Bellville’s own Cowboy Szymanski, who competed in the first season of the History Channel’s Forged in Fire show, invites the public to his Blacksmith Shop on the first weekend of April to meet many of his fellow Forged in Fire competitors.
Friday and Saturday, April 2 and 3, “Texas Select from Forged in Fire” will showcase 51 bladesmiths from 21 states who have competed on the show, making this the largest organized gathering of Forged in Fire competitors in the nation.
This event is free to the public, giving fans of the show the opportunity to meet the smiths, shop from their handmade knives on display, watch live forging demonstrations by the bladesmiths, throw tomahawks, and cheer for their favorites in the Chopping Competition Tournament. There is a live auction each day of items made by the bladesmiths.
The booster club will sell raffle tickets for a Go Mai Damascus knife forged and donated by Cowboy, which benefits the science club’s scholarship fund and summer science camps.
The Bellville Lion’s Club will operate the food and beer featuring Bellville Meat Market favorites and locally produced Huffmeister Beer. This will be a major fundraiser for the Lions who support many charities in the area.
After competing on the History Channel’s knifemaking challenge, Cowboy made an effort to travel and meet as many of the other Forged in Fire bladesmiths as he could. By the third season of the show, he noticed that so many of the competitors were from Texas, which gave him the idea, “Wouldn’t it be fun to see how many of these guys we could get together at the Shop, and invite the public in to get to meet them and see their work!”
Apparently it was a good idea, because Cowboy has been hosting this event each April since 2018, and it just keeps growing bigger and bigger.
For more event info, look up “Texas Select from Forged in Fire” event page on Facebook, or go to phenixknives.com.
