Thread: Just curious...

Anyone here watch the history channel show forged in fire?

They take these three "bladesmiths" and they have a limited time to make a knife from scratch with the raw materials and tools right there. They have a few hours to do it and then the judges watch them and make insulting comments about them as they work and then test the knives. If they pass muster and aren't eliminated they are shown some historical knife or sword and they have 4 or 5 days to make a similar item at home and return. The winner wins 10 grand.

A cool show.

I just watched it recently. I thought it was OK, but like so many shows like that you don't really get to see a lot of the work being done. But I did think it was interesting.

Mrs. Cangooner and I have watched it and quite enjoy it. It's a ridiculous premise due to the time pressure, but what the hell. It's reality TV, right?

The one thing I will give it credit for is that it is possible to learn a thing or two about bladesmithing. Before we started watching it if I had something go wrong with, say, a billet of damascus, it would take a while to explain what had happened. Now I can just say there's a delamination or a weld didn't take, and she gets it. I'm not saying you should watch the show to learn how to make a blade (there are *excellent* bladesmiths on YouTube who are great if you can't go to someone in person), but you can pick up some info.

Things I like:
- good comradery amongst participants. There's none of the stupid backbiting that can plague most reality shows;
- Jay constantly being injured by contestants' blades (I don't know why as he seems a good guy, but we just find it funny how he's always the one getting hurt)
- it is possible to learn a thing or two
- some of the blades they make at home are really very nice

Things I like less:
- the challenges are sometimes just unreasonable and it's no wonder some of the blades produced are horrible
- the tests are often ridiculous
- whoever bought the stupid video effects package (like strobe effects with Steve Austinesque sound effects) should be fired immediately

Anyway, for us it's a nice occasional diversion. YMMV.

I watch it when i can though the Mrs. doesn't care for it so i have to watch it when she's not around. Intertaining for sure.