Study the politics of the time and why these duels are happening. Study the laws that allowed a person to use or not use this blade. When I'm working on something, or learning about something, or learning to use something, I like to study it in context.įor example, if you're studying the rapier and how to use it the way it was used, study the architecture of the time to see where they were using this blade. But historical blades are what I have focused on and studied since I started making blades. You know, it's like, I've done stunts, but I'm not a stuntman. Did you study weapons history in school, or have you just learned and gained so much field knowledge over the years?ĭB: It’s because I’m old! (laughing). You're around razor-sharp blades, and things can go wrong rather quickly.īDF: They refer to you a lot as the weapons historian on the show. I managed to cut the tendon on my little finger just by unpacking a sword! It happens. You're going to get stuck, whether it's by your own weapon or someone else's weapon. ![]() They cut it out and made redo it.īDF: They should let the audience see those moments.ĭB: You know, if you're going to play with or build these weapons, you're going to bleed. They wanted to stop shooting, and I said, “No, let's go on!” I described what had happened, with blood dripping off my hand. When I hit the target, it broke and swung back and cut me open right here (shows scar between thumb and forefinger). The back of it stuck me in the arm.Īnd then on a sword. Once, when I was pulling the Kpinga out of the target. It can be scary.īDF: Have you had any significant injuries on set?ĭB: I've stuck myself. You're never quite sure which way it's going go. Nobody likes seeing fourteen inches of blade flying through the air. They make the audience cringe, too!ĭB: It's funny, sometimes the first or second hit, you feel or hear something, and you're like, “Should I swing this one more time? Did I feel something crack? Did I feel something giveaway?” And half the time, when you swing it again, something goes loose, and you're like, “Oh, dammit! I should have stopped and looked.” We’ve only broken a few of them! On stupid stuff like “Hey, let’s hit this torpedo or smash this metal bar.”īDF: The tests are intense. They all go through the tests, or most of the tests, which is fun.ĭavid Baker: Yes. All my swords are the ones he practices with, so mine have to be ready and sharp. The first time we use those swords is when we pick them up and do it on camera. When Doug does his cut and kill tests, he gets to practice that in the morning with the sword I make. I mean, they eventually got finished because we use those swords. You have to get it.īut I’ll tell you-true story-there have been a few swords on the show that, when they pulled the sheet away, the side viewers saw was finished, and the backside was not finished at all.ĭB: Yes, one-sided swords. You could be working all day on a project, and someone goes, “Oh, man, that's beautiful, but we're going to use that one three weeks from now, and we need this other one tomorrow.” And failure is not an option. The entertainment industry has some odd timelines in that things change so rapidly. What’s that like?ĭB: I don't get the four whole days that the smiths get, that’s for sure! I get a weekend to build three blades. I read that you forge the blades for the show. It has just taken up all my time.īDF: I can imagine! I was going to ask you about that. It has been a good time! Then the last seven years have been spent on Forged In Fire and being the person who builds all the examples for the show. From there, I opened a prop company and supplied bladed weapons for various television and movie productions. Well, it was actually in 1999 when I started that project, technically twenty-three years ago. That's the long story.īDF: How long, then, have you been in the weapon-making business?ĭB: Since 2000 I've been in the business, so for the past twenty-two years. I was constantly learning, constantly trying new things, and rarely saying no. Then that turned into someone saying, “Hey, can you make me a real one? Can you make a hero copy that's steel?” And I went down that road. That’s the point when I actually went into business making theatrical weapons. ![]() So, I did all the hero swords and all the stunt swords for that. But then, around 2000, a friend of mine was going to Spain to do a TV show called Queen of Swords, which was like a female Zorro thing, and he asked me to do the swords for that. Then one of the guys who taught at a theatrical school in Northern California said, “Hey, can I buy some of these? Can you make some more of these?” It started to snowball and became a secondary thing. ![]() Then I did a production of a show, and the people on the following show said, “Hey, can you do the swords for us?” I sold them some swords.
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