K-State Student De-Stresses with Fire
[Anchor Lead]
WITH FINALS LOOMING OVER THE HORIZON, ONE STUDENT IS USING HIS UNIQUE HOBBY TO DE-STRESS.
HERE’S CHANNEL 8’S MADDIE WILLSON WITH MORE.
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[Take VO]
AS THE END OF THE SEMESTER APPROACHES, MOST STUDENTS ARE USING THEIR DOWNTIME TO PLAY GAMES OR VISIT FRIENDS.
HOWEVER, ONE K-STATE STUDENT IS SPENDING HIS TIME BETWEEN CLASSES FANNING FLAMES AND HAMMERING STEEL.
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING STUDENT JOHN BLACK SPENDS HIS WEEKENDS FORGING KNIVES AND SWORDS AT HIS SISTER’S FARMHOUSE IN SALINA, KANSAS.
BLACK SAYS THAT HE STARTED FORGING BECAUSE HE WANTED TO MAKE HIS OWN KNIVES.
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[Take SOT]
“Everyone asked me when I first started, so they were like, oh, you watched “Forged in Fire” and picked it up! And I was like, uh… yeah, sure, but I had actually never heard of it. Uh… I actually watched this weird YouTube video I found, and they were like, here’s how you start forging with, like, no tools, and I was like, that’s cool as hell! And so, I started forging.”
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[Take VO]
BLACK USES A HOMEMADE COAL FORGE TO MELT SCRAP STEEL, SODA CANS, AND ANY OTHER METAL HE CAN FIND.
BLACK SAYS THAT WHILE IT’S DIFFICULT TO BALANCE HIS SCHOOLWORK AND FREE TIME, HE STILL LOVES TO FORGE.
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[Take SOT]
“Actually, originally, I used it to defeat my depression. So that was pretty great. And then, uh… it- it really grew on me, and now I like forging things because it’s… There’s some deep satisfaction about turning literally any piece of steel into a sharp bladed weapon that you may or may not use to commit… cool things with.”
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[Stand-Up]
“Black smiths here, at his home forge in Salina. Now, in order to smelt metal, you need to get it really hot. Some coal forges can get up to 35-hundred degrees Fahrenheit – however, Black doesn’t need it to get that hot. He just needs to temper steel into swords.”
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[Take VO]
WHILE HE FOCUSES ON FORGING KNIVES AND SWORDS, BLACK HAS ALSO MADE SMALL ALUMINUM SCULPTURES OUT OF SODA CANS.
BLACK’S ROOMMATE ELIJAH DEEGAN SAYS THAT BLACK IS PASSIONATE ABOUT EVERYTHING HE DOES.
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[Take SOT]
“He’s definitely, like, ecstatic about everything. He, uh… he does taekwondo, he likes to climb trees for fun. When we had that tornado- like, that tornado scare, he was in a tree with chainmail on, if you can imagine that.”
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[Take VO]
BLACK SAYS THAT FORGING IS A FUN AND REWARDING PROCESS THAT EVERYONE SHOULD TRY.
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[Take SOT]
“Anyone that can try it I totally recommend it to them. It’s super fun, uh… great investment of your time, and you learn a lot from it. And, also, the right half of my body is extremely toned! So, like… pretty happy about it.”
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[Reporter Tag]
IN MANHATTAN, I’M MADDIE WILLSON FOR CHANNEL 8 NEWS.