Finally tried a coal forge after 5 years of gas only

I've been running a propane forge since I built my shop in Tempe, swore up and down gas was the only way to get consistent heat. Last weekend a buddy let me use his old coal forge at his place in Mesa, just to see what the fuss was about. Man, I was wrong. The heat control takes some getting used to, way more hands on than turning a knob, but the way the steel moves under the hammer is different. It felt softer, more forgiving, like the metal was telling me what it wanted instead of me forcing it. I spent 4 hours there and made a simple leaf hook that came out cleaner than anything I've done on gas in months. I'm not ditching my propane setup, but I'm building a small coal forge for the backyard now. Anyone else switch back and forth between fuel types depending on the project, or is it just me? The learning curve on coal seems steep but worth it, right?