Forged in Fire: on History Channel now. (Blade making competition.)

ndoghouse said:
Ha! Good one Rappy:thumbup: That right there pretty much sums it up. Actually compared to the crap thats on tv nowadays it was mildly entertaining but being master smiths you would think they would know how to measure four inches of serrations and have the quench down well enough to prevent giant fractures and such. I dont doubt they had to etch them blades to be able to show them defects for the camera. I expected to see more on the quenching normalizing etc. Not saying I could do any better but obviously it wasnt done to please knife nuts like us. I think it was a spin off of the Big Giant Swords show which I found much more entertaining.
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Didn't watch the show, don't own a TV, but I am wondering who designated the competitors Mastersmith??... I don't know an ABS Mastersmith who would be on such a show... did they actually Bio the competitors?
 
atavist said:
Didn't watch the show, don't own a TV, but I am wondering who designated the competitors Mastersmith??... I don't know an ABS Mastersmith who would be on such a show... did they actually Bio the competitors?
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That's quite a set of assumptions for someone who didn't see the show. I did not see any of the competitors called a Mastersmith. One of the judges, J. Neilson, is indeed a certified ABS MasterSmith.

What we need to remember is, this is a commercial TV show designed to get new viewers interested and sell ad time, not a PBS documentary* geared toward "knife people" and metallurgists. Knifemaker and knifemaking-supply dealer Tracy Mickley summed it up very well in a thread over in ShopTalk:

tmickley said:
The show isn't for knife makers, it's for a broader audience or it stands zero chance of being renewed or making money and TV is a money business first. There has to be some contrived "challenges" like short time deadlines, serrations or splitting a bullet (sigh...) or making a Katana and whacking a body model to make it interesting for those that have no idea custom knife makers exist -- which is about everyone that may have watched it.

We as knife makers are a very small percentage and maybe 95 out of a 100 "ordinary" people have never heard of custom knife making. The exposure this show brings can help with that. I'm sure some viewers will not understand how much time it takes to make a good knife. I'm also sure some customer will want a knife that punches through steel drums. A five minute conversation with a new client will take care of that. If I watch a TV show on how Ninja's train, I don't think I'll become a Ninja after that with three hours practice. I also don't think many people will believe they can make a knife in 3 hours.

I understand the concerns makers have about broadcasting factual and accepted knife making techniques and results. We all want a realistic portrayal of the process and the performance a custom knife can give you. After talking to a few of the contestants, they feel good about the experience and how the producers are setting up the show and I trust their opinion.

Knife making has been a blacksmith, guild, trade or military closely guarded secret until WW2. Custom knife making didn't really become well know (relatively) until the 70's when it started to become more widely known. We can thank Lovelass and several others for that. There has been no other TV show like this and we can use the exposure, even if it isn't framed up exactly like we would prefer it to be done.

I think the amount of interest in custom knives will increase as will new makers coming into the craft. I don't see a downside to this even if it set up as an elimination style reality show. I thought the judges, the host and the overall feel of the show is respectful of the craft and the knife makers competing on the show. It's not a "how to" show, it's an entertainment show. I'd certainly film it and show it a little differently. I bet every knife maker would but for what it is as entertainment, I think they showed knife makers as humble, passionate and skilled craftsman and that was more important to me than most anything else.
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*if you're more interested in a much more in-depth and serious show about sword-making, without a bunch of hype, The NOVA/Nat Geo "Secrets of the Viking Sword" documentary, featuring Rick Furrer (with assistance from Kevin Cashen) is really quite good.

[video=youtube;nXbLyVpWsVM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXbLyVpWsVM&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
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Bringing this forward as I'm catching up on last season episodes before the new season starts.

Chopped for Knife nuts.:thumbup:

Im in the this is a good show to appeal to a broad audience camp.

Not a knife maker but I can see how this type format could turn you off.
 
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Recording
 
It's on right now and I'm watching it for the first time. Pretty unimpressed by the quality of work, tbh. The one finalist has a "forge" and work practices that make me cringe.
 
It really doesn't do much for me. Power hammer? LOL, my neighbors would hate me. I really can't relate at all.
 
Gotta love that Pinoy guy making a forge out of a satellite dish and hair dryer. :D

The guy won with his Viking battle ax.

Egads at the guy who oil quenched his blade with no gloves on. Bandages on his hands At the end.
 
Craig Camerer is going to be on this upcoming season.... So, I'm looking forward to that.
 
Bill DeShivs will be on as well. He is a regular in the makers subforums.
 
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