Forged in Fire (2015–…): Season 1, Episode 6 - Rapier - full transcript
The forge heats up as the bladesmiths must use an age-old technique to create their signature weapons.
Since
the dawn of human civilization,
mankind has made weapons.
Whoa!
Bladesmiths have
honed and perfected their craft
over thousands of years.
And now, for
the first time ever,
these men will go head-to-head
and put their skills
to the ultimate test.
Welcome to the forge.
It starts
with a lump of raw steel
and a ticking clock,
and by the end of three rounds,
the bladesmiths must
deliver handmade weapons
that are works of art
as well as deadly
instruments of war.
These weapons must
survive explosive tests
as well as the scrutiny of
an expert panel of judges.
In the end, only one bladesmith
will take home $10,000
and be crowned a
Forged in Firechampion.
My name is JD Smith,
and I'm a professor at
Massachusetts College of Art,
where I teach bladesmithing.
My name is Cowboy Szymanski.
I'm a classically
trained bladesmith.
I studied traditionally
as an apprentice,
worked for living
history museums.
I'm Guy Harris.
I was an art major in school,
and bladesmithing
has a lot of that in it.
You're sculpting
a piece of steel
into something meaningful.
My name is Peter Martin.
I was a hunter.
Back in the '80s,
the factory knives
were not the best,
and I decided to
take on knife making
as a full-time career.
Gentlemen, welcome to the forge.
Ahead of you are
three challenges
designed to test
your craftsmanship
in a highly pressurized arena.
Each round is against
the clock and each other.
At the end of each round,
you will hand your work over
to our panel of expert judges,
and they will decide who
ultimately has the opportunity
to compete for $10,000
and the title of Forged
in Firechampion.
It's time to meet our judges.
First up, internationally known
master bladesmith, J. Neilson,
Rare weapons recreation
specialist, David Baker,
and finally, edged
weapon specialist
and martial artist,
Doug Marcaida.
It's time to get to work.
In front of you on
your anvils is a cloth.
Go ahead and lift that up.
That is an empty canister.
Your challenge is
to fill that canister
with the materials and metals
here on the tables
in front of you.
You must use at
least two of the metals
in addition to the
powdered steel
and forge that together
within your canister.
It is your option to either
peel or grind the canister away
to reveal the
Damascus steel within.
From that billet of Damascus,
you must forge a blade
in your signature style.
The length of the blade,
not including the tang,
must be between 9 and 13 inches.
And this week,
because the challenge is
so technically demanding,
you will have four hours
to forge your weapons.
And to make it a
little more challenging,
this week there will
be no design period.
After our first round,
one of you will have to
hand in his weapon
and leave the forge.
Good luck, gentlemen.
Your time starts now.
As a bladesmith, I'm a stylist
but without a real definable
style, in my opinion.
But the bowie knife is
an incredible weapon,
and that's what I do best.
Here we go.
Making blades for me
is a process like no other.
I feel almost godlike doing it,
taking something from nothing,
basically creating something
of incredible
beauty and utility.
My specialty
is making hunting knives.
What I'm gonna make is a tanto.
I like to make very
simplistic, useful pieces of art.
I'm often inspired by history,
but I'm not obligated to it.
My knife has a lot in
common with the bowie knife...
Just the basic profile.
Most of my blades have
historical elements to them,
but more often than not,
I focus on functionality.
I am ecstatic about the
materials that they've put down:
pieces of chain saw chain,
the small ball bearings,
band saw blades.
They all make good knives.
The type of blade
that I'm making
is gonna be just a camp
knife, just a general design.
My style of knives when
I first started off in this
was very large, straight knives.
Nowadays, all my
stuff is Damascus...
Very sharp, very
clean, and very pretty.
Where do you start
with this canister Damascus?
Well, the first thing
you got to do is,
you got to get
that bottom cap on,
because once they
have the bottom cap on,
they need that to
start filling their can up.
So Peter's going for
some of that chain saw chain.
When you're talking
about Damascus,
there is a huge part
of that is very artistic.
That pattern manipulation.
But the actual fusion
of the two metals
is very mechanical.
The more material
you pack in there,
the more pattern
you'll get at the end.
This is a very unique challenge.
It's a very difficult challenge.
I know it's a very
common process,
but it's not one
I've done before.
Cowboy just put in
some chain saw chain
along with some saw blade steel,
and now he's
putting his powder in.
And what's that
powder he's throwing in there?
It's basically steel
talcum powder.
I'm trying to set my
canister as tight as I can.
Snug fit, pack it in tight.
I've never done
canister Damascus.
I've seen an Internet video,
and that's about my
experience with it.
Guy, he grabbed
some chain saw chains,
ball bearings,
a little of this,
a little of that,
so we're gonna see
some cool stuff here.
I'm going for what
they call dragon skin
with the ball bearings.
When it's done
properly, it can, you know,
it can be a very
beautiful pattern.
We said you have to use
at least two pieces.
Two types of metal aside
from the powdered steel.
Well, so far JD
is only putting in
ball bearing and powdered steel.
If JD has only used the
powder and the ball bearings,
will you be able to look
at that blade and tell that?
Yes.
That's gonna be a
problem in the judging.
- Absolutely.
- Oh, yeah.
Pete's got
his canister in the fire.
Oh, wow.
He's in the forge.
Heating it up. Get it hot.
All right, Cowboy
is going in the fire.
- Cowboy is in.
- Here we go.
All right, two in the fire.
Is there any way for these guys
to be able to
absolutely determine
that the center of that
billet that they're creating
is at a temperature where
it's gonna weld effectively?
For a can like this,
when the outside
shell of the can,
actually looks like it's
starting to turn liquid
and about to start dripping off,
that's the perfect time to
grab it and set your weld.
Okay.
After I filled up my
canister and I waited for it
in the forge, keep flipping it
until I'm confident that
the interior temperature
is that of the
exterior temperature.
I walk over to the press;
I start squeezing it down,
little bit by little bit,
constantly turning the bar
until it's solid or
loses temperature.
Then I'm back into the
forge for another round.
Setting the weld
on the Damascus,
is that a make-or-break
moment for these guys?
Oh, absolutely.
If you think you've
got it all done,
you peel it apart,
and you go to grind it
or cut into it,
the whole center
could just collapse.
You think JD doesn't realize
that that's not his forge?
Look at Cowboy right now.
Cowboy is like, "What
the hell is going on?"
Thank you for
holding my spot for me.
Oh, Jesus.
Sorry.
Gentlemen, you have two hours
remaining to finish your work.
So it looks like
Cowboy, Guy, and Peter
are grinding their cans off
instead of peeling them off.
Right now, we've got
dueling grinders, it looks like.
How beautiful is that?
It's like a water
cannon fight with fire.
I'm starting to get worried
that Peter has a blade
that's over 13 inches.
Looks pretty big, yeah.
You can't lose sight
of the parameters.
I'm ready for grinding.
I really don't want to
make a shorter blade,
because I'm making
a chopping and
stabbing instrument,
so I'm thinking
about stretching it
as far as I can get it.
If that grinder works
half as good as I do,
we'll earn the money.
We got Guy working on his tip.
I'm happy to see that.
Everybody else
has got their steel.
They're starting to
forge it, grinding it down.
JD is the only one
that's still working
on peeling his can away.
The slice that I
was making in it,
they weren't quite lining up,
and that made it very difficult
for me to actually
chisel it off.
This is gonna cost me some time,
and the clock is definitely
a ticking time bomb.
I'm really worried about JD.
Everybody else
has got their steel.
They're starting to
forge it, grinding it down.
JD is the only one
that's still working
on peeling his can away.
The cooler it gets,
the harder it is to move.
Right.
It's easier to peel it apart
when you got some heat
left in that canister steel.
There we go; separate it.
It just popped loose.
There we go;
it just popped loose.
He's all good to go.
Look at that.
Now that inside of there
is a piece of Damascus.
Yes, it is.
I might be running a
bit behind right now,
but I can make that time
up in the other processes
that I'm really good at.
It looks like JD is using
a little bit of the
edge of the hammer,
a little bit of a press to
actually force it down.
When I'm standing
behind that anvil
with a hammer in my hand
and a hot piece of
steel in the other hand,
I'm good as some,
better than most,
and I'm here to
smoke their bacon.
Guy, it looks like
has just enough metal
to make a knife of
the appropriate size,
so I'm a little bit
worried about him.
One thing that's worrying
me about Cowboy
is that his blade was not
excessively thick to begin with,
and he's been spending a
lot of time on that grinder.
I'm gonna go with a short blade
because you have more chances
of flaws happening in your
piece the larger the piece is.
30 mines, gentlemen.
30 minutes is a lot of
time when I'm on the job.
And Guy just quenched.
Up to this point, it's
been all fun and games.
The quench is where
everything happens.
Either make it or break it.
Here you go.
Peter just quenched.
Peter's in the oil.
Whoo-hoo.
When I pull it out,
everything looks perfect.
I didn't feel any
tinging in the tongs,
'cause that'll tell
you if it cracked.
I don't see any severe warping,
so I'm very
confident about this.
Has anybody seen
him check that against a ruler?
- I have not.
- I haven't seen it once.
The most stress
that I have is the quench.
As I'm looking down,
I've already seen that
the blade is warped on it.
I might be screaming
on the inside,
but I have realized
that if I panic,
I'm gonna be in trouble.
Yeah, he picked up a warp.
Oh, yeah, you can
see it from here, actually.
It's that thin blade.
I'm gonna quench it again,
and hopefully it'll
stay straight this time.
It's warped again on me.
It's a rough setback.
We're just gonna go with
it and see what happens.
Ten minutes!
Time for a nap.
All right, Peter, what
are you sitting down for?
You got ten minutes left.
Peter decided he's done.
We've seen that come
back and bite a few people.
That's the one right there.
All right, JD
is off the grinder.
- Oh.
- Yep, here we go.
- Here we go.
- All right.
Okay.
And he's in the oil.
There we go.
We have got four blades
that are in contention,
as far as we know.
Ten, nine,
eight, seven,
six, five,
four, three,
two, one.
Gentlemen, your forge
time is now complete.
I'm very confident that I
met all the requirements
necessary to pull
this challenge off,
so I'm feeling very, very good.
Normally, when
I look at my blades,
I'm thinking, "Yeah,
that's a sexy blade."
But this one, phew.
I hope this isn't
a beauty contest.
Gentlemen, it
looks like all of you
have produced something
you'd be proud to
put your name on.
Now we're gonna let the judges
take a look at your work.
Cowboy, please present
your blade to the judges.
Cowboy, I like
the profile of this,
especially for a
thrusting knife.
You've got quite a wiggle
on the blade edge there.
Yes, I did.
That's gonna be
a bit of a concern.
- Beautiful.
- Thank you.
You've got the
tanto design there.
That's well known for piercing.
I see the curve there,
but that can be fixed.
Guy, you're up next.
Please present your weapon.
Well, Guy, for never doing
a canister weld before,
I'm pretty impressed.
You got some nice
patterning here.
I notice you got a couple
small chips in the blade here.
I was a little worried you
were getting this blade
really thin when you
were on that grinder.
Yeah, if I was doing it again,
I would leave a
little more material.
But all in all, it's
a good shape.
- Good work.
- Thank you.
JD,
please present your
weapon to the judges.
Well, JD, I got to say,
I love the overall profile
Nice traditional
thrusting spearpoint.
My big concern is, though,
when we were watching you
build your can
for this challenge,
we required two steels
aside from the
powder in that canister.
How many did you
put in this blade?
Just two.
So it was just the
powder and ball bearings?
I wasn't paying attention,
and it slipped my mind.
Not something I realized
until the end, actually.
Okay.
Okay, Peter, present
your weapon to the judges.
I'm starting to feel sorry
for the target for the test.
How long is this?
Uh, 12 and some
change for the blade.
It looks really big to me.
Yeah, I'm getting 13 1/2.
You're over.
Didn't pay attention.
We know that in the
heat of competition,
things will slip by, but
you had so much time
to go back and get
the meat off that.
But still, I mean, that's
a nice blade right there.
So, gentlemen,
given the fact that two of you
didn't meet the
required specifications,
the judges will
now take some time
to decide what to do.
Thank you.
Okay, we had two blades
that didn't meet the
parameters of the challenge.
Looks like you judges
have a pretty tough decision.
Let's talk about Peter's blade.
How far over the
maximum of 13 inches is he?
3/4 inch, as far as I can tell.
Yeah, just a little over 3/4.
That's amazing how
these little details can,
like, get past you when
you're in the heat of battle.
Let's talk about JD's blade.
I can't get over the
fact that it doesn't have
enough of the steels
in the Damascus itself.
Can we measure
the length on that?
- So it's just under 9.
- Just under 9.
So that blade is clearly
under the 9-inch minimum.
Have you guys made a decision?
Yes.
- Yeah.
- Yep.
All right, well, let's
go tell our contestants.
Gentlemen, two of
you turned in blades
that had critical
failures in them.
One of you must
now leave the forge.
JD, you did not make the cut.
JD, it was truly a pleasure
watching you work,
but on the blade
you presented us,
you didn't have enough
of the required steels
in your Damascus billet,
and when we measured it,
it came out just
a little bit short
of the parameters we laid out.
And for these reasons,
we had no choice
but to cut you loose.
JD, please surrender your blade.
Thank you, sir.
I can't say I'm
actually surprised,
because, you know,
there were some
definitely glaring
lapses of attention
that basically got
the result that I got.
You guys are through
to the next round.
Your second challenge
is to turn that blade
into a fully operational weapon.
You must design
and fabricate a handle
from the range of
materials provided for you.
Also, you can address
any flaws in your blade
from round one.
You will have just three
hours to complete this task.
After this round, your
weapons will be tested
on their strength and durability
against a panel of steel,
as well as their
ability to hold an edge
in a specially designed
sharpness test.
At the end of this round,
one of you will be asked
to surrender his weapon
and leave the forge.
Your time starts...
now.
Here we go.
The blade's too long,
and that is a problem,
so I'm gonna grind
off what I don't need.
I'm hyper focused
on challenge two.
I'm gonna get this right.
I want to finish up the
grind as quickly as possible,
so I can move on to
putting the handle on,
'cause that's gonna take
up a lot of time as well.
I'm doing a cord-wrapped handle
'cause I think it'll
work well with the knife.
I got a feeling
that Guy is planning
on wrapping his
tang with the leather
and then putting the
paracord over top.
If you get that
looseness as you're wrapping,
that can really cause a
bind when you get down
to the end of the cord.
Do you really think
doing a cord-wrapped handle
when $10,000 is on
the line is the way to go?
Absolutely not.
This challenge is one of the
most stressful parts for me.
There are several
warps in my blade
that I need to try
and straighten out
as much as I possibly
It seems like this is
a fairly large risk
that Cowboy is taking.
He's putting a lot of torque
on the tip of that blade.
When you're
working a blade in a vise like that,
heating it and
bending it like that,
you really risk the chance...
If it hasn't been
tempered right...
That it's gonna snap
and break off right there.
Let's just hope he
didn't overheat his blade
and lose his hardness.
That's the concern.
Right now, the worst
thing I can figure
would be my blade breaking.
He could be getting
into dangerous waters.
Isn't dangerous
waters right now?
I'm relieved the
blade didn't break.
Now I'm really ready
to start on this handle
and get it accomplished.
With the handle,
I'm gonna go with
a red and black
synthetic material
because it is a beautiful color.
It symbolizes the
fire and the forging.
The pattern that
runs through this piece
looks similar to the Damascus.
I'm most of the way done.
This is all aesthetics
at this stage now.
One hour, gentlemen.
You have one hour remaining.
Just putting a handle
on a knife in my own shop
usually takes about
three or four hours,
just the handle.
Peter just cut the
slabs of Micarta.
The specific material I picked
does a real good job
when you contour it.
I do that on every
one of my knives.
It shows the rings and
the layers of the material,
which is actually very pretty.
I notice Pete swinging
his knife like this.
There is really no finger
protection there at all.
He could have cut
further into the handle,
give it a little more grip for
the index finger and thumb,
so there's less
likelihood of slipping.
It feels good.
Just got to see how
sharp I can get it.
Ten, nine,
eight, seven,
six, five,
four, three,
two, one.
Your time is up.
This has been definitely
the biggest challenge
I've had in my career,
but I think I own this.
Bladesmiths,
you have all created
some amazing
and beautiful blades.
Now it's time to see if
they're as tough as they look.
In a moment, Doug is gonna see
if your blades hold an
edge in our sharpness test.
But first, J is gonna test
your weapon
strength and durability
against these car doors.
J.
All right, bladesmiths.
I'm gonna attempt
to thrust through
and lever out your
blades three times,
and then we'll check to
see how well they hold up.
Peter, you're up first.
Are you ready?
Absolutely.
Let's do it.
The car doors look intimidating.
I'm just crossing my
fingers for luck at this point.
That took me by surprise.
I absolutely planned on it
to go in farther
into the steel door.
I'm heartbroken.
Well, Peter, it
held up pretty well.
It's a good thing I was
wearing a heavy glove
because my hand slipped
up a couple of times.
It's got a lot of meat on it,
so it didn't penetrate real far,
and we do have
a little bit of a chip
on the edge up front here.
Okay.
Doug.
What I'm gonna
do now is a sharpness test.
Now we're gonna test your edge,
see if we can cut
the meat over here.
I will deliver one
backhanded blow,
and we'll see how far it slices.
It's got a good edge to it.
It made it a little more
than halfway through.
It did pull forward on my swing.
It definitely likes to pull
away from you on the guard.
All right, Guy.
Your blade's up next.
- Are you ready?
- I'm ready.
Let's do it.
I'm kind of looking to
prove that a thin knife
is a good choice compared
to everybody's thicker knives.
Damn.
Well, Guy, I got to say.
For such a narrow profile,
that fat tip was having
a hard time getting
through there.
But the blade held up well.
Good job on that.
Thanks.
Doug.
Felt very good.
It cut about halfway
through the meat.
- Good job.
- Thank you.
All right, Cowboy.
Your knife ready to cowboy up?
Yeah, I'm ready.
It would be a devastating
thing if I lost this blade.
If it broke in the
middle of this test,
that would be just horrible.
Let's do it.
I intentionally put
an armor piercing
point on there.
It should have punched
through the door.
Well, it didn't break.
That's a good thing.
Your tip deformed a
bit on the first thrust,
but she held up.
Doug.
All right, since
we didn't puncture,
the edge here should cut meat.
It made it about a
quarter of the way through.
I had a
couple flaws in my blade,
so it makes me a little nervous.
I feel I got about
a 50/50 chance
on whether I'm going
to get eliminated or not.
Out of all three blades,
everybody was strong
in one suit or another,
and I am fearful that I
am gonna be going home.
Gentlemen, the judges
have had to make their most
difficult decision to date.
Cowboy, you did
not make the cut.
We love the design,
your choice of material.
Your steel pattern came
out beautifully out of the can,
but when you went to
straighten that blade,
you softened it up too much...
Just not a hard enough edge.
Cowboy, it was a
pleasure watching you work,
but you must
surrender your blade.
I gave it my best,
and I go on from here
with new friends, new knowledge,
and time to get back to my
forge to satisfy my customers.
To me, it's a win-win situation.
Guy, Peter.
Congratulations.
You guys are in the
Forged in Firefinal.
When you showed up here,
we asked you to use our forge,
our tools and machinery
to create a signature
weapon of your own design.
Now, we're gonna send
you back to your home forge
where we're asking you to create
an iconic weapon from history...
The Elizabethan rapier.
The rapier originated
in Italy and Spain
and then gained popularity
throughout Western Europe.
Though they
varied in size and shape,
after the 1500s, the
word rapier came to refer
exclusively to the slender
thrusting sword we now know.
Nearly all of the
blades are rigid, narrow,
become thinner toward the
point, and have a complex hilt
to provide protection
for the hand wielding it.
They were developed as a weapon
for urban self defense
and private dueling.
Their weight was
concentrated in their hilts,
making for a fast,
single-hand stabbing sword
with a long range that could be
used in the street, back
alley, or an enclosed space.
Whether it's wielded
by Inigo Montoya
in The Princess Bride
or the three musketeers,
the rapier is easily one of
the most recognizable blades
in film and literature.
You will have five days to
forge an Elizabethan rapier.
It must be an authentic,
fully functioning version
of that classic weapon.
When the five days are up,
you will bring your
rapiers back here
and present them to our judges.
They will put them through
a series of dynamic
and grueling tests.
When those tests are
complete, the judges will decide
who will walk with
a check for $10,000
and be crowned the
Forged in Firechampion.
We'll see you in five days.
Good luck.
I worked for a
company that produced rapiers.
I've made parts for rapiers;
I've assembled the rapiers,
but I've never done all
of it from start to finish.
It's very important to
try and keep it straight.
This thing's a beast,
roughly 48 inches of steel.
That's about 20 inches longer
than I would normally
make a blade.
This is gonna be a nightmare.
They requested
me to make a rapier.
Difficulty factor
on a 1 to 10 scale,
I would give it an 11.
I don't have the
equipment for this thing.
I'm gonna have to
do something different.
So this is what the guy said
when he said, "Adapt
and overcome," right?
I'm setting up these
two ovens back-to-back,
but the sword's longer than
both of them things put together.
I had to pile up fire
bricks in between it,
and I covered the
center with Kaowool
to keep thermal
efficiency there.
Hopefully we won't
have too many surprises
when I go to heat treat it.
I'm getting ready
to do the heat treating.
I'm not sure exactly what
I'm gonna get out of it.
I'm a little concerned about it.
Get in there.
The blade actually
heat treated solid,
and it's pretty damn straight.
That's looking really good.
Now I got to start the handle.
I'm trying to heat the metal
up so I can get it to bend.
I don't have a good heat
source other than the forge,
and it's just not working.
I really wanted
something dramatic,
but I'm not getting it
to come together
and align properly.
It looks like it's a
junkyard fabrication.
It's time to cut my losses.
Basically it's just a
time sink at this point.
Yeah, I don't
think I can do this.
First thing this morning,
I'm going to quench the blade
into a cylindrical tube of
oil that's 60 inches long.
Many problems can
happen in the quench.
The biggest thing
is that it cracks.
Cross your fingers that
it doesn't self-destruct.
Well, I didn't hear it go ping,
so that's really a good thing,
'cause when they go ping,
you can just pretty much
drop it in the oil tank.
It's over with.
Today is all about
getting the sword together.
I made an elliptical
shaped guard
so you have a
reference in your grip.
You always know
where the cutting edge is.
This is what it's gonna be.
It's far, far and away simpler
than the previous guard.
Test the balance.
I'm delighted it's done.
The sword I made is simple,
and the one I wanted
was far more sophisticated,
but I'm satisfied
with the sword.
I'm going to
start on the basket hilt.
I saw an example that
almost looked like deer horns,
which I thought was really cool.
I want to create
something similar to that.
I'm doing the best I can
with the time allotted.
I'm absolutely nervous
as a June bride.
The blade has to be final
finished and sharpened.
I still have fluting
to do on the handle.
I'm gonna try to incorporate
this as the butt cap.
There's still plenty to do
and not a lot of time to do it.
Guy, Peter, welcome
back to the forge.
Looks like your time
at home was productive.
Guy, tell us a little
bit about your weapon.
We had to make a
rapier of the Elizabethan period.
I opted for a Spanish variant.
The guard is pretty crude.
I just made it
out of mild steel.
It's been forge blackened.
The handle is made
out of a buckeye burl.
Pretty simple
construction, actually.
Okay.
Peter, how'd it go for you?
Not having ever made one,
a lot of seat-of-the-pants
manufacturing there.
I'm very confident
about the blade itself.
At least I know that the
heat treat was done properly.
When it came to
making the basket hilt,
it's not an exact
copy of any one thing.
I just put pieces where I
thought they would need to be
in order to protect your hand
during a combat situation.
Great.
All right, gentlemen.
Both of your blades will now
be put through three trials.
There will be a slice
test; there will be a kill test;
and there will
be a strength test.
First up is the slice test.
Doug.
Gentlemen, to test the
sharpness of your tip,
I will run it across
this ballistic bag
and then thrust it in
to see how sharp your tip is.
Guy, you're up first.
- Are you ready?
- Ready.
Let's do this.
It does have a
good slicing ability
and thrust capability.
With this particular grip,
it makes it more difficult
to control the weapon
because of the
length, but it'll slice.
All right, Peter.
You're up next.
Are you ready?
As ready as I'll ever be.
Let's do this.
Well, Peter.
It's very heavy.
I could not grip it properly
to get a good recovery.
It is sharp.
It will thrust,
but I can not properly
deliver multiple strikes with it.
Next up is the kill test.
For this, I will hand
you over to Dave,
who is an expert on
European weapons.
Gentlemen, in my opinion,
the Elizabethan rapier
is one of the most elegant
weapons ever created.
This is not a
battlefield weapon.
This weapon was
designed for civilian use,
and everything about it
was dialed in for the duel.
To test your weapons,
we've got these
ballistic gel dummies.
We put them in a
doublet to simulate
the clothing of the period.
Guy, you're up first.
Are you ready?
- Yep.
- All right.
I feel quite confident
the rapier is gonna do an
outstanding job on the dummy.
I don't really foresee any
problems with it whatsoever.
Let's see what damage we did.
The shot to the belly went
in about 8 to 10 inches.
Kind of went a
little high there,
took him right in the chin.
That would have gone
right into his mouth,
right into the brain.
So all in all, to quote
a friend of mine,
it will kill.
- So, Peter, you ready?
- Sure.
This is a true test
of the sword's ability,
and if it's gonna fail,
this is where
it's going to fail.
Let's open it
up, see how we did.
All right, well, you can see
that shot to the belly
just went right in.
I actually think I hit
the spine on that one.
There's an exit wound back here.
It was sticking right through.
It'll definitely kill.
He stabbed the thing
through the neck,
and the blade was
out the back a foot,
so it was like, yay.
So I was very
happy at that point.
Gentlemen, next
is the strength test.
Now, what made
the rapier possible
were advances in metallurgy,
making for a longer,
thinner, stronger blade
that had a good stiff spine
but enough flexibility
that it wouldn't break.
What we're gonna do is,
we're gonna place your blade
tip down in this rack
and flex it to 35
degrees in one direction,
35 degrees in
the other direction,
make sure that temper's
right and that that blade
doesn't pick up a
set in either way.
Holy cra-All righ.
Normally, I would
be a bit offended
at somebody leveraging a
blade I make into some block
and seeing how far
they could bend it.
I can forgive in this situation.
There are 10...
20...
30...
Going all the way to 35.
It's right at the peg.
All right, going
the other direction.
10...
20...
There's 30...
All the way.
There's 35.
Didn't pick up a set.
Didn't break.
Nicely tempered.
Thank you.
So, Peter, you ready?
Ready as I'll ever be.
Okay.
I'm standing there like
this crossing my fingers.
Anybody in the knife
business knows that bending it
back and forth multiple
times will create a failure.
10...
20...
That's 30...
Going to the peg...
35.
Here we go in
the other direction.
10...
20...
30...
Going to 35...
Right to the peg.
Well, the blade stayed true.
Thank God.
Nicely tempered.
Thank God.
Sigh of relief, huh?
Absolutely.
I'm very nervous, very anxious.
I feel that there's
a good possibility
I may be eliminated
in this final challenge
due to the weight factor.
I'm apprehensive
about the entire thing.
Gentlemen, through
three rounds of competition,
you've both worked
incredibly hard
to produce some
outstanding work,
but in this competition,
there can only be
one winner of $10,000.
Guy, I really like the
bladework you did on that.
It's got a very nice
taper at the point.
I would have liked
to see more taper
all the way down the blade.
I mean, I would like to
see it squared off more,
but very nicely done.
It is tip heavy,
but it still
performed quite well.
I like the design of the handle.
I was able to get
a good grip on it.
Pete, also beautiful
bladework on that.
For your first time with
such long, thin blades,
I got to commend you.
And the craftsmanship
on that handle is beautiful.
The only real problem I
had was on your guard,
being able to loop
my finger over there.
It's so wide at that point,
that it was just
uncomfortable in that task.
You've both
done exceptional work.
This decision was not easy.
Guy...
You are the Forged
in Firechampion.
Congratulations.
Pete, you did not make the cut.
Well, Pete, overall you
made a beautiful piece,
but the big issue was
overbalance in the
front of the blade,
making it very tip-heavy.
Because of the
stretch in the handle
and that heavy weight there,
those were the reasons
we had to cut you loose.
Understood.
Pete, please
surrender your weapon.
I'm still very proud of
myself for coming this far.
To win with this would be great,
but to lose, I have
to lose with pride.
Guy, congratulations.
You are the Forged
in Fire champion,
and you'll be receiving
a check for $10,000.
How do you feel?
Pretty damn good.
You did a beautiful
job on that blade.
A big thing for
me is functionality.
Your fit-up was solid.
Your sword was solid.
You just performed better
in the tasks.
I'm totally stunned.
It's great.
It's really cool.
the dawn of human civilization,
mankind has made weapons.
Whoa!
Bladesmiths have
honed and perfected their craft
over thousands of years.
And now, for
the first time ever,
these men will go head-to-head
and put their skills
to the ultimate test.
Welcome to the forge.
It starts
with a lump of raw steel
and a ticking clock,
and by the end of three rounds,
the bladesmiths must
deliver handmade weapons
that are works of art
as well as deadly
instruments of war.
These weapons must
survive explosive tests
as well as the scrutiny of
an expert panel of judges.
In the end, only one bladesmith
will take home $10,000
and be crowned a
Forged in Firechampion.
My name is JD Smith,
and I'm a professor at
Massachusetts College of Art,
where I teach bladesmithing.
My name is Cowboy Szymanski.
I'm a classically
trained bladesmith.
I studied traditionally
as an apprentice,
worked for living
history museums.
I'm Guy Harris.
I was an art major in school,
and bladesmithing
has a lot of that in it.
You're sculpting
a piece of steel
into something meaningful.
My name is Peter Martin.
I was a hunter.
Back in the '80s,
the factory knives
were not the best,
and I decided to
take on knife making
as a full-time career.
Gentlemen, welcome to the forge.
Ahead of you are
three challenges
designed to test
your craftsmanship
in a highly pressurized arena.
Each round is against
the clock and each other.
At the end of each round,
you will hand your work over
to our panel of expert judges,
and they will decide who
ultimately has the opportunity
to compete for $10,000
and the title of Forged
in Firechampion.
It's time to meet our judges.
First up, internationally known
master bladesmith, J. Neilson,
Rare weapons recreation
specialist, David Baker,
and finally, edged
weapon specialist
and martial artist,
Doug Marcaida.
It's time to get to work.
In front of you on
your anvils is a cloth.
Go ahead and lift that up.
That is an empty canister.
Your challenge is
to fill that canister
with the materials and metals
here on the tables
in front of you.
You must use at
least two of the metals
in addition to the
powdered steel
and forge that together
within your canister.
It is your option to either
peel or grind the canister away
to reveal the
Damascus steel within.
From that billet of Damascus,
you must forge a blade
in your signature style.
The length of the blade,
not including the tang,
must be between 9 and 13 inches.
And this week,
because the challenge is
so technically demanding,
you will have four hours
to forge your weapons.
And to make it a
little more challenging,
this week there will
be no design period.
After our first round,
one of you will have to
hand in his weapon
and leave the forge.
Good luck, gentlemen.
Your time starts now.
As a bladesmith, I'm a stylist
but without a real definable
style, in my opinion.
But the bowie knife is
an incredible weapon,
and that's what I do best.
Here we go.
Making blades for me
is a process like no other.
I feel almost godlike doing it,
taking something from nothing,
basically creating something
of incredible
beauty and utility.
My specialty
is making hunting knives.
What I'm gonna make is a tanto.
I like to make very
simplistic, useful pieces of art.
I'm often inspired by history,
but I'm not obligated to it.
My knife has a lot in
common with the bowie knife...
Just the basic profile.
Most of my blades have
historical elements to them,
but more often than not,
I focus on functionality.
I am ecstatic about the
materials that they've put down:
pieces of chain saw chain,
the small ball bearings,
band saw blades.
They all make good knives.
The type of blade
that I'm making
is gonna be just a camp
knife, just a general design.
My style of knives when
I first started off in this
was very large, straight knives.
Nowadays, all my
stuff is Damascus...
Very sharp, very
clean, and very pretty.
Where do you start
with this canister Damascus?
Well, the first thing
you got to do is,
you got to get
that bottom cap on,
because once they
have the bottom cap on,
they need that to
start filling their can up.
So Peter's going for
some of that chain saw chain.
When you're talking
about Damascus,
there is a huge part
of that is very artistic.
That pattern manipulation.
But the actual fusion
of the two metals
is very mechanical.
The more material
you pack in there,
the more pattern
you'll get at the end.
This is a very unique challenge.
It's a very difficult challenge.
I know it's a very
common process,
but it's not one
I've done before.
Cowboy just put in
some chain saw chain
along with some saw blade steel,
and now he's
putting his powder in.
And what's that
powder he's throwing in there?
It's basically steel
talcum powder.
I'm trying to set my
canister as tight as I can.
Snug fit, pack it in tight.
I've never done
canister Damascus.
I've seen an Internet video,
and that's about my
experience with it.
Guy, he grabbed
some chain saw chains,
ball bearings,
a little of this,
a little of that,
so we're gonna see
some cool stuff here.
I'm going for what
they call dragon skin
with the ball bearings.
When it's done
properly, it can, you know,
it can be a very
beautiful pattern.
We said you have to use
at least two pieces.
Two types of metal aside
from the powdered steel.
Well, so far JD
is only putting in
ball bearing and powdered steel.
If JD has only used the
powder and the ball bearings,
will you be able to look
at that blade and tell that?
Yes.
That's gonna be a
problem in the judging.
- Absolutely.
- Oh, yeah.
Pete's got
his canister in the fire.
Oh, wow.
He's in the forge.
Heating it up. Get it hot.
All right, Cowboy
is going in the fire.
- Cowboy is in.
- Here we go.
All right, two in the fire.
Is there any way for these guys
to be able to
absolutely determine
that the center of that
billet that they're creating
is at a temperature where
it's gonna weld effectively?
For a can like this,
when the outside
shell of the can,
actually looks like it's
starting to turn liquid
and about to start dripping off,
that's the perfect time to
grab it and set your weld.
Okay.
After I filled up my
canister and I waited for it
in the forge, keep flipping it
until I'm confident that
the interior temperature
is that of the
exterior temperature.
I walk over to the press;
I start squeezing it down,
little bit by little bit,
constantly turning the bar
until it's solid or
loses temperature.
Then I'm back into the
forge for another round.
Setting the weld
on the Damascus,
is that a make-or-break
moment for these guys?
Oh, absolutely.
If you think you've
got it all done,
you peel it apart,
and you go to grind it
or cut into it,
the whole center
could just collapse.
You think JD doesn't realize
that that's not his forge?
Look at Cowboy right now.
Cowboy is like, "What
the hell is going on?"
Thank you for
holding my spot for me.
Oh, Jesus.
Sorry.
Gentlemen, you have two hours
remaining to finish your work.
So it looks like
Cowboy, Guy, and Peter
are grinding their cans off
instead of peeling them off.
Right now, we've got
dueling grinders, it looks like.
How beautiful is that?
It's like a water
cannon fight with fire.
I'm starting to get worried
that Peter has a blade
that's over 13 inches.
Looks pretty big, yeah.
You can't lose sight
of the parameters.
I'm ready for grinding.
I really don't want to
make a shorter blade,
because I'm making
a chopping and
stabbing instrument,
so I'm thinking
about stretching it
as far as I can get it.
If that grinder works
half as good as I do,
we'll earn the money.
We got Guy working on his tip.
I'm happy to see that.
Everybody else
has got their steel.
They're starting to
forge it, grinding it down.
JD is the only one
that's still working
on peeling his can away.
The slice that I
was making in it,
they weren't quite lining up,
and that made it very difficult
for me to actually
chisel it off.
This is gonna cost me some time,
and the clock is definitely
a ticking time bomb.
I'm really worried about JD.
Everybody else
has got their steel.
They're starting to
forge it, grinding it down.
JD is the only one
that's still working
on peeling his can away.
The cooler it gets,
the harder it is to move.
Right.
It's easier to peel it apart
when you got some heat
left in that canister steel.
There we go; separate it.
It just popped loose.
There we go;
it just popped loose.
He's all good to go.
Look at that.
Now that inside of there
is a piece of Damascus.
Yes, it is.
I might be running a
bit behind right now,
but I can make that time
up in the other processes
that I'm really good at.
It looks like JD is using
a little bit of the
edge of the hammer,
a little bit of a press to
actually force it down.
When I'm standing
behind that anvil
with a hammer in my hand
and a hot piece of
steel in the other hand,
I'm good as some,
better than most,
and I'm here to
smoke their bacon.
Guy, it looks like
has just enough metal
to make a knife of
the appropriate size,
so I'm a little bit
worried about him.
One thing that's worrying
me about Cowboy
is that his blade was not
excessively thick to begin with,
and he's been spending a
lot of time on that grinder.
I'm gonna go with a short blade
because you have more chances
of flaws happening in your
piece the larger the piece is.
30 mines, gentlemen.
30 minutes is a lot of
time when I'm on the job.
And Guy just quenched.
Up to this point, it's
been all fun and games.
The quench is where
everything happens.
Either make it or break it.
Here you go.
Peter just quenched.
Peter's in the oil.
Whoo-hoo.
When I pull it out,
everything looks perfect.
I didn't feel any
tinging in the tongs,
'cause that'll tell
you if it cracked.
I don't see any severe warping,
so I'm very
confident about this.
Has anybody seen
him check that against a ruler?
- I have not.
- I haven't seen it once.
The most stress
that I have is the quench.
As I'm looking down,
I've already seen that
the blade is warped on it.
I might be screaming
on the inside,
but I have realized
that if I panic,
I'm gonna be in trouble.
Yeah, he picked up a warp.
Oh, yeah, you can
see it from here, actually.
It's that thin blade.
I'm gonna quench it again,
and hopefully it'll
stay straight this time.
It's warped again on me.
It's a rough setback.
We're just gonna go with
it and see what happens.
Ten minutes!
Time for a nap.
All right, Peter, what
are you sitting down for?
You got ten minutes left.
Peter decided he's done.
We've seen that come
back and bite a few people.
That's the one right there.
All right, JD
is off the grinder.
- Oh.
- Yep, here we go.
- Here we go.
- All right.
Okay.
And he's in the oil.
There we go.
We have got four blades
that are in contention,
as far as we know.
Ten, nine,
eight, seven,
six, five,
four, three,
two, one.
Gentlemen, your forge
time is now complete.
I'm very confident that I
met all the requirements
necessary to pull
this challenge off,
so I'm feeling very, very good.
Normally, when
I look at my blades,
I'm thinking, "Yeah,
that's a sexy blade."
But this one, phew.
I hope this isn't
a beauty contest.
Gentlemen, it
looks like all of you
have produced something
you'd be proud to
put your name on.
Now we're gonna let the judges
take a look at your work.
Cowboy, please present
your blade to the judges.
Cowboy, I like
the profile of this,
especially for a
thrusting knife.
You've got quite a wiggle
on the blade edge there.
Yes, I did.
That's gonna be
a bit of a concern.
- Beautiful.
- Thank you.
You've got the
tanto design there.
That's well known for piercing.
I see the curve there,
but that can be fixed.
Guy, you're up next.
Please present your weapon.
Well, Guy, for never doing
a canister weld before,
I'm pretty impressed.
You got some nice
patterning here.
I notice you got a couple
small chips in the blade here.
I was a little worried you
were getting this blade
really thin when you
were on that grinder.
Yeah, if I was doing it again,
I would leave a
little more material.
But all in all, it's
a good shape.
- Good work.
- Thank you.
JD,
please present your
weapon to the judges.
Well, JD, I got to say,
I love the overall profile
Nice traditional
thrusting spearpoint.
My big concern is, though,
when we were watching you
build your can
for this challenge,
we required two steels
aside from the
powder in that canister.
How many did you
put in this blade?
Just two.
So it was just the
powder and ball bearings?
I wasn't paying attention,
and it slipped my mind.
Not something I realized
until the end, actually.
Okay.
Okay, Peter, present
your weapon to the judges.
I'm starting to feel sorry
for the target for the test.
How long is this?
Uh, 12 and some
change for the blade.
It looks really big to me.
Yeah, I'm getting 13 1/2.
You're over.
Didn't pay attention.
We know that in the
heat of competition,
things will slip by, but
you had so much time
to go back and get
the meat off that.
But still, I mean, that's
a nice blade right there.
So, gentlemen,
given the fact that two of you
didn't meet the
required specifications,
the judges will
now take some time
to decide what to do.
Thank you.
Okay, we had two blades
that didn't meet the
parameters of the challenge.
Looks like you judges
have a pretty tough decision.
Let's talk about Peter's blade.
How far over the
maximum of 13 inches is he?
3/4 inch, as far as I can tell.
Yeah, just a little over 3/4.
That's amazing how
these little details can,
like, get past you when
you're in the heat of battle.
Let's talk about JD's blade.
I can't get over the
fact that it doesn't have
enough of the steels
in the Damascus itself.
Can we measure
the length on that?
- So it's just under 9.
- Just under 9.
So that blade is clearly
under the 9-inch minimum.
Have you guys made a decision?
Yes.
- Yeah.
- Yep.
All right, well, let's
go tell our contestants.
Gentlemen, two of
you turned in blades
that had critical
failures in them.
One of you must
now leave the forge.
JD, you did not make the cut.
JD, it was truly a pleasure
watching you work,
but on the blade
you presented us,
you didn't have enough
of the required steels
in your Damascus billet,
and when we measured it,
it came out just
a little bit short
of the parameters we laid out.
And for these reasons,
we had no choice
but to cut you loose.
JD, please surrender your blade.
Thank you, sir.
I can't say I'm
actually surprised,
because, you know,
there were some
definitely glaring
lapses of attention
that basically got
the result that I got.
You guys are through
to the next round.
Your second challenge
is to turn that blade
into a fully operational weapon.
You must design
and fabricate a handle
from the range of
materials provided for you.
Also, you can address
any flaws in your blade
from round one.
You will have just three
hours to complete this task.
After this round, your
weapons will be tested
on their strength and durability
against a panel of steel,
as well as their
ability to hold an edge
in a specially designed
sharpness test.
At the end of this round,
one of you will be asked
to surrender his weapon
and leave the forge.
Your time starts...
now.
Here we go.
The blade's too long,
and that is a problem,
so I'm gonna grind
off what I don't need.
I'm hyper focused
on challenge two.
I'm gonna get this right.
I want to finish up the
grind as quickly as possible,
so I can move on to
putting the handle on,
'cause that's gonna take
up a lot of time as well.
I'm doing a cord-wrapped handle
'cause I think it'll
work well with the knife.
I got a feeling
that Guy is planning
on wrapping his
tang with the leather
and then putting the
paracord over top.
If you get that
looseness as you're wrapping,
that can really cause a
bind when you get down
to the end of the cord.
Do you really think
doing a cord-wrapped handle
when $10,000 is on
the line is the way to go?
Absolutely not.
This challenge is one of the
most stressful parts for me.
There are several
warps in my blade
that I need to try
and straighten out
as much as I possibly
It seems like this is
a fairly large risk
that Cowboy is taking.
He's putting a lot of torque
on the tip of that blade.
When you're
working a blade in a vise like that,
heating it and
bending it like that,
you really risk the chance...
If it hasn't been
tempered right...
That it's gonna snap
and break off right there.
Let's just hope he
didn't overheat his blade
and lose his hardness.
That's the concern.
Right now, the worst
thing I can figure
would be my blade breaking.
He could be getting
into dangerous waters.
Isn't dangerous
waters right now?
I'm relieved the
blade didn't break.
Now I'm really ready
to start on this handle
and get it accomplished.
With the handle,
I'm gonna go with
a red and black
synthetic material
because it is a beautiful color.
It symbolizes the
fire and the forging.
The pattern that
runs through this piece
looks similar to the Damascus.
I'm most of the way done.
This is all aesthetics
at this stage now.
One hour, gentlemen.
You have one hour remaining.
Just putting a handle
on a knife in my own shop
usually takes about
three or four hours,
just the handle.
Peter just cut the
slabs of Micarta.
The specific material I picked
does a real good job
when you contour it.
I do that on every
one of my knives.
It shows the rings and
the layers of the material,
which is actually very pretty.
I notice Pete swinging
his knife like this.
There is really no finger
protection there at all.
He could have cut
further into the handle,
give it a little more grip for
the index finger and thumb,
so there's less
likelihood of slipping.
It feels good.
Just got to see how
sharp I can get it.
Ten, nine,
eight, seven,
six, five,
four, three,
two, one.
Your time is up.
This has been definitely
the biggest challenge
I've had in my career,
but I think I own this.
Bladesmiths,
you have all created
some amazing
and beautiful blades.
Now it's time to see if
they're as tough as they look.
In a moment, Doug is gonna see
if your blades hold an
edge in our sharpness test.
But first, J is gonna test
your weapon
strength and durability
against these car doors.
J.
All right, bladesmiths.
I'm gonna attempt
to thrust through
and lever out your
blades three times,
and then we'll check to
see how well they hold up.
Peter, you're up first.
Are you ready?
Absolutely.
Let's do it.
The car doors look intimidating.
I'm just crossing my
fingers for luck at this point.
That took me by surprise.
I absolutely planned on it
to go in farther
into the steel door.
I'm heartbroken.
Well, Peter, it
held up pretty well.
It's a good thing I was
wearing a heavy glove
because my hand slipped
up a couple of times.
It's got a lot of meat on it,
so it didn't penetrate real far,
and we do have
a little bit of a chip
on the edge up front here.
Okay.
Doug.
What I'm gonna
do now is a sharpness test.
Now we're gonna test your edge,
see if we can cut
the meat over here.
I will deliver one
backhanded blow,
and we'll see how far it slices.
It's got a good edge to it.
It made it a little more
than halfway through.
It did pull forward on my swing.
It definitely likes to pull
away from you on the guard.
All right, Guy.
Your blade's up next.
- Are you ready?
- I'm ready.
Let's do it.
I'm kind of looking to
prove that a thin knife
is a good choice compared
to everybody's thicker knives.
Damn.
Well, Guy, I got to say.
For such a narrow profile,
that fat tip was having
a hard time getting
through there.
But the blade held up well.
Good job on that.
Thanks.
Doug.
Felt very good.
It cut about halfway
through the meat.
- Good job.
- Thank you.
All right, Cowboy.
Your knife ready to cowboy up?
Yeah, I'm ready.
It would be a devastating
thing if I lost this blade.
If it broke in the
middle of this test,
that would be just horrible.
Let's do it.
I intentionally put
an armor piercing
point on there.
It should have punched
through the door.
Well, it didn't break.
That's a good thing.
Your tip deformed a
bit on the first thrust,
but she held up.
Doug.
All right, since
we didn't puncture,
the edge here should cut meat.
It made it about a
quarter of the way through.
I had a
couple flaws in my blade,
so it makes me a little nervous.
I feel I got about
a 50/50 chance
on whether I'm going
to get eliminated or not.
Out of all three blades,
everybody was strong
in one suit or another,
and I am fearful that I
am gonna be going home.
Gentlemen, the judges
have had to make their most
difficult decision to date.
Cowboy, you did
not make the cut.
We love the design,
your choice of material.
Your steel pattern came
out beautifully out of the can,
but when you went to
straighten that blade,
you softened it up too much...
Just not a hard enough edge.
Cowboy, it was a
pleasure watching you work,
but you must
surrender your blade.
I gave it my best,
and I go on from here
with new friends, new knowledge,
and time to get back to my
forge to satisfy my customers.
To me, it's a win-win situation.
Guy, Peter.
Congratulations.
You guys are in the
Forged in Firefinal.
When you showed up here,
we asked you to use our forge,
our tools and machinery
to create a signature
weapon of your own design.
Now, we're gonna send
you back to your home forge
where we're asking you to create
an iconic weapon from history...
The Elizabethan rapier.
The rapier originated
in Italy and Spain
and then gained popularity
throughout Western Europe.
Though they
varied in size and shape,
after the 1500s, the
word rapier came to refer
exclusively to the slender
thrusting sword we now know.
Nearly all of the
blades are rigid, narrow,
become thinner toward the
point, and have a complex hilt
to provide protection
for the hand wielding it.
They were developed as a weapon
for urban self defense
and private dueling.
Their weight was
concentrated in their hilts,
making for a fast,
single-hand stabbing sword
with a long range that could be
used in the street, back
alley, or an enclosed space.
Whether it's wielded
by Inigo Montoya
in The Princess Bride
or the three musketeers,
the rapier is easily one of
the most recognizable blades
in film and literature.
You will have five days to
forge an Elizabethan rapier.
It must be an authentic,
fully functioning version
of that classic weapon.
When the five days are up,
you will bring your
rapiers back here
and present them to our judges.
They will put them through
a series of dynamic
and grueling tests.
When those tests are
complete, the judges will decide
who will walk with
a check for $10,000
and be crowned the
Forged in Firechampion.
We'll see you in five days.
Good luck.
I worked for a
company that produced rapiers.
I've made parts for rapiers;
I've assembled the rapiers,
but I've never done all
of it from start to finish.
It's very important to
try and keep it straight.
This thing's a beast,
roughly 48 inches of steel.
That's about 20 inches longer
than I would normally
make a blade.
This is gonna be a nightmare.
They requested
me to make a rapier.
Difficulty factor
on a 1 to 10 scale,
I would give it an 11.
I don't have the
equipment for this thing.
I'm gonna have to
do something different.
So this is what the guy said
when he said, "Adapt
and overcome," right?
I'm setting up these
two ovens back-to-back,
but the sword's longer than
both of them things put together.
I had to pile up fire
bricks in between it,
and I covered the
center with Kaowool
to keep thermal
efficiency there.
Hopefully we won't
have too many surprises
when I go to heat treat it.
I'm getting ready
to do the heat treating.
I'm not sure exactly what
I'm gonna get out of it.
I'm a little concerned about it.
Get in there.
The blade actually
heat treated solid,
and it's pretty damn straight.
That's looking really good.
Now I got to start the handle.
I'm trying to heat the metal
up so I can get it to bend.
I don't have a good heat
source other than the forge,
and it's just not working.
I really wanted
something dramatic,
but I'm not getting it
to come together
and align properly.
It looks like it's a
junkyard fabrication.
It's time to cut my losses.
Basically it's just a
time sink at this point.
Yeah, I don't
think I can do this.
First thing this morning,
I'm going to quench the blade
into a cylindrical tube of
oil that's 60 inches long.
Many problems can
happen in the quench.
The biggest thing
is that it cracks.
Cross your fingers that
it doesn't self-destruct.
Well, I didn't hear it go ping,
so that's really a good thing,
'cause when they go ping,
you can just pretty much
drop it in the oil tank.
It's over with.
Today is all about
getting the sword together.
I made an elliptical
shaped guard
so you have a
reference in your grip.
You always know
where the cutting edge is.
This is what it's gonna be.
It's far, far and away simpler
than the previous guard.
Test the balance.
I'm delighted it's done.
The sword I made is simple,
and the one I wanted
was far more sophisticated,
but I'm satisfied
with the sword.
I'm going to
start on the basket hilt.
I saw an example that
almost looked like deer horns,
which I thought was really cool.
I want to create
something similar to that.
I'm doing the best I can
with the time allotted.
I'm absolutely nervous
as a June bride.
The blade has to be final
finished and sharpened.
I still have fluting
to do on the handle.
I'm gonna try to incorporate
this as the butt cap.
There's still plenty to do
and not a lot of time to do it.
Guy, Peter, welcome
back to the forge.
Looks like your time
at home was productive.
Guy, tell us a little
bit about your weapon.
We had to make a
rapier of the Elizabethan period.
I opted for a Spanish variant.
The guard is pretty crude.
I just made it
out of mild steel.
It's been forge blackened.
The handle is made
out of a buckeye burl.
Pretty simple
construction, actually.
Okay.
Peter, how'd it go for you?
Not having ever made one,
a lot of seat-of-the-pants
manufacturing there.
I'm very confident
about the blade itself.
At least I know that the
heat treat was done properly.
When it came to
making the basket hilt,
it's not an exact
copy of any one thing.
I just put pieces where I
thought they would need to be
in order to protect your hand
during a combat situation.
Great.
All right, gentlemen.
Both of your blades will now
be put through three trials.
There will be a slice
test; there will be a kill test;
and there will
be a strength test.
First up is the slice test.
Doug.
Gentlemen, to test the
sharpness of your tip,
I will run it across
this ballistic bag
and then thrust it in
to see how sharp your tip is.
Guy, you're up first.
- Are you ready?
- Ready.
Let's do this.
It does have a
good slicing ability
and thrust capability.
With this particular grip,
it makes it more difficult
to control the weapon
because of the
length, but it'll slice.
All right, Peter.
You're up next.
Are you ready?
As ready as I'll ever be.
Let's do this.
Well, Peter.
It's very heavy.
I could not grip it properly
to get a good recovery.
It is sharp.
It will thrust,
but I can not properly
deliver multiple strikes with it.
Next up is the kill test.
For this, I will hand
you over to Dave,
who is an expert on
European weapons.
Gentlemen, in my opinion,
the Elizabethan rapier
is one of the most elegant
weapons ever created.
This is not a
battlefield weapon.
This weapon was
designed for civilian use,
and everything about it
was dialed in for the duel.
To test your weapons,
we've got these
ballistic gel dummies.
We put them in a
doublet to simulate
the clothing of the period.
Guy, you're up first.
Are you ready?
- Yep.
- All right.
I feel quite confident
the rapier is gonna do an
outstanding job on the dummy.
I don't really foresee any
problems with it whatsoever.
Let's see what damage we did.
The shot to the belly went
in about 8 to 10 inches.
Kind of went a
little high there,
took him right in the chin.
That would have gone
right into his mouth,
right into the brain.
So all in all, to quote
a friend of mine,
it will kill.
- So, Peter, you ready?
- Sure.
This is a true test
of the sword's ability,
and if it's gonna fail,
this is where
it's going to fail.
Let's open it
up, see how we did.
All right, well, you can see
that shot to the belly
just went right in.
I actually think I hit
the spine on that one.
There's an exit wound back here.
It was sticking right through.
It'll definitely kill.
He stabbed the thing
through the neck,
and the blade was
out the back a foot,
so it was like, yay.
So I was very
happy at that point.
Gentlemen, next
is the strength test.
Now, what made
the rapier possible
were advances in metallurgy,
making for a longer,
thinner, stronger blade
that had a good stiff spine
but enough flexibility
that it wouldn't break.
What we're gonna do is,
we're gonna place your blade
tip down in this rack
and flex it to 35
degrees in one direction,
35 degrees in
the other direction,
make sure that temper's
right and that that blade
doesn't pick up a
set in either way.
Holy cra-All righ.
Normally, I would
be a bit offended
at somebody leveraging a
blade I make into some block
and seeing how far
they could bend it.
I can forgive in this situation.
There are 10...
20...
30...
Going all the way to 35.
It's right at the peg.
All right, going
the other direction.
10...
20...
There's 30...
All the way.
There's 35.
Didn't pick up a set.
Didn't break.
Nicely tempered.
Thank you.
So, Peter, you ready?
Ready as I'll ever be.
Okay.
I'm standing there like
this crossing my fingers.
Anybody in the knife
business knows that bending it
back and forth multiple
times will create a failure.
10...
20...
That's 30...
Going to the peg...
35.
Here we go in
the other direction.
10...
20...
30...
Going to 35...
Right to the peg.
Well, the blade stayed true.
Thank God.
Nicely tempered.
Thank God.
Sigh of relief, huh?
Absolutely.
I'm very nervous, very anxious.
I feel that there's
a good possibility
I may be eliminated
in this final challenge
due to the weight factor.
I'm apprehensive
about the entire thing.
Gentlemen, through
three rounds of competition,
you've both worked
incredibly hard
to produce some
outstanding work,
but in this competition,
there can only be
one winner of $10,000.
Guy, I really like the
bladework you did on that.
It's got a very nice
taper at the point.
I would have liked
to see more taper
all the way down the blade.
I mean, I would like to
see it squared off more,
but very nicely done.
It is tip heavy,
but it still
performed quite well.
I like the design of the handle.
I was able to get
a good grip on it.
Pete, also beautiful
bladework on that.
For your first time with
such long, thin blades,
I got to commend you.
And the craftsmanship
on that handle is beautiful.
The only real problem I
had was on your guard,
being able to loop
my finger over there.
It's so wide at that point,
that it was just
uncomfortable in that task.
You've both
done exceptional work.
This decision was not easy.
Guy...
You are the Forged
in Firechampion.
Congratulations.
Pete, you did not make the cut.
Well, Pete, overall you
made a beautiful piece,
but the big issue was
overbalance in the
front of the blade,
making it very tip-heavy.
Because of the
stretch in the handle
and that heavy weight there,
those were the reasons
we had to cut you loose.
Understood.
Pete, please
surrender your weapon.
I'm still very proud of
myself for coming this far.
To win with this would be great,
but to lose, I have
to lose with pride.
Guy, congratulations.
You are the Forged
in Fire champion,
and you'll be receiving
a check for $10,000.
How do you feel?
Pretty damn good.
You did a beautiful
job on that blade.
A big thing for
me is functionality.
Your fit-up was solid.
Your sword was solid.
You just performed better
in the tasks.
I'm totally stunned.
It's great.
It's really cool.