Forged by fire.

[sav300]

Down here I have been watching "Forged by fire" on the tv.
A show done for Tv or fact?

[metricmonkeywrench]

Like most shows nowadays its heavily edited to just portray the good stuff.. 5 hours of hammering and grinding would be pretty tough to watch in real time.

That said its one of the few that I cant see how the presented products/outcome can be gamed. To my knowledge, unlike some other shows no one has come forward with the "real story"

I'm a fan but take it for what its worth.. TV entertainment, however so far it has not become politicized.

Oh... one other note-- the folks that show up don't look like a Hollywood casting call of pretty people

[William Yanda]

I watch.......when I can get the remote.

[gkainz]

I record it and catch up on the occasional Saturday morning before the boss gets up. I enjoy it.

[45workhorse]

I watch it when ever can!

[bedbugbilly]

I think metricmonkeywrench sums it up pretty well.

I watched when I can -don't always get to see all of them but find it an interesting "watch". I have a lot of admiration for folks who can work a forge and do what they do.

[SOFMatchstaff]

I keep waiting for OSHA to raid them, but considering the products, they probably dont have the nuts..

[MrWolf]

I'm lucky. My girlfriend likes to watch that, mountain men, and alone with me.

[tankgunner59]

Me too MrWolf. I watched the first episode I saw advertised, and more than me my wife was hooked. WE both like that, Alaska the last frontier and Mountain Men. Much can be learned from Mountain Men.

[tryNto]

At 1st thought it was a different show.

"Forged in fire" I know of.
https://www.history.com/shows/forged-in-fire

[smithnframe]

I can't believe PETA isn't after them for cutting up pig carcasses!

[sav300]

Maybe PETA did not want to be next!

[metricmonkeywrench]

It ok, they were free range boars who died of natural causes.

[DocSavage]

Watch every week my wife and I enjoy the show,have to admit I admire the skill set to forge knives out of whatever. Also decided would want to meet Marcada in a dark or well lit alley.

[gkainz]

Mention of Mountain Men above gets two thumbs up from me. My son-in-law created that show. :)

[pocketace]

most of those shows are just pure junk..

mostly over hyped fools playing up for the camera. mountain men, the kitcher show, the alaskan show with the annoying woman in the resort lodge.... worthless hyped for the camera crap.

the forged in fire, at first look is ok, but so much junk in it. so much incorrect information.... so much stupid stuff done on purpose.

[EDG]

Silly show- you can buy a better knife for $20.

[Walks]

All reality tv is a waste of time.

Except maybe Alton Brown's "Good Eats".

[abunaitoo]

I watch it sometimes to see the idiots on it.
I'm sure most of it is just for show.
Just like any other "reality" tv.

[iomskp]

I tried to watch it, I think it belittles blacksmithing some of the smiths on that show are true craftsmen, but you only get to see them doing rush jobs that they would never do in their own shops.

[pocketace]

I tried to watch it, I think it belittles blacksmithing some of the smiths on that show are true craftsmen, but you only get to see them doing rush jobs that they would never do in their own shops.

half the time, the "great bladesmiths/black smiths" have no clue about the basic properties of the steel they are using, or how to do anything with it.

Its like calling "bubba" a gunsmith because he cut the muzzle off a gun with a hacksaw.

[10x]

half the time, the "great bladesmiths/black smiths" have no clue about the basic properties of the steel they are using, or how to do anything with it.

Its like calling "bubba" a gunsmith because he cut the muzzle off a gun with a hacksaw.

My grandfather was Norwegian trained blacksmith who came to North America prior to 1898. In my youth I watched him do some incredible things with a forge, hammer, fids, and an anvil. He could forge weld a logging chain that was as durable as any you could buy, and he could reduce the circumference on steel rim on a wooden wagon wheel by cutting it and forge welding it. When he was done there was no bulge (like the lazy blacksmiths would leave with the commercial rim tool) and the wheel would be heated and then mounted on the wooden rim with out bowing the spokes
He knew coal and would pay premium to get clean coal that he could make coke out of to weld with.
And he would not shoe a horse, he would make the horse shoes but shoeing a horse was ferrier's work

[GOPHER SLAYER]

On the show Forged In Fire, they never make a practical knife. They usually make some kind of short sword which they demonstrate will slice through a pig which is something I rarely do anymore. Just for once, I wish they would make a smaller Bowie style knife.

[10x]

On a different note,
I have a 54" Rotocar Carerra roto tiller - made in Italy. The nearest dealer is in either Chile or Spain. I have 3 broken tines and getting new tines is a real challenge, as well shipping is incredibly expensive.

I will be salvaging leaf springs from a travel trailer that are close to the right thickness and width, using the forge to heat the springs to just past cherry red, using a punch to drill two holes in the spring, hammering out left hand and right hand cutting edges and then last step, bending the spring to the correct shape on a mandrel, hard tempering, then drawing the temper so that it becomes a spring again.
I helped my grandfather and my dad do this stuff over 60 years ago and i can do it again.

My grandfather said " If a man can make it , another man can fix it. If is beyond repair, another man can make it again..."

[KenH]

I'll chime in on FiF program. It's been widely discussed on a couple of the knifemaking forums I hang out on. Several of the folks have been contestants on the program and have commented extensively on the program, making of it, how it's handled - all within the confines of the NDA all contestants much sign.

Fake or real? ALL contestants who have comment all agree it's just as shown, there is no "scripted" parts at all. It happens as it's shown. Remember, it is an entertainment program. NOT a program designed to teach bladesmithing. 3 of the 4 judges are excellent bladesmiths in their own right. Each of the 3 judge bladesmiths have competed on the program as one of the contestants, and at least 2 of them have actually lost.

At times an ABS Master bladesmith will compete, but not many. As some ABS Master bladesmiths have commented there are two many "gotchas" designed into the program in an effort to provide entertainment, which is the main purpose of the program, to entertain.

Yes, it is HOT on the forge floor - if you notice the forges are all set to blow the "Dragon's breath" from each forge toward each other which does help raise the temperature. Most have said the temperature on the forge floor is at least 100°F, and perhaps more.

On the knifemaking forums it's a real "love-hate" relationship with FiF, some LOVE it and take the entertainment portion as dues that have to be paid to have the program. Other knifemakers hate the program because they do put in the gotchas in an effort to increase the entertainment factor.

My wife and I both record and watch all the episodes, for entertainment. It is NOT a teaching program. My Grandkids all say "Why don't you go on FiF?" Not a chance, I make knives for fun, NOT for competition.

Later

[gkainz]

To those who comment that "reality TV is all scripted", let me explain what my son-in-law said about "Mountain Men" and others like it. Yes, the filmed events are "mostly scripted". But, those scripts are prepared from interviews with the actors, and are, in fact, recreations of events that they experienced. Since a camera crew cannot live with these folks 24x7x365, recreating the events is the only way to possibly put together a show.
Lately, the one character (as well as his camera crew) that impresses me is the young guy, Jake Herak, in Montana who runs the big cats up and away from the ranches. The slopes he scrambles up and down and the distances he runs behind his dogs is quite impressive.