The main event of the James Black Bowie Knife Festival in Historic Washington State Park is always the Arkansas State Knife Championship, which takes place on the second day of the weekend, Saturday afternoons. Also taking place on Saturday was the announcement of the Arkansas Living Treasure and several events involving demonstrations of knives. appearances by Forged in Fire host Doug Marcaida with Mastersmith J. Neilson, a judge for the show.
This year’s winner was Ben Seward, a bladesmith now living in a town whose name makes sense for a knifemaker, Irondale, Missouri. He grew up in Arkansas, though, and in 2009 started his training at the he W.F. Moran School of Bladesmithing in Washington Arkansas.
After hearing his name announced by Mastersmith Jerry Fisk as the winner out of 11 smiths who took on a series of five challenges with their own knives, Seward was self-effacing. “I've been the number one loser for three years. I guess it's finally time to go to number one. I've been second for three years. I broke a streak,” he said.
There was a brief crisis of confidence when he saw Ramsey Richardson’s performance, but when Seward finished chopping a two by four apart, the next event, which was the attempted cutting of a flaming, dangling rope so the burning end fell perfectly in the bucket of water just below it, made him think his day might go well. “I saw his cuts. I did not think I could follow that. It was tough. But once I got the rope in the bucket, I knew. I was like, Okay, there's a chance,” Seward said.
Seward described the knife he chose to use in competition Saturday. “This is a 1095 blade,” he said, referring to a blend of carbon into the steel that renders that steel among the strongest materials a knife could be made from. “We try to make sure we had good edge geometry to bite through that wood. It wasn't required this time. Sometimes I did the sharpened clip. Sometimes we have to cut with the clip. We just never know what we're going to be cutting. So handle is important. You don't want to be regripping while you're going through a two by four. And in this case, the fastest time was what won.” The clip is the part of the knife that tapers off at the end.
Second place went to Ramsey Richardson. Third was a tie between James Stevens and Shane Frank.
The contest required each knife-maker to first chop a two by four in two by hitting the thinnest edge, then slice a thick rope in two after letting it burn with an accelerant as long as it took the contestant to finish with the two by four. Contestants needed to aim the cut off end so they fell perfectly into a water bucket just below the rope.
Next, contestants had to chop a foam flip-flop in halves. The flip-flop is hung from a thin rope. Then came the chopping of four water bottles in two, with the fourth water bottle needing to be chopped in two lengthwise with lid on. This bottle was placed in a wooden square contestants could not raise their knives above before making their chops.
Finally, the knife makers had to cut a plastic straw in two that was stood up from a hold in a painted piece of wood without breaking the plane of the wood. As each of the 11 put their knives through their paces, Mastersmith Jerry Fisk acted as play-by-play and color commentator, providing information for novices about the craft of knifemaking as well as explaining the contestants’ performances in a humorous manner.
Earlier Saturday, the Arkansas Arts’ Council 2025 Arkansas Living Treasure was introduced as Stephen Driver, a maker of clay pots and porcelain ware who set up his pottery business in Northwest Arkansas in 1976 and has promoted the craft by teaching at University of the Ozarks and University of Arkansas Little Rock.
As he was presented with his certificate at Washington’s Farmer’s Market Pavilion, Driver thanked the Arts Council and said, “You have to be nominated for this. I have a lot of people who supported me in that process, and I can't take them enough. Also, the award wouldn't be near as nice without the support of the Wingate foundation and John and Robyn Horn, they really make crafts work in this state and this nation and can’t be underestimated. They did a lot of good work.”
Driver credited the 15 people who “help me fire my kiln.” He said he also enjoyed his role in making pottery more popular. “It's about community, and it's about passing it on. And really, in my old age, that's what I'm doing. I'm passing it on, and besides working with my hands, it’s what really work for me at this time of my life.”
About an hour before the state knife-cutting championship began, Marcaida and Nielson stood in front of the spectators’ tent outfitted with microphones and fielded questions asked by the attendees. While Marcaida had no news on whether there will be another season soon of Forged in Fire, which is on hiatus, he said he intended to start his own show centered on the craft of forging weapons and testing them out if the History Channel program is not renewed. He said there are about 20 episodes that were produced but have not aired and he is not sure when they will be.
