News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A third place finish was the outcome for Cookeville High School’s Jim Reilly on Wednesday’s Forged In Fire episode.
Reilly said while it was not the outcome he wanted, the experience was still surreal.
“I’ve been watching since season one and have always wondered how it would be like it if I was on there,” Reilly said. “Once I got there and stepped out on the forge floor, I was star struck.”
Reilly said the first round was the toughest, but yet the most rewarding. Reilly said he forged two blades in three hours and advanced to the second round before being eliminated in the sword test.
“The first one melted. The forge got very hot, and I got distracted with setting up different parts of the process to make my job easier,” Reilly said. “And then the second blade, I snapped in the clinch, because it was extremely brittle.”
Now Reilly returns to instructing the building wielding program for the high school. Reilly said he wants his experience to encourage students to follow their career dreams.
