Bugging Out with the Florida Man: An Interview with Bladesmith Justin Miller

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Several years ago, Justin Miller founded Florida Man Forge in Ocala, Florida, after he and a friend decided it would be fun to build a forge. He fell in love with forging and continues to practice blacksmithing and bladesmithing in his downtime, which is hard to come by as a business owner.

Justin was a competitor on season three of Last Blade Standing, where his machete-style sword made it through to the top eight. BRUTE de FORGE was lucky enough to snag some of Justin’s time and talk about how he got into forging, his experience as a competitor on Last Blade Standing, and what he loves about smithing.

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

Justin Miller: Well, a buddy of mine had some ammo cans to use for something. We both watched Forged in Fire, and he thought we should build a forge. So, we cobbled a bunch of junk together and made a forge one weekend. It turned out that I really enjoyed it, and he enjoyed it once. I became addicted.

Then that led to the marketplace addiction as I started looking for anvils and tools. I found a junky little anvil that I did some trading for, and that got me started. As they say, it snowballed from there.

I've been fortunate in that I have found some decent anvils. The crummy one that I got I only had to use for a little while. I live in Ocala, Florida, and it's the horse capital world, I guess. I have a pretty decent farrier anvil that I got from my father-in-law. He gave it to me for Christmas; I've found a few more since then. But that one that got me started and got me hooked.

BDF: Do you forge other items or primarily just knives?

JM: I do things other than knives. I like the forging process. I think the grinder is boring, which is why I love doing hammers, tomahawks, and regular blacksmithing stuff. Anything that doesn't involve standing at the grinder. The fun part is the forging; the work part is the grinding, cleaning, and putting on handles. That said, I make more knives than anything else.

BDF: Are you a full-time bladesmith?

JM: No, I am very, very part-time. I forge on weekends and if I get off early.

BDF: What's your real job, then? What do you do for a living?

JM: I own a sod company called Miller Sod and Services in Ocala, Florida. I install grass on construction sites. It’s long hours, around twelve to sixteen hour days, and at least five days a week. So, that job is what makes me capable of affording blacksmithing and knife-making tools. I don’t think I even made enough to cover a one-hundredth of my hobby with the things I've sold.

BDF: What is the name of your forge?

JM: It's Florida Man Forge, and my logo is a mosquito.

BDF: Do you have a story behind your forge name and your mosquito logo?

JM: It's easy to come up with mosquitoes in Florida. They're everywhere. They're starting to come out now; it’s the beginning of the really bad time. I fog my entire property multiple times a week to keep them at bay. But yeah, Florida is known for oranges, mosquitoes, and alligators. I figured an alligator logo was too on the nose. We live right down the road from the Florida Gators, so I didn't want to go that route. Plus, there's another gentleman out there somewhere—I can't place the name of his company off the top of my head—but he's already got the alligator snapping turtle logo. So, the mosquito was a natural choice.

When I came up with the name Florida Man Forge, the “Florida Man” stories were all over the internet. I guess they still are, but I thought it was catchy.

BDF: Can you tell me what it is about forging that you love so much? You described it as an addiction.

JM: I've never been creative in an artsy kind of way. I can't draw, which is a struggle when I’m trying to design knives. I practice and practice, but forging is the only thing that really ignited that creative spark. Every hobby I've tried before didn't do it for me. Video games are fun, but they just pass the time. There is no end product. This is the first hobby I've ever had that gave me a creative outlet. It’s fun and rewarding to see a finished product that didn't exist before you put your hands on it. I've never had that before.

“Forging is the only thing that really ignited that creative spark. Every hobby I’ve tried before didn’t do it for me.”

BDF: Would you say that you have a particular style when forging your knives?

JM: Not yet. I don't think I'm there yet. I don't think I've developed a style of my own. If I have, I haven't noticed.

Justin’s appearance on Last Blade Standing

BDF: Was this your first time appearing on Last Blade Standing?

JM: Yeah, this season was the first time I have ever done any type of competition. I was shocked when Doc asked me to be involved because I'm so new to knifemaking. I've only been doing it for a few years. I was at the right place at the right time.

BDF: It sounds like there’s a story. How did you get your spot on the season?

JM: I was with a friend, Jordan Borstelmann, at a blade show, and we were hanging out at the pit. This guy walked up to us, and it turned out to be Doc. He asked if I wanted to be involved in the third season of Last Blade Standing. I think he asked because I was hanging out with Jordan. I don't know; maybe Jordan threw in a word for me!

JM: But it was by far the most involved blade I've ever made. I've made a couple of decent-sized twelve-inch choppers, but everything else has been EDC style, similar to what was on the previous seasons. I had never made a sword. I was terrified. When he released the parameters and said it would be a sword, I was shaking.

“It’s fun and rewarding to see a finished product that didn’t exist before you put your hands on it. I’ve never had that before.”

BDF: That was the first sword you had ever forged, then?

JM: Oh, yes. It was the first sword I had ever completed. The first attempt for the sword for Last Blade Standing was a failure. I had to start from scratch.

BDF: So, it’s safe to say you experienced some roadblocks along the way?

JM: Oh, absolutely. The first sword I started had something like three hundred layers of San Mai. I had everything forged welded, and as I was trying to straighten the warp, it split on me. Nothing I could do about that at that point, so I had to start over. Thankfully, when I was correcting the warp the second time, it stayed together.

BDF: I can only imagine the stress that goes into it. What was your inspiration behind your design?

JM: My wife, actually. Like I said, I can't draw, but I sketched out a bunch of drawings that looked like a fourth grader did them, and she cobbled them together to create the look I went with, which ended up looking a lot like a machete. Doc even has it listed as a machete style. I didn't even think of that until it was done, but it is fitting for a couple of reasons. For one, one of the main tools that we use at my sod company is a machete. But also, a machete was the first cool thing I ever owned as a kid. I was given a machete, and I carried it around like it was my most prized possession as a kid.

BDF: I typically ask people what their real jobs are because I’m interested in knowing if any aspect of your real job translates into the world of knifemaking. I guess in your case—

JM: I know how to swing a machete, and I know how to make a fairly decent machete!

BDF: Fairly decent? You came in fourth place on Last Blade Standing, correct?

JM: So, for the first release of the rankings, I was tied with Ben Abbott. I got super excited that I tied with Ben Abbott. Then at the final release, I was ranked sixth. So, I made it much farther than I ever thought.

BDF: Out of sixty-four total bladesmiths, that’s quite an accomplishment.

JM: Oh, absolutely. I'm more than pleased. I was happy that I made it through the first round. In fact, I had so little expectation about how far I would go that during the intermission of the finale, I went and got lunch, and when I came back, I saw my blade on the table. I said, “Oh, are those the blades that didn't make it to the top eight?” They said, “No, that is the top eight.” I said, “Well, why is mine up there?” They said, “Because you are in the top eight!” I had no idea.

BDF: Would you compete again on another season of Last Blade Standing?

JM: Yeah, I would. It was fun.

“I had so little expectation about how far I would go that during the intermission of the finale, I went and got lunch, and when I came back, I saw my blade on the table.”

BDF: Is there anything you hope to see in season four?

JM: It would be awesome to see axes. I don't know if they're up for that, but I would love to do axes.

BDF: What did it mean to you when you found out that your swords would be auctioned off this year for the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation?

JM: I'm super excited. I hope it does well. I'm into this as a hobby, so I have no problem with anything being auctioned off. It's pretty neat. I'm excited to see what all the blades go for, and they're all going to a good cause. So hopefully, people will spend money on them.

JM: Mine already has a starting bid of five hundred bucks.

Justin’s advice to would-be bladesmiths

BDF: Do you have any advice for aspiring bladesmiths?

JM: As far as bladesmithing, knives specifically, I was given this advice; as soon as you can get a good grinder and a good method of heat treating, do it. That should be the first two things that you sink money into if you want to be a serious smith. If you can swing it, of course, don't stress yourself financially to do it. But if you can afford it, those should be the first two things you invest money into.

“As you can get a good grinder and a good method of heat treating, do it. ”

I was told that, and I waited a long time to get an oven, and I think my oven is what got me as far as it did.

BDF: When you began your forging journey, did you go into it with the idea of making knives?

JM: So, I thought that it would be cheaper if I could make my own knives. I like buying them, and I thought it'd be cheaper to make my own. But now, I buy more expensive knives and pay for a very expensive hobby. It can be an expensive hobby. On the other hand, some people are also cranking out amazing stuff with bare bones.

BDF: Well, Justin, thank you for taking the time to talk with us. I know with your schedule, time is precious! I’ll let you get back to whatever it is you were doing.

JM: I am actually chopping up a few hundred feet of giant chain and taking it to my shop to see if it is wrought iron. I'm almost positive it is, and there is probably four thousand pounds of it here. I got carried away and left the house and went straight to it!

BDF: I can imagine that it will come in handy to have. Good luck with it! Let me know how it turns out.

To see more of Justin’s work, follow him on Instagram @floridamanforge. If you’d like to see Justin’s blade perform for yourself, check out Season 3 of Last Blade Standing. And, if you are in the market for some Florida Man Forge swag, check out his merch shop here.

Bugging Out with the Florida Man: An Interview with Bladesmith Justin Miller

Justin’s appearance on Last Blade Standing

Justin’s advice to would-be bladesmiths

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