Prior to competing on History Channel’s “Forged in Fire,” a show that pits expert bladesmiths against each other in a sword-making competition, David Mirabile had heard other established knifemakers express their concerns about the show.
Mirabile, who has been based in Juneau for the past 20 years or so, wasn’t so worried.
“A lot of established makers don’t wanna do it,” Mirabile said, “because they’re afraid it’s gonna hurt their reputation. … I just looked at it as a game show, just go and have fun and do it.”
The episode Mirabile appeared in, entitled “Knights Templar,” was filmed this summer and aired Tuesday. Mirabile and three others were flown to New York City for a chance to win $10,000. At the studios there, they were asked to make what was described as a crusader dagger.
One of the tests for that dagger was cutting through chainmail. Another one was slicing the head off a salmon.
“It has to be sharp enough to slice the head off that salmon,” Mirabile said on the show. “I mean, I live in Alaska. If I can’t slice fish, I have no right being here.”
His dagger passed all the tests, and he was moved to the final round with one other competitor. They went back to their home forges, asked to make a Knights Templar crusader sword.
Over the course of five days, a TV crew followed Mirabile’s process, from designing and shaping the blade to his celebratory ice cream near the end of completion. He also spoke about the beauty of Alaska and how much he enjoys riding his motorcycle up and down Juneau’s scenic roads.
Then Mirabile flew back to New York for the testing and judging portion of the competition.
The blade also passed with flying colors — literally. Fake blood flew from a dummy as the judges tested out how sharp it was. Judge Doug Marcaida called the sword “wicked scary” and that “without a doubt, your weapon would kill.”
The sharpness of the blade blew away the judges, and they named Mirabile the winner. He doesn’t get to keep the sword, as it will now go up on the wall at the show’s studio, but Mirabile will get the $10,000 that comes along with winning.
“The first thing I’m gonna do is fix my bike and go for a ride,” Mirabile said at the show’s conclusion.
Developing his style
Two days after the show aired, he sat on that motorcycle near the door of his shop in Juneau and recounted his time in Alaska.
Mirabile came up about 20 years ago as a welder and fabricator to fix up a cruise ship that was in port in Juneau. He’d always been a collector of knives and an admirer in the art of making jewelry, and he took advantage of the Juneau arts scene.
“All my buddies were going to the bars, and I was hitting the art gallery and the museums,” Mirabile said, smiling. “I’m not a drinker, really. I ended up meeting a woman at an art gallery, and that was it from there.”
Soon afterward, he moved up to Juneau permanently, and has been here ever since.
Walking through his shop is a bit like walking through a museum, but everything has a purpose. There’s the belt grinder that actually was almost the same exact model that was in the studio in New York City. There’s the sword forge he built specifically before the show because he knew he’d have to make a long sword. And then there’s the 700-750 pound anvil.
Perhaps his favorite Alaska-based resource has nothing to do with the blade, though. He likes using Alaskan yellow cedar in the handles of his knives, and even used it in the crusader sword that won the Forged in Fire competition.
The yellow cedar is similar to Ho wood that Japanese bladesmiths use, but Mirabile prefers it in part because he likes using local materials.
From the anvil to the handle, Alaska’s resources have helped inform Mirabile’s style, and he likes it that way. In his winning sword, for example, he used yellow cedar in the handle and wrought iron from the Treadwell ruins for the pommel (the end of the handle).
“There’s nobody else really doing it like this,” Mirabile said. “I’ve kind of developed my own style over the years.”
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or alex.mccarthy@juneauempire.com.