J. Neilson [Forged in Fire] wiki-bio, height, net worth, wife & kids.

Publish date: 2024-05-04

J. Neilson is so good at what he does that he has a title that is held by less than 115 people around the world. An expert bladesmith, J. Neilson is one of the best all-around bladesmiths in the world. In 2008, Neilson was awarded the title of ‘Mastersmith’ by the American Bladesmith Society. The lucrative title is only given to those who have achieved total mastery over the smithing process. One of the judges of the reality TV series Forged in Fire, J. Neilson has been forging blades for more than 25 years. In this article, we take a closer look at the wiki-bio of J. Neilson.

Wiki/Bio Facts

FactValue
Full nameJames Neilson
NicknameJ. Neilson
Date of birthNovember 8, 1969
Place of birthNew Jersey, USA
Age53 years old (as of August 2023)
NationalityAmerican
EthnicityWhite
Eye colorHazel Gren
Hair colorBrown
Weight88 kg
Height (approx)5 feet 9 inches (175 cm)
GenderMale
Sexual orientationStraight
ReligionChristianity
Marital statusMarried
SpouseBeckie Allen-Neilson
ChildrenTwo (daughter and son)
ProfessionBladesmith and reality TV star
Net worth$0.5 to $1 million
Instagram@j.neilsonknives
Twitter@Neilson_Knives
Workshop locationTowanda, Pennsylvania
Workshop nameThe Woods Workshop
Year of becoming a professional bladesmith2004
Year of becoming a Master Smith in the American Bladesmith Society (ABS)2008
Number of people who hold the Master Smith title globally (as of 2023)Less than 120
Reality TV show he is a judge onForged in Fire
Year he joined Forged in Fire as a judge2015
Number of seasons he has appeared on Forged in Fire (as of 2021)8 out of 9 seasons (he missed season 3 due to an injury)
Type of injury he suffered in 2016 that required surgery and recovery timeHand injury caused by an accident at his workshop
Year he returned to Forged in Fire after his injury recovery2017 (season 4)

The Mean Judge

Almost all reality TV contests follow the same tried and tested formula when it comes to judges. Alongside their knowledge on the field, Judges are picked to satisfy a particular trait the producers want. While Doug Marcaida is the one who smiles and dishes out frequent compliments, J. Neilson is the mean one. On the set, Neilson rarely smiles and is often handing out snarky remarks. When asked about his comments on set, Neilson commented, “They didn’t hire me for my comic timing.” Neilson is often complaining about the contestant’s methods and criticizes their process rather than the final product.

Like Father Like Children

For the Neilson household, smithing runs in the family. Back in 2015, during the show’s early years, a reporter visited J. Neilson’s house to record some exclusive footage of his life. In the video, Neilson’s kids were seen busy making knives. When the video was shot, Neilson’s kids were 9 and 14 years of age. The whole situation was criticized by fans and followers. After all, blade-smithing is a risky process and can go wrong at any given moment. While they were accompanied by Neilson through the whole process, he still received a lot of criticism for it.

Professional Career

J. Neilson has been smithing from his early years. During his early years, Neilson experimented with different techniques and started honing his skills as a bladesmith. In over nine years, Neilson gathered all the skills required to kickstart his career and started making knives in 2004. Neilson specializes in fixed-blade knives like daggers, Bowies, and historical replicas but doesn’t shy away from tomahawks and swords. Neilson’s career took another step in 2008 when he was awarded the rank of Master Smith in the American Bladesmith Society.

Things were on the up for Nelson who was invited to be the judge for the reality TV series, Forged in Fire. Equipped with 25 years of experience, Neilson made sure nothing escaped him. He judges the blade based on their durability and technical aspects. During the show’s third season, Neilson took a break from the series to get hand surgery. He was back for the fourth season but made numbered appearances during the fourth and fifth seasons.  J. Neilson also stars in the spin-off “Forged in Fire: Beat the Judges” which premiered on June 3, 2020, joined by David Baker, Doug Marcaida, Ben Abbott on the Judge panel, and Wil Willis as a host.

Personal Life: J. Neilson wife & Kids

J. Neilson is married to Beckie Allen-Neilson. The master bladesmith has not shared much about Beckie besides they celebrate their anniversary on February 3. The couple has been together for over a decade and resides in Towanda, Pennsylvania. J Neilson has a son and a daughter.

More on J. Neilson

J. Neilson is a master bladesmith and a reality tv star. Neilson grew up in New Jersey along the shores and in those early years, he developed a passion for blades. Since he could not afford one, he would play around with regrinding saw blades and files, and fixing up old bayonets from yard sales and flea markets. The interest progressed over time. With no proper master to teach Neilson is a self-taught bladesmith. He learned the tricks of trades from reading how-to articles and many years of trial and errors hands-on experience.

Here are some interesting and less known facts about him:

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