Tri-Cities, WA- The hit History Channel show, ‘Forged in Fire’ has been running for 8 seasons now.
Dave Roeder is a business owner from Kennewick and Wade Plumlee, a sheet metal worker from Pasco.
In 2016, Dave Roeder won episode 2 of season 3 after previously appearing on the show in season one. The show had a fan favorites episode he was called back for and later appeared on the show in its spin off, ‘Knife or Death.’
Dave got started with blade-smithing about 20 years ago at just 16-years old. Since winning, he has been showing off his skills on his Facebook page.
Although blade-smithing has been around for centuries, it’s a fairly new hobby for Wade Plumlee, another winner.
Wade got started because of the show just two years ago. He was crowned winner in the lasted season after being called to appear on the show as a stand in for a different contestant.
He told me, “It just kind of piqued my interest, I never knew about this growing up or anything, but once I saw the show… that’s when I really started getting into it.”
Both Dave and Wade told me they had a lot of support from friends and family, Wade said his friends told him they knew he would win before he even left to film.
Since the show was filmed prior to its air date, both the contestants had to keep secret if they won or lost.
Dave told me he can tell when History Channel reruns episode he has appeared on because, “I can see spikes and I get a lot of phone calls and messages, and ‘hey build me this.'”
As of now, Wade says it hasn’t quite hit him that he has won, but he’s excited to continue working on his skills.
