Colorado Springs Bladesmith Wins History Channel's Forged in Fire

A Colorado Springs bladesmith has won History Channel's competition series "Forged in Fire," according to a report from FOX21 News Colorado. The win adds a Colorado Springs name to the list of hometowns that have produced a champion on the cable program, which puts contestants under a clock to forge working blades based on historical weapons.

What did FOX21 News Colorado report?

FOX21 News Colorado reported that a bladesmith based in Colorado Springs took the top title on "Forged in Fire." The station's item, aggregated through Google News, did not specify the episode's air date or the historical weapon the contestant was assigned to recreate. Readers seeking the smith's name and additional detail should consult the original FOX21 report, which this report draws from directly.

What is History Channel's Forged in Fire?

"Forged in Fire" is a History Channel competition series in which bladesmiths build weapons modeled on historical designs, working against a clock in a forge set built for television production. Contestants are judged on craftsmanship and on how well the finished blade performs in a cutting and durability test. The series has aired on History Channel across multiple seasons and has become one of the few nationally televised showcases for working bladesmiths outside convention circuits and online maker communities.

What is known about the winning bladesmith?

The FOX21 report identifies the winner only by location — Colorado Springs — without additional biographical detail in the material available to this desk. The outlet's full write-up is the authoritative source for the smith's name, shop, and background.

Two figures frame the moment in the broader coverage of the craft:

• Sept. 16, 2026: this desk reported on blacksmithing's return to Gretna Green after a roughly 150-year gap in forge activity there.
• Sept. 17, 2026: this desk reported that a Portland, Oregon, blacksmith began offering knife-forging classes to the public.

Why does the win matter for Colorado's blacksmithing scene?

A nationally televised win does not change the mechanics of forging a blade, but it puts a working smith's name in front of an audience far larger than craft fairs or regional knife shows typically reach. The Colorado Springs win lands alongside other signs of renewed public interest in bladesmithing, including the Portland knife-forging classes and the Gretna Green forge revival. "Forged in Fire" itself has been credited within the blacksmithing community as a visible entry point that has drawn new students and customers to shops that teach or sell hand-forged blades, though the extent of that effect varies by region and is not quantified in the sources reviewed for this report.

Where can viewers watch the episode?

"Forged in Fire" airs on History Channel. Full episodes and schedule information are typically available through the network's own listings and its streaming partners; viewers looking for the specific episode featuring the Colorado Springs win should check History Channel's published schedule or on-demand library, since the FOX21 report reviewed for this piece did not include an episode number or air date.

What comes next for Colorado's bladesmithing community?

Neither source reviewed for this report addresses the winning smith's plans following the title. Past "Forged in Fire" champions have used the exposure to expand custom-knife businesses or teaching programs, a pattern consistent with the kind of growth already visible in Portland's new knife-forging classes and Gretna Green's forge revival. Whether the Colorado Springs win follows that pattern will depend on reporting still to come from local outlets closer to the smith's shop.

How does a win like this compare with past champions?

History Channel has produced a champion from a range of regions over the life of "Forged in Fire," and the Colorado Springs result follows that pattern rather than breaking it. The FOX21 report reviewed for this piece frames the win in those terms, noting that it adds another hometown to a list built up over multiple seasons rather than marking a first for the state or the format. No audience figures, ratings, or season number appear in the source material, so this report does not cite any.

Two figures are available from the reporting gathered for this piece:

• One: the number of named sources corroborating the win as of this report, FOX21 News Colorado.
• Roughly 150: the number of years cited in this desk's separate Sept. 16, 2026 report on the Gretna Green forge revival, offered here only as context for the current period of renewed public attention to blacksmithing.

Those figures do not establish a trend on their own. They indicate that coverage of bladesmithing, from televised competition to small-shop class offerings, has clustered in recent weeks across outlets this desk has tracked.

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