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Sol

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I know one of you guys has to be on the TV show called "Forged in Fire".

If none of you are, maybe you should audition.

I've seen some nice lookin' homemade knives on this forum and you may give some of the guys on the show a run for their money.
 
Nope, none of the folks here.

I've grown to like the show in spite of the fact it cuts hours and hours of time down to just a few minutes. It does show the public that it isn't easy to start from steel and make any knife.
 
That's editing for ya.

I find it interesting that almost all the screw ups happen during the heat treating process.
 
Most hobbyists (and many that pursue their hobby for money....) have a pretty narrow field of interest. I have watched as they are confronted by "challenges" that many times are completely afield from what they normally do... I'm betting that there's a world of difference in quality and workmanship between their normal crafting and what we see on the show...
 
There's no way I'd make a knife under time constraints like that, I'd probably screw it up too! But when you rush through the build you're much more likely to have something bad happen when you heat it up and then quench. Crack!
 
We were sitting around Ron Claiborne's after the first show and started kicking the show around. We came to the conclusion that we knew 2 bladesmiths that we knew could dominate if they were on the show, but only 2. None of the smith present said they'd want to step into a strange shop and try to do what was done in the allotted time in that shop. These were guys doing it well enough to make money at it and not get ripped apart by a pretty tough crowd here.
 
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I like certain aspects of the show, but some of it is really cheesy. I understand that cheese sells ratings, so to some extent, cheese is a necessary evil in any TV show. But the Cold Steel-esq tendency to focus on everything as a "killer" and assess every practical field knife as a weapon is a bit annoying. Again, it sells ratings, so it's not a deal breaker for me. I've seen some neat stuff on the show, and do watch it.
 
it took me about 20 hours to make this one over a three month period, 50 years ago..
everything from scratch... a used cold roll steel hacksaw blade.. .250 thick and at the right ROC. use to cut 10 inch in diameter rolls of steel. some brass scrap in the scrap bin... some mica, epoxy, and some pieces of exotic wood from a friend who makes violins..
Lots of grinding , sanding and polishing... I did go to a hobby shop... ( a hobby shop back in the 60's is what we call a craft store today) to make the sheath.

I recently found this knife with some old holsters, I hadn't seen this knife in about 25 years.

i-jnhxdcx-L.jpg
 
"Forged in Fire" TV show

I know very little about knives and even less about knife making, but I'm sort of enjoying the Show.

Is it really possible to make a quality knife in the six hour time frame the show allows?


Thanks all.
 
I don't know much about knife making as well but I like the TV. show it is interesting.
 
Old Bear, I've merged your question into the existing thread we have going on this. :)
 
oldbear to answer your question. Very experienced knife makers can make a quality knife in 6 hours but very few will risk their reputation trying it. Hobby or not very experienced knife makers have a very low chance of making a quality knife.
I've made a few knives using the stock removal method and with most of those I spent more than 6 hours prep work before doing the heat treating. The "ping" that 1095 produces when it cracks during heat treating is a sound that both disgusts me and is a little dear to my heart.
 
Remember that the final piece is done over a week at the home shop and that the pieces done in the show shop are 3 hour efforts.

I know 2 makers that could produce a knife in the 3 hour window to meet the show requirements, but they'd rather spend some more time to finish it out after forging, grinding and building.
 
When I consider the time and environmental constraints imposed during the first and second elimination phase I am impressed with some of what was made, but I would not buy an of it. To get anything useable in such a short time period is to be praised. I am not much impressed with what I have seen produced in the 5 day final phase. Most of the stuff made in the 5 day final is less than optimal in design. The Rapiers made in the last episode I saw were obviously way too heavy and clumsy. The winner of the Chakra/Chakram episode did a good job and it was a pleasure to see reality defeat the ridiculous fantasy Xena hunk of junk.

"It will kill" and some of the other theatrics are there to appeal to adolescents and immature adults. Some of the testing media and techniques leave much to be desired.
 
I enjoy the craftsmanship but,
Will Willis is annoying in general but specifically when he says, "surrender your weapon".
 
Ha! The seasons final episode has makers I know personally. Matter of fact I have knives from Ray, Murray and Mace. All are great bladesmiths, but I've known Ray the longest and best and he's as loveable in person as he appears on the show. Murray is a genius and classically trained in Japan and a great guy too. Mace is a talented smith, nice guy, and man of quality.

I won't spoil it for anyone that didn't watch.
 
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