Growing up in North Dakota, Cody Adolphson had always been around knives. He is a hunter and his father is a welder, so hot sharp metal was part of Adolphson’s upbringing.
“I’ve always wanted to get into making knives. I always carry a knife. I always use a knife,” Adolphson said. “I’m a welder by trade, so been around metal my whole life.”
One day Adolphson saw the show “Forged In Fire” on the History Channel and the creative metal smithing itch began to grow.
“I saw the show come on and I started getting into it more and more, then I finally made the decision in January 2020 to pursuit it and actually learn how to make knives,” Adolphson said.
He contacted a bladesmith via social media and was able to communicate his passion and path to the point to where today the two are “good friends”. Adolphson took a bladesmithing class with his mentor and friend in Wisconsin where he made his first damascus knife.
“I was hooked,” Adolpson said.
After the class in the Badger state, Adolphson began to learn more from his friend and mentor Tyler Hackbarth. In fact it’s this relationship that came out on the air during Adolphson’s Forged In Fire appearance.
“He’s actually a two-time Forged In Fire Champion,” Adolphson said.
His abilities caught the eyes of the producers at The History Channel too. Adolphson recently had an opportunity to compete on The History Channel’s “Forged In Fire“, a competition set to bladesmithing and blacksmithing weapons from specific time periods and cultures.
According to IMDB, “Forged in Fire” tests some of the best bladesmiths in the industry as they attempt to re-create some of history’s most iconic edged weapons. Former Army Ranger Wil Willis hosts the competition series that sees four master bladesmiths challenged in each episode to forge the swords, which are then tested by a panel of judges consisting of J. Neilson, who has been making knives for more than 20 years, hand-to-hand combat specialist Doug Marcaida, and David Baker, an authority on replicating period-accurate weaponry.
The contestant who survives the elimination rounds and wins the episode’s contest earns $10,000 and the title of Forged in Fire champion.
Adolphson was that bladesmith who survived, won and took home the $10,000 prize.
“I made a Cinquedea Sword,” Adolphson said. “It is an Italian Renaissance era sword that a nobleman carried and it’s a very wide blade at the base. Cinquedea actually means five-finger-blade, the base of the blade is the width of your five fingers.”
The championship sword took 32 hours to complete over 4 days. The show also allows the finalists to return to their “home forge” to forge the final entry.
“I can not reveal where we were for the show, but for the finale they were right here in my shop,” Adolphson said. “In the finale round the smith goes back to their home forge and makes a weapon from history. Then they bring you back and test it.”
Adolphson survived two preliminary rounds of knife forging before winning the finals, demonstrating his wide array of blacksmithing talents, concentration and artistic creativity.
“The show obviously helped jumpstart my knife-making business and look forward to forging a new chapter in life,” Adolphson said.
Adolphson started Living The Crude Life right after high school when he started welding for WesCon at the Marathon Refinery in Mandan, North Dakota.
“I started this when I was 18, jumped in a welding truck and went to work,” Adolphson said. “I started with WesCon, local company, and traveled around with them for a while. Built the refinery in Dickinson, worked up in Watford here and there and then ended up coming back to the refinery.”
Second generation welder, Adolphson has been welding since he was 10-year-old and, despite entering into knife making, sees it always in his future for the rest of his life.
“I’ve done welding for the past 11-years and knife making kinda caught my eye, one day I’d life to go full time,” Adolphson said. “That’s the goal, but I’ll always do some kind of welding in my shop here.”
Understanding the foundational opportunities welding can present for an entrepreneur, Adolphson found himself being drawn to the outdoors for the next chapter in life.
“Growing up in North Dakota, I’ve always been around hunting and always carried a knife,” Adolphson said. “I’ve always wanted to get into making knives and I am a welder by trade, and also have been around metal my whole life.”
Dipping a toe into the knife-making waters, Adolphson began taking an order here and there while working full time as a pipe welder. It was this part-time forging that opened his eyes to a whole new world of possibilities in the world of bladesmithing.
“I’ve made handles with meteorites and mammoth tusk,” Adolphson. “These knives are forever knives and meant to be handed down for generations.”
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About The Crude Life
Award winning interviewer and broadcast journalist Jason Spiess and a team of Content Correspondents engage with the industry’s best thinkers, writers, politicians, business leaders, scientists, entertainers, community leaders, cafe owners and other newsmakers in one-on-one interviews and round table discussions.
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Decade of Discussion: Welder for Marathon Refinery Wins History Channel’s Forged In Fire Contest