Coals

[Z88]

Hey. This may be a stupid question, but I use 40mm Three Kings coals and was wondering how you guys cut them in half? Everytime I try to cut them, they break into little pieces. It's annoying.

-Z

[DVS]

Hacksaw.. balsa wood hobby saw... something with fine teeth. Cut them before you light them. Or get very skilled and cracking them in half as they are red hot.

[KillZedKill]

I crack them when they are hot, put them in a small pot of some kind and take your tongs, and just jab right in the middle of the concave side. usually gives you two or three good pieces.

[stryet]

I used take a butter knife and use a wooden mallet to split them before lighting. I did get little pieces too, but usually 2 good sized chunks that are ready ultra quick.

[anathema]

I break 33mm coals in half with my fingers before I light them. They softer than Golden coals quicklights. So yeah, are the 40mm ones harder/less brittle? I'm guessing anything really sharp would be good so you don't have to saw at it, creating more coal dust.

[Allia22]

Honestly, just practice at snapping it with your hands. Or if you aren't that confident in your skill, you could use the jagged edge of your tongs and use it as a saw... dust everywhere, but it beats getting up and getting an actual knife

[Nexter]

I had this same problem with the 40mm 3 kings but i finally mastered it. What I do is, and it now works everytime (after a tiny bit of practice) you put your 2 thumbs in the indent ontop of the coal, with the nails of your thumbs facing towards each other and all your other fingers on the back, and then just crack it swiftly right down the middle. Might sound a little confusing but its very basic and after the first 2 tries, you should be getting perfect halves every time.

[Big Boss]

I crack them when they are hot, put them in a small pot of some kind and take your tongs, and just jab right in the middle of the concave side. usually gives you two or three good pieces.

I either do that or I cut them in half with a serrated steak knife before I light them.

[AinSophAur]

score a line into the disc with your poking tool then crack the disc in half along the line. I then do the same again with the half and break the whole disc into 4 pieces.

[Sonthert]

Yeah, I always advocate breaking them before lighting!

You can adjust them better when they're smaller. I just break them with my fingers. Use your thumb and forefinger and pull apart slightly as you push down/up.