MIRABILE FORGED IN FIRE OCT 24 2017

I had concerns about the cutting and have spoken to several Contestants about such....

Given the many different styles/shapes/balance of the hafts/blades on these weapons, there seems to be a consensus that, given the surrounding circumstances, Doug does an admirable job with what he’s got to work with.
 
LX_Emergency said:
Now I don't claim to be a good cutter in any way shape or form. But every time I see one of the slowmo shots of Doug Marcaida slapping a side of meat with the flat of the blade (Which is almost every time I see a slow mo of him cutting) it angers me. It just does sooo much injustice to the hard work of the smiths.

Still though....I enjoy the show other than that annoyance.
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My daughter calls him a fish slapper! When a nine year old notices, that's pretty bad.
 
PaulDiStefano said:
Cool cool cool. I hope to see some type of Japanese inspired blade being forged haha
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I read that it was the Crusader sword, should be epic!

Someday I'm gonna be a ruthless guest judge on that show. BWAHAHAHAHA!

"Mecha is going to test the strength of your blade by beating it into this forklift. Remember, it's not what your blade does to the forklift, it's what the forklift does to your blade."

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In my house, we constantly stop the cuts and my young boys note that Doug seems to be hitting with the flat of the blade a lot when he tries to cut wirh swords! I call him "The Slapper" they really need to get a person more trained with long edged weapons for those tests. I note the gentleman in the vest seems to know how to cut with a sword when he uses them, much more so than Doug Marchida.

I do enjoy the show, still, and am always excited when a maker i "know" from facebook or bladeforums is on. It is neat to root for people.

Excited to watch Mirable!

I try to take the time to show my boys and wife the knives the makers are capable of when not under silly time constraints, with unfamiliar equipment, and mystery steel!
 
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AVigil said:
Good thing everybody who enters is unknown to the majority of people who watch the show.

If the top chefs in the world can survive and thrive after competing in Iron Chef and losing, then bladesmiths will be just fine.

I have been making knives for 8 years and still have no clue who 99% of the people are who compete on the show lol
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No, I wasn't talking about the majority of the people on the show, more about the top five percent who don't need the show to sell knives and have long back logs, who sell high end knives to a relatively small market of discriminating customers. They have everything to lose and nothing to gain.

That's why the show has trouble enticing those people to compete. They have plenty of less established smiths signing up but they have to seek out the more experienced guys and work a little harder to get them to participate. A chance at a ten thousand dollar prize is small inducement to a guy that has a back log of three thousand dollar knives to build. Especially when his reputation may well be on the line. He will need to be very confident and he will only be doing for the challenge and the excitement of it.
 
Mark Knapp said:
No, I wasn't talking about the majority of the people on the show, more about the top five percent who don't need the show to sell knives and have long back logs, who sell high end knives to a relatively small market of discriminating customers. They have everything to lose and nothing to gain.

That's why the show has trouble enticing those people to compete. They have plenty of less established smiths signing up but they have to seek out the more experienced guys and work a little harder to get them to participate. A chance at a ten thousand dollar prize is small inducement to a guy that has a back log of three thousand dollar knives to build. Especially when his reputation may well be on the line. He will need to be very confident and he will only be doing for the challenge and the excitement of it.
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Well said Mark

Imagine a well touted performance smith having a blade break in the first go around

Let’s face it a guy that would get close to 10 k for a sword and not even being able to sell the piece has everything to lose andnothing to gain

Boy with all the hoopla I’ve been spouting about Mirabiles piece he better not get eliminated in the first round :)
 
We all have seen some very famous and top level makers on the show out in the first round and others who make it further not win.

They will be just fine

It is not often you hear that a Knifemaker does not need $10,000 and national attention.
 
AVigil said:
We all have seen some very famous and top level makers on the show out in the first round and others who make it further not win.

They will be just fine

It is not often you hear that a Knifemaker does not need $10,000 and national attention.
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If a high end maker just stayed home and made three knives, the ten thousand would be a sure thing. Nobody needs the wrong kind of national attention for a failure, especially a top end maker. For me the investment in time to be on the show was between two and three weeks, I could have used the time to fill orders instead.

You said earlier that you didn't know who 99% of the people on the show are. I know a large percentage of the high end makers and have spoken to many of them about the show. It's not surprising that you and I see things differently, we aren't talking to the same people.

My point is simple, an established maker has lots of things to consider before deciding to compete on the show. That's why you don't see many on there. You see things differently and it's OK.
 
Some folks lose money even when they win. Others could really use an extra $10,000. I caught up on bills and did some shop upgrades. :)

It is very much a test of problem solving every step of the way. There's a lot of skill, persistence, clear thinking, good planning, and a good dash of luck that goes into winning the show. There was no part of it that was easy for me, but it was enjoyable and definitely worth it for me.

One of the things I like about the show is how it mixes up skill and experience levels. It's not always the guy with the better shop and more years who wins, it's not always the plucky underdog who wins.
 
Storm Crow said:
Some folks lose money even when they win. Others could really use an extra $10,000. I caught up on bills and did some shop upgrades. :)

It is very much a test of problem solving every step of the way. There's a lot of skill, persistence, clear thinking, good planning, and a good dash of luck that goes into winning the show. There was no part of it that was easy for me, but it was enjoyable and definitely worth it for me.

One of the things I like about the show is how it mixes up skill and experience levels. It's not always the guy with the better shop and more years who wins, it's not always the plucky underdog who wins.
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Yep
 
Well, it is probably a good thing they stay home and watch it on TV then.

It is always enjoyable to see the highly talented bladesmiths who do participate on the show compete, even when they do not win.

Has it really harmed their reputation for not winning? Probably only in the eyes of the few who are jealous of their talent.

In my business I have talked with hundreds of people who do watch the show, because they know I make knives, sure I do not know the small handful of makers who competed but I know the show has greatly increase the reputation and respect of those who have competed win or lose and many of my clients have started ordering knives from those on and off the show because of the respect they have gained for knifemaking and bladesmithing.
 
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AVigil said:
Well, it is probably a good thing they stay home and watch it on TV then.

It is always enjoyable to see the highly talented bladesmiths who do participate on the show compete, even when they do not win.

Has it really harmed their reputation for not winning? Probably only in the eyes of the few who are jealous of their talent.

In my business I have talked with hundreds of people who do watch the show, because they know I make knives, sure I do not know the small handful of makers who competed but I know the show has greatly increase the reputation and respect of those who have competed win or lose and many of my clients have started ordering knives from those on and off the show because of the respect they have gained for knifemaking and bladesmithing.
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I did not mean to say the show was not good for knife making, it sure is. "A rising tide lifts all boats"

One maker in this thread said he lost orders because of the show, he may or may not have. Some makers have taken a hit to their reputations, I am sure they will be OK, we all have lots of ups and downs.

I'm not sure where jealousy comes into play when it has to do with a collector making a decision on who buy from based on what he saw on the show. I really hot maker can go from hot to cold in a very short time from whatever influences there may be, it happens all the time. You don't need to be on a show for that to happen but it's quite possible for it to happen if you experience a catastrophic failure on the show. The high end knife market is a funny thing, trends can change over night.

As for me, I don't sit at home and watch the show, don't have cable. I actually wasn't even really interested in it until I was asked to be on it. I would rather be making knives than watch them being made. I have really enjoyed the episodes I have seen though.

Actually you said it yourself Adam, we don't know 99% of the makers on the show because the well known makers are reluctant to go on there.

All the best.
 
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