Another aspect of the forge is the fact that it can be operated without electricity in almost any situation. Fashioning useful tools for woodworking, gardening, building, hunting and cooking not to mention small hand tools such as tongs, knives, nails and horseshoes.
Iron can be joined together in the forge in a process called forge welding. This is achieved by heating the metal until it becomes incandescent, white hot, and is actually melting. At this stage the two pieces are hammered together. Coke is the preferred fuel for this by the majority of Blacksmiths. The process requires a very clean fire and some degree of manual skill on the part of the operator.

Lighting the forge fire can be tackled in various ways. Charcoal is a good choice the downside being it away burns very quickly. One method of getting coal slack to burn that I found worked well was to soak sawdust in kerosine. This would be placed in the bottom of the forge with the bellows blowing air and the wet coal would be packed around. But really all that is required is some kind of really hot starting fire and newspaper will not do it. Small chips of wood can be used.