Also I heated up some steel to dark orange with it, but it cooled to black very quickly. It took about 5 - 8 minutes for that. I expirimented with twisting and folding, and made a fork! I was wondering what do you need to make your own charcoal? And the steel I use is about 1/6 - 1/10 of an inch thick. I really like the design that andy has, but I am wondering if it would be cheaper just to buy a forge. I feel like I am going to be spending a lot of money, and I wonder if buying one would be cheaper. I would also like to know where I could learn to make knives online? There are no blacksmiths in my area, and I really want to make a knife. Thanks guys.