For all the bells and whistles of the midway, what still draws local and international visitors to the Stampede is the celebration of western traditions. And, in the World Championship Blacksmiths’ Competition and the Metal Arts Showcase, those traditions are brought to life around genuine coke-fired forges.
“Up until the mid-1990s, we still used coal forges,” explains Erik Swanby, chairman of the Calgary Stampede Blacksmith Committee. “And it was dirty, dirty stuff. It burns black, the soot is black, it starts giving off green noxious fumes and it’s horrible to work with.”
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Blacksmithing has come a long way. Today, most commercial farriers use propane-fueled forges. They’re practical, because they can be fired up, used, shut down and lifted back onto the back of a truck and carried off to the next location. Coal and coke forges just don’t cool down fast enough to allow that kind of convenience.
“I’ve got a propane fired forge that I use for every day shoeing,” says farrier Iain Ritchie, a competitor in this year’s World Championship Blacksmiths’ Competition. “At home, though, I’ve still got a coke-fired forge. It gives off more intense, concentrated heat, which does make it easier to make shoes, though it’s ridiculously hot in front of the fire.”
Coke fuel is an evolution from coal and is made by firing coal in an oxygen free medium, (historically it would have been buried under green wood or peat moss) allowing all the sulphuric acid fumes to be burned off, leaving a cleaner, hotter, safer fuel.
“Propane forges are so easy,” says Iain. “With coal or coke, you have to watch it, position your shoe perfectly and keep the forge clear of dust and debris from the fuel. And if you turn your eyes away for 30 seconds, there’s a danger that you can sizzle the shoe in half,” he explains. “If you miss beyond the moment of perfectly heated metal in a coke or coal forge, you might as well go sit down and feel sorry for yourself.”
For the lay onlooker, there’s something kind of romantic about watching a skilled blacksmith hovering over a traditional forge, creating horseshoes.
Erik says, “Inside the artistic genre of metal work, there’s a move to all the fancy stuff, with plasma cutters, mig welders and elaborate bending machines. Me, I like the traditional bent-over-the-forge guys myself.”
Indeed. So do Stampede crowds. .
