Quality of finish has so little to do with the judging it should not be considered by the contestants … especially in the final head to head challenge.
The following is my advise to everyone who has asked about being on FIF:
I have a good friend who was on the show. I advised him to use Micarta and Corby bolts for all handles, forget about mirror polishing and only sand and smooth the bevels to 400 grit, forget about his signature embellishments and frills, make the spine thicker than normal, and the blade heavier than normal, and concentrate on a convex edge that was both sharp and tough.
He didn't use micarta in the handles segment, had issues, but his blade was sound and he went on to the finals.
In the final sword project he made a beautiful fancy weapon with ebony handles that broke) and mokume (that the judges loved, but added no "points" as a weapon). He made the edge too thin, so it would be a great cutter (but it rolled in the impact test). He came in second for those reasons.
After the show he said he agreed with my advise, and asked me what I would have advised he temper the blade at. I suggested 425°-450°F for Rc59/58. He had started to call me during the home forge week, but didn't know if it was allowed. They told him later that it would have been OK to "Phone a Friend". He tempered for a lower hardness fearing the blade would break if too hard. He figured a roll was better than a break. I pointed out that the blade would be no more likely to break at Rc58 than at Rc56, but the edge would be more likely to chip instead of roll in the (ridiculously) violent impact tests. Since the impact test is first, the edge would cut better with chips than with a roll ... and that was the deciding factor in the decision on who won. His rolled and the other one chipped.
