Diamonback vs Chile Forges

[tobigforyou]

Hey guys, I am in the market for a gas forge, and I was wondering which one would you guys recommend.

Diamondback or Chile.

[Judson Yaggy]

Never used a Diamondback, but I use a Chile Habanero every day. A darn good gas forge, very hot, easy to adjust, easy operation. Beats the socks off my old NC Whisper Daddy. The hard lining is a nice touch for heavy use. Only drawback is that there is no built in igniter (a very minor flaw).

[Sam Salvati]

I would go Chile forge, IMHO.

[John Martin]

I swear by my diamondbackironworks forge. It's a two burner knifemaker. Forge at around 4psi, and weld at 6-7psi. It should be your last forge that you will ever need. However, I have never used a chileforge, so I have nothing good or bad to say about them other than that a lot of people who have one like it.

[fat pete]

chile chile chile...habenero here too

love it

[tobigforyou]

Thanks guys for your input.
Also I heard the square forges tend to get hot spots is this true?

[sloscheider]

Perhaps you;ve said it in another post but what will you be doing in this new forge? Depending on what you're doing you may really like a nice wide side opening forge - if you're only doing blades or other long straight things then and end opening forge is great. If you're used to working with coal you've had the luxury of being able to put nearly any shape object into the file at any point you like but with a gas forge you may not be able to fit the middle part in there once you've bent it.

I would suggest you determine your intended use of the forge - then you;ll know which style to purchase regardless of brand.

[tobigforyou]

I will be using it to make blades.
specifically Bushcraft knives(4 inch blades)
and Machetes(Martindale Golok no2 types) 10+ inch blades

I could make my own forge, but I find that a bit intimidating.
I have never really done it before.

[John Martin]

Diamondback forges heat incredibly evenly, no hot spots!!!. I HT with my forge as well. With their floor, you don't have to worry about flux hardly at all.

[Rasper77]

Love my Diamondback as well..

[urnesBeast]

I had a diamondback forge, need to rebuild it since it did not make it through the smithy fire I had a few months ago. It is the only gasser I have ever used, but saw no reason to get a different one. The hammer in I took it to yielded many questions from folks that wanted one too, I figure that is good...

-Doug

[tobigforyou]

Well I am kind leaning towards the Diamondback 3 burner. since it is 18 inches long.

The forge is 18 inches, and the blade I want to make is 18 inches, is that ok?
or does the forge need to be slightly larger than the blade?

[tobigforyou]

I had a diamondback forge, need to rebuild it since it did not make it through the smithy fire I had a few months ago.

-Doug

Did it have anything to do with the forge? you kinda got me worried there.

[ThomasPowers]

No in general the forge can be just slightly longer than 1/2 the blade length. The only time you need/want the entire blade heated up is for heat treat and it's pretty easy to create a special use forge just for that---like charcoal in a ground forge!

If you get a long forge make sure you can decrease the interior so you are not always paying to heat all that space you are not using! (I have a small PU; about 4 times a year I wish I had a large one; but it sure is nice running a small one the other 362 days a year!)

[tobigforyou]

Thanks Tom I didn't thinkabout that. pretty cool idea.

[Avadon]

I literally looked at every forge on the market over the course of about 1.5 months and it became clear to me that Chili forge is really the best company on the market and carry the best forges. I just received my Cayenne Chili forge yesterday. Once I get a moment to set it up I'll make a post about it, family is in town right now. I really liked their high-end (Cayenne) forge dimensions. Seemed like the clear winner of all blademaking and blacksmithing forges I saw. They also have exceptional customer service. The only downside is they are in high demand so I had to wait about 2-3 weeks to get my cayenne forge in the mail (UPS). But it is a very impressive forge. 65lbs+, excellent welds, long hoses, forge armour, protective shelf, forge-end inserts, Instructions, friendly emails, etc. Exactly what you'd expect from professional fabrication and an A+ tool company.

Edited June 27, 2009 by Avadon

[Fe-Wood]

I'm going to vote Chili Forge...

[sloscheider]

I have a Tabasco from Chile Forge that is wonderfully portable and typically runs at around 3 - 4 psi (higher for welding heat). Overall I've been happy with it.

[urnesBeast]

The question of the diamondback forge living through the fire, it is completely understandable. The smithy burned completely to the ground.

The hoses for the propane melted, if I could have found the gauges, I would not trust them. The body of the forge is salvageable. Thr firebrick might be OK. The insulation blanket should be replaced, not from the fire of course, but from the water.

-Doug

[SGropp]

I wish I could give a 100 % percent positive review of the Chile Cayenne.
I bought one well over a year ago. The t fitting off the regulator leaked from the start and the regulator packed up and would not deliver pressure to get above a bright orange heat. The regulator was tapped into my shop propane line from a 500 gallon tank through 3/4'' pipe at 35 psi line pressure.
David Star [ sp?] of Chile Forge was quick to replace the faulty parts . No leaks but the new regulator still would not put out as needed. I replaced that with a Smith brand medium duty fuel gas regulator which I tend to run at 10- 15 psi. [ the regulator was about $75 at Central Welding ]
Plenty of heat now ,with little scaling. The configuration of the forge suits a lot of my work . I make a lot of railings which means a bunch of 3' bars for spindles and heavy solids for newels and returns. The open ends works well with long sections of caprail, although the stock supports supplied are not up to the task of supporting much weight.
The floor wore out pretty fast, although I patched it a couple of weeks ago with Mizzou 3000 castable refractory, which seems to be holding up . The inside layer of Kaowool on the forge ceiling has been steadily caving in and today I replaced it with another layer of 1'' blanket with Ins-Tuff rigidizer and a light coating of ITC 100. [ from Seattle Pottery ]
Running a forge insulated with something like Kaowool without coating the fiber blanket is probably asking for trouble down the road . The dust given off from the fired ceramic fiber insulation is a suspected carcinogen .
The Chile Forge has a place in my arsenal but it took some work and money to get it to perform as advertised.
I really like my NC Whisper Daddy 4 burner and am on my second one in 13 years.
Nothing lasts forever at the temperature cycles a forge goes through, especially on a day in and day out schedule .
I'm not sure an induction forge would fit my kind of work with a lot of changes of section from one heat to the next.
Anyway that's my 2 cents on gas forges.

[Avadon]

SGropp said:

I wish I could give a 100 % percent positive review of the Chile Cayenne.

I don't know if at your time of purchase they had this option but they now sell replaceable protective bed armor for the cayenne forge so you never have to worry about replacing the bottom, you simply replace the replaceable shelf when necessary. I think your right about anything that you are putting this much constant heat into daily is going to need replacing/reworking and some extra money over time. Even coal forges can rust through their pans or shatter their firepots. I'll let you know if I run into any troubles with my new cayenne.

 

[looper567]

With all due respect, a Diamondback Ironworks forge will do EVERYTHING a Chileforge will, and equally as well, at a much lower cost, period! Our Blacksmith models offer MUCH more versatility as well. Some of those here sounding the horn for the Chile as the "best" forge available have also stated, only a couple short weeks ago, that they needed to build an additional forge to accompany their Chileforge, because it was lacking in versatility...
This same person was the one who took issue with my "rhetoric", so I wonder where the true motivation lies. That discussion took place here. Read for yourselves before taking any advise. Like I said, at the end of the day, the Chile will do nothing more than any Diamondback Ironworks forge will, in fact, because of the Chileforge design, they will do less. That's why my customers don't generally have to build an additional forge to make up for the shortcomings of their purchase. My customers also don't have to spend $1000 for a "top of the line" model that still won't serve all their needs... Question seems pretty easy, you just have to get by my gruff exterior, and if you don't like what you read on my website, just ignore it. Hell, if it bothers you that much, you can even go spend a grand of your hard earned cash on something that won't even do everything you need it too, that'll show me!
Fact is, this is just an internet forum. Some here have a wealth of knowledge, some pretend too. I have built THOUSANDS of forges and have them in service WORLDWIDE. Before I opened Diamondback Ironworks, I made my living as a professional full time Blacksmith. I KNOW what the job requires, as I lived it daily. I've made every effort to produce the highest quality tools without breaking the banks of my customers. I have been on both ends of this spectrum, and am commenting from my life experience. I'm not saying Chileforge builds a bad product, not at all. From everything I've heard and seen, they build a fine forge, I could just never justify the price, knowing exactly what is involved in producing one... It's your dollar (for now anyway...), shop wisely!

[Avadon]

With all due respect, a Diamondback Ironworks forge will do EVERYTHING a Chileforge will, and equally as well, at a much lower cost, period! Our Blacksmith models offer MUCH more versatility as well. Some of those here sounding the horn for the Chile as the "best" forge available have also stated, only a couple short weeks ago, that they needed to build an additional forge to accompany their Chileforge, because it was lacking in versatility...

Ha! Nice try taking what I wrote "a few weeks ago" out of context. I have an extremely specific need that no forge on the market, (including yours) will work for. That was the reason I was thinking about getting both the Chili forge and making one for this specific use. If your going to take what I wrote and use it against me, at least get it right.

This same person was the one who took issue with my "rhetoric", so I wonder where the true motivation lies.

Of course now you have to come here to this thread and start an argument where there is none. I do have a problem with your rhetoric, if others do not then let them be patronized with your dogma. It's your business, run it however you like. Notice though how most of the people here are saying they'd rather have a chili forge then a DB. I think that is what is really eating you up.

Here is also a little business tip. Don't come on forums like this trying to anonymously insult people that politely decide not to choose your product. I notice you also insulted and flamed the guy (not by name) that didn't like your rhetoric on your website. How classy of you. You obviously have issues with people who do not agree with your political rhetoric and anyone who doesn't buy because of that or because of the product, you then go out of your way to insult in indirect methods. That is extremely passive aggressive. I'm glad I did not do business with you. You have demonstrated your true colors.

That discussion took place here. Read for yourselves before taking any advise. Like I said, at the end of the day, the Chile will do nothing more than any Diamondback Ironworks forge will, in fact, because of the Chileforge design, they will do less. That's why my customers don't generally have to build an additional forge to make up for the shortcomings of their purchase. My customers also don't have to spend $1000 for a "top of the line" model that still won't serve all their needs...

Again, do you have any forges that will place a burner in the center of a 15" wide piece of steel that has other obstructions around it? No you do not, because I looked around and no forge on the market was wide enough to handle this. Everyone here said I will have to build a custom forge for this custom process, which was fine to me and a separate issue then the chili forge. It was NOT a shortcoming of the chili forge. But if you like, continue building these strawman arguments in order to defend your products. However harassing people on IFI is not going to get you more sales.

Question seems pretty easy, you just have to get by my gruff exterior, and if you don't like what you read on my website, just ignore it. Hell, if it bothers you that much, you can even go spend a grand of your hard earned cash on something that won't even do everything you need it too, that'll show me!
Fact is, this is just an internet forum. Some here have a wealth of knowledge, some pretend too. I have built THOUSANDS of forges and have them in service WORLDWIDE. Before I opened Diamondback Ironworks, I made my living as a professional full time Blacksmith. I KNOW what the job requires, as I lived it daily. I've made every effort to produce the highest quality tools without breaking the banks of my customers. I have been on both ends of this spectrum, and am commenting from my life experience. I'm not saying Chileforge builds a bad product, not at all. From everything I've heard and seen, they build a fine forge, I could just never justify the price, knowing exactly what is involved in producing one... It's your dollar (for now anyway...), shop wisely!

Methinks he doth protest to much. The chiliforge speaks for itself. Note the people who have bought them like them and chiliforge isn't on here running their mouth negatively about customers who decided to go with another option. I think you could learn a lot from the way they do business. But like you said, "you don't need the sales", so why are you on here trying to insult me via inference. It's a really passive aggressive game you play. "Buy from me, or take crap from me" seems to be the way you work. You told me directly you didn't need my sale, now your here calling me out. Childish anyone? Jeeeze! Edited June 30, 2009 by Avadon

[looper567]

I will stand by exactly what I have said.
I took NOTHING out of context and in fact linked to exactly what you had written, because I believe the folks here are intelligent enough to figure it out if they simply look for themselves.
YOU are the one who took issue with what I had to say on my site.
YOU are the one who decide to post here negatively about the way I run my business.
YOU are beginning to give me a headache...
Now go enjoy your Chileforge, I'm sure it's a great product, but please, until you get some experience using some of the many tools available out there, keep your "expert" opinions to yourself. "Researching" on the internet before purchasing your first gas forge does not qualify you as an expert...

[Quenchcrack]

With all due repect to all parties in this dog fight, enough is enough. I go to a variety of forums and the topics I have learned to avoid are the ones that begin "I'm going to buy a new widget, which one is the best?". And then the food fight starts. Look, I own a DB forge. It is a nice unit and I have no intention of buying another brand. I am sure the Chile forge is a nice unit. Both brands are meeting the needs of their customers. I rather think either one will do more than the average smith knows how to use. As far as politics go, if you want to express a different opinion, you can start your own website. Can we move on, guys?