With a proper forging press, a smith can do in three hours what would otherwise take three days. The down side is the least expensive forging press I have been able to find would have set me back about $3,500.00. I decided I would hand forge my Damascus steel, price it as if I had used a press, and spend the money on building or purchasing a forging press. In the end, I found myself somewhere in the middle of buying and building.