Good source for forge coal (in Virginia)

[Dennis Glazener]

A friend of mine told me where he gets his blacksmith coal. Since I have never used coal I can not say how good it is but here is what he said about it. "Their coal is from the Pocahontas vein and forges real well.  Small clinkers and not a lot of smoke, small size, just right for me".

I called and checked to see if they would ship it to customers and they said they would. You will need to call them to discuss the logistics of shipments. Their onsite pickup is 50 pound bags for $11.50. Verona VA is just off I-81 north of Staunton VA not far from Rt 250 into West VA (but who in West VA needs VA coal )

Dixie Gas & Oil Corporation
229 Lee Highway, Verona, VA
(540) 438-9811 www.dixiegas.com
Mon-Friday 8-5 Saturdays 8-12

Dixie Gas and Oil Corporation (formerly Monger Coal & Oil Inc)
600 Mount Hermon Rd
Elkton, VA 22827-3028
 (540) 298-1256
Hours 9-3 Mon-Friday

[IKE]

Dennis
 It sounds like the same coal that I use. It cost a little more here in Indiana but that is just shipping. Good coal.
Jerry Eitnier
Eitnier Rifles
Iron Mounted Southern Guns

[dannybb55]

We have a good source down in eastern NC; 450m lbs in a 55 gallon can for 80 bucks in Wilson NC.My wife and I are going to pick up two barrels next week and some lumber and tin to start building a small forge out back.

[Tony Clark]

Dennis, coal from the Pocohontas vein is about the best that is available. Here in the upper midwest I get it at Skei coal in Ames Iowa. It is packaged in #50 bags and I buy it by the ton. It is all perfect, no dust and all about walnut sized. Reasonably priced too. I think it was about $200 for a ton of it in #50 bags last time I drove over.

[TPH]

Don, Dixie Gas and Oil is about 1 mile from my house. Years ago when I had a forge (and a lot more energy) we used to get coal from them. It was good coal but I was never much of a blacksmith.....

[Jerry V Lape]

This subject caused me to reflect on what a lot of differences have occurred in one short life time.  Finding coal is now an issue - whereas we used to order up 15tons with a short phone call to the local coal yard each year before winter set in.  You even had choices on types and sizes preferred. It was sent down the chute into the coal bin in the basement.  Coke was also available by the ton locally and the blacksmith shop nearby used a lot of it as well as coal.  I sort of miss the smell of the coke ovens I am reminded of by its absence along one stretch of road - not that it was a particularly pleasant odor.  Don't miss starting up the furnace on really cold mornings nor cleaning out the ash and klinkers.  And there was a business which picked up the ash if you set it along the road for them.  Think it was used to make soap, saltpeter and other products. 

[T*O*F]

I am told that there is also a good source in Chattanooga, but don't know the name.  A friend drove there to pick up a truckload of it for himself.

It was sent down the chute into the coal bin in the basement.

I never thought about it much until now, but consider how tough the coal man was to make his living shoveling all that coal off his truck and into your basement.  Ours had a dump truck and would dump the coal onto a large canvas tarp and then shovel it into the basement thru a removable window.  Some of the chunks were so large that they wouldn't fit into the furnace and it was my job to reduce them in size with a sledge hammer.

[Randy Hedden]

Dennis,

Here is a source in Virginia:

Hungerford Oil Co., 1604 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia. TEL: 804-648-4703.

For coal available in other states:

http://www.fholder.com/Blacksmithing/coal.htm

Randy Hedden

[KentSmith]

After what was left of hurricane Gaston stopped over Richmond and dropped its 13 inches in 30 minutes, Hungerford lost most of their lot, natural gas tanks, propane tanks, coal yard, etc.  The last I heard they were just delivering heating oil.  Maybe they started handling coal again but it must have been just recently.  When they did have it it was excellent quality blacksmithing coal.