Forged In Fire

[Darrell]

History channel has another reality show, four knifemakers in competition to make the best blade and win $10,000. I caught about half the first episode last night, I wasn't terribly impressed by the competitors. Ten minutes to design their knives, then three hours to make them. Anybody catch the first episode? I have it on again, watching with On Demand.We'll see how it turns out. Hint: the guy who thinks he's making Conan's blade manages to knock 1 1/2" from the tip of his blade while working it. Even after he knocks the end off, they count five cracks in the tip of what's left.

http://www.history.com/shows/forged-in-fire

[Greg]

Born amidst salt and smoke? Is he a ham?

Anyway, I think whoever thought this up watched too many episodes of 'Iron Chef' and is kind of missing the point. Any knife you can make in 3 hours is likely to really suck.

[PawPaw]

Anyway, I think whoever thought this up watched too many episodes of 'Iron Chef' and is kind of missing the point. Any knife you can make in 3 hours is likely to really suck.

My thoughts exactly. Making a good knife is not a speed event. I've watched my son, who is a pretty fair blacksmith, make a knife. Three hours is just the warm-up.

[tfbncc]

I watched the first episode online. The entire competition consists of 3 rounds.

Round 1: Design. As already told, they have 10 minutes to design, then 3 hours to make a knife of thier own design. This episode, the blade had to be between 9 and 11 inches in length and had to incorporate a 4 inch serrated section of the blade. They each get a bar of high carbon steel to work with. Judging is strictly on wether the smith's design met the criteria set forth. One smith will be eliminated.

Round 2: Finish and handle. The remaining smiths have another 3 hours to finish the blade. Correct any design mistakes and make a handle for their knife. Judging is on functionality of the blade. The judges test the blades on cutting, slicing, and piercing performance. Another smith will be eliminated.

Round 3: The remaining 2 smiths have to re-create a historically significant blade of the judges choice. In this episode, it is a katana. They get to return to their own shops and they have 5 days to complete the blade. Judging is based on sharpness, durability, and functionality.

[First Shirt]

Unless they can pass the American Bladesmith Society performance test for apprentices trying for journeyman, I'm not too impressed.
http://www.americanbladesmith.com/index ... ges&id=172

My SIL used to make custom knives before his health got the better of him, and he always figured a minimum of 10 hours work for even the most basic fixed-blade utility knife.

[Rich Jordan]

Just like those bloody cooking speed contests. Make a giant halloween display (all visible is edible) in 8 hours. Make some fancy dish, 30 minutes, Make hundreds of cupcakes and a display in a couple of hours. Screw that! I want to see what they can do when they have time to do it right! I want to see their _best_. Same with this knife show. Not worth watching... unfortunately.

[Darrell]

As tfbncc said, the two finalists in the episode were given five days in their own shops to produce katanas. The big dude who won did have a very nice shop. I think the preliminaries separated the wheat from the chaff. The first guy to get booted said he was head blademaster at some place, and had made over 6,000 blades. Couldn't tell it by what he could do in three hours.

[slowpoke]

Just like those bloody cooking speed contests. Make a giant halloween display (all visible is edible) in 8 hours. Make some fancy dish, 30 minutes, Make hundreds of cupcakes and a display in a couple of hours. Screw that! I want to see what they can do when they have time to do it right! I want to see their _best_. Same with this knife show. Not worth watching... unfortunately.

Actually its much worse, the cooking shows are on the order of the amount of time a professional will take to make those items. This isn't, especially with their size constraints and serrations.

[dfwmtx]

Why is this on History Channel and not DIY?

If we find the original vampire that gave us this "reality TV" craze and we kill it, does that mean its devilspawn like this and "American Pickers"/"Pawnstars" will also die?

[BDK]

Now there's a summer "thriller" movie plot...