Has anyone successfully used anthracite coal in their forge? I had some well-intentioned non-blacksmiths give me some, and I don't think it will work.

I've used it , and it works pretty good .
BUT it is dirty and you need to clean out the fire alot.
It works good on mild steel and the basic heat & beat jobs.
Hope this helps.

i've used it its alright but its quite dusty it makes lots of sparks that are hot and jump out of the fire amd then manage to get in to that tiny hole in your glove! big flame, small so the blower blows it away.

but as they say "thats my 2 cents"

alec

Maybe you could mix a little at a time in with the good stuff and burn it that way.

It works and it is actually cleaner than soft coal. It doesn't coke at all. It is almost pure carbon. The fire control is more difficult. It needs more blast but it gets hot as hell. I was told for years that it was useless and never bothered with it. Until a friend of mine died and his brother gave me all of his coal. Some of it was anthracite so I tried it. It works surprisingly well but not all hard coal is the same. when I run out I will buy some more and see how that goes. I would like to hear from someone with more experience on this topic. I have not tried forge welding with it yet.

It'll work. It's usually harder to light but will produce more heat. Like all coal it varies in quality. The best way I've found to get the most benefit is to mix it with some bituminus coal. The bituminus is easier to light and keep going and haing some of that in the mix makes maintaining the fire easier. For me at least, without the bituminus, it takes a lot more air from my blower to keep it cooking.

Yeap it works great im a full time blacksmith in the uk and use anthrasite bean its cheaper than smithy coke and the welsh anthrasite burns well and dose not produce much clinker.

Thanks for all of your responses. The forge I use is in a Colonial living history museum, with a bellows for blast. I tried mixing a little anthracite with some soft coal I have left and it worked okay. Since I didn't get a majority of negative responses, I'll try playing around with it and see how it works for me. Thanks again for your help!

It does not coke... thats been covered.. but it needs a little air all the time or it will go out...

mixing is a good way to go with bituminous.

I have both, hard and soft coal in my shop.. the hard is for when I run out and can't get to my coal dealer..

Antracite put out plenty of heat!! it took me a little getting used to to get my heats right.. i melted a few things...

It comes down to going with what you got.. and doing the best you can

good luck
Cliff