As a layperson it seems like the contestants' most typical problem is that they're not used to time constraints. If even one phase of the process takes too long, then they're dead in the water. The gamification, in other words, is what gets them.
I saw the show once and just about laughed my ass off…the guys hosting and judging the show came across as the most pretentious goofballs I’ve ever seen. One of the judges was a so-called “edged weapons expert" and he would soberly pass judgement on each contestant’s work by stating “This blade will kill.” I don’t know if his serious self-importance was an act or real, but it came across as totally ludicrous and hilarious and had me laughing so hard I could barely do my workout (someone had it on the TV at the gym). I barely remember the smiths but I remember the total buffoons they had hosting and judging!😂
And yeah…the time constraints and the use of mystery steel made it a crap shoot, not a test of skill. It says a lot that all of the blacksmiths I follow on YouTube were offered a chance to go on the show and all declined…
Thanks!... It's fun to watch the edged weapons guy hack and stab at ballistics dummies. The other tests of the blades can get very far-fetched.
Interesting that people you know declined. I will keep that in mind if I watch again. They do get a wildly variable range of skills. The contestants' home forges are also variable, having a huge effect on the final one-on-ones.
Oh that was another thing that had me laughing...they manufactured this whole drama around one of the last two guys having his forge blower go out while he was making the last blade (a spear head if I remember right). His blower was a hair drier! All he had to do was run to Walmart and get a cheap hair drier, but they made it sound like it was this huge crisis and adversity that he had to overcome!😂
Most smiths have a back-up; I have a hand cranked mechanical bellows I can use if my electric blower ever fails or the power goes out (and sometimes use it just because). So yeah your point about the variation in home forges is certainly true based on the one episode I saw.
And the edged weapons expert guy had me wondering...had he ever actually killed a hog or some other animal with a knife? Gutted and skinned it? Butchered it by having to cut through gristle and bone? His "expertise" seemed more on the LARPer side than the practical. I make tools that are meant to be used and used hard.
Oh: homeboy does sometimes hack pig carcasses that they hang from the ceiling. Chops them in half, if the smith did good and the blademaster takes a good swing.
Yeah some guys are gearheads, like in every hobby. I know a lot of guitarists who obsess over gear but rarely practice...😂
It's funny because when I was first learning how to smith I watched a lot of Youtube videos. There were these guys with all this expensive gear who never made anything, they just talked about their newest machine. Then there was this guy in Romania or maybe Hungary who made these beautiful knives and he lived in a third floor apartment and did all his work on his balcony. His forge was a hibachi with a hair drier and he had a piece of rail road track for an anvil! Another guy I watched was The Backyard Boyer and he'd make cool stuff and just had a hunk of scrap steel for an anvil and a cheap propane forge; I made a pair of tongs out of rebar based on his videos and even have a couple of his books.
If you want to do it it doesn't take much; it's the desire that's most important.
I have much more musical equipment than I use. I go through phases of intense activity, but some of it has never been touched.
When I was young, before I had any half decent jobs, I was very conscious of not being One Of Those Guys ... in middle age I just said "fuck it" and bought whatever I wanted and could afford.
My mother in law and her wife bought maybe seven guitars that they NEVER played. They were on fixed incomes. It was embarrassing to talk about their aspirations for 20+ years. I get it though. The difference is that I play.
Whaddaya think about that show Forged in Fire?
As a layperson it seems like the contestants' most typical problem is that they're not used to time constraints. If even one phase of the process takes too long, then they're dead in the water. The gamification, in other words, is what gets them.
(All this assumes that you've seen the show.)
I saw the show once and just about laughed my ass off…the guys hosting and judging the show came across as the most pretentious goofballs I’ve ever seen. One of the judges was a so-called “edged weapons expert" and he would soberly pass judgement on each contestant’s work by stating “This blade will kill.” I don’t know if his serious self-importance was an act or real, but it came across as totally ludicrous and hilarious and had me laughing so hard I could barely do my workout (someone had it on the TV at the gym). I barely remember the smiths but I remember the total buffoons they had hosting and judging!😂
And yeah…the time constraints and the use of mystery steel made it a crap shoot, not a test of skill. It says a lot that all of the blacksmiths I follow on YouTube were offered a chance to go on the show and all declined…
Thanks!... It's fun to watch the edged weapons guy hack and stab at ballistics dummies. The other tests of the blades can get very far-fetched.
Interesting that people you know declined. I will keep that in mind if I watch again. They do get a wildly variable range of skills. The contestants' home forges are also variable, having a huge effect on the final one-on-ones.
Oh that was another thing that had me laughing...they manufactured this whole drama around one of the last two guys having his forge blower go out while he was making the last blade (a spear head if I remember right). His blower was a hair drier! All he had to do was run to Walmart and get a cheap hair drier, but they made it sound like it was this huge crisis and adversity that he had to overcome!😂
Most smiths have a back-up; I have a hand cranked mechanical bellows I can use if my electric blower ever fails or the power goes out (and sometimes use it just because). So yeah your point about the variation in home forges is certainly true based on the one episode I saw.
And the edged weapons expert guy had me wondering...had he ever actually killed a hog or some other animal with a knife? Gutted and skinned it? Butchered it by having to cut through gristle and bone? His "expertise" seemed more on the LARPer side than the practical. I make tools that are meant to be used and used hard.
Yeah, I wasn't impressed...
Oh: homeboy does sometimes hack pig carcasses that they hang from the ceiling. Chops them in half, if the smith did good and the blademaster takes a good swing.
Well that's good to know...😂
We used to use a brush hook for the really tough cuts...😂
Unless I'm mistaken, some of the hobbyists have workshops that would put a pro to shame. So it goes with every endeavor, though.
Yeah some guys are gearheads, like in every hobby. I know a lot of guitarists who obsess over gear but rarely practice...😂
It's funny because when I was first learning how to smith I watched a lot of Youtube videos. There were these guys with all this expensive gear who never made anything, they just talked about their newest machine. Then there was this guy in Romania or maybe Hungary who made these beautiful knives and he lived in a third floor apartment and did all his work on his balcony. His forge was a hibachi with a hair drier and he had a piece of rail road track for an anvil! Another guy I watched was The Backyard Boyer and he'd make cool stuff and just had a hunk of scrap steel for an anvil and a cheap propane forge; I made a pair of tongs out of rebar based on his videos and even have a couple of his books.
If you want to do it it doesn't take much; it's the desire that's most important.
I have much more musical equipment than I use. I go through phases of intense activity, but some of it has never been touched.
When I was young, before I had any half decent jobs, I was very conscious of not being One Of Those Guys ... in middle age I just said "fuck it" and bought whatever I wanted and could afford.
My mother in law and her wife bought maybe seven guitars that they NEVER played. They were on fixed incomes. It was embarrassing to talk about their aspirations for 20+ years. I get it though. The difference is that I play.
Love these posts! What a skill you have Ernie!
Thank you!
Wild process. Thanks for providing so many photos!
It's hard to take some of those photos while actively working with the hot steel...😂