Forged in Fire--new show tonight on the History channel

So far not bad!! They not only have to make the blade,, but it seems they give it a good working test to make sure it's functional,,chopping, slicing,, etc
 
Thought it was OK. Wish they gave them like 12 hours for the Blade and another 6 for the handles and finishing.
Better yet,do it like Face Off. Start with 12 to 15 Smiths going for 100K and give them a full day or day and a half per blade.
 
Never really cared for the shows with the 'you have 3 hours to make the least crummy _______'. The katana portion was good, though.
 
Too much edit/time running out drama. Standard competition show set up.

But it was blades! I'll keep watching.

They should have let the final 2 fight each other to the death with blades they made. Or at least told them they had to just to see their expressions change.
 
Overall I enjoyed the show. I do wish that they focused less on drama and more on the actual construction of the blades, but unfortunately that is the recipe for "reality" TV. I would also liked to have seen the contestants given more time for the initial blade so that their true skill would be better displayed. From a filming standpoint, I understand why they moved the final challenge to the competitors home bases (they could film several first rounds back to back in the studio while other contestants were at home making their blades), but I do wish we were able to see more of the actual blade making.
 
Typical reality show crap format. Everythings drama with time running out 'but we pulled it off', meh.
 
zmbhntr said:
Overall I enjoyed the show. I do wish that they focused less on drama and more on the actual construction of the blades, but unfortunately that is the recipe for "reality" TV. I would also liked to have seen the contestants given more time for the initial blade so that their true skill would be better displayed. From a filming standpoint, I understand why they moved the final challenge to the competitors home bases (they could film several first rounds back to back in the studio while other contestants were at home making their blades), but I do wish we were able to see more of the actual blade making.
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I completely agree. I wish that more discussion of the interviews on methods and why they chose those. I understand that tradesman want to keep some processes to themselves. Overall the final product was very good in terms of a show. I will continue to watch it as I am sure they refine it.
 
Agree with most of the comments. It was about 80% reality show bs and 20% interesting. Would have liked less drama and build up on the judges decisions and more explanation from the judges about why they made those decisions. Less time constraint drama and more depth from each bladesmith on their techniques and choices. The time constraint thing seems forced in this show. Who builds a knife in three hours? UNLESS! They were to add a drunkenness component, then we could see how other PIMPs would be made. That would instantly make this show awesome.
 
J. Neilson (ABS MS) who is active here was one of the judges.
 
It was OK but would be infinitely better get if they got rid of the ridiculous time constraints and gave the smiths sufficient time to execute their designs properly and let them explain what, why and how they are doing what they are doing. Then let the judges judge based on design, artistry, craftsmanship and functionality. I'd have preferred a closer model to Faceoff - a larger group of smiths all given the same task each week with the best blade given the winner's stake and the worst sent home. That would supply all the suspense and drama needed. At the end, let the finalists do whatever they want to impress the judges and win the grand prize.
 
Just watched it now...

Mixed emotions...

Glad- Happy to see Bladesmiths get recognition they deserve for hard work / science / art behind their craft. Equally happy that there's something on the boobtoob that is about our obession: KNIVES!

Sad- Time constraints, I know they are necessary for production of TV shows, but I don't think forging, treating, finishing is easily accomplished in those timeframes...just look at how many smiths cracked their blades during the HT/tempering process during the trials.

IN SUMMATION...I'll watch it again :thumbup:
 
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