Forged in Fire: World-class bladesmiths compete against each other

On this all-new competition show, the best bladed weapon-makers in the country go head-to-head building everything from Viking battle axes to Samurai swords to Indian claw daggers. There will be new weapons and contestants every week, and stunning tests of their creations. In each stand-alone episode, four new contestants battle it out in a quest to prove they can build a particular weapon better than anyone else--and they're doing it by hand. This is the show that turns the craftsmanship, legend and excitement of weapons-building into an against-the-clock battle of wits, resourcefulness, and ingenuity. Contestants compete over a series of elimination challenges using the "garage" of tools provided. Each challenge centers on fabricating a component of the overall weapon. Judged by an esteemed panel of unimpeachable weapons experts, the race to create the episode's weapon of choice is a journey through weapon history under Mission Impossible time constraints with an explosive finale.

The Filipino Contestant

Ryu Lim - Episode 3 Viking Battle Axe

Currently in Union, NJ. Nomadic Bladesmith(but usually stay around NJ for personal reasons) Originally from a small humble village at the mountain's foot(actually a sleeping volcano) located in one of the northern islands of the Philippines. I've been helping around at the local smithies since I was 8 years old, moving charcoal(coal wasn't readily available but there were plenty of trees on the mountains for charcoal making) and working the bellows. I was first permitted to pickup a hammer at around the age of 9. I forged my first sword at the age of 10(mild steel. Not worth bragging about but I thought worth a mention). I moved to a different village for easier access to education, but it was a farming village and blacksmithing wasn't as common. I kept swinging my hammer anyway, using improvised tools and very crude forges. I found home in the United States soon after the nearby volcano buried my second village. I landed on the city so it became harder to forge but I always found ways to never stop swinging. Never sold my blades, instead always traded them for items and tools I couldn't afford with money. And then, around mid last year when I started my Instagram account and started selling there.

Fast forward, I found myself in a studio forge in front of a mystery metal shrouded in red cloth, unsure of what the show wants me to do with that metal. I never would've gotten through this harsh competition if it wasn't for the gentlemen who stood by me as friends instead of competitors. Being in the show sucked, but meeting these 3 gentlemen made this experience worth cherishing for the rest of my lifetime. The most valuable thing I won from that show are my now treasured friends who I call my brothers. Jonathan Porter of Doghouse Forge, James Huse of Huse Knives, and of course, Phil Evans of Glenview Forge.

Premieres 19 November, Thursdays at 10pm