Powell, Wyoming is home of bladesmith Erich Ouellette who, in the summer of 2016, was a competitor on the History Channel’s weekly reality show, “Forged In Fire.” He was going for the $10,000 prize but was the first contestant to be eliminated.

Erich told The Powell Tribune he was just getting ready to return to the oil field when he was given a shot at redemption with a second chance on the program last March.

The second time, Erich was more calm, comfortable and focused and in his element, in his hometown of Powell. The challenge was to make his version of a “Sword Breaker,” a large knife with serrations that could catch a sword and break it.

The judges were all happy with it, the testing phase went well, but in the end, Ouellette came in as runner-up.

Still, the experience was great and he got a lot of exposure and a number of orders from his appearance on The History Channel.

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