Forged in Fire follows four blacksmiths showing off their skills by creating impressive and one-of-a-kind weapons. They battle it out to win the title of the Forged in Fire Champion and the $10,000 prize. Reality Titbit takes a look at some of their worst injuries during Forged in Fire’s run.
One thing’s for sure – they can handle the heat.
Throughout the seasons of Forged in Fire, some cast members have encountered incredibly painful injuries in tense situations.
Dealing with the pressure while working under scorching temperatures, they force various knives, swords, and other bladed weapons. However, mishaps in the past have led to some of the contestants getting injured in the making process.
Here are some of Forged in Fire’s worst injuries the judges and contestants have incurred while playing with fire.
Forged in Fire’s worst injuries
James Neilson’s hand
James Neilson became a beloved cast member for his very particular and unique skills. He was known for his competitive spirit in a bid to reach the top spot in Forged in Fire in the first season.
After becoming a judge on the series, fans became concerned after his absence in some of the episodes. It was then, in the third season, that Neilson stepped down from his role to undergo surgery on his hand.
Neilson left the series for good towards the end of the season four and has never appeared since then.
According to Glossyfied, Neilson revealed his hand injury occurred many years ago when he slipped on grass and fractured a small bone in his hand. Not treating the injury properly after almost a decade began to cause discomfort for the star.
After fully recovering from his injury, he returned in the spinoff series of Forged in Fire: Beat the Judges.
David Baker’s eye patch
The special episode titled 101 Weapons That Changed the World, Forged in Fire, was actually filmed several years ago before it aired. But it still left questions as to why David Baker wore an eye patch and if his injury stemmed from making weapons.
As fans began to show their concern on social media, David clarified the situation. He ensured he was doing fine, and got injured the day before shooting, and needed the patch to cover the wound while it healed.
In a statement shared on Facebook at the time, he wrote: “Hey gang. If you watched 101 Weapons that changed the world, yes, that was me in an eye patch.
“I had to have a metal splinter removed from my eye the night before the shoot. That was several years ago. I’m fine, thanks.”
Doug Marcaida’s experience with heavy blades
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During the shooting of season four of Forged in Fire, fans realized Doug wore an arm sling. As worried viewers began wondering what had happened, he told followers he had suffered an accident after testing a heavy blade.
After it began to affect his performance on the show, Marcaida decided to get surgery to fix the issue in order to get back to what he does best.
The 57-year-old even joked about referring to his injury as a “boo-boo” in a message on Facebook, reassuring fans of his well-being.
In a section of his message, Doug wrote: “I underwent surgery to fix the problem and now four months post-op the ‘transformation’ begins to discovering the ‘opportunities’ to learn about my whole being and how to turn it to be the best of what is left.”
As of November 2022, Marcaida is fully back in business.
Eric witnessed a “fireball”
Season three of Forged in Fire was definitely a time of lots of lessons learned – even for those with more than a decade of experience.
Working part-time at Bladesmith, Eric had a big scare after witnessing a “fireball” erupt while grabbing steel in the making process of dealing with resin.
“It looked like gasoline fire, it was… God,” he recalled. “I was engulfed in flames.”
Luckily for Eric, he wasn’t gravely injured, and it was a great lesson in the importance of protecting oneself. Now a veteran on the show, his years of experience dealing with knives has come in handy.
Burt fainted in the emergency room after slicing his finger
Burst’s injury has become of the worst injuries in Forged in Fire.
Now with more than 20 years of experience, Burt found himself fainting in the emergency room. The incident came after a “perfectly sharped knife” slipped on his hand and cut through his finger.
“That was my first episode passing out in the emergency room where the guy had the needle in there and was well-vetted around. And you’re breathing like a pregnant woman,” he told the judge.
Despite his passion and becoming full-time at Bladesmind, Burt has been extra careful whenever dealing with knives. He has taken the incident as a life lesson which can be applied to our dangerous parts of the field.
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