Jason Bivens can almost always be found in his workshop, which also pulls duty as a garage and blacksmith shop. Located at the end of a long gravel driveway in Warren County, the shop is full of tools and projects in various stages of completion.
After working his full-time job as a mechanic in Lebanon, Bivens works on his own projects at home — sometimes late into the evenings and almost always on the weekends. Bivens is part mechanic, artist, traditional craftsman, blacksmith, bladesmith and teacher.
Three cars sitting with the hoods up occupy about a third of the space while numerous blacksmithing tools — including a gas forge, welder, power hammers, anvils and a lathe — claim the rest of the space.
You can tell with one look that the shop is Bivens’ happy place. His shop cat, Dale, is also a frequent visitor.
It’s a place that any 12-year-old could spend hours fumbling around, creating masterpieces from their imaginations — and that is exactly how Bivens’ journey began.
“I’ve been doing this since I was 12,” says Bivens, who has been honing his skills and designs since the 1980s. “I was obsessed with the Conan movies and had to make my own sword. I started working on it in my father’s shop.”
With that first project — making the Atlantean Sword wielded by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the “Conan the Barbarian” movies — Bivens began to find his talents.
Since that beginning, the talented bladesmith and trained master mechanic appears to have attained the skills and tools to fix or make just about anything he sets his mind to.
On this particular Saturday, he’s hammering away on a piece of recycled spring steel from a car, shaping it into one of his favorite hunting knife designs.
As he shapes the handle with a Little Giant Power Hammer from the 1940s, you can feel the force behind each strike as it pummels the red-hot steel into shape. The hammer strikes with enough force that the impact of every blow radiates through the cement floor.
The cement floor is new. It was just poured over the winter and paid for with the winnings from a competition. You see, Bivens has become a bit of a celebrity as of late after winning the “On the Road” edition of “Forged in Fire.”
Airing on the History channel since 2015, the nationally broadcast show is a competition series that pits bladesmiths against each other as they attempt to make the strongest hand-forged bladed weapons. Their skills are tested during elimination challenges.
Bivens found himself on the show somewhat by accident after he responded “yes” to a text from a colleague asking if he would like to compete in a “Forged in Fire”-style competition. Bivens explained he didn’t realize what he agreed to until he started receiving calls from the producers.
The season Bivens competed in last fall had a twist. It was the first time producers took the show on the road to meet bladesmiths in four different regions of the country to compare and contrast regional styles. In episode 3 of season 10, Bivens competed against two other blacksmiths and won the Appalachian Mountains region — held at Clay Spencer Blacksmith shop in North Carolina — with his traditionally styled pitchfork design.
After the other three regional winners were named, the four traveled to Stamford, Connecticut, to compete in Episode 5 of Season 10 at the show’s home studio. They competed to be named the overall American Champion and win $20,000 for themselves and $10,000 worth of equipment for the school they represented. Bivens represented John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina.
Show hosts assigned parameters for each elimination round that the bladesmiths were required to meet. These included the style of weapon with specific dimensions and what types of steel would be available to use. The craftsmen then competed to make the historically accurate weaponry that could withstand several tests to determine the blade’s sharpness, durability and strength in each round.
Bivens, who is a Caney Fork Electric Cooperative member, beat out the competition with blades that the judges noted combined strength, artistry and handling.
“I let the hammer do the work,” says Bivens, describing his technique. “Otherwise, you end up with a bad shoulder,” he laughs.
“People try to force the steel, and that just doesn’t work. You can’t force it. You just can’t force something to do something it doesn’t want to do,” says Bivens.
Following his talents and sharing his experience with others, Bivens has served as an instructor at regional folk arts centers, including John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina and the Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville.
Bivens helped found the Warren County Blacksmith Association and has demonstrated numerous times at the Warren County Fair. Bivens is also active in the Appalachian Area Chapter of Blacksmiths.
“I give all credit to the Lord,” says Bivens. “I’m not a super-religious person, but I do believe in God, I do attend church. And I do believe that because of him, I have my talent. He gave me the one talent of working with my hands, and with that, I’ve become a master mechanic, a bladesmith, blacksmith, woodworker and house builder. All these things I’m able to do because of the one gift God gave me through my ability to work with my hands.”
