blunts I have ever handled and owned).