Hungry like the Wolf: Exclusive Interview with Bladesmith and Artist Ryan Rowe

Ryan Rowe is more than a bladesmith; he is an artist. After stumbling upon a glassblowing class while attending college, he found a passion for the craft and enjoyed learning the techniques and working with his hands to create art pieces. Before long, he decided to take on the challenge of working with steel. After finding he had a knack for steelwork as well, he added bladesmithing to his growing list of artistic expressions.

Ryan has appeared on Forged in Fire, Knife or Death, and Last Blade Standing as both a judge and a competitor. This week, we sat down with him to talk about his art, how his humor helped him on Forged in Fire, and get his advice for the artists out there.

BRUTE de FORGE: Can you tell us how you got into forging and bladesmithing?

Ryan Rowe: Yes, it’s a funny story. I actually started in glassblowing. I've been blowing glass on and off for about fifteen years, and I had always wanted to forge a knife. I had made knives out of files but never forged one from start to finish. One day, I just stopped blowing glass, took a break, put some steel in the fire, and started hammering on it. Then it just spawned from there. I ended up doing an independent study in the sculpture department, learning to make tools for glasswork. So, I ended up combining forging with glassblowing as my independent study. I built my own forge at the school and did all the casting and everything there. It was funny; you could hear that thing from across campus! But anyway, I ended up forging, and it grew from there.

BDF: Were you an art major in school, then?

RR: Yes. I have a bachelor's with a concentration in glass blowing. People don’t realize that there's more to it than just the glass itself. When you’re working with glass, you have to consider the coefficient numbers, schedules, and materials. Things of that nature. So, there's a lot to it.

BDF: Is that how you make your living?

RR: No, it's not my real job right now. I would like to be my actual job eventually. I’d like to have my own studio where I can teach glassblowing and steelwork, but I’m currently a welder. That's primarily what I do.

I've always been an artist. I've always been very handy and crafty, so my welds apply heavily to my mosaic and pattern welding. It’s closely related to my work as an artist. It's not like an apples-to-oranges comparison.

BDF: How did you get into glassblowing?

RR: I originally went to Jacksonville University for graphic design, and, at first, I was excited about it. Eventually, I realized it wasn't what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to stay within the art department but didn't want to be confined to drawing and painting. One day, I stumbled into the glass shop—I didn't even realize at the time that Jacksonville University had a glass shop—and I was like, “Wow, this looks like something I want to do.” I was excited about what I saw! I ended up getting waved into a class the following semester, and I went on to do more from there. Once I learned the basics, I ended up just accelerating quickly.

BDF: Does your workshop at home have a name?

RR: So, on my Instagram, I usually go by Ryan Wolf Creations. As for a specific forge name, I typically call it Butta Yellow Forge since the steel usually gets pretty hot when I forge it and weld it together. In terms of coming up with a set name, I don't have anything specific just yet. I'm still sorting through some as I'm developing a business plan. I'll have something that will stick soon, I think.

BDF: I have to ask, what is the significance of the wolf? It seems important to you.

RR: The wolf has always been an animal I've been interested in because it has so many qualities that I feel relate to me: comforting the family, always being curious about certain things, and qualities like that. They’re small but still mighty.

There have always been some qualities I see in them that make them relatable to me. It’s just a beautiful animal. I’ve always wanted to run with them, for lack of a better description.

BDF: Do you have a particular style for your bladesmithing?

RR: I want to say it's my pattern welding. A lot of people do pattern welding now, but a lot of smiths out there do similar pattern welding. You can look at a mastersmith ladder pattern, then at a novice ladder pattern, and the experienced ladder pattern will be more defined and a lot crisper, but in the end, it's still a ladder pattern. Now, I don't do stuff like that because it does not catch my eye, but I like to do things that have more movement to them. Whether it's blending canister with canister Damascus and a traditional stacking method or combining titanium parts with carbon steel, I try to make it different from the norm. I get people all the time that ask how or why I do it that way, and I tell them that I'm unplugged from the Matrix. I'm thinking outside the box.

BDF: Do you sell the steel and Damascus you create to others?

RR: Yes, I've sold ten or twelve-inch billets of steel before. If I have some and I'm not in the mood to make something out of it, or if I want to move some things out of the shop, I’ll sell some.

“I don’t do stuff like that because it does not catch my eye, but I like to do things that have more movement to them. Whether it’s blending canister with canister Damascus and a traditional stacking method or combining titanium parts with carbon steel, I try to make it different from the norm.”

That's usually how I work. Lately, I've taken some of the stuff I've done, and if I don’t need it or don’t want to finish it, I want to put it in somebody else's hands. From there, it becomes a collaboration effort. The person has the blade or billet I originally made, and they put a handle on it, or they finish it and then they can do whatever with it.

BDF: So, you have been on a string of shows. You were on Forged in Fire, Knife or Death (a spin-off of Forged in Fire), and Last Blade Standing. Let’s start with Forged in Fire. How did you get on the show?

RR: So, I was on Forged in Fire first. I saw that one of my Facebook friends had competed, and I asked him how he had gotten on the show. He said that he filled out some information on a casting call, and he thought they would be casting again at some point. I didn't think anything of it at first, but then I decided to give it a try. I filled out the information and waited to see what would happen. Next thing you know, I'm on TV internationally!

I thought that was cool. It was fun, and I had a really good time. I just treated it like another day at the forge. I wasn't really nervous or anything. I had been in some commercials before being on Forged in Fire, so I didn't think anything of it. I had a great time, and the judges loved me. I brought a lot of humor, and I made them laugh a lot. It was a good time!

BDF: You may have been one of the most relaxed people I've ever watched compete. When you acted like you were going to dunk your blade in the water, I thought the judges were going to run onto the floor!

RR: Oh my gosh, they gave me so much flack for that when the cameras were off. Dave almost cursed me out. He said, “Man, I can't believe you did that.” But it was funny, and I wanted to do stuff for the judges. It's an entertainment business, after all!

BDF: I think approaching it with humor and creating calmness is probably an advantage.

RR: Exactly. Just have fun with it. Most people are tense and worried about the time and everything. I wasn’t worried about the time at all. I was calm. I knew what I had to do and knew if I stayed calm, I'd finish on time.

RELATED: A CONVERSATION WITH FORGED IN FIRE’S DAVID BAKER

BDF: Were there any behind-the-scenes experiences that surprised you about the show?

RR: There are a lot of interviews. More than I thought there would be. There were more interviews than actual work time, but that's to be expected for a show like that. People think it's all crammed into one day, which it is, but at the same time, the filming is so intentional, and they have to do all the editing and stuff like that. So, it's like three weeks of your time, all crammed into a one-hour show. It's done carefully; these people are experts, so they know what they're doing.

BDF: Did your time on Forged in Fire lead to your appearance on Knife or Death?

RR: So, for Knife or Death, I had seen the casting invitation on Facebook or Instagram—I forget which one—but I thought, “What do I have to lose?” I signed up for it and got it on my first try. It was a lot of fun. I'm disappointed I didn't get as far as I wanted to, but it was a cool experience. Being around the people and on the set was a lot of fun.

BDF: Let’s switch to Last Blade Standing. Was this your first season on the show?

RR: No, technically, this was my third, but I was a judge on seasons one and two, not a competitor. I'm considered a permanent judge, but when Matthew Martin [Doc] told me that Ben Abbott was competing and that David Baker would be a final-round judge, he told me he wanted me to compete in season three.

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RR: So, I compete! It was quite a struggle. I went through nine blades to get the final result I wanted. Ultimately, I couldn't make it as beautiful as I wanted, so I was surprised that it made it into the final sixteen. I was pretty happy with how far I got with it.

BDF: You were ultimately knocked out by the winner, which is pretty respectable.

RR: Yeah, definitely. Colton’s blade was phenomenal. I mean, there's nothing bad anyone could say about it. I wouldn’t even know how you would critique the thing.

BDF: You already hinted at it, but did you hit any major snags along the way with your sword?

RR: Yeah, I just had trouble. It wasn't so much the shape I had trouble with. I mean, that particular shape, the Charay, is challenging to forge. I have the actual sword if you want to see it. I also have my Forged in Fire one as well. But I was trying to get the right amount of steel for the right amount of pattern to make it work while also ensuring the heat treatments were correct. I was just really finicky about it because I wanted it to be the best possible weapon I could make. So, if I got to a certain point and wasn't happy, I would trash it and start over. I ended up starting over nine times. It was a lot of hard work and dedication, for sure. I wish it had worked out better for me, but it is what it is.

Here is the Forged in Fire one [Ryan holds it up to the camera]. It’s twice as heavy as the one for Last Blade Standing. I had no clue how to do it back when I was on Forged in Fire because I had never heard of the weapon. I wasn’t sure how to make it work because I had never forged that ‘T’ section before. That time, I ended up just grinding it in, and it worked out for the tests, but after the episode, I did more of them and figured it out, so for Last Blade Standing, it was more refined.

BDF: So, it’s safe to say that your experience on Forged in Fire inspired your Last Blade Standing sword.

RR: It sure did! One of the reasons I chose it was because I knew David Baker would be a finals judge. Being lucky enough to have my blade in the final round was like revisiting my Forged in Fire experience. I hoped he would remember the shape and the person who made it. The first time I forged one, it was twice as heavy. This time it was fast, flexible, and everything it needed to be.

It stinks because I couldn't make it up to North Carolina and meet with David and talk with the judges, but sometimes that's how things go. I'm glad he got a chance to see and swing it, though.

BDF: It was a great full-circle moment for you, I’m sure.

RR: Exactly!

BDF: How did you become a judge for Last Blade Standing?

RR: That's all about Doc. We've been friends for about three and a half, almost four years. He came up with the idea for Last Blade Standing, deriving a lot of inspiration from Forged in Fire, which is where he knew me from. He knew I had a lot of experience with blades and said he thought I should be a judge. I wasn’t going to say no to that.

BDF: Having been both a judge and now a competitor, which do you prefer; judging or competing?

RR: It all depends on the competition. Knowing that Ben was coming to compete fired me up a little bit. I wanted to get on the forge and make a weapon. But the judging is pretty cool, too. You get to test all the blades and give everybody your opinions. When the rounds are filmed, it's hard for anybody to completely disagree because you have several judges across the board that might all agree or they might not. It’s hard for the contestants to foresee what the judges are going to think and say about your product. Everybody has a different opinion about it. So, I was proud to be a judge, and I was proud to be a contestant. For me, it works out either way.

BDF: Are there any bladesmiths that you look up to?

RR: Starting out, I always looked up Jason Knight. I had the opportunity to visit his place when he was living in Harleysville, South Carolina. He had a little potluck, forging-type thing, and he had invited a bunch of people there, and it was a lot of fun. We kept in touch and had a causal relationship from there.

“Do something that changes the world. To do that, you have to look at what other artists are doing, and you have to put your own spin and your own taste on it to make it yours.”

I ended up purchasing the press that he was selling at the time to help me do my Damascus. He said he had watched my videos of me doing it by hand and said, “Man, I'm cringing so hard. I am going to offer you this press.” I ended up getting it from him, which was a huge blessing. It allowed me to get my hands on pattern development. My patterns are derived from glassblowing. I started out in glassblowing doing the mosaics, and it's essentially the same thing, only it’s liquid versus solid. Anyway, that really helped me out.

RELATED: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH MASTER BLADESMITH JASON KNIGHT

So, Jason was one of the people I looked up to when I was starting out. There are other artists that inspire me, but Jason was the main guy.

BDF: Overall, would you say you consider yourself more of an artist than a bladesmith?

RR: Yes, I would say so because I don't just make blades. I make pendants, swords, knives, and hatchets. I've made rings before. I do all kinds of things! I'm a craftsman, sculptor, and carver. I do a little bit of everything. Bladesmithing is just one of the tools in my bag.

BDF: Then I’ll ask my final question a little differently than I usually do. Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?

RR: Just do what makes you happy, and don't just do something once; repeat it a few times so that you get the idea.

Do something that changes the world. To do that, you have to look at what other artists are doing, and you have to put your own spin and your own taste on it to make it yours. That's the thing that stands out the most in terms of coming up in the world: what makes it yours? Who did you learn from? Who brought you inspiration? There's a difference between copying and inspiration. You can copy people's work all you want, but it's still not yours. But, if you take inspiration from them and say, “Hey, I like how they did this. Let me take this and let me put this into it. Let me put a little twist here and cut there to make it mine.” That's what will set you apart from other people. So, keep being unique and keep growing in your own way. Try not to follow in too many footsteps, and make sure you stand out and be unique.

To see more of Ryan’s work, follow him on Instagram @rywolfcreations or Facebook @ryan.rowe.10. If you’d like to see Ryan’s work live and in action, check out Season 4 of Forged In Fire and Season 3 of Last Blade Standing.