Like he did on “Forged in Fire,” Parkersburg resident Jeremy Bartlett is shown forging a knife blade. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — For Parkersburg resident and business owner Jerermy Bartlett, being a contestant on the History Channel’s “Forged in Fire” was a great experience.

The episode in which Bartlett was featured aired Dec. 22, but was taped in early June. He lost in the second round because his knife did not look as good as his competitors’, even though it was more effective, he said.

The competition put him in a situation where he had to get as much done in as little time as possible.

Bartlet said the first round of the competition was creating the blade. He and his competitors had three hours.

They were told what materials they had to use 30 minutes in advance so they could plan how they were going to make their knives.

Recent “Forged in Fire” contestant and Parkersburg resident Jeremy Bartlett holds the blade of a knife he’s making. (Photo Provided)

In the second round, Bartlett and his competitors had to create the knife handle, attach it to the blade and then do final refining and sharpening. They only had two hours to accomplish this.

The first of two tests in the second round was a wooden dowel chop.

“One of the judges tested our knives, and he vigorously hit against the dowels to see if it would take any damage,” Bartlett said.

The second test was cutting through a checkered flag.

Bartlett said that if the knife was damaged in any way, it was grounds for elimination.

Recent “Forged in Fire” contestant and Parkersburg resident Jeremy Bartlett works on a knife. (Photo Provided)

When Bartlett is creating his own knives for customers with his business, he takes more time to produce a higher quality product.

“So, when I’m making a knife for a customer, I need to make sure that everything is made as well as possible,” he said.

He uses kown steel for his knives, and uses stabilized wood for his handles, picking those that don’t expand or contract with the humidity. But just to be safe, he utilizes a resin to ensure this does not happen.

Bartlett made the journey from a knife sharpener to a knife creator in 2015.

“I just started doing some research and decided to give it a try,” he said.

Bartlett also said he finds much more excitement sharpening his own knives instead of a knife someone else made.

Bartlett’s efforts to be on the show began place two years before another area contestant, Brent Smith, appeared. Smith is from Boaz and wound up winning the competition in 2019.

“Brent is a very talented bladesmith and a very talented guy,” said Bartlett, who didn’t know about Smith before seeing the episode in which he appeared.

On the show, Bartlett said that they had flat-bar steel available to them.

His knife was made of pattern-welded steel, once known as Damascus Steel. Bartlett said that in ancient times, Damascus steel was made by folding steel over and over in layers. Damascus is the capital of Syria.

Bartlett appeared with Robert Taylor of San Francisco, Jacob Gatez from Minnesota and Aubrey Hummer from Virginia. Hummer was eliminated in the first round. In the weeks after filming, they stayed in touch with each other.

“Ever since we filmed, we’ve been keeping in touch and we were all thrilled when the show was going to air in December,” he said.

Bartlett offered this advice for those who are interested in appearing on “Forged In Fire:” “If they are going to be on this specific show, you need to be physically and mentally ready.

Bartlett said he had to drink lots in water in the forging area because temperatures in the forgers reached about 2,000 degrees. That was multiplied by four forges, one for each contestant, and the weather that day was very hot and humid.

They had to sign a non-disclosure agreement that required them not to say anything until the episode aired.

Bartlett said that he was only allowed to tell immediate family and his bosses with a Chase Bank in Columbus, for which he works full-time at home as a software developer. His company, Bartlett Blades, is a part-time, home-based business, and he makes his sales from his website and from knife shows.

Usually, Bartlett said, he only attends the Spirit of the Blade show in Troy, Ohio, and The Blade Show in Atlanta. For 2022, he’s added a show in Miamisburg, Ohio, in October.

People can learn more about Bartlett and his knives by visiting his website at www.bartlettblades.com or calling him at 740-440-0081.