Forged In Fire - General Discussion

[Gothish520]

On 10/18/2018 at 7:42 AM, johntfs said:

Well, if Derrick wins the tournament, he should be able to throw only hell of a wedding/honeymoon with 50K.  It's a bit of a tossup so far.  In terms of sheer skill, I think that Kirk and Derrick and pretty evenly matched, but Nicholas seems to have a more modern, better equipped shop, which is very much an edge in and of itself.  I admit that I am curious as to next week's episode just to see the difference between "metal-workers" and the other three kinds of, well, metal-workers.

I'm digging this contest and it should be interesting to see who comes out on top. I like that the show is mixing it up. 

[clytierising]

Great contest.  Each week I think, "Well, this is the one who will win it all."  I feel as though they've ended up with four well-matched competitors and I'm looking forward to next week as if it were Christmas.  

[johntfs]

This was another one like the Farrier challenge where the winner was the one who truly understood what he was making instead of simply making something that looked like what he needed to make.  At a certain point, metal is metal.  If you make it too thin and light, the strength test will destroy it.  However, you can leave it a bit heavier (to survive the strength test) by putting a fairly substantial pommel at the back end to balance the weight and make it easier to wield.  Which is what Dave did and why Dave won.

Of the four champions thus far, only he and Kirk of the Farriers really seemed to able to take the extra step of thinking about what they where making and creating something truly functional.  Maybe Nicholas(Armorers) and Derrick(Blacksmiths) can do that as well, but their challenges didn't really seem to require them to do that.

[Maelstrom]

Good points, johntfs. I haven't been too thrilled with the changing tone of this show in recent months but I'm really enjoying this tournament. It's been really cool to see how different types of smiths work and what skills and tricks they bring to the table. Though I have to chuckle that each class has said how they're the most versatile ones and will have an edge over the others. Let's just agree that you're all special, fellas!

[Gothish520]

Think this segment of the tournament was my favorite, made even better once it was revealed that both finalists are from my home state. I was pulling more for Rick, but Dave made a great blade and really earned the win. 

So for the finale, Go Dave!  :D

[johntfs]

That was a pretty good one.  I will say Dave's talk of "never made anything like this before" had me snorting.  Dude, you just made a wakizashi.  This is just a really, really big wakizashi.  He sure did listen about his handle construction and that's what gave him the win.  Other contestants take note - build you handles for the judges' baby soft hands.

Edited November 2, 2018 by johntfs

[whydoiwatchtv]

Ugh, the leatherface test for the Halloween episode was so gross, I loved it lol. I thought it was a fun and good show.

[johntfs]

I missed the Halloween one (probably because I didn't expect to see one the week after Halloween) but I'll check it out this coming Wednesday.

[johntfs]

And again, I don't know who Wil thinks he's fooling with the "you're not safe" bit when the fourth guy gave up.  Clearly not the contestants or the audience.  If they really want that threat to have some teeth they're going to need to pull the switch at least once with a double-elimination going straight to the historical weapons contest.

Not to sound ungrateful but how many episode are in this season?  Because this show seems like it's been going for a pretty good while now.

[Gothish520]

It's like the season that never ends, lol. I'm not complaining, still enjoying it a lot. 

And yay for Dave from Connecticut taking the tournament win!

[Gothish520]

Am I the only one who watched the second season? 

Still enjoyed seeing the wacky obstacles, the blades, and how the wacky contestants wielded said blades. Goldberg was still over the top, Tu Lam was still taking things quite seriously, but I couldn't help but a get a minor kick out of it all.

[qtpye]

I watched it. It was not too bad but I doubt if it will get a third season.

[Quilt Fairy]

I think the second season was an improvement.  I still don't care for the hosts (seriously, do all ex-special forces guys now have a future in reality TV?), but they changed some of the obstacles and rules for the better.  At least this season every one was moving around the damn fish to make sure they were slicing into the backbone first as opposed to the belly.  I still have a couple of episodes on the DVR, so I may have more comments later.

3 hours ago, qtpye said:

I watched it. It was not too bad but I doubt if it will get a third season.

Hey, that's what I said at the end of season one...........

[qtpye]

13 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I think the second season was an improvement.  I still don't care for the hosts (seriously, do all ex-special forces guys now have a future in reality TV?), but they changed some of the obstacles and rules for the better.  At least this season every one was moving around the damn fish to make sure they were slicing into the backbone first as opposed to the belly.  I still have a couple of episodes on the DVR, so I may have more comments later.

Hey, that's what I said at the end of season one...........

True...you never know and the show does have potential.

[Eliza422]

On ‎11‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 4:14 PM, johntfs said:

And again, I don't know who Wil thinks he's fooling with the "you're not safe" bit when the fourth guy gave up.  Clearly not the contestants or the audience.  If they really want that threat to have some teeth they're going to need to pull the switch at least once with a double-elimination going straight to the historical weapons contest.

Not to sound ungrateful but how many episode are in this season?  Because this show seems like it's been going for a pretty good while now.

I agree. I laugh when he says that because it's never happened! I live for the day it does.

[DEL901]

I didn't like them talking about the first "Forged in Fire and Knife and Knife and Death winner".  There are dozens and dozens of Forged in Fire winners.  The equivalent to the Knife or Death season winner would be the two "Champions of Champions", Travis and Ben.

 

BTW, I'm glad the two CoC winners both have tv gigs now.  Like them both.

[Quilt Fairy]

On 11/26/2018 at 4:14 PM, johntfs said:

Not to sound ungrateful but how many episode are in this season?  Because this show seems like it's been going for a pretty good while now.

I saw some unbelievable number in the listings last week.  Something like S5 Ep 55.  

I'm beginning to think the show has run it's course for me.  I've got about 8 unwatched episodes on the DVR and another 2 of Knife or Death, and I can't get up enough interest to watch them.  

Edited December 27, 2018 by Quilt Fairy

[johntfs]

2 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I saw some unbelievable number in the listings last week.  Something like S5 Ep 55.  

I'm beginning to think the show has run it's course for me.  I've got about 8 unwatched episodes on the DVR and another 2 of Knife or Death, and I can't get up enough interest to watch them.  

It's over for now, but it comes back Feb 6 as I understand it.

While I never bothered in get into Knife or Death, I still enjoy FiF.  I'm wondering if J. Neilson has left permanently because it seems like he kind of disappeared in the middle of the season.  I'm okay with Ben Abbott, though.  I like his more low-key approach to the tests.

[DEL901]

Oops.  Forgot one 2 time champion.   Theo.   Good at what he does, but not someone who would make a good tv guy IMO.

[johntfs]

2 hours ago, DEL901 said:

Oops.  Forgot one 2 time champion.   Theo.   Good at what he does, but not someone who would make a good tv guy IMO.

I don't know.  He makes those goofy jokes.  He'd be a good "fun" judge for a show. 

[WildPlum]

Now that I have found where this topic is again - still  liking Forged in Fire, although liking the gimmicks and tie-ins less and less. To me, "Knife or Death" is absolutely unwatchable. For some reason my DVR decided it did not like this show when it switched nights and I missed several episodes. Must try deleting it off the DVR schedule and then maybe adding it back.

Also, if we are going to keep doing the "no power equipment" or "coal forges only" or "must be canister" shows, then the contestants need to be prescreened to people who have at least SOME experience in those areas.

[WildPlum]

New season started ... whenever (probably last week, I watch it on my DVR). Where is David Baker? The knife-throwing test wasn't very successful, don't know if it was the knives or the thrower. Not sure I am wild about this new competition format, maybe they just have a dearth of applicants and had to dig up past competitors.

[DEL901]

1 hour ago, WildPlum said:

New season started ... whenever (probably last week, I watch it on my DVR). Where is David Baker? The knife-throwing test wasn't very successful, don't know if it was the knives or the thrower. Not sure I am wild about this new competition format, maybe they just have a dearth of applicants and had to dig up past competitors.

Hopefully this is only a season starter.  

And I thought the knife-throwing was successful.... if your aim was to break the knives.  Wow, 3?

[JTMacc99]

I do like the way this show brings back guys who didn't win for whatever reason the first time. It's a very hard competition, and I often think that really good guys just have one thing go wrong and they never recover. 

And I did like Matt last time and very much these last two episodes. He made a great sword; it was fun to see how much the guys liked wielding it. 

[Quilt Fairy]

I thought the final challenge was a nice change, describing the specific tests and letting the finalists choose what weapon they would recreate.

[Iguana]

This thread is so quiet I wonder if anyone else is watching the current armed forces face off. I’m enjoying it more than expected. I like that they are making the contestants from each branch of the service make that branches service knife and dress sword for the first round. Not sure what they’re going to do when it goes to Army v Navy v Air Force v Marines..... 

[DEL901]

5 hours ago, Iguana said:

This thread is so quiet I wonder if anyone else is watching the current armed forces face off. I’m enjoying it more than expected. I like that they are making the contestants from each branch of the service make that branches service knife and dress sword for the first round. Not sure what they’re going to do when it goes to Army v Navy v Air Force v Marines..... 

I wonder who Wil will route for since he's both ex-Army (Ranger) and ex-Airforce (Para Rescue).

[JTMacc99]

1 hour ago, DEL901 said:

I wonder who Wil will route for since he's both ex-Army (Ranger) and ex-Airforce (Para Rescue).

Will will root for all of them to succeed and to help each other. The way they all help/support each other is one of the coolest things about this set of episodes.

[Iguana]

This is one of the few competition reality shows that usually avoids the “I’m not here to make friends” bitchery  in its contestants. They may not all be as cooperative as, say, the marines taking the anchor apart, but they are usually respectful of the judges decisions when eliminated and complimentary towards the other competitors. I appreciate that wat more than the the judges were wrong I’m so much better than everyone else crap from some other shows. 

[Quilt Fairy]

19 hours ago, Iguana said:

This thread is so quiet I wonder if anyone else is watching

I think that, for me, the show has pretty much run it's course.  There doesn't seem to be anything new or different from week to week.  It doesn't help that they have a lot of episodes every season. There's none of the sense of excitement that I have for a show that's been off the air for a while coming back for a new season.

Has anyone else noticed that they now only get 4 days instead of 5 days for the final task?  I wonder how that came about and what consequences it has. 

[Gothish520]

On 6/19/2019 at 9:35 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

I think that, for me, the show has pretty much run it's course.  There doesn't seem to be anything new or different from week to week.  It doesn't help that they have a lot of episodes every season. There's none of the sense of excitement that I have for a show that's been off the air for a while coming back for a new season.

Has anyone else noticed that they now only get 4 days instead of 5 days for the final task?  I wonder how that came about and what consequences it has. 

Plus they only get two hours to make the handle and address any issues. I guess they are trying to make things a bit more difficult?

I'm still watching and still loving it. I guess it's like comfort food for me. Wil and the judges still seem like they are having a good time, and I just like watching people make knives. I could watch a new episode every week ad infinitum. Keep 'em coming, History Channel!

[Quilt Fairy]

11 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

Plus they only get two hours to make the handle and address any issues. I guess they are trying to make things a bit more difficult?

It gives me flashbacks of Project Runway moving from Bravo to Lifetime. 

Plus - and I really hate that they do this - they've needlessly  lengthened the episodes from 60 minutes to 63 minutes, so it doesn't end until 3 minutes after the hour.  And what inevitably happens is that I'm DVRing the show while watching a different channel, then at the hour I change back to History to watch the show after FiF.  What do I see?  Wil declaring someone the winner, and I think "Do I really want to watch this episode now?" 

[deepfriedcake]

Quote

Plus - and I really hate that they do this - they've needlessly  lengthened the episodes from 60 minutes to 63 minutes, so it doesn't end until 3 minutes after the hour.

Amen to this!

We still watch this show weekly, but it no longer delivers the punch it used to. Personally, I hate that they keep shortening the forging times and throwing more obstacles at the contestants. I want to see sturdy, well-made knives that are capable of withstanding the testing. I want to see all three knives being worthy contenders for the win. I don't want someone to win just because their knife didn't break until the sixth strike, while the other two only made it to the fourth blow. If J and Ben are determined to try and destroy the knives in testing, then for goodness sake, let the contestants have the time and materials they need to survive. The fun in the show is getting to see ALL of the judges put the knives through their tests. How many times have David and Doug not even gotten their hands on the knives at the end? The best contests are the ones where the final decision comes down to the tiniest of nitpicks, because both contenders made such beautiful knives that were able to meet the testing requirements. I want the contestants to shine. I want to be amazed at what they can accomplish.

OK, there's my rant of the day!

[JTMacc99]

14 minutes ago, deepfriedcake said:

I don't want someone to win just because their knife didn't break until the sixth strike, while the other two only made it to the fourth blow. If J and Ben are determined to try and destroy the knives in testing, then for goodness sake, let the contestants have the time and materials they need to survive.

I completely agree with this sentiment. I do feel like the most recent round of shows has been better about not having completely unreasonable strength tests, but then there has been the shortening of time, which in turn has generated some suspect knives.

[txbowler]

The other thing you have to notice is that the experience levels of the blade-smiths is dropping.  Most of the top notch guys/girls in the country have already been on the show.  There's not an unlimited supply and now you are getting guys with 3 years of experience because they become a blade-smith after watching season 1 or 2 of the show.

I still want to see a special version of the show that pits Jay, David and Ben against each other and let Will and Doug test their knives.  You can even bring back Jason Knight for the 4th contestant.

[DEL901]

I also dislike it when one blade-smith has 10-20 years experience and another's experience is measured in months.

[Gothish520]

Anyone watching Knife or Death? For some reason they are calling new episodes Season Two, even though they had a finale for S2 already back in November. Why isn't this Season 3? 

Regardless, I'm still enjoying it in all its OTT campiness.

Also enjoyed the Forged in Fire Kung Fu edition 😋 - at least they are trying to find ways to make things a bit different here and there.

[Quilt Fairy]

22 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

Anyone watching Knife or Death? For some reason they are calling new episodes Season Two, even though they had a finale for S2 already back in November. Why isn't this Season 3? 

This IS Season 2 of Knife or Death.  Those 6 or so episodes they had last year was Season 1.  

I'm totally confused that they brought it back at all.  I still watch it although I find it mostly boring. 

[johntfs]

15 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

This IS Season 2 of Knife or Death.  Those 6 or so episodes they had last year was Season 1.  

I'm totally confused that they brought it back at all.  I still watch it although I find it mostly boring. 

My work schedule shifted so I usually don't get to original FiF.  I never bothered to get into Knife or Death.  Just the previews caused my IQ to dip.

[Quilt Fairy]

20 hours ago, johntfs said:

My work schedule shifted so I usually don't get to original FiF.  I never bothered to get into Knife or Death.  Just the previews caused my IQ to dip.

Wow, you're not into big, overweight guys in kilts or samurai robes saying they're going to slay the course, but halfway through are sweating so much or breathing so hard you think they're going to have an asthma attack or even a heart attack?  Or in one case, go off screen and vomit?  (Although the cameraman did catch up with him so we got to see him vomit anyway.)  I'm shocked.  Shocked, I tell you...….

[Gothish520]

On 9/21/2019 at 1:35 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

This IS Season 2 of Knife or Death.  Those 6 or so episodes they had last year was Season 1.  

I'm totally confused that they brought it back at all.  I still watch it although I find it mostly boring. 

Season 1 was six episodes in April and May of last year, with a $20,000 finale winner in Ep 6. Season 2 began in October of last year and Ep 8 was the $20,000 finale episode. Then it came back this August and for some reason they continued calling it Season 2. They just had another $20,000 winner, making three in all.

Edited September 24, 2019 by Gothish520

[Quilt Fairy]

20 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

Season 1 was six episodes in April and May of last year, with a $20,000 finale winner in Ep 6. Season 2 began in October of last year and Ep 8 was the $20,000 finale episode. Then it came back this August and for some reason they continued calling it Season 2. They just had another $20,000 winner, making three in all.

Well, then I totally slept thru those S2 episodes last year.  Sorry if I gave bad info.

Edited September 25, 2019 by Quilt Fairy

[Gothish520]

3 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Well, then I totally slept thru those S2 episodes last year.  Sorry if I gave bad info.

No worries, I just knew that there had already been two seasons with two grand finale winners, so I don't get why this past group was not called season 3.

[Gothish520]

I loved Wil's chapeau in the most recent episode. But the time constraints are really daunting - two hours to make a hardened blade? Damn. At least they gave them three hours for the handle.

The sharpness tests are my favorite, so it's always a bummer to me when they have some kind of failure and don't get to that portion of the testing.

[TexasTiffany]

I stopped watching this show when it's offshoot show was more like a slasher movie. It veered from why I started watching the show in the first place.

However, I tuned in earlier (Kung Fu Edition) and was impressed with the young bladesmith named Collin Miller. He told us several times he likes to do things "fast". The judges praised his wise decisions several times.  

Anyway, the most intriguing part for me is how much he reminded me of the character Quicksilver in X-Men Days of Future Past. Collin resembles him, has a dry wit like him, had mannerisms like him (tendency to not blink as much), kept talking about being "fast", lol. 

Also want to mention Doug Marcaida being so funny this episode with all of the kung fu jokes. 

I enjoyed this episode sooo much. Cool. 

I found out that the Forged in Fire producers saw Collin's knives on Pinterest and were so impressed that they approached him about being on the show. Super young man. I hope he will be invited back.

Edited November 21, 2019 by TexasTiffany

[KHenry14]

OMG, tonight's ep was an unmitigated disaster. 3 of the 4 contestants didn't meet parameters, including one guy who basically submitted a foot long hunk of steel.  😕

At least the winner submitted a beautiful ladder pattern Damascus sword. In fact, i'd daresay its one of the best swords ever made on the show. Too bad everyone else on the show sucked

[frogzapper]

Really enjoyed the French Pioneer Sword episode!

Nice to see the chef knives complete all of the testing intact, especially after the cringe-worthy Pira episode that preceded it. And the two rooster swords both did beautifully in the final testing too. Cade was really impressive and only 18 years old! Cock-a-doodle-doo! 

[Gothish520]

Yes, I am so excited for this!

https://www.history.com/shows/forged-in-fire-beat-the-judges

[TexasTiffany]

8 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

Yes, I am so excited for this!

https://www.history.com/shows/forged-in-fire-beat-the-judges

Me too! LOL Probably many of us want to see what the judges will do on this show. I wish it was airing May 3rd instead of June 3rd. I could use something exciting NOW. 

[KittyMom4]

Make that 3 of us! I started watching this show last fall after seeing it on at a bar I was at with my husband. I've been hooked ever since! It will KEAL!!!