[ThomasPowers]

Scale is NOT METAL! Scale is iron oxide and forms when hot steel is exposed to the oxygen in the air. If you are getting too much/too heavy(thick) of it you need to look at your forging practices.

If you are using a propane forge tweak the atmosphere---many propane forges need the air/fuel balance adjusted after they come up to heat---something that may users skip and so they get reputations for heavy scaling.

If you are using a solid fuel forge check to see if you can get by with less air---electric blowers are often the culprit as they constantly push air in and many people run them too high.

You can also wirebrush your pieces regularly when you take them out of the fire to reduce scale; but if you are just starting out you will probably be too slow to be able to do this and be able to hammer in the same heat.

As I sit here I can count 6-8 scale pops on my hands and it's been several weeks since I've had the forge lit. Most of the time they don't cause trouble but when they land in the web between my fingers they let me know their presence.

I'm a no gloves smith as I found that while I have fewer burn incidents wearing gloves the ones I had were MUCH WORSE!

Smithing in sandals is an ouch too as the feet have much more sensitive skin on top of them. Long pants with the cuffs outside of the shoes are really suggested.

Keeping a good high quality burn creme on hand, (like in the shop fridge!), can help if you are prone to having problems.