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Photos courtesy of the Discovery Channel.
ROUND LAKE — Colin Roy of Round Lake was the winning contestant on the second episode of the new series “Master of Arms” which aired on the Discovery Channel on Nov. 9. The grand prize: $10,000. On Master of Arms, three builders battle it out in a head-to- head competition to re-create the armaments that have changed the course of history. Weapons are tested by a decorated military marksman and judged by three experts.
“The challenging part wasn’t making the things with the time constraints, yea that was difficult but I was able to wrap my head around it. The challenging stuff was the one-on-one interviews, every day with the producers for hours, and that was more tiring than actually blacksmithing for 10 hours straight,” Roy said.
While he is excellent at crafting historical weaponry, it’s not his day job. Roy is a mechanical and controls engineer at Wunderlich- Malec located at Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta. One has to wonder how does someone get into the trade of blacksmithing era-specific weaponry. Roy professes that he did grow up making things with his hands.
“I grew up doing woodwork with my dad and my grandfather, my mom is a teacher and a potter. When I went to high school, I was on the robotics team over at Shenendehowa and that’s where I learned to weld and run machining equipment for working metal,” Roy said.
Roy credits the popularity of his work and shows like this to the demand for handmade and quality items.
“It’s attracting a younger generation to show that you can still work with your hands and create things. You don’t need to go out and buy everything,” he added.
Roy was first contacted by a casting company for another show on the History Channel. However, he needed an apprentice, one that he didn’t have. The same casting company reached out again for Master of Arms, and this time Roy said yes. The Village of Round Lake even held a viewing party for Roy, “at the end of episode when they said ‘Colin, you’re going home with $10,000,’ everyone just went crazy,” he said.
Roy hopes that one day he can do this full-time, though weapons aren’t the only things he can build. Roy also does architectural work for homes. He says since the show premiered he’s had people requesting custom knives and swords. With the prize money, Roy is planning to outfit his new workshop and home.
