Thoughts on Forged in fire

james terrio said:
Well, it was better than "Mike & Molly" or "Big Bang Theory". I guess the thing to remember is, the show wasn't intended for us. *shrug*

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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Interesting that the anvil he was using wasn't that different than the old sledgehammer head in wood/concrete hobbiest anvils.

I guess you would miss the horn a bit for drawing but for those that don't have a full sized anvil if he can forge a sword with it then it goes to show you don't need a huge anvil.
 
Here's what I posted on the subject in a different section of this forum.

Ok. I'll be in an episode July 20th. Due to my contract I really can't say anything. I will say what I was told it was going to be and what it was, was two different things entirely. That's about all I'm comfortable saying online. I did have a great time, met some pretty cool people. Just wish I could have seen more of the city while I was their. Just remember everything you see and hear is for entertainment and ratings, not how to properly make a knife or our actual opinions. If someone would have walked in my shop, laid down ten thousand dollars to make a knife like we had to do on the show, I would give them their money back and direct them to the nearest mall ninja store.

But if this show does well it will open the doors to other shows. It has to make ratings and produce money. Once it produces both then and only then can a producer push for a show more geared to guys like us. Which is already being planned.

And like Bruce I don't have cable so I have to wait a long time before I can even see the episode I'm in.
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james terrio said:
Well, it was better than "Mike & Molly" or "Big Bang Theory". I guess the thing to remember is, the show wasn't intended for us. *shrug*

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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That is an excellent video
 
They all had nice pieces of flat stock, I think I would have heated the blade up hit it twice with a hammer and then went straight to the grinder and finished with stock removal, it would have been nice to know what steel they were using
 
It was "high carbon", didn't you hear? After all, theres only one high carbon steel right? Anyway, I watched it today and it was a typical reality show. Fake deadlines, drama, unrealistic stuff.... I will probably keep watching for now just in case I learn something!
John Katt said:
They all had nice pieces of flat stock, I think I would have heated the blade up hit it twice with a hammer and then went straight to the grinder and finished with stock removal, it would have been nice to know what steel they were using
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Matt R said:
It was "high carbon", didn't you hear? After all, theres only one high carbon steel right? Anyway, I watched it today and it was a typical reality show. Fake deadlines, drama, unrealistic stuff.... I will probably keep watching for now just in case I learn something!
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With all the stress fractures I'm beginning to think it was High High carbon steel not the High carbon steel they said it was, they should have used the slower quench medium bacon grease for the High High carbon steel ;0)
 
While it was extremely painful to watch. It has had a very good advertising campaign which brought in a lot of viewers.

What you have to understand is that history channel wants to make money. While the first episode was lame, if it gains a following the knife community can get its foot in the door and start making suggestions and stuff.

This show is a dry run to see if it can make money.
If it does , don't be shocked if there are more shows about knives. This is what happened with the firearms community with sons of guns. But

As a community we should petition history channel to not do a series, but a batch of specials about how the process works and the historical changes over time effected the blades. Because if they try to turn it into a series the only way for it to work is dumb gimmicks like reality tv competitions. If it's specials they can focus in on being correct and accurate

Hell a documentary going in depth on how to make a katana from scratch using the correct period equipment and techniques would be a huge hit if marketed properly. Guest being people like Murray carter who have actually been to japan to learn from the masters

You need to be careful with this.

This could be a blessing or a curse.
 
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Also one more very important thought.

This becoming popular without history channel explaining safety will result in kids going to Home Depot to buy whatever metal is available and throwing it in fires.

We don't need a metal fume fever outbreak

So we need to get the word out in the community to not participate in these shows unless proper safety is involved and disclaimers are added about how dead you can end up via simple mistakes

I don't have much pull around here but maybe some of you more connected guys can get the word out
 
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John Katt said:
With all the stress fractures I'm beginning to think it was High High carbon steel not the High carbon steel they said it was, they should have used the slower quench medium bacon grease for the High High carbon steel ;0)
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I was told that it was 1084. Not surprisingly, Don Hanson was spot on with the overheating in forging and heat treat. The bright lights for filming surely made it difficult for them to tell how hot things were by color. I was also told there was over a 4 hour delay in tempering after heat treat.

Chris
 
Salolan said:
I was told that it was 1084. Not surprisingly, Don Hanson was spot on with the overheating in forging and heat treat. The bright lights for filming surely made it difficult for them to tell how hot things were by color. I was also told there was over a 4 hour delay in tempering after heat treat.
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I didn't see any of the bright orange sparks from over heating, Nobody thought to bring a magnet??
 
Why bring a magnet when you can bring brand new 90 dollar 55gallon drums with blue water to stab?
 
John Katt said:
They all had nice pieces of flat stock, I think I would have heated the blade up hit it twice with a hammer and then went straight to the grinder and finished with stock removal...
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Thank you, I've been waiting very patiently for someone else to notice that :D

Quite frankly, I would have completely skipped the "heating it up and smacking it twice with a hammer" part, drilled a couple holes in the tang end for Corby bolts, walked straight to the grinder, and after about an hour, spent the rest of my 3 hours on very carefully hardening and tempering it. Cracked blade, over-heated blade, fouled-up grain structure? Nope.

They skipped the whole HT part, so... that's lunchtime for me while my blade gets a second temper cycle. Three hours to put a handle together? Yeah, I can do that. It's not gonna be high-dollar collector-worthy, but... heh.

But that would be super boring to watch on TV. It's a show about bladesmithing. Burly guy hammering on hot steel? Exciting! Some dude standing in front of a grinder? Yawn-fest :yawn:

JZknives said:
This becoming popular without history channel explaining safety will result in kids going to Home Depot to buy whatever metal is available and throwing it in fires.
We don't need a metal fume fever outbreak.
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Calm down. Safety is indeed very important, but I really don't see a huge rash of kids getting hurt in the future. There's this thing called the internet now, and folks who really want to get into making edged tools or weapons because of that show, are probably going to find forums like this where they can get good safe advice.

It's really astounding to me, the backlash I'm seeing on this, and moreso, other forums/social media about this show. What the heck are y'all afraid of? More people might want handmade knives, or *gasp* try to learn to make them? Oh NOES! :eek:

Jiminy Crickets, some people just will not accept a boost in interest towards our beloved craft... :rolleyes:
 
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I do agree it "could" be good for the custom knife market. When they do a show on something your passionate about, you get all geeked up for it. Then you watch it and can't help but be disappointed because it doesn't come close to accurately representing the process of making a good, or great, knife/sword. We will all benefit if it boost interest in the custom knife world.QUOTE=james terrio;14917971]Thank you, I've been waiting very patiently for someone else to notice that :D

Quite frankly, I would have completely skipped the "heating it up and smacking it twice with a hammer" part, drilled a couple holes in the tang end for Corby bolts, walked straight to the grinder, and after about an hour, spent the rest of my 3 hours on very carefully hardening and tempering it. Cracked blade, over-heated blade, fouled-up grain structure? Nope.

They skipped the whole HT part, so... that's lunchtime for me while my blade gets a second temper cycle. Three hours to put a handle together? Yeah, I can do that. It's not gonna be high-dollar collector-worthy, but... heh.

But that would be super boring to watch on TV. It's a show about bladesmithing. Burly guy hammering on hot steel? Exciting! Some dude standing in front of a grinder? Yawn-fest :yawn:



Calm down. Safety is indeed very important, but I really don't see a huge rash of kids getting hurt in the future. There's this thing called the internet now, and folks who really want to get into making edged tools or weapons because of that show, are probably going to find forums like this where they can get good safe advice.

It's really astounding to me, the backlash I'm seeing on this, and moreso, other forums/social media about this show. What the heck are y'all afraid of? More people might want handmade knives, or *gasp* try to learn to make them? Oh NOES! :eek:

Jiminy Crickets, some people just will not accept a boost in interest towards our beloved craft... :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]
 
John Katt said:
I don't know Don, in the opening credits a guy is holding his face over the quench bucket and likely lost his eyebrows, There has to be a lesson learned from that experience ;0)
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Yeah John, I guess one can learn 'something' watching TV. ;)
 
I managed to watch up to the first round of judging on the knife blanks, then my lunch ended and I had to get back to work. Like a lot of other makers on here, I found myself feeling disappointed about the skewed perception that was conveyed about knifemaking. Most frustrating of all, these were makers who had nearly a decade of experience in the craft or more - I felt the show did not personally do them justice. By rushing the process, we don't get to see their best work. They should be making and showing blades that make me green with envy, not knife shaped objects that I would be embarrassed to have on my workbench.

Yes, I kinda figured that the show was not intended exclusively for custom makers and metallurgists, but at least for the duration that I watched, absolutely not metallurgy was discussed - not even mentioning WHAT carbon steel they were using, which if even the judging panel is made up of makers also, came as a bit of a shocker. If this show does draw a crowd of people with with knifemaking knowledge that varies between "none" and "that one scene from Conan", there will probably be a lot of very deluded newbies out there. All of them getting frustrated when it's been 3 to 4 hours and their elvish broadsword still looks like square bar with hammer nicks, or why they can't keep an edge on the carbon steel they bought at Home Depot. So, if this show does really take off, the Count is going to have it rough for the next several months.

4/10: Would watch if there was nothing else good on.
 
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