Two hometown locals competed against each other and 16 other contestants for the top prize of $50,000 on the History Channel Show Forged in Fire.

Forged in Fire is a competition series that airs on the History Channel, and in each episode, four bladesmiths compete in a three-round elimination contest to forge bladed weapons, with the overall winner receiving big prize money.

Rick Rabjohn of Bethel and Dave Parthemore of Sherman were both catapulted into the finals two weeks ago, and Parthemore of Sherman narrowly beat Rabjohn of Bethel. Then, last week on the series, Dave Parthemore went on to win a $50,000 prize in the episode, which premiered Wednesday night (October 31).

Parthemore talked about his experince to newmilfordspectrum.com:

I didn’t prepare for the thought of even winning. The rush that came on me, it was quite overwhelming. To stand alone out of 16 very talented smiths from all over the country, was a pretty awesome feeling.

Later in the article, he went on to say:

It was a very, very tight competition, it came down to the smallest of details.

Parthemore started welding back in 1982 shortly after he got out of the Marines. He says when he's not winning TV competitions, he makes bits and spurs for horses from his Sherman home.

Rick Rabjohn, the man from from Bethel is no stranger to being in front of the camera either. He's been doing videos about his metal working for years on YouTube.

When asked what he was going to do with his winnings, Parthemore said, he's going to purchase some new equipment. He also held a special viewing party at his Sherman home last Wednesday night, but didn't tell anyone besides his wife, son, and other close family members about his big win, so everyone that came to watch the finale didn't even know he won till they saw it on TV.

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