ENTERTAINMENT POTLGHT: Hulbert resident enters knifesmith TV contest | Don’t miss this

HULBERT – A Hulbert resident will soon show off his knife making skills on the television show called “Forged in Fire.”

Henry Walker of Hulbert has been making knives for the past 10 years. He took his skills to television through the History Channel’s 10th season of “Forged in Fire” — a competition series that features bladesmiths creating knives and recreating 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.”

Although Walker said he has always worked well under pressure, he was able to push himself hard for the competition.

The process for Walker to appear 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 knife maker with his business, “Walker Knives.” When it comes to making the knives, Walker said, quality is the biggest aspect he focuses on — and the reason he started making knives in the first place.

“Even the big companies are starting to harden 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 kit.

“I couldn’t even get started on the deer, and they were already boring. I had to stop and sharpen every five to 10 minutes, and I thought, ‘I think I could make a better knife than this. ,” Walker said. with a laugh.

Walker has been creating knives ever since, and his decade-long career crafting the items helped him feel fully prepared for the “Forged in Fire” competition. Although confident in his abilities, Walker said he spent about a month going over 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 the series.

“Anyway, I’m a big fan of the show. Just getting to visit with them a little bit, with their years of knowledge, is pretty exciting,” Walker said.

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Walker will appear on “Forged in Fire” on Wednesday, November 15 at 9-10pm on the History Channel.