Jesse Hu competed on Forged in Fire’s Gladiators of the Forge. Inspired by the combat in Rome’s coliseum, the tournament-style competition put two bladesmiths on the forge floor to fight it out. One smith chose the forging technique, while the other chose the weapon. Jesse finished the competition undefeated, giving him the second most wins in the show's history, behind only Ben Abbott.

RELATED: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH BLADESMITH BEN ABBOTT

Jesse is bus attending the University of Michigan, and his schedule keeps him incredibly busy. So, we were happy he could squeeze us in for a little Q&A session.

BRUTE de FORGE: How did you get into forging and bladesmithing?

Jesse Hu: My inciting moment for forging was a YouTube video that I saw one day listed in my recommendations. It looked super satisfying and fun. Previously I had been big into making things from popsicle sticks; I made multiple swords, some crossbows, and even a massive hammer the size of a barrel. The downside was that popsicle sticks don’t usually represent longevity and are rather flimsy.

“My creative side is constantly searching for a way to show itself, and forging is such a large field with so much history and depth that I can’t help but be intensely interested.”

After seeing that it was possible to forge things out of metal from simple tools (bricks, a hairdryer, and a hammer), I dove into the world of blacksmithing. I wasn’t very good at first, but I didn’t want to ask my parents to pay for a class (I didn’t even know where to look for a class), so everything I know I taught myself through trial and error and a lot of blisters.

BDF: Would you say you have a style to your blades? If so, what is it?

JH: I definitely think I have a style. I love making chef’s knives: they’re the perfect balance of complexity and utility. If I make a chef’s knife, I know that my client will use it often.

My preferred style of chef’s knife is an American blade profile with a variable handle. I have started to enjoy doing facets on my handles, like those of Mareko Maumasi. I would say his chef’s knives were the greatest source of inspiration for mine, and if you scroll through his past works and compare them to my own, you can see the resemblance. Also, maybe a little of Bob Kramer is thrown in there. My first chef’s knives definitely mimicked the blade profile of his production series of blades.

BDF: Does your forge have a name? If so, is there a story or meaning behind it?

JH: My forge, unfortunately, doesn’t have a name yet. My first forge was just bricks and charcoal thrown together and taken apart after every forge session. I didn’t feel like there was a need to name it because it didn’t exist for more than a couple of hours at a time. My second forge was a two-burner Hells Forge. I liked it; it did everything that I needed it to, but I thought of it as a stepping stone until I hit the big leagues of propane forges. The forge I have now is a Chile Forge Habanero, which I intend to use until it breaks down entirely. If I had to think of a name for it, it would be Ace. Ace is a character from my favorite fiction series, “One Piece,” and his power in the world is to be able to transform into fire, so it’s fitting that my forge would be named Ace.

BDF: Do you have hobbies outside of bladesmithing?

JH: My main hobbies are gaming, powerlifting, and cello. I play a rhythm game called Osu!, Valorant, and Minecraft. I have played other games from time to time just to see if they were fun, but the timeless nature of these three games keeps me coming back to them.

Powerlifting is a hobby I have gotten into recently because I apparently have pretty good genetics for it, and I love pushing my body as far as it can go.

Cello has been a hobby of mine since I was in fourth grade. I was the principal cellist of my middle school and high school orchestras, and I play from time to time here at the University of Michigan, whether in my living room to blow off steam or in an orchestra when I have time during the semester.

BDF: What are you going to school for?

JH: I am going to school for an Electrical Engineering major and advanced Mechanical Engineering coursework on the side. I was originally a double major, but I decided to switch out of it because it wasn’t worth the extra time. The benefit of going into the workforce with the two majors is minimal.

“As far as bladesmithing, I am doing it for life.”

My future plans are not set in stone. I know that I will be taking a gap semester next year so that I can do an internship and attend school for one more year to finish my degree. In terms of what I want to do with my degree, something in the realm of Robotics sounds fun. I am not sure what companies I want to go for, but that is a problem for future me!

As far as bladesmithing, I am doing it for life. With an engineering job, I can pour more money into the craft than if I tried to support myself off bladesmithing alone. It’s a long-term investment. I plan to pursue becoming a Master Smith in the future. I want to dedicate as much time as possible to those blades, and I don’t have the time right now.

BDF: Do the skills of a mechanical/electrical engineer translate at all into bladesmithing?

JH: They translate indirectly. One of the things that engineering has helped me with is problem-solving on a larger scale. A lot of bladesmithing is problem-solving. In fact, I’ve heard people describing it as just fixing your past problems one step after another. Forged in Fire and its competitive atmosphere definitely requires a good problem-solving background, so I can say confidently that my engineering skills have translated there.

BDF: What do you enjoy about forging?

JH: I love creating things with my hands. It’s a fairly common response to this question, but it is one hundred percent true. I grew up doing a lot of art. It started with paper and pencil and grew into popsicle sticks, plywood, and eventually metal. My creative side is constantly searching for a way to show itself, and forging is such a large field with so much history and depth that I can’t help but be intensely interested.

“Making Damascus is like adult play-doh, using a grinder is just controlled arson, and designing knives, in general, is like painting faces.”

Aside from satiating my creative tendencies, it is just so satisfying. Making Damascus is like adult Play-Doh, using a grinder is just controlled arson, and designing knives, in general, is like painting faces. The community is also so awesome and inviting. Everyone passes around ideas like hotcakes, and so many people are present on social media that you can get inspiration so quickly. There’s a constant stream of things that look cool that I want to incorporate into my builds.

BDF: How did you get on Forged in Fire?

JH: At the beginning of my sophomore year at the University of Michigan, I got an Instagram DM from a casting account that asked me if I was interested in going on Forged in Fire. At first, I thought it looked like a scam, but I decided to still say yes and go through the process of phone calls, emails, and Skype calls (the only time I have ever used Skype).

RELATED: FROM SLAVE TO LEGENDS- THE RISE OF GLADIATORS IN ANCIENT ROME

Eventually, they gave me the option of either being on a standard four-person episode or being a part of the experimental gladiator's segment that would be riskier but offered a much higher payout if I went through with it and won multiple battles. I talked to everyone in my personal circle. After a lot of pondering, I decided on the Gladiator Tournament because my “go big or go home” mentality was just too eager. I trusted my ability to have “ice in my veins” to bring me through the competition no matter what was put in my way.

BDF: How were those filmed? Did it affect your schooling?

JH: These were filmed basically the same way as the four-person ones. I can’t say too much about the process because I already came under fire for saying too much once before, but I can tell some general stuff. I was there filming battles back-to-back. They had a schedule of when all the battles would be filmed for the purpose of planning ahead in the event you kept winning. These were all filmed in the middle of my semester, so I half wanted to win everything, and half wanted to get back to school as soon as possible so that I didn’t fall too far behind. Of course, I ended up staying three or four weeks, filming ten hours a day, and eating a lot of Door Dashed penne vodka. My hands got so calloused that it felt like I had an extra five layers of skin over my hand. There were also cuts from all of the battles, but I treated those as battle scars.

As far as seeing the judges and getting to talk to them, because of Covid protocols, I wasn’t actually able to talk to them in person until the end of my very last battle. They came out, and I got to talk with them for about thirty minutes and got a cool picture with them.

BDF: What was your favorite weapon you made?

JH: The favorite weapon that I made on Forged in Fire was the Dolabra at the very end. Throughout the entire show, I was actually doing a lot of techniques for the first time. I had never made canister Damascus before, I never made raindrop Damascus, never even made an axe or hammer. I was learning so much stuff for the first time. I had never even made regular Damascus on my own before! I just didn’t have the facilities at my home forge. So, I treated the Dolabra as my “homecoming” blade. I did a fishhook canister San Mai with a random pattern core. Everything I practiced in the rounds before I incorporated into that blade. I managed to execute it pretty much exactly how I wanted, so that is why it was my favorite.

BDF: Were you dreading any of them?

JH: I was dreading the Dolabra initially. Since this was the first time I had made an axe or hammer, I had no hole-drifting experience, which meant one of the most critical aspects of the Dolabra would be a coin toss. I knew deep inside that no sane person would pick the mace or the scissor unless they were trying to self-sabotage, so I treated the Dolabra as the final boss of the tournament.

“Don’t try to turn bladesmithing into a career too early; it will kill all the fun immediately.”

During the previous seven battles, I kept thinking of what I would do if I had to make the Dolabra. I knew they would have us make it out of Damascus, so punching a hole would be super risky, but I didn’t know of any alternative. It was only after the seventh battle that I got an idea of how to make it foolproof, and I was only inspired after talking with a friend.

BDF: What does it feel like to have the second-most wins in Forged in Fire history next to Ben Abbott?

JH: It feels good! Though with the good feeling comes an aspect of impostor syndrome. Sometimes I think, “Did I really deserve all those wins?” or “Maybe someone else could have been in my position and done better.” I know that at some point in the future, I will have a chance to prove to myself that it wasn’t by accident. Maybe I’ll go on the show again or something!

BDF: What did you do with your winnings?

JH: I spent a lot of it on tools, and I plan to spend the rest on tools and camera equipment. I did buy some things for myself, though, that weren’t tools. I purchased a new Garmin watch, a new PC, and some Legos.

The most important tools I got were a twenty-five-ton forging press from Coal Ironworks, a new grinder from Beaumont Metalworks, and I just ordered a thirty-six-inch Paragon kiln that should hopefully be here in time for my BladeShow prep.

BDF: Are there any bladesmiths in particular that you look up to?

JH: Oh yes! To list a few: Mareko Maumasi, Salem Straub, Bob Kramer, Kyle Royer, Du Sturaro, Will Stelter, Jordan Lamothe, and Alec Steele. There are so many incredible bladesmiths that I learn from every time I see their stuff on Instagram or YouTube.

BDF: Do you have any advice for aspiring bladesmiths?

JH: Tip 1: Don’t rush your own progression. This means don’t bite off more than you can chew. Don’t start making Damascus when you don’t even have ten blades under your belt. Don’t make a sword before you can make a dagger. Get your fundamentals down first.

Tip 2: Don’t try to turn bladesmithing into a career too early; it will kill all the fun immediately. I tried to do this, and I lost a lot of the passion I had for the craft. I gained it back in droves after taking a bit of a break, but if I had used that time to explore and not try to make the same knife over and over, who knows how much better I would be today?

Tip 3: I struggled with this early on, but throw your ego out of the window and learn from as many people as possible. Sift through as many forums as you can and watch as many makers on YouTube as you can.

To see more of Jesse’s work, follow him on Instagram @jhublades. You can see Jesse’s epic gladiatorial performance for yourself by checking out Forged in Fire season nine.

Are You Not Entertained? Q and A with the Ultimate Gladiator of the Forge Jesse Hu

RELATED: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH BLADESMITH BEN ABBOTT

RELATED: FROM SLAVE TO LEGENDS- THE RISE OF GLADIATORS IN ANCIENT ROME