Recommendation? Devils forge?

It seems to be a reasonable starter forge. There are many that just don't look like they will work well. Chamber is a reasonable size.
While a round chamber is better, there is nothing wrong with a box chamber if you learn how to work with the two hot spots. HT will be tricky in this forge.

You will have to coat the insulation with satanite to make it safer and last longer. High Temp Tools and Refractory carry the satanite. You will also need four or five fire bricks to set around the front port to block a bit more off. Leave an opening of about 3X3" for most knife work.



Disclaimer - I have had people ask why I am against the top down burner, square box forges. They point out that they are used on FIF, or that XYZ maker uses one. While I always recommend the round build with a swirling flame pattern as the best, I have used a NC Whisper Lowboy as my main forge for a long time, so I certainly don't have an issue with one built right. I have other forges that have round chambers, and HT ovens for HT, but I do a lot of simple carbon steel HT in my Lowboy.
My beef with many of these forges is they are cheaply built, and under insulated … and usually have no satanite lining kit that comes with them. That type forge won't last long.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
It seems to be a reasonable starter forge. There are many that just don't look like they will work well. Chamber is a reasonable size.
While a round chamber is better, there is nothing wrong with a box chamber if you learn how to work with the two hot spots. HT will be tricky in this forge.

You will have to coat the insulation with satanite to make it safer and last longer. High Temp Tools and Refractory carry the satanite. You will also need four or five fire bricks to set around the front port to block a bit more off. Leave an opening of about 3X3" for most knife work.



Disclaimer - I have had people ask why I am against the top down burner, square box forges. They point out that they are used on FIF, or that XYZ maker uses one. While I always recommend the round build with a swirling flame pattern as the best, I have used a NC Whisper Lowboy as my main forge for a long time, so I certainly don't have an issue with one built right. I have other forges that have round chambers, and HT ovens for HT, but I do a lot of simple carbon steel HT in my Lowboy.
My beef with many of these forges is they are cheaply built, and under insulated … and usually have no satanite lining kit that comes with them. That type forge won't last long.
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Thanks Stacey. I have an oven for heat treat. I am mainly just looking to get into a forging a few blades and some ornamental stuff.
 
Then it will probably do fine. It isn't very robust looking for an every day forge, but should work.

Spend another $30-40 to line it with Satanite and add some firebricks from HTT&R and it will be much better. Devils Forge may even offer the satanite kit as an upgrade.

Another thought that comes to me is you might want to cut a 3X2" port in the back door. Block most of the open end with firebricks ( leave a little space for gasses to exhaust) and use the door end to forge from.
 
I may just look for a better option. Thanks for the tips. If im gonna buy them I’d rather get a turn key option. If I have to do a bunch of mods then I might as well build one.
 
To be honest, I have no idea at all how well the forge will perform or for how long. I get the impression that it is a reasonable starter forge and that it should be ok until the purchaser has worked out what direction their interests are taking and they can then decide what characteristics they want in their second forge.

For most people, their first car will not be a forever car and they understand this. Learning smithing (or any one of a number of things: fishing, hunting, golf, etc) and learning to drive are not entirely dissimilar in this respect. For some reason many people struggle to see this.

The Devil Forge burners are much more controllable than many people seem to realise. I bought one to play with a while back. The screwed choke adjustment means that you have a very wide range of flame temperatures available. Maximum flame temperature is achieved with the choke fully open and the flame temperature can be reduced by choking down. Between the pressure adjustment and the choke adjustment, you should be able to get welding, forging and even HT temperatures. For HT temperatures, you’ll probably need to reduce the forge openings. If you don’t, there is a high probability that air will flow in at the bottom by convection and cause the temperature to increase. Some experimentation is likely to be beneficial.

It is worth noting that Devil Forge also sell a more expensive version of their burner which has a sliding choke instead of the screwed choke. I would expect this to give poorer control (though I could be wrong).
 
timgunn1962 said:
To be honest, I have no idea at all how well the forge will perform or for how long. I get the impression that it is a reasonable starter forge and that it should be ok until the purchaser has worked out what direction their interests are taking and they can then decide what characteristics they want in their second forge.

For most people, their first car will not be a forever car and they understand this. Learning smithing (or any one of a number of things: fishing, hunting, golf, etc) and learning to drive are not entirely dissimilar in this respect. For some reason many people struggle to see this.

The Devil Forge burners are much more controllable than many people seem to realise. I bought one to play with a while back. The screwed choke adjustment means that you have a very wide range of flame temperatures available. Maximum flame temperature is achieved with the choke fully open and the flame temperature can be reduced by choking down. Between the pressure adjustment and the choke adjustment, you should be able to get welding, forging and even HT temperatures. For HT temperatures, you’ll probably need to reduce the forge openings. If you don’t, there is a high probability that air will flow in at the bottom by convection and cause the temperature to increase. Some experimentation is likely to be beneficial.

It is worth noting that Devil Forge also sell a more expensive version of their burner which has a sliding choke instead of the screwed choke. I would expect this to give poorer control (though I could be wrong).
Click to expand...
Thanks Tim! I have a PID controlled ht oven already. I almost exclusively do stainless steel knives but the allure of forging has caught my attention. I am just looking for a forge to try out and see where this takes me. If it’s something I plan on taking past just the occasional knife then I’ll buy or build a proper forge. If hate to spen 600-700 dollars on something I’m not sure I’m going to use.
 
My friend and I each picked up one of the round, two burner models. We love them. They come with the (forgive my ignorance) clay for protecting the refractory wool in the kit along with the regregula, gas hose and a firebrick for the floor. It's held up for a few months of steady use. There is definitely a hotspot, so beware. For the money, and time it was a no brainier for the two of us. Getting anything bigger comes after a power hammer in line.
 
Have had the experience turned out
Did anyone purchase this ?
The seller has excellent feedback
I’m also interested in the Atlas mini
But to get the atlas mini into canda it’s about $500
At that point you start looking at electrical version for HT
 
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