Thoughts on Forged in fire

Cool a TV show on knifemaking
 
You're gonna have to read between the lines a bit. I believe I saw some ball bearings in one of the forges. Kinda makes you feel special when you notice something that others wouldn't.

I dunno. I'll keep my dvr going for now. Especially knowing that there are members here who will be featured in the coming months. [emoji106]
 
Omega Leather Works said:
You're gonna have to read between the lines a bit. I believe I saw some ball bearings in one of the forges. Kinda makes you feel special when you notice something that others wouldn't.

I dunno. I'll keep my dvr going for now. Especially knowing that there are members here who will be featured in the coming months. [emoji106]
Click to expand...

I noticed the ball bearings on one of the previews to the show.

Jay
 
I wish I wasn't hearing these things...

Many of these guys are my friends, and I hoped for better for them, although I must admit I feared what all of you are saying was inevitable.
 
I'm sure all these guys are very talented and excellent bladesmiths. It's just a shame this show will not display their talent.
Matthew Gregory said:
I wish I wasn't hearing these things...

Many of these guys are my friends, and I hoped for better for them, although I must admit I feared what all of you are saying was inevitable.
Click to expand...
 
I watched it again the other day I had it DVR and I think people are being kinda hard on it. Still a new show and has to be hard for those guys to keep that pace when you are used to working at your own pace. I think it will get better. I'm still very new to knifemaking but I found it enjoyable.
 
Josh Mason said:
Haha yes! It's like a professional accordion player saying "Hey look, an accordion show on TV!"

It's not for us, guys.
Click to expand...


Hahaha,

Could you just imagine how actual lifeguards felt while watching Bay Watch?

:D
 
I enjoyed the show. I like everything about knives and fire. I can't wait till the next episode.
I had to watch it with a small screen online the next day because we don't have cable or dish. Does anybody have a better method of getting it?
 
Matthew Gregory said:
I wish I wasn't hearing these things...

Many of these guys are my friends, and I hoped for better for them, although I must admit I feared what all of you are saying was inevitable.
Click to expand...
Don't sweat it man. The show is far from awful. I really don't understand why people are giving it so much flak. Way I see it it's not made to be criticized by pro knifemakers, it's designed to be a fun competition for a viewership that knows little about the processes of forging and creating bladed tools and, yes, weapons.

I think a bit of lightening up is in order. :)
 
I still think you guys should get a bunch of guys together and do a group letter to the history channel on good suggestions that can still make the show better.

What do you guys think would be a good competitive timeframe in which to make a knife in the format of this show? 3 hours seems silly. Would 8 hours be good? What about 5?

Or should they dump the time format all together and just do a "3 day" challenge and include "aesthetics" into the judging since the knives will likely hold up for any strength testing?

You guys are missing an oppurtunity to really drive home good suggestions. It wont make it for the first season. but if its successful , which im sure its going to be. There will be a second season. And you could improve the show 10 fold.

Get organizing
 
Bruce Bump said:
I enjoyed the show. I like everything about knives and fire. I can't wait till the next episode.
I had to watch it with a small screen online the next day because we don't have cable or dish. Does anybody have a better method of getting it?
Click to expand...

Run a HDMI cord from your laptop/PC to your tv's aux port.
 
Last edited:
I don't really understand the motivation in rushing the guys. They could make it 8-12 hours instead of 6, and edit down to the exact same run time. The winner (Matt I think?) made the only knife worth looking at. It's a damn shame to take fine craftsmen, give them a venue to show off their skills, and then force them to show the world a prison shiv they whipped up with no time. Then, when they did have some time to make good looking swords, we barely got to see them.

I'd have to agree with James, I'm sure there was some sort of clause that they had to forge to start. With unlimited fresh/free belts, you could stock-remove a nice big bowie in a couple hours with no stress, and to a much higher finish level than we saw on the show.

Serrations, barf.
 
pwheeler said:
I don't really understand the motivation in rushing the guys. They could make it 8-12 hours instead of 6, and edit down to the exact same run time. The winner (Matt I think?) made the only knife worth looking at. It's a damn shame to take fine craftsmen, give them a venue to show off their skills, and then force them to show the world a prison shiv they whipped up with no time. Then, when they did have some time to make good looking swords, we barely got to see them.

I'd have to agree with James, I'm sure there was some sort of clause that they had to forge to start. With unlimited fresh/free belts, you could stock-remove a nice big bowie in a couple hours with no stress, and to a much higher finish level than we saw on the show.

Serrations, barf.
Click to expand...

It is the same with competitive cooking shows.

The time limit is there not to make it easy on them, it is to push them to the point of almost breaking which adds drama to the show.
 
I suspect the serrations were added to make the heat treat technically more challenging.

Keep the in mind they went back to the home shops of the makers and filmed for five days. Can you make a masterpiece in five days? Probably not. Can you make something fairly functional and half way decent in five days? Yep.

Would we like to see more detail on that process? Absolutely but the show is entertainment based, not a documentary on fabrication.

As long as something is getting built and tested and I get to see how others do it, even if it isn't filmed in "how it's done" format I'm watching it and if it gains any kind of viewership it I believe it will be good for the craft.

I bet we see some great work and effort coming out of this. We've only seen one episode.
 
I agree, give them some time to settle down and get good at this show. It can't all be about cutting dead fish in half. I'm looking forward to more episodes.
tmickley said:
I suspect the serrations were added to make the heat treat technically more challenging.

Keep the in mind they went back to the home shops of the makers and filmed for five days. Can you make a masterpiece in five days? Probably not. Can you make something fairly functional and half way decent in five days? Yep.

Would we like to see more detail on that process? Absolutely but the show is entertainment based, not a documentary on fabrication.

As long as something is getting built and tested and I get to see how others do it, even if it isn't filmed in "how it's done" format I'm watching it and if it gains any kind of viewership it I believe it will be good for the craft.

I bet we see some great work and effort coming out of this. We've only seen one episode.
Click to expand...
 
Being a fan of Chopped, I found it interesting that they did the dessert round in their home shops. I think next season will be better, as bladesmiths now know what to expect and can practice speed-making prior to filming and will be able to turn out much better products.

Did anyone else think that Matt's katana was air cooled stainless, or was he going for bainite? When he pulled it out of the HT column and let it sit there, I was a little baffled.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top