Forged in Fire

[Canadian-guerilla]

saw this last night

( may only be available in Canada )


Forged in Fire


Competitive series in which blacksmiths from around the world compete each other to win $10,000. To win they must re-create iconic weapons from historical periods. The weapons are tested and evaluated by a panel of judges

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[Winter]

I have watched a few. I know a few of the makers.

What annoys me is the asinine testing and the weaponized mindset. I use an icepick on ice. I do not use my fighting knives to chop ice.

I would still watch it from time to time.

[Erratus Animus]

It has caused a few negative stirs in the bladesmithing world I am told. Ed Cafferay mentioned some customers or at least potential customers scoffing at the price of his work commenting that they have seen forged in fire.

I watch an episode and another one later in the season and think its crap. The event is setting the smiths up to fail and are very unrealistic in what they are asking for a weapon forged and heat treated in that limited time then used for ridiculous test. I have been forging for many many years and take pride in never taking a short cut. There is no way you can properly anneal, normalize, run thermal cycles to shrink the grain, harden and temper a blade in the time requested. You leave far too much performance on the table skipping steps like they must to move on.

[Wise Old Owl]

Well you guys are self educated. You spent time to get up to speed and that's a good thing... The producer of this show is considering the masses or audience. HE doesn't give a damn about the players as they are compensated. Keep in mind there are introduced or made up "moment" drama. Its all about getting ratings and advertisers.

What part did you miss in the bigger play? IT's not about BLADE SMITHING. It's more about filling time on a channel.

[Canadian-guerilla]

on the one hand

I do respect the time it takes to make a quality blade
some of the knives I've seen on this forum are truly pieces of art
makes me hate the thought of actually using them in the field

and
on the other hand

I appreciate the show for showing what can be done NOW ( 3 hours ) and still have functionality


a question of PRETTY vs FUNCTIONALITY vs TIME ?


if i'm looking for a simple stabbing function
I'll go with a plain 12" spike

[Erratus Animus]

I don't think it eluded anyone perceptions that the shows focus is on rating and not real intelligent blade smithing but what may elude some is the reason you don't see some real master smiths and big names on the show is because they have turned the show down inpart to how the show was pitched and ran.

[TXyakr]

All "Reality TV" shows are a disappointment to me but like you said EA it is mostly due to the need for ratings. If the real work of most crafts were shown accurately it could not hold the short attention spans of 99+% of most audiences. Reality is 99% boring.

IMO the beauty of most blades and other hand crafted items like firearms is in their functionality. If it functions well and is well balanced and strong where it needs to be that is far more beautiful than something sparkly with a colorful handle of some exotic wood or stone. I don't like slippery handles for something I intend to actually use. I certainly don't want something that was rushed through the forging/harding process. I could buy some cheap blade from Pakistan if that was all I needed.

[Grizz123]

It has caused a few negative stirs in the bladesmithing world I am told. Ed Cafferay mentioned some customers or at least potential customers scoffing at the price of his work commenting that they have seen forged in fire.

I watch an episode and another one later in the season and think its crap. The event is setting the smiths up to fail and are very unrealistic in what they are asking for a weapon forged and heat treated in that limited time then used for ridiculous test.

Apparently you never watched the entire show. They start out with the two fast competitions to narrow down to two competitors. They are not set up to fail as much as they are set up to do the best they can with what they have in the amount of time given. If they had 10 days to create each knife for each competition it would take month to put together one episode. I'd be surprised if anyone actually believed these professionals actually ran their businesses at the same pace they work in the show.

For the last competition, each man is given a week to complete the project, this gives them plenty of time for all phases of the build and shows what really goes into knife making.

[crashdive123]

I haven't seen it yet, but will watch it on demand. Blade magazine did an article, not on the merits of the show, but rather the size of the audience that is being introduced to knife making. It was a positive article in that they were pleased regarding the size of the audience and the potential for more interest in knives.

[hunter63]

I haven't seen it---only the promos.
Doesn't hold too much interest to me personally and I don't make knives any longer...(never was good at it).

But do agree that anytime you can increase the number of people that do show an interest .....It can't be all bad.

Seems that post "reviews" tend to cut down these programs......it still is a window into another activity that many of us do enjoy.

[TXyakr]

I have watched several entire length episodes of the show. Not much is shown after the first round when they go back to their own shops and make a better quality blade. Video recording and editing this all would be more expensive I assume. I agree the show probably does more good for the craft than harm, I have met some teenagers who are making very good blades. But I am still left disappointed with most "Reality TV", like internet forums it must cater to the lowest common denominator, about the equivalent of a 3rd grade education.

[Erratus Animus]

Apparently you never watched the entire show. They start out with the two fast competitions to narrow down to two competitors. They are not set up to fail as much as they are set up to do the best they can with what they have in the amount of time given. If they had 10 days to create each knife for each competition it would take month to put together one episode. I'd be surprised if anyone actually believed these professionals actually ran their businesses at the same pace they work in the show.

For the last competition, each man is given a week to complete the project, this gives them plenty of time for all phases of the build and shows what really goes into knife making.

I have seen the entire show. The setup to fail comes from not having the time to properly normalize, thermal cycles and heat treat their blades. Even if its a perfect eructoid steel, meaning at crit temp all the carbon in the blade goes into solution so no need to soak, they still don't have the proper time needed. I could go in to much greater detail.

The last two are given a week in their own forge, however none of them know till the comp starts what they will be asked to build. I have forged for over 20 years and never have forged a sword. I have a decent library of books on the subject and have talked to other swordsmiths so I could eek out something but it would not be what I would want to represent me as its just not what I forge. The push daggers are a good example. I saw that full episode as well.

I am and have been a fire fighter for a class one dept for 25 years now. I don't watch EMS, Doctor or firefighter shows because its not entertaining to me as I know the truth or the correct drugs they should or should not be pushing etc. If you like those shws then good, they are made for you and I think nothing less or more about why you like it. My views are the same for forged in fire. If you don't like what I think then there is no need to even respond.

Be surprised as I have heard it from most everyone that knows I forge and make knives. Why wouldn't they? That is where they get their exposure from and till another shows or provides them with more information many of them think that is how it goes. I have books from master smiths written in the 80's stating empirically things we now know to be false and counter productive for getting the most from the steel.

[TXyakr]

Many years ago I was excited to learn that there were cable channels for things like "History", "Science", "Learning" only to be greatly disappointed when I watched them and "Discovered" that they were about ratings for people who just wanted more passive entertainment. Fun stuff to watch with a 6 pack after a hard day at work about something you know little about...

If the judges ever got too technical on this show it would get edited out...