Thoughts on Forged in fire

I watched last nights show and have to say it was far better than the earlier ones. I enjoyed the show a lot more. Yes, there is the editorial drama and commentary of the messed up blade, smudged face, and dropped billets....but the quality of work and explanation of what was going on was far better. I also though the winner was far and away the best of the group.
It was a crying shame that the dagger maker didn't check his length and shorten the blade an inch.

Making a one fold 12 layer billet and a rough finished knife in 4 hours gets a tip of my hat to anyone. Making a five bar 21 layer billet into a really nice blade is going for the gold big time. His final blade was even more lovely....and functional. Hats off to his skills.
 
Last night's episode was by far and away the best. I was really bummed out that the two knives didn't get to be tested because of the knife without the handle. Still would have liked to see how they performed.
 
Yeah, I thought it was better also. Unfortunate about the contestant freezing up under the lights. You could really see on the judges faces that they wanted to tell him to stop and try something else. When Arnon was sitting there, 11 minutes to spare, with a very nice looking dagger you knew he was going to get cut. Did anyone else notice that they called them "blades" in this episode instead of always calling them weapons?

It looks like episodes are getting better. I'm kind of expecting them to keep getting better, culminating in JD and the other ABS masters in the final episode.

Anyone have any idea what happened to episode 2?
 
I thought it was the best episode so far. Was the first guy eliminated crying? One thing that irks me is the guy yelling "TIMES UP"!
 
In the same way that I am glad to have been and still am a member of a very famous motorcycle club before Sons of Anarchy aired, I am glad to be a knife maker prior to this show.
However, its fun to watch, not intended for "us", and allows us to laugh at the host's hair every single week! From experience, he should stay clear of all that fire and brimstone with that much grease in his hair!!! Ahhhh, the smell of a slow smoldering of hair beneath my cap.
 
But I do like the show and will watch it...
I do like the aspect of the time limit. Customers that have ownership of my knives see the raw results from the first and second rounds and feel even better about the amount of money they spent on my stuff. Little do they know that of any of those contestants could run circles around anyone if they had proper time and tooling and home shop advantage...I wouldnt stand a chance on the show so Kudos to those who dare to try!
 
They showed a really small press last night multiple times while the contestants were forging their initial blades. What type of press was it? I need to do research
 
I can completely live without that Wil Willis fellow.

I don't see a reason for him being there, surely they could put a buzzer on the clock.
 
I agree good episode, sucked that the one guys dagger was to long it was nice. Also noticed the introduced J . Nielson alot better and mention he was ABS master smith and not weapon making specialist or whatever they did last time.
 
Last nights show was pretty good, the host annoys me too but he does ask some questions to the judges that many of the tv viewership might ask. Do the contestants have any idea about the tests their blades will undergo prior to making them? I would love to see one or two more judges from different backgrounds added, as well as knives meant to be used for more practical purposes like food prep and safety/survival. The weapons are cool and all but, sheesh not everyone into blades is really into that type of thing.
 
Just saw the episode. I can't believe how red my eyes were during the forging part. For context I had to work 2 1/2 days straight before the show and had only slept about 2 hours before they picked us up for filming. I tried to get a charity auction knife done before leaving. Got the knife done but not the sheath. Thank god we didn't have to make a sheath as well.

I thought we would have 5 days to make the knife. I was definitely surprised to have only the short amount of time we did have.

Met some great people. At least if any of you do the show in the future you will no what to expect
 
That was a great episode.

Look forward to more.

The pressure really finds the holes in peoples game.
 
I have to say that I did enjoy last night's episode the best as well. Everytime the judges said something good about one of the guys blades being made, or made a mention of someone hardening a blade, I was just waiting for the inevitable cracked blade(s)... but to my surprise, not one! lol That was a nice change, to see none of the blades cracked during the first stage. :thumbup:

One thing I would like to see change if they do another season, is that I really wish they would give each of the contestants a small piece of paper with the size requirements on it, or even have some sort of a lit up board/sign showing the max and min inches of "blade length" or something, so they can take a second, third, or even forth look during the process to make sure they have it. It's such a stupid thing to get disqualified for if it's only a matter of forgetting, especially due to everything else goin on around them making it hard for them to think. Listening skills should not be judged on this show.... lol. However, if it's a matter of the blade breaking during them making it for whatever reason, and the bladesmith ends up not havinging enough time to make another one or even fix it, then I could definitely understand them being eliminated for that.

Another related thing is, even though they do mention the blade length requirements and say the words, "not including the tang," a lot of makers I believe automatically register the entire forged blade blank, including the tang, as part of the so called "blade" when they hear it, at least before the handle is put on the knife, and especially on hidden tangs. I wish they would change the wording and instread give a required "cutting edge" length, seems it would lessen the confusion, and confusion is just a dumb reason to be eliminated for..

One more thing I'd like to see change, is if the tempering takes place hours after the blade is quenched, they should tell the contestants that right up front just before they start, so that they can (if they choose to) take an oxy/ace torch, or even a propane torch and do a slight soft back draw of the spine and to get at least a little bit of a yellow color on the edge in order to help relieve all the stresses after the quench.

On another note, I'm pumped to find out that Murray Carter with be a contestant on Forged in Fire on August 10th! Can't wait to see that one.. he forges his blades very quick :D He has been such an inspiration to me for 95% of the time since I first started making knives, or rather ever since I first saw his work online ;)

~Paul
My YT Channel Lsubslimed
 
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Nice episode.
I believe most heat processing is done off the camera.
The guys made great work with the billet - much better material to start with than that ugly train coilspring :)

They made a billet, and moved to grinder without normalizing it first? Hard to believe. No stress relieving? No tempering?
 
They could cut the crybaby part, let the guys with delicate emotions leave with a shred of dignity :0/
 
So far with each episode the editing has been better and better. but that said, assume that there are things are dont that they dont show, or things that they are showing out of order. the editors dont allways know or care what WE would find important.
big Congrats to David, he did a hell of a job!
MP
 
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