Forged in Fire - panabas

[David]

Originally Posted by kronckew

panabas abuse! surprised they didn't try to chop thru a springfield rifle barrel or two. after all, everybody knows that knives & swords are designed to cut thru plate armour and stay as sharp as a razor. chopping thru a few steel re-inforced concrete paving slabs would be another good test for them at FIF.

reminds me of the one where they shot a jacketed .45 acp at a katana-like object to 'test' it. failure if it didn't split the projectile without chipping. we all know katanas can cut thru a howitzer, so why not?

i'd like to see the bearded master of historically accurate swords test himself by catching a razor sharp sword stroke between his palms ala mythbusters.

I'm not sure i see the problem with this. They are not doing these tests on authentic antique weapons. They do them on the blades created by the contestants on the show to test their skills as smiths. These weapons are generally made quickly are are not generally great works of the smithing art. They have been created basically for entertainment purposes.

[kronckew]

true, if it were not on the history channel, the entertainment leaves a false sense of reality that demeans real historical studies of real historical weapons, their historical construction, use and capabilities.

[mross]

Originally Posted by kronckew

true, if it were not on the history channel, the entertainment leaves a false sense of reality that demeans real historical studies of real historical weapons, their historical construction, use and capabilities.

I agree, mostly, the show is for entertainment, that's how it gets ratings and pays bills. Nothing wrong with that at all. I wish them the best of luck as I like the show. As to the weapons themselves, I have seen quite a bit of skill. One contestant even did a pattern welded steel on his piece. Most of them are every bit as functional as the their representative antique weapon. The one's that are not, lose. As to the "tests" they are put through, entertaining yes, realistic for the most part, yes. The split the bullet test that I saw was not to see if it could split a bullet (although it made for some great visuals) it was to see if the heat treat was right and the sword could take a concentrated hit without breaking. The ones I saw did, which meant the smith got the heat treat right. The heat treat is everything when it comes to making functional tools. Lousy steel heat treated well will outperform great steel with a lousy heat treat. Ok back to lurking.

[silberschatzimsee]

On the history channel there is also this "ancient aliens bullsh*t", so its not a big drama that the tests in forged in fire are somewhat nonsense.

I also like the show becuase the contestants seem to shake hands to each others. Its not like the others where they are like dead enemys.

[Rick]

Originally Posted by kronckew

true, if it were not on the history channel, the entertainment leaves a false sense of reality that demeans real historical studies of real historical weapons, their historical construction, use and capabilities.

There's no business like show business; right?
Panabas...
I get to watch this episode tonight; oboy.

I'm willing to bet that most Panabas were made in 5 days or less IRL.

Also, I wonder how many of these contestants wind up here during their research for the historic weapons they are tasked with forging.

[kronckew]

Originally Posted by Rick

I get to watch this episode tonight.
There's no business like show business; right?
I'm willing to bet that most Panabas were made in 5 days or less IRL.

the moro had more practice making them. these smiths never saw one before and can barely pronounce the name.choice of grip wood, tang & bolster design & balance is critical.

[Rick]

Originally Posted by kronckew

the moro had more practice making them. these smiths never saw one before and can barely pronounce the name.choice of grip wood, tang & bolster design & balance is critical.

Of course they did.
The short ones are balanced like hatchets.
The Padsumbalin is the real combat version.

The next episode is Kukri.
What fun!