Overheard a new guy say 'an angle grinder can do everything a forge can'

I was picking up steel stock at the salvage yard last Tuesday and heard some kid telling his buddy he didn't need a forge because an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel can shape metal just fine. I wanted to jump in but kept my mouth shut. He's probably never tried to draw out a leaf spring by just grinding it down. Sure, you can hog off material with a grinder, but you're not changing the grain structure or making the metal tougher. I've spent 5 years learning to read heat colors and manage hammer blows. A grinder is a tool, not a replacement for a fire. Has anyone else run into people who think blacksmithing is just metal removal?

2 comments

2 Comments

garcia.tyler1mo ago

An angle grinder can do everything a forge can"? Wait, I gotta sit down for this one. That kid sounds like he's never actually tried to harden a blade or fix a broken spring. You can't just zip a piece of steel into shape with a cutoff wheel and call it a day. I've literally seen guys try to "forge" a hammer out of a lawnmower blade with just a grinder and it came out looking like a potato chip. There's a reason blacksmiths have been using fire for thousands of years, it ain't just for show. That guy's gonna learn real quick the first time his "ground down" chunk of steel snaps in half.

stellachen1mo ago

No amount of grinding is gonna fix bad grain structure or put carbon back where it needs to be. That lawnmower blade hammer story is exactly why I laugh when people say you can skip the heat and just use abrasives to make a knife.