By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
On June 26, Cazenovia High School class of 2011 graduate Ben Spangler will be featured as a contestant on History Channel’s Forged in Fire — a competition series that airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m.
In each episode, four bladesmiths compete in a three-round elimination contest to forge bladed weapons. The overall winner receives the championship title and a $10,000 reward.
Spangler grew up on a farm in Fenner. He began shaping metal at the age of 14 or 15, after discovering nineteenth century blacksmithing equipment in a barn on his property.
According to Spangler’s mother, Donna, her son forged his first knife at home using coal from their furnace and an air mattress vacuum.
“Ben came to his father and I with a railroad spike and said, “Hey, I want to take some of the coal in the basement and forge a knife out of this spike,’” she recalled. “My husband and I looked at each other and said ‘OK.’”
Spangler taught himself the trade by reading books and watching YouTube videos.
“I thought ‘let’s give this a shot and see what happens,’” he said. “I was really bad at it for a long time, then eventually it all kind of came together.”
Today, he has over a decade of traditional blacksmithing experience and a degree in mechanical engineering.
In fall 2017, Spangler opened his own forge at his home in Henrietta, a suburb of Rochester.
The blacksmith shop offers unique, high quality blades, custom metalwork and antique steel restoration.
Using traditional hand-forging techniques, Spangler creates each object by heating steel in a coal forge and working it to shape with a hammer and anvil.
Spangler also volunteers in a historically accurate 1820s blacksmith shop at the Genesee Country Village & Museum — a living history museum in Mumford, NY.
“One of the big draws to [blacksmithing] for me is the history of it,” he said. “I love being able to do something that people have been doing for thousands of years. It’s a staple of human civilization. [At the museum], I get to share my passion with other people and talk to visitors about how it was done historically.”
Spangler has been watching Forged in Fire since it first aired in 2015. When he realized that the show was accepting applicants, he reached out to the casting director.
After a fairly extensive application process, Spangler was accepted onto the show.
“They gave me a call and set up the interview process, and before I knew it I was driving down to Connecticut to film,” he said.
The show, which filmed on a freezing cold day in January, is hosted by former Army Ranger Wil Willis and judged by three experts — experienced knife-maker J. Neilson, hand-to-hand combat specialist Doug Marcaida, and David Baker, an authority on replicating period-accurate weaponry.
“It was a great show,” Spangler said. “I have a lot of respect for my competitors. The people that put on that show are very, very good at what they do. I was thrilled to film with them.”
To view or purchase Spangler’s work, visit spanglerforge.com. To learn more about Forged in Fire and to preview the June 26 show, visit history.com.
