hi i'm new to blacksmithing and i was wondering what the benefits are of using coke instead of coal. and if there are any how would i go about making the coke?

1st off you get coke from burning coal, its a great/clean fuel. I reckon it has higher btu then coal also. It produces hardly any smoke as to green coal which has lots of smoke. The coke has the inpurites burned out also.

Welcome aboard, glad to have ya.

If you do a search of the site using your subject line you'll find a number of discussions of just this thing.

If you'll click "User CP" at the top of the page and edit your profile to show your location it'll be easier to help you, guys in your area can let you know if there's a get together, tool deals, etc.

Frosty

so to make the coke i just need to burn the coal?...for how long?

Coke from burning coal is totally different from the coke you are thinking of. If you purchase coke you will need a constant air flow to the fire, if not it will go out on you in short order. With coal, I have left my fire, after banking and proper preperation, for as long as 1:45hrs. Just started cranking the blower to bring it back to life. This is the biggest consideration you need to address before deciding to go coke or coal. There are other differences but this determines the type of forge and blower you will need. Plus, which is easier for you to find in your area? BTW, welcome aboard.;)

coal would be the easiest to buy in my area but whic proves to be the least expensive? i'm on a very tight budget right now....first car and everything. should the blocks of coal/coke be small...(like th size of a fist) or large...(anything bigger than a hand)?

Edited March 3, 200917 yr by bourne101

Nut sized is perefered. Before i go the coal I`am using i was getting large chunks of coal and busting em.

If you would follow the advise of giving your location, click "User CP in the green bar and update, it sure would be easier to help you!

1st off you get coke from burning coal,

Kinda. Actually you get coke by getting softcoal hot without enough oxygen for it to burn outright. In this state the softcoal's impurities will boil/burn away leaving behind a pumice-like substance of nearly pure carbon; that's coke. If you notice the coke formation actually happens outside the heart of the fire. It's a process that's a lot like turning wood into charcoal.

oh ok...what is the diffence between soft and hard coal?

i can buy coal but i'm not sure if i can get it in any specific form. (soft or hard)

If you would follow the advise of giving your location, click "User CP in the green bar and update, it sure would be easier to help you!

Hehe, really?! 99% of his questions don't make any difference where he is; the process of making coke doesn't change depending on where you live.

The only question that might require us to know where he lives is

"coal would be the easiest to buy in my area but whic proves to be the least expensive?"

But the typical answer to that is: coal will almost always be cheaper since coke needs to be processed first. (Unless he lives near a smelter/founder; someplace that imports tons of it).

Edited March 3, 200917 yr by Gobae

oh ok...what is the diffence between soft and hard coal?

i can buy coal but i'm not sure if i can get it in any specific form. (soft or hard)

Soft coal (bituminous) is a sedimentary rock that contains lots of volatiles as well as impurities. It burns fast, hot, and can be coked.

Hard coal (anthracite) is a metamorphic rock that contains less volatiles and less impurities. It burns hot, but steady and cannot be coked.

Chances are pretty good that whoever your local coal supplier is sells only hard coal, because that's most commonly used in home stoves/furnaces.

Edited March 3, 200917 yr by Gobae

All coal is not good blacksmithing coal. If you can't get good blacksmithing coal you are better off using lump charcoal, (*not* briquets!), or coke. How do you find where you can get a good fuel for smithing? Well you ask other people in your area where they are getting their fuel. How do you find other smiths in your area? Attend the local ABANA chapter meetings if you are in the USA and/or post your location so folks can say---"hey, you're just down the road from me and I get my coal/coke/charcoal from..."

(Here in central NM I get mine from Rob Gunter in Moriarity).

Edited March 3, 200917 yr by ThomasPowers

Hehe, really?! 99% of his questions don't make any difference where he is; the process of making coke doesn't change depending on where you live.
QUOTE]

Hehe, thank you Gobae. I haven't been scolded in nearly 40 yrs! I was just to help him get to some guild/club where he can see coal being used first hand. My bad....

Not scolding really. It just seemed like a silly statement given the questions he was asking.

But if you want to be scolded, I can do that for free. :)

Edited March 4, 200917 yr by Gobae

ok so soft coal is better to use as coke and the hard coal is burnt as it is...and both are suitable for forging and blacksmithing, am i right?

Hard coal is much harder to smith with than a good soft coal. But you use what you can get; shoot they used to smith with peat in places that had that but no coal!

you probably need to find out what you can get locally for blacksmithing... coal or coke or charcoal all work..i am currently useing coke but its because i have a shop that i demonstrate for the public at. the smoke from coal can be bad depending on coal ...the stuff i could get reletively local (one state away) was real smoky and nasty... decided it was worth the extra to have something shipped in..not even sure where it came from! but i bought a ton of it and it really lasts! i got it in in late october i use the forge 5 days a week for 5 1/2 hrs a day and havnt used half of it yet! i figure a 50 lb bag a week is my normal use.. if i was useing coal it would be double or even triple that.. the down side is i cant let the fire sit for long before it goes out... 5- 10 minutes max..and it will not form the nice oven that good coal will ... but it gets plenty hot!!! ive used a lot of different heat sources to forge in... dosnt matter what u use to het with really whatever works.. have fun!!!

Okay guys, I prefer good coal. The best coal I have had comes from a vein in Oklahoma a little south of I-40, but there is other coal out there that is fine. I also use coke because I live in California now, and it is more affordable. But another source of fuel that you may not be aware of is petroleum coke. They used it in the Ukraine when I was there, and I used it for over 5 years when I was in S. California. I used to get it for free from the chemists that analized it for the different petroleum companies. I burn over a ton a month, so it was quite a savings. It is so clean. You will never get any clinkers.

Not scolding really. It just seemed like a silly statement given the questions he was asking.

But if you want to be scolded, I can do that for free.

Is this a five minute argument or the full half hour?

The Argument Sketch

:D

Five minutes. Did you really think you'd get a full half hour for free you ****************! Oh, you wanted an argument? That's down the hall; this is abuse.

Opps better add a smiley in case someone isn't familiar with Python. :)

Edited March 5, 200917 yr by steve sells
Monty Python skits aside, it was in violation of IFI policy

Is this a five minute argument or the full half hour?

The Argument Sketch

Just a friendly difference of opinions. No harm, no foul....right??? <<

You got it!

Five minutes. Did you really think you'd get a full half hour for free you *************! Oh, you wanted an argument? That's down the hall; this is abuse.

Opps better add a smiley in case someone isn't familiar with Python.

That's why I put the link in there... :)

Edited March 5, 200917 yr by steve sells
rude in quotes

Well the propane lovers are wayyyy overdue on this thread. They will be along to explain how coal/coke is bad....

lol