Beginning in November 2018, Discovery Channel will be airing a series of episodes under a new show called “Master of Arms”. The show will consist of a skills competition wherein different contestants will be asked to create a particular weapon that was used in the medieval era. After their wares have been completed in a specified timeline then their handcrafted products will be tested against each other by testers on the show.

Participating as judges are Ashley Hlebinsky of the Cody Firearms Museum, Zeke Stout of the Sonoran Desert Institute (School of Firearms Technology), and Blacksmith Trenton Tye. Testing the pieces is going to be U.S. Army veteran Nicholas Irving.

From the press release-

Over the course of history, skilled craftsmen helped shape the fate of mankind by constructing the most iconic weaponry known to man. Inspired by age-old traditions, Discovery Channel is gathering the best builders to battle it out in a head-to-head competition to re-create the armaments that have changed the course of history. MASTER OF ARMS premieres Friday, November 2 at 10 PM ET/PT on Discovery.

Centuries ago, the greatest empires leaned on the backs of weapon craftsmen to create the blades, bows and ballistics that would win wars and alter history forever. Now, modern weapons smiths will put their technical knowledge and ingenuity to the test giving insight into age-old building techniques — and the traditions, methods and craftsmanship that define them.

Each episode, three builders will face-off in two historical challenges that call upon era-specific weaponry, from the firearms of the frontier to the blades of the Vikings. But these aren’t just quickly fabricated weapons – each tool will be heavily researched and crafted pieces of art.

Looking at the promotional video, there aren’t any firearms featured throughout, but upon reaching out to some of the participants there are certainly going to be primitive firearms of some type in some of the episodes.

I suspect that the show should be good fun to watch, especially from a myth-busting perspective on what we might think some of these ancient arms were actually used for and against whom.