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Old 6th May 2017, 12:25 PM   #8
Lee
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Upstate New York, USA
Posts: 884
Red face Guilty Pleasure

I guess that I must confess that watching Forged in Fire is one of my guilty pleasures. However, I tend toward liking blade smiths in general and this program often seems like merely a sadomasochistic exercise directed towards them. Martial artist Doug Marcaida's insights are entertaining and do seem relevant and worthwhile; the other panelists and the host are, at best, irritating. I have briefly discussed the show with accomplished blade smiths - briefly because they do not watch the show and suggest I follow their lead in that - and the general consensus is that there is very little if any upside and a tremendous amount of potential downside to any blade smith subjecting themselves to this 'competition.' Weird mystery metal worked against the clock and finalist assignments well beyond the scope of contestant's shop tooling do show the blade smith's resilience and perseverance and it is amazing that as many of their works are as good as they are.

As to animal rights activists, I'll admit that I am not a flesh eater, but these groups are largely guilty of promoting the view among our lawmakers that vilifying and prohibiting transfer of a 150 year old kris with an ivory pommel will somehow protect elephants in the wild today.
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