Considering a run of stainless forges

If you were in the market for a forge, would you pay more for stainless?ge?

  • Yes, having it in stainless would be nice and last longer.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No, not worth the extra money.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
Atlas Knife Company

Atlas Knife Company

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Feb 16, 2010
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The regular Atlas Mini Forges have been selling really well, but I've always wanted to make a stainless version. The problem is that I have to build 20 of them to make it affordable. Not just because of a price break, but I can only get the 5" tube in 20' lengths if I want it in stainless. To keep costs down, it would have a flat bottom instead of the normal 5" channel. Everything would be stainless, except for the toolrest. It will cost about 25% more than the regular version, but it would look neater and of course it wouldn't rust.


What do you think? I know it's not for everybody, but if there is enough interest I could do it.

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Have you considered the differences in thermal conductivity and expansion ??
 
For a 25% price increase I don't see the benefit. But I do have questions about your forges. Are the least expensive ones capable of forge welding out of the box? And does the atmosphere reduce scale?
 
Mete: what are you thinking?

JZKnives: Yes, we've had good luck forge welding with the new burners in the forges. I've successfully used thin strips of tape to act as a choke to create a reducing atmosphere. As soon as I can figure out how to mass produce a metal choke, I'll include them.
 
I live by the ocean so rust from the salt air is always a concern and I only get one billet of carbon steel Damascus at a time when I am sure I have the end product sold.

If you market these to makers/forgers along the coasts and other high humidity environments I think they would be well recieved.
 
I'm not familiar with the details of your forge but sometimes conductivity and expansion can be a problem when heated. It's like the rocket they developed and every time they test flew it , it exploded !! Seems that it had steel and aluminum .They forgot that at altitude [very cold ], the expansion of the two metals was different and it came apart ! LOL The differences in stainless and carbon may require change in dimensions.
 
Mete: I try not to make the bricks too tight of a fit. Early on I learned that they would expand and break apart when heated if they fit tightly. I try for a loose fit with each brick now.
 
The thermal expansion of mild and stainless steel is not so different but that isn't an issue since the entire forge will be recreated in stainless. Stainless will expand more than steel but not so much that you'll be able to tell in anyway.
 
If I was in the market for a forge and side by side sat a black steel forge that I knew was going to rust and need paint someday and a stainless steel forge that would look stellar in my shop for years to come, I would spend the extra 25% every time and get the stainless forge, people spend big bucks for stainless steel home appliances every day,

So mama gets her new stainless steel fridge, pop gets his new stainless forge ;0)
 
I have a stainless forge body, yes it is still gray in color after 10 years now. I did have my first forge for about that long in mild steel and it did rust but not to the point of disintegration. I gave that one to a student when I moved to Oregon. Since I got my forge body for $20 from a local steel yard I used it. If I had been required to pay $40 for it I would have passed it up. A 25% increase in price is not all that bad for a nice looking forge.
 
I just ran a quick calculation, at 1000 degF its less than .030 or an inch on a piece that is a foot long. If your temperature increase is only 300 degF then your talking about .010".
 
For some of you .010" is only a little bit but to others it's a huge amount ! LOL LOL
 
Wow, I figured 20% to be enough interest to build them. More than 45% is double what I had hoped for. Looks like I need to make some calls to source the materials.
 
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