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  • - My name is Gene Hodges.

  • We're here in Springfield, Virginia.

  • Come check out my forge. This is my sword forge.

  • It's a five-burner. Fifty inches.

  • They always make you make something long and big.

  • Drill press. Grinder.

  • A Peter Wright anvil.

  • Let's go over here and check out our neighborhood tepee.

  • We fit about 40 people in here on the benches.

  • All these various things that I'm making for my kids.

  • When they turn 18, I give them a rifle, tomahawk,

  • powder horn, knife, say,

  • "Go forth and conquer,"

  • 'cause that's all they're getting from me,

  • So... [Laughs]

  • And that, and a college degree

  • - Hey, I'm Tripp.

  • Welcome to Rock Hill, South Carolina.

  • This is my business

  • and my forge.

  • We're an engineering and metal fabrication company.

  • We've got welding bays and machines

  • everywhere.

  • This is my modified ironworker.

  • I can utilize this as my press.

  • This anvil's been in my family for seven generations,

  • so my son and I get out here

  • and forge knives together.

  • This is a forge that I bought from a buddy of mine.

  • It's a double-burner forge.

  • It gets really freakin' hot in the inside of it.

  • And we'll see what happens.

  • - It's a mess in here.

  • Especially right now, it's getting

  • a little bit unorganized,

  • but I know where everything's at.

  • Vast majority of these tools

  • came from my dad out in Oregon.

  • Grew up watching my dad out in the garage.

  • I never saw him hire anybody to do anything.

  • Let's go down to the basement.

  • Turned it into sort of my Marine Corps man cave.

  • Over here's my sandbag bar.

  • Cost me about 50 bucks to make.

  • One fun thing we do in the basement

  • is the cowboy fast draw.

  • It's got little bullets with batteries,

  • and when you fire, it shoots a laser.

  • All right. That's it.

  • Thanks for checking out my place.

  • - I've got a couple milling machines.

  • This is my grinder.

  • It is a variable-speed grinder

  • just like the ones on the "Forged in Fire" set.

  • Another piece that has been in my family

  • for a few generations, an old industrial press.

  • I do a lot of my own testing here.

  • I'll heat-treat a blade a certain way

  • and then beat the crap out of it.

  • I'll grind different edge angles

  • and do a lot of testing on these blades

  • here in the shop.

  • We're all done here.

  • Appreciate you coming in,

  • and y'all are welcome down here anytime

  • back here in Rock Hill, South Carolina,

  • so come on by and visit.

- My name is Gene Hodges.

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