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HULBERT – A Hulbert resident will soon show off his knife-making skills on the TV show called “Forged in Fire.”
Henry Walker, of Hulbert, has been making knives for the past 10 years. He took his skills to TV through the History Channel’s 10th season of “Forged in Fire” – a series competition that has bladesmiths create knives and re-create other historical weapons, such as swords.
“It was a really good experience,” Walker said. “I don’t know what else to say; it was a blast.”
Even though Walker said he has always worked well under pressure, he was able to push himself hard for the contest.
The process for Walker to get on “Forged in Fire” started in March 2023. After Walker’s custom fishing rod business began to slow down, he decided to jump at the chance to apply for the competition.
Walker is now a full-time knifemaker with his business, “Walker Knives.” When it comes to making the blades, Walker said, quality is the biggest aspect he focuses on – and the reason he got into knifemaking in the first place.
“Even the big companies have started tempering their blades down so much that they’re easy to sharpen, but they don’t hold an edge like they used to,” Walker said.
After not being able to find his skinning knife, Walker said, he went to skin a deer with a new Old Timer deer-cleaning set.
“I couldn’t even get started on the deer and they were already dull. I had to stop and sharpen every five to 10 minutes, and I was like, ‘I think I could make a knife better than this,’” Walker said with a chuckle.
Walker has been creating knives ever since, and his decade-long career in making the objects helped him feel quite prepared for the “Forged in Fire” competition. Even though Walker was confident in his abilities, he said he spent about a month just reviewing the different ways to create Damascus steel knives.
Walker said meeting the judges – J. Neilson, Doug Marcaida, and David Baker – was his favorite part of of the series.
“I’m a big fan of the show anyways. Just to get to visit with them a little bit, with their years and years of knowledge, is pretty exciting,” Walker said.
Check it out
Walker will be featured on “Forged in Fire” Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 9-10 p.m. on the History Channel.
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