PSA: My new habit of marking heat zones with soapstone changed my forge work
I used to just eyeball where to heat the steel, which often led to cold shuts or uneven bends. So last month, I started using a soapstone marker to draw lines on the metal before putting it in the forge. I mark the spots that need the most heat and where to avoid overheating. This simple step has made my bends cleaner and reduced the number of times I have to reheat a piece. But I'm still figuring out the best way to do it for different shapes, like scrolls or twists. Do any of you use something similar, or have other tricks for marking metal? Also, does soapstone wash off easily after, or do you have a better marker idea? I'd appreciate any pointers from folks who've tried this.