An Interview with Forged in Fire and Last Blade Standing Contestant Chris Smith

Chris Smith is the owner and bladesmith behind Chris Smith and Sons Custom Knives in central Kentucky. Chris appeared in season nine of Forged in Fire, where his bowie knife pushed him to the final round. While he didn’t walk away as a Forged in Fire Champion, the Naga he crafted was stunning.

Besides his appearance on Forged in Fire, Chris was also a competitor in season three of Last Blade Standing. His Turkish Twist Damascus blade with a black wood handle chopped and sliced its way into the final four, ultimately landing Chris in third place. Not bad for only being his second sword!

Chris talked about how he got into bladesmithing and his time on both shows.

How Chris got his start in bladesmithing

BRUTE de FORGE: How did you get into forging and bladesmithing?

Chris Smith: I used to deer hunt quite a bit, and I had a Buck 110 pocket knife. It had all kinds of brass on it, and it was super heavy. One weekend, I had to clean four deer—field dress, butcher, and all that—and that knife was all I had. When I say it was a heavy knife, I mean it; it was heavy. It got tiresome holding the thing up.

“The amount of information you can get from just being around other bladesmiths can be a complete game changer.”

So, I looked at new knives online, which were pretty pricey. I thought maybe I could find a handmade knife cheaper. That’s when I learned that handmade knives are not cheaper. After some research, I thought I could probably make one myself. I made something that looked like a knife, but that very first one was not the best! I kept working on it, though, and I met other bladesmiths who taught me a lot. I watched a lot of YouTube videos on knife making, and it snowballed from there.

BDF: Did you have many of the tools already, or did you have to make do with what you had at the time?

CS: I had woodworking tools. I had a bench grinder and a 4x36 belt sander. That was all I had at the time, and that is what I used to make my first two or three blades. But basically, they were just woodworking tools.

BDF: What’s the name of your forge?

CS: It's Chris Smith and Sons Custom Knives.

BDF: Do your sons forge as well?

CS: They had quite a bit of interest in it when I got started. It was probably nine years ago when I made my first knife. Then about eight years ago, I got pretty serious about getting the proper tools and ordering steel instead of using files and materials like that. So, they were interested then, but now my kids are teenagers, and Dad is not cool anymore.

BDF: Now you are a mason by trade, correct?

CS: Yes. I’m a refractory brick mason, so I build furnaces and make parts out of ceramics and fire brick.

BDF: Do you find that the skills for masonry translate well into bladesmithing?

CS: Well, I've never bought a forge. I've made them all out of other materials. Stuff from work, basically. Leftover items that were going to be thrown away or expired. So, I’ve definitely used my masonry skills for forging in that way.

BDF: Do you get much time to be in your forge? Being a mason keeps you pretty busy, I’m sure.

CS: Yeah, I’ve worked sixty hours a week, every week this year so far. I worked every day in June of last year, seven days a week. We were off weekends in December usually. But I really don't have a whole heck of a lot of time—just the evening and Sundays.

I've got several orders that I hadn't even started on. I’m pretty fortunate, though, that I can make what I want for the most part. And I can do it fairly quickly. Word-of-mouth sales work for me. It’s really a blessing.

Chris’ long journey to Forged in Fire

BDF: How did you come to be on Forged in Fire?

CS: They put out a casting call. Those casting calls go out on Facebook and Instagram, too, and they'll give you a number or an email contact, so I reached out. I sent in my information back in season two and did a Skype interview with them. Then they sent me a bunch of non-disclosure agreements to sign, but they couldn't tell me exactly when I would be filming. At that time, I only had about four days of vacation time left for that whole year, so I ended up not even sending the information packets back to them.

Then in September 2021, I finally had the opportunity to go and film my episode. By then, it was season nine, and another casting call went out. I contacted them and actually completed all the steps I needed at that time. It was probably for the best that I waited until season nine because I probably wouldn't have been ready that second season to compete on the show.

BDF: Did you do anything to prepare yourself for the competition?

CS: When I got the information for season two, I gave it to a friend who was on the show before me and had gone through the process. He's been bladesmithing for much longer than I have, but I met him through knifemaking and blacksmithing. So anyway, he competed, and he did really well. He didn't win, unfortunately, but he came in second.

Anyway, I told him that I might be competing on a competition show related to our hobbies—because you’re not supposed to tell anyone when you will be on the show. So, he and another friend came over and set up a challenge like I might be given on Forged in Fire. I didn’t know what it would be, but I would only have a certain amount of time to complete it. He had me make a railroad spike with a forge-welded blade. Then we talked about time management. He said that was probably the most important part of competing on the show. That is very true because you don't have much time.

BDF: For your competition, they asked you to forge your ‘signature style knife,’ and you made a bowie knife. Are bowies your style, or did you choose that to suit the challenges?

CS: When they told us what the challenges would be, that's what I thought would perform the best. That was why I went with the harpoon-tipped bowie.

BDF: Did you get to keep that one?

CS: No. So, during the first round, we made the blades, and it had to be a Go Mai forge, which consists of five different layers. We did that in three hours. Then we had two hours in the second round to make a guard, handle, pommel, and spacer. There had to be five layers or pieces to the handle. For five hours, I worked on that blade non-stop, and I never really stopped to look at it. When it was over, I asked someone if I could see my knife, and the guy said, “Yeah, on TV.” They would not let me touch it again!

“I got lucky enough that it was pretty straightforward. I didn’t have to make it out of scrap metal or cut it off a car or bulldozer. We were given normal bar stock, and I had to make a specific pattern. ”

There were a lot of COVID restrictions in place at the time. If you were filming, you wore an n95 mask and were not allowed to be around other people. We had to stay in our trailers. It wasn't nearly as interesting an experience as other people I've talked to have had. Most people met and got to be friends with the other smiths that were on the show with them. The only time we would talk with anyone for my episode was when we put on our microphones. They were pretty strict. I met one of the other competitors at breakfast one morning, but I didn’t know the names of the other two until the episode aired.

BDF: As if it's not challenging enough on set, having that mask on added another layer of difficulty, I’m sure.

CS: Yeah, that was rough. The safety glasses fogged up constantly from breathing into the masks. It was difficult.

BDF: (Displayed on the shelves behind him is a beautiful display case with a sword inside) Is that the Naga from the show displayed behind you?

CS: It is! If you win, they give you $10,000 for your blade, but if you lose, they send it back to you. Almost like, “we don’t want this thing, loser!” (laughing).

RELATED: THE MYSTICAL ORIGINS OF THE NAGA SWORD

BDF: Was there anything that you were particularly worried about having to do challenge-wise? I know a lot of people seem to fear the canister Damascus.

I was worried they would throw us something crazy or off the wall. The first couple of seasons of the show were really good, but they got into challenges that were just absurd, in my opinion. I actually had stopped watching the show for a while. For example, once, they had to make Damascus out of golf clubs. There's no reason for a bladesmith to do that other than for a television show. They were trying to get ratings and all that, I suppose.

“Whether they have done it for years or months, you can pick up so much from watching how someone makes a knife or collaborating with them. ”

I got lucky enough that it was pretty straightforward. I didn't have to make it out of scrap metal or cut it off a car or bulldozer. We were given normal bar stock, and I had to make a specific pattern. I was pleased with that.

BDF: Did you enjoy the competition? Would you go back if they invited you?

CS: I did. It was enjoyable and a lot of fun! I would absolutely return if they asked me to. Although, I would probably lose a lot worse next time.

BDF: No way, I'm sure you've only gotten better since then. Maybe they'll call you back for a Beat the Judges round or something.

CS: You know, in the initial email they sent me, they offered the episodes where you had to beat Ben Abbott. They did like nine or ten episodes of that. So, they asked me if I wanted to compete in those episodes. I said, “No. I’d rather go against three other people that aren't Ben Abbott.”

RELATED: A CONVERSATION WITH FORGED IN FIRE JUDGE BEN ABBOTT

Chris’ standout performance on Last Blade Standing

BDF: Who knew you would end up competing against him on a different show, right? Was this your first season competing on Last Blade Standing?

CS: Season three was my first season competing. I didn't know anything about the first season. I got on TikTok last year, right before that season started. They had already done most of the casting. I messaged Doc about it, but it was full, so he put me on the alternate list. It never came around, though, so this year was my first time competing on that show.

BDF: Did Doc contact you, or did you have to contact him?

CS: I contacted him when I saw that season three was a go.

RELATED: LAST BLADE STANDING TAKES A SEAT FOR NO MAN

BDF: Had you made a sword before, or was this your first one?

CS: This was my second sword. The first one was actually the Naga for Forged in Fire.

BDF: Now that you have made two successfully, do you prefer swords or knives?

CS: I enjoyed making the sword for Last Blade Standing, but people need knives more than swords, so I’ll stick with knives for now. I have thought about making a sword to sell, but we will see.

BDF: Did you experience any difficulty or hit roadblocks when making your sword for Last Blade Standing?

CS: The process went well overall. I spent a lot of time on the steel for the blade. Honestly, for most of December, I didn't work on anything other than that sword. The steel was pretty complex to make. It was three solid weeks of me working every night on the metal to make that blade. I did have a backup in case something went wrong. Luckily, I didn’t need it!

BDF: What was your inspiration behind the style you chose? It was beautiful and so unique.

CS: Thank you! It was similar to my strategy on Forged in Fire; I made that shape based on what they said the tests would be. It could have been a better profile, I guess. It didn't seem like David Baker liked it much. It was more weighed out toward the front for the chopping on the barrel but also thin to slice the pool noodle and flex. It did all that well. I don't have any complaints. I got third, so I was very pleased.

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I had seen Colton’s blade on TikTok and Instagram, so I knew the best I would do was probably second place unless his sword broke. To me, there was no doubt that he would win unless something catastrophic happened.

BDF: Would you compete in another season of Last Blade Standing?

CS: Definitely! I met a lot of nice people. People I didn't know before it all started. I'm on a group chat with a bunch of them, which is awesome. I was on a TikTok live with Doc last night when I should have been getting ready for bed.

Chris’ advice for new smiths

BDF: Do you have any advice for aspiring bladesmiths?

CS: You can learn a lot from just talking and watching other bladesmiths. Whether they have done it for years or months, you can pick up so much from watching how someone makes a knife or collaborating with them. Going to other people's shops and talking to them is priceless. The amount of information you can get from just being around other bladesmiths can be a complete game changer. Honestly, knifemaking is ninety percent mental; the other half is physical.

To see more of Chris’ work, follow him on Instagram @sir_knifesalot and Facebook at Chris Smith & Sons Custom Knives & Jewelry, LLC. If you’d like to see Chris in action, check out Season 9 Episode 18 of Forged in Fire or Season 3 of Last Blade Standing.