Forged in Fire. Am I mising something?

Wow! I'm honored to be in the company of so many celebrities! For real. This is an awesome forum. I get the "TV Thing" as I have a show myself. (check out "Freedom Fighters" on the Pursuit Channel.) It was negative remarks I've read that led me to believe there was some problem I didn't understand. I am glad to hear about the off camera heat treating because they never made mention of it so I thought I was missing something.

No, I don't expect to become a seasoned 'Smith by watching a TV show, but for a new guy like me, there is really plenty to learn. I like the history as well as terminology explanations.

I greatly appreciate the company of this forum too. Its a long journey but I'm a willing student. Thank you, and know how much I appreciate your talent. Its nice to put faces to names. Awesome!
 
idHawk said:
I love the show. Of course, I am nobody when it comes to the world of blades. This is only my second post on this forum, but it was the show that inspired me to check this place out. I know very little about knives to this point, other than being a guy that has purchased many of them over the years. I actually know people in the industry, but I've never really caught the bug enough to really appreciate their skills. After binge watching the first season, I am inspired to get my feet wet and attempt to make my first knife. Walter Sorrels video on making a knife from a file is my guide this first time. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the talent you guys have. It's quite amazing. The show is what it is. I am smart to enough to know there is more to it than what meets the eye. Doug can be a bit annoying, but all the petty crap aside, the show puts knife makers into a positive light. Kudos to anyone brave enough to put their name and reputation on the line. I have nothing but respect for those that give it a shot, even those with early exits. As for you, Salem, I really enjoyed the episode you were in. Loved the finished project!
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Hi Hawk:
Welcome to the disease. I made my first few knives out of old saw blades and old files. Some of them worked out and some were real turds. It was fun, though, and gave me a chance to get a basic feel for bladesmithing before buying new steel.

Walter Sorrels has great videos. Check out Trollsky, as well.
 
Never watched it until a rainy day spent watching TV and they had all the shows on back to back. I started watching and got hooked big time!!! I love it and can't wait till tomorrow night when the new episode is on!!!
 
How about giving each contestant 10 seconds showing the style of blades they make professionally , that would help the show i think.

Not sure if they need to show every blade being used as a weapon , pretty sure kitchen knives account for more knife sales than any other use .
 
My opinion here is directed at Salem because he was a contestant on the show. I just saw the episode this week on my cable channel and I really liked it. Salem Straub showed good form and did a great job. The pressure must have been overwhelming . That was one of the best shows they have produced. I must say that I don't like the part of the testing where the martial arts fellow says " it will kill". That is unnecessary and kind of tacky in my opinion but still a great show overall. The latest episode was really tough on the contestants and I felt sorry for them hand cranking air blowers on their forges and working against time. I hope the show continues and congratulate Mr. Straub on his excellent performance. Larry
 
Nice to see a show that isn't politically correct. Kind of like Ernie Emerson in the beginning when they tried to tell him not to call his knives weapons and he said I'm calling them what they are. Those big swords were made to kill not open the mail lol!!!
 
I just watched the episode where the contestants had to have a visible harmon. That was possibly the closest I have seen as far as the choice the judge had to make to send someone home. Its inspiring to see so much work done in such a short time by these guys. Its also interesting to see proper equipment used correctly. Good stuff! Any members on that episode?
 
The show has become something that my boys and I look forward to every week. We get a kick out of things like "it will keeel" and all of the tests/stresses that these blades are put through. Blows us away what these guys can come up with in such a short time. We also get a look at some weapons that we've never seen or have seen in some of our favorite movies.
It has also put a spark into us to build a forge (first was a coal forge - neighbors nearly kicked me out of the neighborhood) then a gas. We've built a few blades and even done some experiments for their school work (did you know you can get a piece of rebar to shatter after quenching in water?).
 
My criticism of the show is as follows. It follows the format/concept of a cooking show, and for this reason it is entertaining, but fundamentally flawed.

A successful chef is someone who must:
  • Work well under pressure
  • Work quickly
  • Be flexible as to the 'raw materials' (ingredients) and equipment provided
  • Be able and willing to work in a wide variety of styles

A successful bladesmith is basically the opposite, in that he/she is usually a meticulous perfectionist and a specialist.
 
I got rid of cable so I havnt been able to watch season 2 yet. But I sure do plan on it. The main thing with a show like this is its for entertainment and fun and I give mad props to the guys producing/filming the show and especially the contestants. Some episodes willb e bettern than others and Im sure there are gonna be some unfair things that pop up. It seems to me like the amount of time the show is produced in is also very fast, I think they are all really crunched to get things done too, kinda like the contestants...all in all its a pretty impressive show.
 
It amazes me. Contestants never know what they still start with. It may be Ball bearing, an ice chisel, a bar of steel or a pile of assorted metals to choose from. They have requirements given to them, like a minimum of 6 layers, a specific blade length, and an additional features, like a hamon or drop point. The work they can accomplish in such a short time, in a new or foreign ship is crazy. I'm inspired by it.
 
S 2 E 4
Spiked Shield

Three is the magic number as our blade smiths are asked to forge three or more metals into a blade of their signature style. Despite pain and failure, two move on to the final round returning home to forge a legendary spiked shield. After a punishing round of testing only one emerges to be crowned the Forged in Fire Champion.

Premieres on:Mar 08, 2016

We'll see if tonight goes anybetter, but based on the shows description above, it looks to be another possible setup for failure.

Should be interesting.
 
I gotta say, this episode wasn't much better. Although the winning shield looked spectacular, it was a show filled with failures, far more than the earlier episodes. Not a single knife completed both initial tests, and for the first time a final project wasn't finished. I'm really not liking the way this looks to be headed, and sincerely hope I'm wrong.

However, I did notice that the contestants were mostly armourers previously, which is intriguing. I have no problem with a shield being the final project, it was forged, and they were both comfortable with it.
 
Atlas Knife Company said:
I gotta say, this episode wasn't much better. Although the winning shield looked spectacular, it was a show filled with failures, far more than the earlier episodes. Not a single knife completed both initial tests, and for the first time a final project wasn't finished. I'm really not liking the way this looks to be headed, and sincerely hope I'm wrong.

However, I did notice that the contestants were mostly armourers previously, which is intriguing. I have no problem with a shield being the final project, it was forged, and they were both comfortable with it.
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It's hard to watch the failures for sure, but I don't think it's necessarily the fault of the show. It's not as if nobody finished a knife, or that there wasn't enough time to finish that shield. At the end of the day, some failures will for sure be due to a difference between difficulty and experience, but I think just as much of it has to do with strategy and making reasonable decisions: Knowing when to cut your losses vs continuing on with a plan, keeping it simple vs going all out, choice of materials and technique, etc... all factor in.

FWIW, I think the 2nd smith to be sent home would have passed both tests had he not been working through tendinitis issues and had a little more time to sharpen his edge properly. I think it may also be time to look into learning how to use a power hammer, and try to save what's left of that arm.
Ilya's blade would have likely done much better had he not been trying to crunch together a birds nest of bandsaw (and/or chainsaw) blades, as he seemed to have a lot of de-lam and inclusion issues. It's not that his method wasn't a viable way to forge weld materials together, but given the time constraints, he needed to simplify, IMO.
 
I finally watched the three shows that were available on demand - cool show.

I hate that they constantly call the pieces "weapons", but in the context of the show they are typically asking for weapons and the "testing" that the cutting guy (the odd one that says "this knife will keeeel") performs simulated attacks with the knives/swords.

It is actually a fun show to watch - and congrats to Salem - that was the best episode and he was epic in doing the pattern welded blade, good stuff!

The prize should be more than $10,000 in my opinion; if Salem made a sword like the one he submitted on the show, it would have been a significant cost I would presume, so I would say the prize should be at LEAST $25,000 - if not double that.

best

mqqn
 
I've enjoyed the show very much.

Some of the tests challenges are not too imressive.

I felt that the claymore cut on the pigs was a blown cut. It appeared to be a flat blow on the first, and nearly flat on the broken sword.
 
Its a good show for what its worth, and its one of the few that the viewer can follow without the content being hacked up into many little pieces.
 
I enjoy watching the show, but I also realize it's entertainment for the masses, not a hammer in. No one could educate the self on how to make a blade from the show. Too much is left out of the process. I think some running subtitles with basic explanations of the steps would help, and showing a sample or two of smiths' work would be entertaining and an addition to the show.

The nerd in me would like to see descriptions of why a crowbar might be a bad choice for a blade (too low carbon) as would a file (too high carbon without temp control.) a text box with a description that experienced smiths choose steel carefully for certain properties would be nice. Even if there was just a brief segment each week, that would be nice.

I have a question for Salem: do the smiths have a better understanding of heat treat than the show lets on? The heat treat they show in the vast majority of cases is pretty basic. That may be because of the specific projects exceed the smiths' equipment, but I've been curious.
 
I've enjoyed the show very much.

Some of the tests challenges are not too imressive.

I felt that the claymore cut on the pigs was a blown cut. It appeared to be a flat blow on the first, and nearly flat on the broken sword.
 
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