Forged in Fire (2015–…): Season 9, Episode 15 - Forged in Fire - full transcript

Are you wondering how healthy the food you are eating is? Check it - foodval.com
---
- Here in the forge,
we have seen hundreds of smiths

Create some of the most feared
edged weapons in history.

Now in honor of history's
miniseries event, "colosseum,"

We have decided
to transform our forge

Into a roman gladiators aren.

We are doing a competition
series unlike anything

You've ever seen.

This is gladiators of the forge.

Over the course of five
episodes and ten battles,

We will see bladesmiths
go head-to-head

In sudden death competitions.



The winner will become
the gladiator of the forge

And earn a check for $5,000.

Then they'll have
the opportunity to go back

Into the arena and fight again.

Now if they keep winning,

They will earn more
and more money

With bonuses along the way.

So far, we've had four battles,

One gladiator dethroned,

And a new champion
with two wins under his belt.

You are now at a total
of $10,000. Congratulations.

- I'm here to win.

My plan is to go
as far as I can,

Hopefully to the end of all
of the gladiator battles.



- Tonight,
with two wins under his belt,

Let's see if jesse
has what it takes to be our

Longest running
gladiator of the forge.

- My name is jesse hu.

I'm 19 years old
coming from gilbert, arizona.

And I'm the reigning
gladiator of the forge.

I have two wins under my belt,

And I plan to keep winning.

Coming into my third battle,

I'm not starting
from scratch anymore.

I know where everything is
in the shop.

I'm not intimidated
by the judges' glares.

I feel pretty confident.

- My name is eric perrault.

I am 41 years old.

I've been forging
for two and a half years.

I am a viking reenactor,
hence the look.

We do full steel combat.

The vikings
actually took a lot of things

From the history
of the roman empire.

Having a knowledge
of the techniques of combat is

Definitely going
to help when it comes

To the techniques
of making the weapons.

- Bladesmiths,
welcome to the forge.

Gentlemen, you're here
to compete in the fifth battle

Of our gladiator
of the forge competition.

Here in our
roman colosseum-themed forge,

You guys are about
to go head-to-head

In a sudden death battle

Where you'll be building
a blade from start to finish

In only eight hours.

Now, gentlemen,
when the time runs out,

You'll be asked
to present your finished work

To our panel of expert judges

Who will put your blades
through a series of tests.

Gentlemen, they are the ones

Who are making all
the decisions today,

Deciding which one
of you is coming out

Gladiator of the forge,
and who's heading home.

Now, jesse, you have two
notches on your victory bel.

This could potentially be your
third win totaling $15,00.

If you win five or more times,

You will also be receiving
that bonus check of $10,000.

Now, eric,
this is your first battle.

You're here to dethrone
our current champion,

Take your first title
and a check for $5,000.

- My competitor, he's been here,

He knows what's going on.

So he has an idea
of what's coming.

And that's
a little nerve-wracking

Knowing that I don't know,
but he does.

- In order to find out which
weapon from the ever-changing

Wall of gladiator weapons we
have here you will be building,

As well as the forge welding
technique that you'll both use,

We're gonna flip a coin.

Here I have an authentic
roman empire coin.

Eric, since you're the
challenger, you get to choose.

Heads or tails?
- Tails.

- All right,
if it lands on tails,

You'll get first choice.

You ready?

It landed on heads.

That means, jesse, weapon
or forge welding technique?

- I want the weapon.

- You know how this works.
What are you thinking?

- This time around I'm
a little bit more confident.

I've proven to myself
that I can actually win,

And I want to scare my opponent.

I'm thinking the sica sword.

- The sica traces its origins
back to the first century

Where it was widely used
by thracian gladiators

In the roman colosseum.

Featuring a large hooked,
double-edged blade,

This deadly weapon was
specifically designed to reach

Around shields to deliver
cuts and slashes on an enemy.

While its unique curve

Made the sica a formidable
opponent in battle,

It proved extremely
challenging for bladesmiths

To replicate back in a
season four competition

On "forged in fire."

- All right, gentlemen,

You will both be
building the sica today.

When you turn them in,
make sure they meet

These following parameters.

Your blade length
measured from tip

To where the cutting edge ends
in a straight line

Needs to be
between 19 and 21 inches.

Your blade needs
to be double-edged

And have a medial ridge.

There needs to be
an angular bend in your blade.

Need to have a wooden guard
with a metal plate

And a globe pommel.

Now, eric, because
jesse got to pick the weapon,

That leaves you with the forge
welding technique.

What are you thinking?

- Ladder pattern damascus.
- Ladder pattern damascus.

All right,
now do you want to have

Any minimum layer count?

- 120.

There we go. I love it.

- I'm going with the 120-layer
ladder pattern damascus

Because I'm comfortable
with damascus,

And I'm hoping
that the high layer count

Might trip up
my younger opponent.

- Good luck, gentlemen.
Stay sharp.

Your time starts now.

We got an interesting
matchup today, guys.

We've got a modern engineer
against a viking

In a colosseum
themed competition.

Our smiths are starting
with 12 layers of 1095,

12 layers of 15n20,
totaling 24 layers.

- That's more than enough steel
to make this blade.

- Ladder pattern
I'm not too concerned about,

It is what he said after
that scared me.

120 layers, man, why?

That is a big billet.

My first billet is 24 layers.

And my plan is to get it
drawn out

And then cut it up into five.

That would bring me to a total
of exactly 120 layers.

Back in high school,
I played a bunch of sports.

I ran track and field.

I played basketball,
volleyball, varsity swimming.

All right.

Although these sports
don't really have anything

To do with smithing,
helping keep me in shape

Has made sure that I hit
harder and hit for longer

To deal with anything
this competition throws me.

- Eight hours is not a lot
of time to do this at all.

This is a one-handed
sword we're making,

It can't be heavy.

So I'm starting with 14
layers of 15n20 and 1095.

Welding!

I'm going to have
to cut it into three,

Restack it...
That will give me 42 layers.

And then I'm
going to have to cut it

Into three and restack it again

In order to get
to my 126 layers.

- Eric's only got 14 layers
in his initial stack,

Where jesse's
using every single one

Of the 24 layers we gave him.

- Well, that's just causing
more work for eric

Because he's gonna have to
stretch out that steel further,

Stack it more,
and he's also going to lose

More material when he's
grinding all those pieces flat.

- If I fall short
on the amount of steel,

I may have to just
start from scratch again.

Hopefully I have enough.

- Jesse going
for his first press.

Massive stack.

- Jesse's doing a good job

Keeping everything
nice and even.

- Once I'm certain
that my welds are set,

I get ready
to draw out my billet.

- Look at the color
that jesse works his billet at.

- Nice.

- Now I've got my billet
drawn out to approximately

18, 19 inches,
I bring it over to the chop saw

And begin chopping it
into five pieces.

Let's go.

Now that the pieces are
chopped, I want to make sure

That all of the welding
surfaces are clean.

Restacking is definitely
very nerve-wracking in ths

Competition because it just
leaves more room for erro,

And I don't want
my piece to break.

- Eric's hand-setting his weld,

Making sure everything's
nice and tight.

- I've got my welds set,

And now it's time
to draw this billet out.

I get my three pieces,

And then it's back
to the welder.

And I'm back to the forge again.

I realize that I may
have been taking a little

More steel off
of the billet than I really

Needed to take
off of the billet.

- Looking at eric's billet,

It just doesn't look like
it's got enough steel.

- Bladesmiths, we got two hours
down, six hours to go.

- I'm pressing my
billet down on the press,

And it seems my welds
were perfect.

And then it dawns on me...

- In the raindrop pattern
damascus challenge,

Jesse drilled more holes than
I've ever seen in a billet.

I'm curious to see how
he goes about this ladder.

- I can definitely use an
angle grinder to do this,

But I hate angle grinders.

I decided to just use
the flat platen instead.

- Only thing that
worries me about jesse is,

He's putting these in
very aggressively,

But he doesn't
have a blade shape yet.

He's still got
a thick bar of damascus.

- Yeah.

- So I get my
ladder pattern ground in,

And then I flatten it out.

I get ready
to forge out my blade.

- There we go.
- There we go!

Jesse putting
the bend in on the anvil.

Both of our smiths have drawn
their first billets out,

Cut 'em and restack.

The difference is,
jesse's making a blade no,

Eric's still making a billet.

- The welds feel great.

I'm back drawing out, looking
for that 12-inch billet again

So I can get my second restack
to get me to 126 layers.

I'm becoming
a little bit more concerned

With the amount
of steel that I started with,

So I decide on my
second restack to grind

Only the faces
that need to be ground,

In order to save that
little bit of extra steel

On the outsides
of my restack billet.

- If he doesn't do everything
perfectly from this point o,

He's not gonna have enough
steel to finish this blade out.

- I've saved as
much steel as I could.

I'm hoping I have enough.

- Now that I've got my blade
forged completely to shape,

I get ready
to heat treat my blade.

I've never quenched
a blade with a bend

This big in it before.

And I don't know how bends
in blades react to the quenc,

And I don't know if I'm gonna
have a crack there later on.

If the blade cracks
in the quench, I am toast.

- Jesse has quenched.
- Nice.

- I think we're good.

It looks great.

I am feeling very solid.

That's good.

- Bladesmiths, you have
4 hours and 30 minutes left.

- I get my second restack done.

I've hit my 120-layer parameter.

Now it's just time
to draw this billet back out,

And this time we get
to draw it out into a sword.

I get my ladder pattern
ground in.

I get the whole piece of steel
down to my final dimensio.

Oh.

And I'm still about
2 inches short

Of what I need to be
with the blade length.

- Oh, boy, eric.

- He can't make that
much longer,

Not without winding up with a
paper-thin edge on this thing.

- So I decide to add
a little bit of a taper

To gain a little bit
of extra length.

- Now this is something
that I do like seeing.

He's gaining probably
an inch, inch and a quarter

Of length in that blade.

- It works, and I am ecstatic

With the fact that
I managed to make this

Small amount of steel work.

- I still have
to get my blade sharpened,

And the sica is
very awkwardly shaped.

Essentially, you have
eight different spots

To grind on the blade,

So you need to allocate a lot
more time on the grinder,

And it's proving to be a lot
more difficult than I thought.

- Grinding that blade

Ain't a walk in the park.
- No.

- That inside bend

Is what keeps
kind of baffling my head.

How do you go
about having an edge

That goes at
135-degree angle up?

- Start at the elbow
and work your way out.

- Exact... yes.

- I sharpen it as best I can,

And it's time to move on
to the handle.

- Bladesmiths, you have 2 hours
and 30 minutes remaining.

I know we were all
pretty worried about eric.

I personally am very impressed.

He was able to work it out,
get the shape we need.

- Eric did a great job
with what he had to work with,

And he turned it around
in like a half an hour.

- It's time
to throw it into the oil.

- There it is.
- All right.

- All right,
eric has quenched his blade.

- I check it,
and I've got myself

A pretty darn straight blade.

I'm ecstatic.

And then I realize
I've still got to do

All of my handle work.

I can't afford any mistakes,

And I have got to be on my game.

Oh.

- Guys, eric's handle
material just broke in half.

Son of a.

I don't know exactly
what I should do right now.

I don't have time left
to start a whole new handle.

- Oh, this is not looking good.

I am lucky in that the split
is perfectly centered.

So I figure it's gonna
be quicker and easier to just

Stick it back together
and put a pin through it.

- Oh, my god.
He's gonna do a mortise handle.

- That seems
like a very risky move.

He knows he's got
brittle handle material,

And you guys are gonna
put it through the wringer.

- Ain't pretty, but it'll work.

It goes through no problem,
and I am so relieved.

- You guys have
60 minutes remaining.

- Now that I have the handle
blocks glued onto my tang,

It's time to put that
mechanical connection in.

My plan for the mechanical
connection is to put two pins,

One through the
actual handle block,

And one through the pommel.

I put the pin hole
through the handle block

And it goes very smoothly.

Then I move on to my pommel...

Oh.

And it is not simple at all.

What?

I can't drill through it.

I need to have
a mechanical connection

Between the pommel
and the actual handle.

If the pommel flies off
when they test it,

It could be
the thing to send me home.

- I hope he
doesn't rely on just glue.

- I have to think of another way

To put a mechanical
connection on the pommel.

I'm starting to panic,

And I need to think
of something fast.

- In the last competition,
I think it's safe to say ths

Is the first time we've seen
the pressure really hit jesse.

- I shape
the pommel as best I can,

And I bring it
over to the welder.

I'm gonna make a weld bead
so big it acts as a nut

So that the pommel can't
physically slide off.

- Well, the only thing I worry
about is that I didn't see

Jesse get any kind of a washer
to put around that tang.

- And the danger there is it'll
loosen up during our testing.

- Bladesmiths, you have 15
minutes before testing begins.

- I'm stressed at this point.

I need to make
this handle usable.

- They both spent so much time
on the blades themselves,

I feel like the handle
isn't given enough

Time to really shine.

- This handle is ugly,
but it's not moving around.

And that's all that really
matters to me at this point.

I still have to put
an edge on this blade,

But there's not
a lot of time left.

I get that curve as
sharp as I can get it.

Hopefully it's sharp enough
to cut something,

But I suppose
we're gonna find out.

- Five, four, three, two,

One.
- Oh, my god.

Bladesmiths, turn off your
machines, put down your tools.

This battle is officially over.

- At the end of the round,
I don't feel great about it,

But it's the best that I can do
in the time given.

I'm definitely
going into testing

With confidence in the strength,

But I'm nervous about
sharpness issues and its looks.

- Bladesmiths,
welcome to our strength test:

Our chariot wheel chop.

Jesse, you're up first.
You ready to go?

- I'm ready to go.
- All right, let's do this.

- I see this
massive thick chariot wheel.

It makes me a little
bit nervous.

I didn't expect to have to chop
through something so thick.

- All right, jesse, nice job.
- Thank you.

- No edge damage.

Everything's still straight.

Your handle,
couple of little issues.

Obviously, you know, having the
wire of the mig sticking out.

And I wish you'd had time
to etch a little bit more

So I could see the pattern,

But I could see it,
and it is there.

So all in all, nice job.
- Thank you.

- All right, eric.
You're ready to go?

Yeah.

- Oh, good. Good to know.

- I managed to make this
small amount of steel work,

But I am not 100%
confident whether or not

The blade is gonna hold up
in the strength test.

I'm hoping it holds together.

- All right, breather.

You survived, man.
Nice job on the blade.

There's a little bit
of glinting,

But you still got an edge
on most of this blade.

My biggest issue is
the handle that split on you,

There's a lot of hot spots
on there.

But it didn't hurt me,

It's still straight,
and still got an edge.

Good job.
- Thank you.

- Gladiators of the forge,

Welcome to the sharpness test:

The tube slice.

Jesse, you're up first.
You ready for this?

- Yep.
- All right, let's do this.

- All right, jesse,

Let's talking about
your sica sword here.

First up,
nice profile with your blade.

You have a nice
balance with the sica.

And overall, sir, it will cut.

- Thank you.

- Eric, your turn, sir.
You ready?

- Cut 'em clean, doug.
- Let's do this.

- All right, eric, let's talk
about your sica sword here.

It's a nice balance you have
with your weapon here.

Now, let's talk about your edge.

In this area,
it's just not sharp.

It probably took some dulling
during the strength test

Because I can
really run my hand on this.

But it did cut a little bit.

And overall, well,
it'll cut a little bit.

- Well, gentlemen,
in eight hours,

You both took stacks of steel

Turned them into 120-layer
ladder damascus sicas.

Guys, you impressed us
the entire way through.

But only one of you can
come out on top of this battle

Today earning
a check for $5,000,

And the title
of gladiator of the forge.

And the champion of today's
forging competition is...

Jesse, you've done it again.

Congratulations.

Eric, man, you fought hard.

You impressed us
all along the way.

But unfortunately, your sica
did not make the cut toda.

And doug's gonna tell you why.

- Eric,
first I have to commend you

Because we've never
seen a smith with as cool,

Calm demeanor that you
had for eight hours,

And turned in a beautiful blade.

But during the sharpness test,
it showed that your blade

Just wasn't as sharp
as your competitor's.

For those reasons,
we're sending you home.

- I get it.

- Well, eric, you're a talented
smith, you proved it today.

But unfortunately, your time
in this competition has ended.

I'm gonna have
to ask you to please

Step off the forge floor.

- Way to go, man. Go get 'em.
- Thank you.

- Thanks, guys.

I proved everything to myself
that I came here to prove.

This experience does
make me want to learn a bit

More about some
of the roman weapons.

There are multiple
weapons on that wall

That I will be making
in my future.

- Jesse, that's
three up and three down.

Now you have $15,000.

And you are two wins away
from that bonus of $10,000.

The big question we have is,

Are you up for
going back into battle

And fighting it out
trying to get that ten grand?

- Yes.

That was
a little bit more tentative yes

Than your previous competitions.

- I am still the reigning
gladiator of the forge.

That's my third win in a row.
And that's $15,000.

- We're excited to see you
fight it out again, man.

We'll see you
on the colosseum floor.

- I'm gonna do my best to try
to win as many more as I can.

I want to go all
the way to the end.

- I'm jason moscolick, I'm 49.

I've been bladesmithing
for about seven years,

And I live in oconomowoc,
wisconsin.

My knowledge about the roman
empire came from school.

I want to do this tournament

Because I like the
one-on-one competition.

Mano a mano.

Best man wins.

- Bladesmiths,
welcome to the forge.

Gentlemen,
you are here to kick off

The second half of a series
of competitions we are calling

The gladiators
of the forge competition.

Now, jesse, if you win today,
that's four total wins.

You'll have $20,000
in your pocket, and you'll

Have a chance to continue on
in this competition.

Jason, you could potentially
knock jesse off his pedesta,

Get your first gladiator
of the forge title

And five grand in your pocket.

- I am not taking
him lightly in any way.

I will do everything I can
to put myself

In the position to beat him.

- Your task today is to build
one of these weapons here

That is featured in history's
miniseries event, "colosseum."

The choices are yours today.

And to make those decisions,
we'll leave it up to a coin.

Jason, the choice is yours.
Do you want heads or tails?

- Tails.
- You want tails.

All right, here we go.

It is tails.

Jason, you get the first choice.

You want to pick the weapon,

Or you want to pick
the forge welding technique?

I'll take the weapon.

- All right, we've got
quite a few options here.

What are you thinking?

Rhomphaia.

- That is a good choice.
- Ooh.

- The rhomphaia dates all
the way back to 350 b.C.

And was a popular gladiator
weapon due to its lethal

Effectiveness
in close quarters combat.

Featuring a long single-edge,
slightly-curved blade

And a two-handed handle,

This lethal weapon was
designed to deliver

Deadly slashes and overhead
cuts upon an enemy

Both on the battlefield
and in the colosseum.

The rhomphaia was previously
crafted by "forged in fire"

Bladesmiths back in season
four, where they struggld

With the massive length
of the blade and the handle.

- I choose
the biggest blade on the wal.

- But, the rhomphaia,
that curve is nasty.

- When you turn in your blades,
make sure they fall

Within these parameters.

Your blade length
measured from tip

To where the cutting edge
ends in a straight line

Needs to be
between 27 and 29 inches.

Needs to be
single-edged and curved.

The depth of curve on your
blade needs to be between

1 3/4 inches and 2 1/4 inches.

And finally, the handle length

Needs to be
between 16 and 18 inches.

Now jesse,
you lost the coin toss,

But you still get
the choice as to what

Forge welding technique
you want to use.

- I've made enough damascus
in the past three battles.

I think it's time for something
a little bit simpler.

I want go mai.

- All right, go mai.
Good choice, jesse.

We have eight hours
and eight hours only

For you to complete your
rhomphaias in go mai fashio.

Gentlemen, good luck,
because that time starts now.

So what would you guys be doing
if you were building this?

- I'd be figuring out
how many pieces of each

I want to make that giant sword.

I mean, aside
from being a big blade.

That's one of the
biggest handles I've ever seen

In one of these competitions.

- I feel as though jesse
has the home field advantage

Because he's been through this,

But I feel that
I'm fresher coming in;

He's done it three times,
he's probably pretty tired.

I have to put together my metal.

I want to use soft metal
on the outside to hopefuly

Give it a little bit
more shock absorption.

But I don't want a lot
of soft metal on there

'cause I don't want it
mixing with the edge.

My billet is going to be
1095 center, 15n20 outside,

And then mild steel
outside of that.

- This challenge is all about
that first stack up.

For this sword,
you can put multiple layers

Of the same steel.

Once it's forge welded,
it counts as one layer.

So you can stack it up
as much as you want,

As long as you have
those layers alternating.

- They gave us 12-inch pieces.

I've never forge welded
anything that long.

- All right,
so jason went ahead and cut

His metal in half, making it
a more manageable size,

But he's got
quite a bit of steel.

- Now it's time to wait.

Because there's not
a whole lot you can do.

It'll all come together.

- I'm pretty much at
the max confidence level.

I'm not gonna let it
go any higher

Or else I'm gonna start
making stupid mistakes.

I decided to go for an 80crv2
core, 15n20 outside of that.

And then mild steel cladding.

I have the tendency to get

Too much steel at the beginning

And then ending up having
a blade that's like double

What I needed to be
in terms of weight.

So I decided I'ma
learn from my mistakes

And choose less steel
at the start.

So I decided
to go with five pieces.

Waiting on steel to heat,
it's terrible.

It's helpless is what it is.

And there's nothing I can do
to make this heat up faster.

If I pull
the billet out too early,

My forge welds won't stick.

So I wait and I wait and I wait.

Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick.

- While he's there waiting
for his billet to heat up,

It would behoove jason
to keep an eye on what jesse...

'cause he's
a three-time champion.

You see this guy running
all over the place

Doing so many things, like,
should I keep pace with tha?

- Or can I keep pace with that?

- Once I get
the correct temperature,

Then I go over to the press.

- That's what you want
to do with a billet that long.

Do it short bites and quick.

Move it right along.

- Once I see
that good solid weld,

I start drawing out the billet.

I should be on good pace.

That's beautiful.

- Now that I have
my billet welded together,

It's time to draw it out.

- Jesse, going to the press.

- This time around,
I don't have to worry

About cutting and restacking

So I can just instantly
forge it to shape.

This is great.

- He's setting halfway.

Do a section while it's hot,
reheat, do the other section.

That's smart work.

- Bladesmiths, you
have seven hours on the clock.

- I'm really worried
about the arc of the blade.

It's a small window;
a 1/2 inch is tough

On an arc like that.

I don't want to go home
'cause I miss a parameter.

- Jason's angle of curve
is a little bit more acute

Than the one we have
from the sample,

Which is nice and smooth.

- I don't like that.

I wish the curve was
a little closer to the tip.

But time restraints
aren't gonna allow that

So I'm just gonna
go with what I got.

- It's time
to prepare for the quench.

In all my battles so far,

My quenches have gone perfectly.

Think we're good.

But there's always
that small chance

That something goes awry.

- When you have a long,
thin blade like this,

Then you're more
likely to get a warp.

- Jesse's having a hard
time getting this long blade

Into the tank straight.

- There you go. Nice color.

There's a little bit of a warp.

So what am I
gonna do to fix this?

The first thing
that comes to mind

Is to brute force it out.

- Eyes on jesse,
he's got a bit of a warp

On his blade
he's trying to get out.

- Oh, my goodness.
- That's dangerous.

- This is a super risky
thing to do

Because that's when the
steel's at its most brutal.

That is when
it's most liable to crack.

That plan didn't work,
so I have to resort to plan b:

Getting it out on the grinder.

- Quenching a blade
of this length,

It's difficult
to get a even heat.

I know that if I
don't do this process right,

Then my blade's
gonna get smashed.

Like, j. Neilson's
gonna wreck it.

- You see the tip
is starting to fall back

And fall down
and cause more bends.

- Chances are we're gonna see
a major warp happen

In this quench.

- All right,
jason just went for a quench.

- Whoa.

- I pull
the blade out of the oil,

I find a couple of warps.

I'm gonna see if I can
just grind them out,

But they may not
be in grinder range.

- Oh, man, we've got both smiths

Battling warps right now.

- I'm trying to get
the warp out of my blade.

And then I look at the spine,
and my heart drops.

Oh.

- Jesse's got a crack
running almost

All the way down his spine.

- I am devastated.

This is probably the worst thing

That can happen right now.

Great.

- This is the first real big
problem we see jesse having.

It could honestly
be the end of his run.

- If I had just left it there,
it would probably fall apart

On the first hit on anything.

There is definitely not
enough time for me to restart.

I need to find
a way to fix this now.

That's so bad.

I go over
14,000,605 possibilities,

And I decided my only course
of action is to weld the spine.

- He ran that mig
down the back of that blade.

That's smart.

- I hope this works.

- Bladesmiths,
you have three hours remaining.

- Oh, my god.

The quench gave me
a couple of warps,

And a warp could cause a break.

A lot of smiths have been
sent home because of a warp.

So I want to do everything
I can to get this out of here.

- This is a lot more
difficult than it looks

Just at first glance.

If you change the curve depth,
you change the length.

If you grind in the wrong spot,
you change the curve depth.

- It's adjusting a table height
by cutting one leg at a time.

Good luck.

- And it's not coming out.

I'm gonna have to put
some heat on this blade

And try really hard
not to break it.

- He needs to be careful.

- Jason's
blade is getting there.

- Back to grinding.

It's not perfect, but it is
acceptable for the competition.

- I've welded
along my entire spine,

And I can't help but notice
how ugly it looks now.

I have this franken-blade.

But I'm very confident
that I can get this

Mangled heap of a mess
to still perform.

- The biggest question
is what's going on

Inside that blade.
- Yep.

- It's time to tend to that
warp that came up earlier.

To deal with this bend,

All I have to do is heat up
the spine of my blade,

And crank and pray.

- This could be a bad thing.
- Oh, come on.

- Jesse could snap this.

- If it breaks there,
I'm pretty much screwed.

My win streak could be over.

Ah, that's as good
as I'm gonna get it.

There's about one or two
degrees of bend

Left in the blade,
but that's good enough.

I need to move on
to something else.

- Bladesmiths, you have 60
minutes remaining on the clock.

- The next step is
handle construction.

I don't want to try
to get too fancy

And lose the time that I have.

So I'm going with cedar,
which isn't my favorite choice.

Cedar is a softer wood,
but yet was the only

Piece of wood
in the pantry that fits

Without having to do
multi-piece construction.

- I love cedar,
but is it good handle material?

- Not at all.
- No.

When cedar cracks, it cracks
along the grain and opens up.

- The handle goes together well,

And it's time
to get the handle shaped.

And then
I sharpen the edge on it.

- With all
the flaws in my blade,

I want to make sure
that my handle is perfect.

I refuse
to half-ass this handle.

I'm gonna full-ass this handle.

- That is some really
nice shaping to that handle.

- It looks great.

- With this
being my fourth battle,

My siblings
are very happy for me

And want to see me win more.

Then there's my parents,
who are also happy,

But that comes
with the side effect of

"don't fall behind
on your studies."

I'm gonna do my best to try
to win as many more as I can.

- Five, four, three, two, one.

Bladesmiths,
turn off your machines.

This battle is over.

- I'm feeling surprisingly
calm going into testing.

Don't get me wrong,
doug marcaida picks up

My sword and my stomach's
gonna do somersaults.

But right now,
I'm feeling pretty good.

- Gladiators of the forge,
welcome to the keal test.

I'm gonna take your
rhomphaias and deliver some

Choice cuts on this pig carcass.

Jason, you're up first.

You ready for this?
- Doug, I'm excited for thi.

- So am I, let's do this.

- The blade I made,
I'm very happy.

I had a warp
that I straightened out,

So that
concerns me a little bit.

But it's not up
to me at this point,

It's all about
just enjoying the ride.

- All right, jason, let's
talk about your rhomphaia here.

First up,
let's talk about your handle.

No issues whatsoever.

It is nice and smooth.

I appreciate the go mai
pattern that you have

Going on in your blade,
and your edge is razor sharp.

But during that test,

Your blade took a little bend
right here.

But overall, sir,
your rhomphaia, it will keal.

- Excellent.
- Jesse, are you ready, sir?

- I'm ready.
- Let's do this.

- I'm definitely anxious
going into these tests.

My blade had
a massive crack on the spine.

My worst fear is that my blade
shatters and splits in half.

I hope that my welds hold.

- Nice.
- Nice.

- Jesse, let's talk
about your rhomphaia here.

Once again, very clean lines.

Now your handle, it really
feels good in the hand.

I can really
control it and feel the edge

When I'm moving your weapon.

You had a lot of issues
earlier with your spine.

But guess what, you survived,
no issues with that.

Now your edge is sharp.

Overall, sir,
your rhomphaia, it will keal.

- Nice.

- My turn to play.

- All right, gladiators,
it is that time,

The time for our
dynamic strength test:

The skull chop
and foam tube slice.

Jason, you're up first.

Are you ready?
- Yes, sir.

- Okay.

Damn.

- All right, jason, so,
it's got a lot going for it.

There's some things
that draw my eye.

One is the... the curvature.

It has this bend as opposed
to being this sweep to a claw.

And the other being the handle.

It's good feeling,
but your eye kind of goes

To the swoop here
and the dip here and the...

There's a lot of movement here
that's not necessary,

But it certainly performed
well and cut beautifully.

So nicely done.
- Thanks, dave.

- All right, jesse, you're up.
Are you ready?

- I'm ready.

- I always... you know,
we ask you if you're ready,

And I don't know why we are.

It's like, jesse, you're
up next, and that's how it is.

Oh.

- All right, jesse, so.

Love the lines
that you came up with thi.

Your grinds are beautiful.

And your workaround was smart.

This held this blade together.

That one foam pillar
that didn't cut,

That's kind of on me.

I didn't really hit that
at the right angle.

But it cut beautifully.

Nicely done.
- Thank you.

- Bladesmiths,
it's all coming down to thi:

A simple pull of the cloth.

Now, jesse,
if you win, that's four titles,

$20,000,
the chance to continue on.

Now, jason, if you win today,

That's your first title, $5,000.

You'll be asked if you want to
move forward in the next round.

You both did
a great job in our test,

But only one of you can
leave here today with the title

Of gladiator of the forge
and receive a check for $5,000.

Gladiator of the forge is...

Jesse.

Sir, you've done it again.

Now, jason, you battled hard,
you gave us great blade.

But unfortunately,
it didn't make the cut.

And doug's gonna tell you why.

- Jason, you performed
very well in this competition.

But the design you have
is a little bit off

Than the sample that we had.

And the bend you took
is significant.

And these are the reasons why.

- Thank you.

- Well, jason,
you're a talented smith,

But unfortunately, your time
in this competition has ended.

I'm gonna have
to ask you to please

Step off the forge floor.

- Congratulations, man.

Keep it up.
- Thank you.

- Good job, jason.
- Thank you.

Jesse built a beautiful blade.

He is very talented.

I came here for validation.

I came here for the excitement
and the experience of it.

I think it was
a close competition.

It started
and ended with a coin flip.

- Well, jesse,
that makes you a four-time

Gladiator of the forge, and you
have $20,000 in your pocket.

Congratulations.
- Thank you.

- Now, jesse, as you know, this
will be your fifth competition.

And if you win this battle,

You'll be receiving
that bonus check for $10,000

On top of the five grand
and the title.

So the question is, do you
have anything left in the tank

And do you want
to go back into the forge?

- That's what I came here to do.

Awesome, man.

- Definitely going on.

- Well, we can't wait
to see your work again

In the forge floor, man.
We'll see you there.

- I don't know how I
came out on top but I did.

I'm feeling so good.

I've won four battles
in a row now.

I have so much adrenaline
coursing through my veins.

I want to go
all the way to the end.

I've come to prove something.

I won't let myself sleep well

If I don't make it all
the way to the end.