‘Forged In Fire’: OMG THIS SHOW IS THE BEST

You like Chopped, right? I think we all like Chopped. That’s because the beauty of Chopped was that it figured out how to distill the drama of an entire season of a reality competition show into one episode. Four chefs enter. They’re given three bizarre, timed challenges. One chef is eliminated per round until one is declared the winner. It’s a well-paced, dramatic, and endlessly entertaining format. To wit, Food Network has been trying to riff on it and adapt it for every cuisine imaginable.

Forged In Fire follows the Chopped model, but mixes things up by being just about making bonkers knives, swords, axes, and more. Reality television has already exhausted the worlds of fashion, real estate, home improvement, cooking, dancing, singing, and even make-up artistry, so watching a show about such a niche art form is refreshing. Do you know how to melt down a spring coil and turn it into a functioning bowie knife in under three hours? Did you know that was even possible? Well, it is!

Look, this show is called Forged in Fire, so there is a lot of fire. Why is this a reason why you should watch the show? Because fire is freaking cool. By and large, I believe that television needs more fire. This show prominently features fire in every single episode. Heck yeah!

One of the obvious issues that a lot of reality programs have is finding people who are interesting to watch. Often producers pick simpering idiots with sob stories, but really what makes us care about a person is their force of character. What drives them? Do they have any quirks? Do they speak their mind? Are they genuine?

Forged In Fire doesn’t have this personality problem because if you’re an adult human in 2015 and you forge bladed weapons for a living, you are already a unique character. To be a bladesmith you need to be devoted to an art form that is just about obsolete. You have to have patience, determination, and the courage to march to the beat of your own drum. The men on this show — because I have yet to see a single woman (who wasn’t a medic) — are all fascinating in their own way. Some wear kimonos, some have ponytails longer than Khal Drogo, and some of them proudly give their grade school daughters broadswords for their birthdays.

I think my favorite contestant thus far has got to be Ryu (who is in the GIF above). He is staunchly old-school and his home forge is a a single cauldron in a birdbath that’s fed oxygen by a blow drier. Yes, the fire department arrives to rain on his Viking battle axe-making parade.

Forged In Fire hits a very specific reality competition sweet spot that’s difficult to nail. You’re never entirely sure if you’re sincerely enjoying what you’re watching or gleefully hate-watching it. Well, “hate-watch” is a strong word. Let me try to put it a little more truthfully because I don’t hate anyone or anything about this show. I LOVE THIS SHOW. However, because the judges and contestants take the competition — and being a bladesmith — so very seriously, it sometimes makes the drama on the show seem a little bit…uh…silly.

Most of the contestants seem to be just taking this as a fun, friendly competition, but there are some bladesmiths who behave as though what they’re doing is a matter of life or death. In one episode, a young white man in a kimono dedicates his knife to his father. In another, a man starts to cry when he’s eliminated from the competition. A well-humored former ferrier (aka guy who puts horseshoes on horses) named Jonathan proudly declares, “I have this ability to look at a piece of steel and just see the atoms.” No, he’s not a character in the new X-Men film; he’s an ordinary dude trying to explain what he does for a living the best way he can, but out of context, he sounds absurd.

I like to think that the producers are going for this delicate balance wherein they completely respect the craft, but also are courting ridiculously high drama. After all, when someone is eliminated, the show’s way of saying “Goodbye” is to literally tell the person, “Surrender your weapon.”

As a nerd who actually tuned into this show thinking I was going to hear about the history of the kitana, I have to say that Forged In Fire not only delivers drama, but it also does a great job of teaching you about the art of making blades. Just as Project Runway taught everyday Americans about pattern-making and Top Chef introduced us to the phrase “amuse bouche,” Forged In Fire provides unique insight into the world of being a bladesmith. You also see firsthand how much technique and control it takes to craft a working blade that won’t shatter or break.

Yeah, there doesn’t seem to be much of a reason to forge a Crusader’s sword in 2015, but the men and women who devote their time and energy to this art form are keeping an age-old tradition alive. They’re putting their blood, sweat, and passion into making these weapons, and if that’s not worthy of your attention, then I don’t know what is.

You can stream Forged In Fire on HISTORY or catch an all-new episode tonight at 10/9 C by tuning into History on Sling TV.

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