Forged in Fire (2015–…): Season 2, Episode 1 - The War Hammer - full transcript

- Last year, a competition
was created

to test the nation's
best bladesmiths.

Thousands responded,
and this year,

craftsmen from
all over the country

and all walks of life
have come forward

for their change
to claim the title.

- I'm going to be the next
"Forged in Fire" champion.

- I want to win!

- It would be
a life-changing moment.

- Welcome to the Forge.

- Now the Forge returns
with challenges



unlike anything
ever seen before.

- You'll be using this.

- Skill and ingenuity will be
pushed to the limit.

Some will rise to the challenge.

- Whoa!
- Some will fall.

But only the best
will be crowned

"Forged in Fire" champions

and take home $10,000.

- My name's Jeff Bridgers.

I've been making blades
for about eight years.

I'm mainly self-taught.

Being a bladesmith,
it's almost meditative.

I kind of get in tune
with all the things

that I have to do.



- My name's Kim Stahl.

I love working with the fire.

I get a lot of my energy and
aggression pounding metal out.

There's not a lot of
women that are doing this

right now, so I'm definitely
competing for the female factor.

- My name is Harry Harkins.

I've been bladesmithing for
a little over four years now.

I learned bladesmithing
through my brother.

He helped me learn to forge
blades and to make knives.

- My name is Craig Cameron.

I started bladesmithing in 2000.

I've done fairly well,
and I've won a few awards.

I'm a very competitive person.

I'm so competitive,

I can't even play Monopoly
with my mother-in-law.

- Good morning, bladesmiths.

Welcome to the Forge.

You are here to engage
in three rounds

of competition designed
to test every aspect

of your edged-weapon-making
capability, from design

to forging to fit and finish.

After each round,
you will hand your work

over to our panel
of expert judges:

American Bladesmith Society
mastersmith J. Neilson,

historical weapons re-creation
specialist David Baker,

edged and impact weapons
specialist, Doug Marcaida.

They will decide which of you
will be the "Forged in Fire"

champion and leave here
with a check for $10,000.

In the crates in front of you,

there are a variety of metals,

some useful,
some not very useful.

Your job is to choose a metal

and forge a blade
of your own design,

in your signature style.

- Oh, man, I don't know enough
about materials

to decipher between tool steel
and mild steel.

It's just not in my wheelhouse.

- I've never dumpster
dived for steel before.

I use very, very high-quality
known steels with known...

With known... everything's known
about 'em.

This is all new for me.

- You must turn
in a finished blade

capable of advancing you
to round two

that is fully hardened.

The blades themselves must fall
within the following

size parameters.

The length of the blade,
not including the tang,

must be
between 10 and 14 inches.

The overall length of the weapon

must not exceed 22 inches.

Keep in mind,
in the second round,

you will have to attach
a handle to that blade.

Your blades will then be tested
in an ice chop and a rope slice.

You will have 20 minutes

to dumpster dive and work
on your designs.

You will have three hours
to forge your blades.

Your time starts now.

[rock music]

- I hope these guys
know what they're doing.

- Those hubcaps, bicycle wheels,

and that sheet steel
are definitely not metals

that can be hardened.

- I like the bicycle wheel
myself.

[laughs]

- So just by choosing the wrong
steel out of this scrap pile,

a smith could put themselves
out of the competition.

- Mm-hmm.

- Which is the difficulty
of this first challenge,

knowing what your materials
come from.

- Is there anything?
- Uh, no.

- No?

- Right or wrong,
I'm going with it.

I've grabbed an axle.

That's what I'm gonna
try to use.

- Harry looks pretty confident.

First piece of metal
he got, he liked it.

- I'm going to make
what I call a cowboy bowie.

A cowboy bowie
will chop your firewood.

It'll cut the potatoes
for your cowboy stew.

And you can get it so sharp
it'll cut your gizzard out.

How long you going...
You going for 14 inches?

- I'm going 13 1/2.

Gonna leave me a little extra
in there.

I grab that wrecking bar.

I'm pretty sure
it's a hardenable steel.

- There's nothing wrong
with the wrecking bar,

but it's a little
on the softer side.

- I'd say my signature blade
would be the bowie knife.

The weapon I'm making
is the Big B.

The Big B
is a chopper-camp knife.

It's the big bitch.

It's a bitch to grind.

It's a bitch to forge.

But in the end, it makes
a really bitchin' knife.

That's what I'm gonna go with.

- I ended up picking a pry bar,

looks like it's a grade 8 bolt.

I just know it's
a really hard piece of steel.

- Jeff has a similar pike
to what Craig chose.

- He should be okay with that.

- I'm gonna try to make a kukri.

The challenge, you know,
of cutting through the rope,

the curvature in the blade

it seemed like
a good blade for it.

- I never do this.

- Kim...

- That's an interesting choice...

- I don't know
if that's hardenable...

- Is that a good steel
to be using?

- I don't know
if it's a hardenable steel.

- I'm going to make something
similar to a chef's knife.

That's my signature blade.

I'm competing
for the female factor.

It's hard to even find gloves
that fit our fingers

and our hand size.

That's something
that's hopefully gonna change

after a lot more women see this
and become passionate about it.

[exhales]

- Bladesmiths, your design
window is now closed.

Your forging time starts now.

- There we go.

[rock music]

We got forges.
We got sparks.

We got a torch going.
I'm liking this.

- All right,
Harry just took about

a 6 1/2, 7-inch piece

of that axle
and put it in the forge...

- Right in the fire.
There you go.

- It's getting hot.

My brother can't be here,
so today with me,

I brought my brother's apron
and my brother's gloves.

This is my way
of picking him up.

And we're gonna
celebrate this together.

I've got a plan, and my plan is,
"Keep it simple, stupid."

Coming through.
Hot metal.

- Harry's our oldest smith
in the shop today,

and he's moving
faster than anybody else.

- I just hope I'm using
the right steel.

That's all I can say.

I like to talk.
I like to help people.

Get 'er, man.

We got this.
We got this.

I'm just a very
extroverted person.

Come on, attagirl.

I'm having the time of my life.

What're you doing, bubba?

- No worries right now.

- And Craig's saying,
"To heck with it."

He's just jammed that big rod
in the fire.

- It's a lot of metal
to be carrying around.

- I want to win the competition
for my son.

My boy watched the first
season, and he kept telling me,

he said, "Dad,
you need to be on this show."

So I just wanted to show him

that if there's something
you want to do,

go out and do it.

- Craig is showing a lot
of skill.

- He's chugging right along.

- I do like the metal I chose.

I think it's got enough carbon.

I think it's gonna
hold an edge real well.

- So Craig's cutting
all that excess off now.

- That was smart, though.
He had a handle.

He just drew out what he needed.

That was a good move.
- Bring 'er on, baby.

- At least yours
is shaping up pretty nice.

- It's cooling down quick.

- The only one I've seen so far
that's working cold steel

is Jeffrey.

I'm worried that he's
prepping himself for failure.

- That steel seemed
like it cooled down very quick.

- Jeffrey's is starting to not
look like a kukri anymore.

- Yeah, you've lost a lot

of what he was going
for in the dimensions.

- Based on the way
the metal was moving so slowly,

I decided to go with a
drop-point bowie knife instead.

Now we're cooking.

[rock music]

♪

- Kim's struggling a little bit.

- Yeah.

- I feel, like, a little
nervous.

I don't really know
what kind of metal I've got,

and it's taking a while
for me to move it.

I just need to get this metal
moved out as flat as I can.

I feel like I'm not
getting it any flatter.

Do you think I could just
use the rest of his?

- Oh, and switch it up?

- Yeah, scratch this one?

- I don't know.

- Oh, wait,
she's grabbing the wrecking bar.

- Kim's starting over.

- Contestants can abandon
their original steel

and start over.

- I grab scrap metal from Craig.

I'm switching materials.
I know I'm already behind.

The original metal I was working
with set me back a whole lot.

Now I'm feeling really
flustered on how I can

make up this time.

- I mean, you hate to see
one of the smiths

have to go back to the dumpster,

but it may also
be a very smart move.

- It would've been amazing
to start with that new metal,

but, you know, go with the flow.

- Bladesmiths, you have
90 minutes remaining.

- I'm sure you just amped up
Kim's stress level.

- Hot metal!

Just rock and roll, man.

Attaboy!
Throw them sparks!

- Throw 'em, baby. Throw 'em.
- Grind that thing, man.

- Man, look at the sparks
that Craig is throwing.

- It's like Fourth of July
over there.

Craig is doing
exactly what I was hoping for.

He's spreading out the back end
of that handle,

so you're gonna have a good grip
on there.

It's not gonna move
around at all.

- It's time to move over
to the heat-treating process.

The heat-treating process
is the soul and the heart

of the blade.

- Craig just went in the oil.

- I grab a file to check and see

if the blade steel hardened.

Boy, I'm still getting
file bite on this.

This ain't good.

The file teeth start biting
in my blade.

I know this blade isn't hard.

Well, I'm gonna have to re-quench it.

I can warp it
or crack it very easily here.

If I don't get this right,

everything I've done up
to this point means nothing.

- He goes in again.

- This ain't good.

I know this blade isn't hard.

I'm gonna have to re-quench it.

I can warp it
or crack it very easily here.

- He goes in again.

- It went nice and straight
into the oil.

- Hoo, I got her hard that time.

- Look at Jeffrey's
marking his blade here.

- I know I'm gonna
have to put a handle on.

I'm marking the holes
in my blade

so I can drill them
before I quench.

- It's a good move.

- After you quench,
it's gonna be way too hard

to drill through
most of the time.

- Bladesmiths, you have
30 minutes remaining.

[rock music]

- Kim looks like she just
wants to take that blade

and chuck it against the wall.

- I'm in a race
just to complete a piece

to turn in to the judges.

- Kim's over to the grinder.

- All right,
thank goodness for that.

She can't afford
to waste any time.

- I've never made a blade
in just three hours,

so this is, like,
testing everything,

where normally I have a lot
of time to make decisions.

- She needs to take
a deep breath and move forward.

- I like how Harry's
dipping his finger into the oil

to check the temperature.

- Heat treating is so important,

because you can have the most
beautiful knife in the world,

but if the heat
treat's not right on it,

the knife is useless.

Quenching.

- So Harry's in the oil.
What did you think, J.?

- I thought
it was still a little cool.

I wasn't really happy
with the color of that blade.

I would really like to see
Harry do a second quench.

- As would I.

- Bladesmiths,
you have five minutes remaining.

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

That's gonna be very, very hot.

Holy cow...
- Holy crap.

Drop it, drop it, drop it...

- Get your face out of there.

- Drop it in there...
- Drop it in.

Let go of it. Let go of it.

- I'm leaning back.
- Whoo!

- Whoo!

- Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven!

Six! Five! Four! Three!

Two! One!

Bladesmiths, stop your work!

Please return to your anvils.

- I'm thinking, "Whoa,
Jeff, Harry, and Craig,

they definitely got a lot more
work done than I did."

- Bladesmiths,
when you came here today,

you were asked to forge a blade
of your own design

in your signature style

from one of these pieces
of scrap metal.

You've each finished
a blade in three hours.

Good job.

Craig, please present
your blade to our judges.

J?

- You got a little bit of curve
in the tang here,

but that's pretty easy to fix.

I like the sweep of it.
Good job on that.

- Thank you, thank you.
- Doug?

- I love your design here.

Definitely,
with the flaring there,

it lends itself to be
a good chopper.

Very nice.
- Thank you.

- Harry, please present
your work.

- A lot of meat in the handle,
so there's still a ways

to go
to get this down to weight.

Just a bit concerned

if that heat treat
really hardened her up.

- What do you think, Doug?

- Nice design for a chopper,
Harry.

And there's nothing wrong
with rough around the edges.

It looks like it's gonna
function well.

Good feel.
- Thank you.

- Kim, please present
your blade.

- Well, it's a nice design
for cutting and chopping.

It definitely has got
some rough aspects.

Got some wiggle in there.

But it's still doable,
still workable.

Thank you.
- Dave?

- Well,
I loved your original design.

Now, you didn't quite
draw this metal out far enough.

But you definitely
started over again from stretch,

and it's commendable that you
were able to turn a weapon

in at all.

- Thanks.

- Jeff, please present
your blade.

- It's got a nice shape.

It's got a good feel
to it overall.

Very good.

- There's a lot of weight still
on the head of that blade.

I mean, it'll help in the chop,

but at the same time,
the second part

of the challenge is a rope cut.

Too much weight in that head
might set you back.

- Well, bladesmiths,

this will be a difficult
decision for our judges.

Thank you.

[tense music]

- All right.
- That was a good time, man.

- That was good. That was fun.
- That was a good time.

- Nerve-racking.

- All right, guys,
let's start with Craig's blade.

How did he do overall, Doug?

- Well, the handle construction
I love.

You can choke up
if you want control

or the length of that for
when you're doing the ice chop.

Overall finish is beautiful.

- Dave, what do you think?

- Well, the way he
tapered the tang on the handle,

you know, took all
that weight out here.

I mean, it already
feels like a beautiful knife.

- I hope the steel
was what I think it is

and it holds up in heat treat.

It's tough
when you don't know what it is.

I mean, it could... anything can
happen there.

- My heat treat
is my biggest fear.

- All right, let's move
on to Harry's blade.

- It's got a good shape, but I
think the biggest issue is

whether or not this blade
is hardened enough.

- Can we test that please?
- Oh, yeah.

You can do a file check.

If the steel's hard enough,

the file won't even bite
into the edge of the blade.

Ooh, how it's stopping...

even the sound's saying
it's digging in.

It's not properly hardened.

- Okay, let's talk
about Kim's blade.

[tense music]

- There is severe arc
in the tang.

She's got a lot
of grinding to do.

- Oh, I'm definitely wondering
what they're saying.

- Well, it is from her signature
style being a kitchen tool,

and kitchen tools
are known to be chopping.

The big question is, is this
the kind of kitchen tool

that's gonna stand up to an ice
chop and then a rope cut?

- All right, let's move
on to Jeff's blade there.

- A lot of work left to do.

This pin hole,
it's really poorly placed.

I mean, this is the junction
between the blade

and the handle right there,

and that structural flaw
concerns me

if this is gonna hold up
during a chop test.

We've seen
that ice eat blades alive.

- Dave?
- I'm with J. 100%.

Putting that hole right there,

it's almost building in
a failure point.

[tense music]

- Judges, is there one
of these blades

that did not meet the parameters
of the challenge?

- Yes.
- Yes.

- Yes.

- All right, judges,
let's go tell our bladesmiths.

[tense music]

Well, bladesmiths,
the decision has been made.

♪

And now it's time for one
of you to leave the Forge.

♪

Harry...

your blade did not make the cut.

- Harry, I know you thought
that metal was pretty hard,

so you kind of hedged
your bets on the quench.

Well, we did a file test
on that knife,

and that edge just isn't hard
enough to go forward.

Having said that, though,

it was such a pleasure
to watch you work.

Your energy was infectious.

I mean, it literally spread
to all the other smiths.

I just wish you'd gotten
that metal hot enough

that it could've gone forward.

But thank you, sir.

- Thank you.

- Harry, it's time
to surrender your weapon.

[tense music]

- I'm a little disappointed,

but that's the way
things go in knife-making.

I came here to represent
me and my brother.

He's not physically able
to compete in a challenge

like this, so I did the best
that I could to represent me

and him both.

I hope that my brother
will be proud of me.

[tense music]

- Welcome back to the Forge,
bladesmiths.

In this round,
you will turn your blades

into fully functioning weapons
by attaching a handle to them

using the range
of materials provided to you.

You have three hours
to complete this challenge.

You can also use this time
to address any flaws or issues

that the judges identified
with your blades earlier.

After the three hours is up,

we will test your blades
in an ice chop

and a rope slice.

Remember, after this round,

one of you will have
to surrender your weapon

and leave the Forge.

[tense music]

Good luck, bladesmiths.

Your time starts now.

[rock music]

- There's a small bend
in my tang,

so I straightaway just start
working on getting it flat.

- What is she gonna have to do
to advance into the next round?

- Personally, I 'd like
to see her lose the tang,

or most of it... shave it down.

- I almost feel
like you could get two hands

on her tang right now.

- I was thinking about the chop
and the rope cut.

It just didn't make sense
to have such a long tang

on that knife.

- And there it goes.

[rock music]

- I have a little bit
of a wobble in the blade.

It kicks off to one side
just a little bit.

So I want to get
that straightened up

and get everything centered,

so I've got a nice
symmetric blade.

So the challenge is to chop a
block of ice and chop a rope.

♪

That bend, it creates more drag.

So it could not cut the rope
if it's got that bend.

If I don't get this bend
out of mg blade, I'm screwed.

♪

- I cut the two pieces
of micarta

to go on each side of the tang.

I epoxy it with the pins,
and then I refine the shape

until I meet up
with the metal and the tang.

I'm not a huge fan
of shiny, slippery handles.

The color of that micarta...

It was a dark brown
with a little cherry in there...

I think it made my knife
have a classic edge to it.

♪

- Bladesmiths...

you have 90 minutes remaining.

♪

- I start to put my pins
down in my wood on one side

and put my blade on top of it,

and they're starting
to not meet up correctly.

I'm thinking,
"Just do it quickly."

- All right,
Kim is in panic mode.

She needs to relax.

If she keeps trying to force it,
she's got a good chance

of breaking that handle material
and fracturing it.

And Kim's already
started over once.

I don't think she wants
to do it a second time.

- [bleep].

- The wood pieces for
my handle and my tang,

they're starting
to not meet up correctly.

- If she keeps trying to force
it, she's got a good chance

of breaking that handle material
and fracturing it.

[tense music]

- This is, like,
the worst job in history.

That wood, if it's not
completely connected

with the tang, I mean,
it could fly off.

So I put some extra glue
in there,

just to make sure it would
hold up to their tests.

- How's it coming along?

- Heh heh. I think it's okay.
- Good, good.

- Yeah.

- Standing
at the handle material rack,

I see this green
and black kirinite.

I'm stoked.

It's a real nice material.

I know it's gonna be perfect
for the zombie apocalypse

my son reads
all about all the time.

I'm shaping my handle,

and then I start rolling
the edges over on the handle

to make it nice and smooth.

[rock music]

I'm shaping. I'm grinding.
I'm rounding.

It's just total chaos.

If I get my material too hot,

I can actually ruin it and peel
it off and cause it to buckle

and actually try
to rip away from the tang.

That would be a huge setback
and cost me everything.

I could go home.

[rock music]

- During the sharpening process,

I was just experimenting
with the different stones.

- Jeffrey's on a pretty
aggressive stone right there.

- They were a little small,
a little narrow.

I wasn't having much luck.

I really had to do sections
of the blade.

I didn't like that.

- It seems like a lot of work.

- That's why I like
sharpening on belts.

It takes, like, two minutes.

- Ten, nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four,

three, two, one.

Stop working.

[tense music]

- And we all kind of made
a different style of knife,

so it's gonna be interesting
to see how everything

stacks up in the test.

- Bladesmiths,
we're at the ice chop now.

It's gonna test the strength
and durability of the blades

that you've forged
and heat treated.

I'm gonna take
each of your blades

and do seven vertical
chops into the ice.

Craig, you already
got a big smile on your face.

You ready to go?
- I'm ready to do it, yeah.

[tense music]

- Let's have some fun.
- All right.

I'm feeling a little nervous.

I just don't want that edge
to roll.

I want to see nice, clean cuts,
see it hold up and perform.

[rock music]

♪

- Wow.
- Nice.

- Edge stayed true, no chipping,
nothing bent.

It's a good grip.

It did roll just a little bit.
- Did it? Yeah.

- But it took a good chunk
of ice out of there.

Nice job.
- Good deal, good deal.

Thank you.
- Kim, you ready?

- I'm ready.

- Okay, let's chop some ice.

- I'm a little nervous
about my handle.

It could have potential
to maybe fly out of your hands.

There's nothing really there
to, like,

contour it to your hand.

But we'll see if it holds up.

[rock music]

♪

Sweet.

- Your blade held up well.

You've got that heavy convex
edge that supported it.

It split the ice quite well,
though not down as far as Craig.

- Oh.

- The handle... the handle
had a tendency to roll,

especially on that last swing.

It kind of glanced off,
but good job on the blade.

- Thanks.

- Jeff, you ready to go?
Ready to have some fun?

- Oh, yeah.
- Okay.

- I feel like my edge
is very sharp.

I'm only worried about it
being a little too thin

and going through the ice.

[rock music]

♪

- Well, Jeff,
a very thin handle,

a little harder to hold onto it
with those swings.

But it stayed straight,
and it chopped some ice.

Nicely done.
- Thank you, sir.

- All right, smiths,
each of your blades

is gonna get three attempts
to slice through this rope.

This sharpness test is going
to see how well your edges

held up after chopping ice.

Craig, again, you're up first.

- I'm ready.

[rock music]

♪

- Oh!

[tense music]

It left a few strands
of the rope together.

I would've liked to see it
take it all down, though.

- Got the toothy edge
that bites into the fibers,

and there was enough blade
to drag through.

I mean,
it took out most of this rope.

- Yup.
- Almost there.

- I know it. I know it.
- So close. Nice job.

- Thank you, thank you.

- Kim, you're up next.

- Watching Craig's knife

not make it all the way
through the rope,

it's pretty surprising to me.

His blades
looked really super sharp,

and I'm pretty worried
about my chances.

[rock music]

♪

- Got it?
Awesome.

- Kim, I've got to say,

there's no edge up here
on this part of your blade.

But right down here there is,

and that's
what bit into the rope.

But good job.

- Thanks.

- Jeff, you're up next.

- I can't wait.

[rock music]

♪

- Oof.
- Good job.

- Two swings, Jeff.

Very nice.

It had good weight to it.

Good job.

- Thank you.

[tense music]

- Bladesmiths,
after careful deliberation,

the judges have decided
which two of you

will move forward into
the "Forged in Fire" final

and which of you
must be eliminated.

♪

The person leaving
the Forge is...

♪

- Bladesmiths,
the judges have decided

which of you must be eliminated.

♪

Kim, your weapon
did not make the cut.

♪

- Well, Kim, your knife
didn't do quite as well

as some in the ice chop

and did better than some
in the rope test.

So that kind
of balanced things out.

From there, we had to look
at your finished product,

and there was a bunch
of issues on that blade.

I mean, there's waves
in the blade.

And the handle itself really
wasn't conducive for the tests.

It was very hard to hold onto.

It took a lot of concentration
to not have it

veer left and right.

And there's just issues
that we couldn't look past.

♪

- Kim, please surrender
your weapon.

[rock music]

- Thank you, guys.
It's been fun.

- Thank you very much.

- I feel like I've proven
a lot to myself.

See ya, guys.

Now, I mean,
I've passed a chop test,

and I've passed a rope cut.

So I'm pretty excited
where I am.

J's feedback was not a shock
to me at all.

With that handle,
it was pretty ridiculous.

So that's why I'm going home.

[tense music]

- Jeff, Craig, congratulations.

You've both made it through
to the "Forged in Fire" final,

and you're both one step closer
to a check for $10,000.

In the first two rounds
of competition,

you forged a weapon
in your signature style.

Now we're sending you back
to your home forges,

where you will forge
an iconic weapon from history,

the war hammer.

- Nice.

- A war hammer
is a medieval weapon

developed in the 14th century

that came about primarily
as a response

to advanced armor technology.

By this time, the armorists
had created suits

of plate armor
that were so hard and smooth

that swords
would bounce off them.

The war hammer could deliver
its full force to the target

and do serious damage without
having to penetrate the armor.

Its steel head with a spike
on one side had a handle

that varied in length but was
generally just long enough

to be wielded with one hand.

The spiked end could be used
for hooking the target's legs,

reins, or shield,

or used
as an armor-piercing device.

As the use
of body armor declined,

so did the need
for the war hammer.

However, it can still
be seen today

in the popular film
trilogy "The Hobbit"

and has lent its name
to board game Warhammer.

Your challenge is to forge
a war hammer.

It must be an authentic,

fully functioning version
of that late-medieval weapon.

- I feel a little bit
confident on it.

It's a weapon I'm a
little bit familiar with,

Plus, I use a hammer
on a daily basis.

- The weapon parameters
are as follows.

The length of the head
must be at least 2 1/2 inches,

and the length of the pike must
be at least 3 inches in length.

- I've never made a war hammer,

but I've made some hatchets
and tomahawks.

- So you will have five days
to complete this challenge.

When the five days is up,
you will return

and present your war hammers
to our panel of judges.

They will submit those weapons

to a series of dynamic
and rigorous tests.

When the testing is complete,

they will decide which of you
is the "Forged in Fire" champion

and walks away with $10,000.

Good luck, bladesmiths.

We'll see you in five days.

[rock music]

- Today is day one.

I'm excited to get this thing
done in my home forge.

It's a lot more comfortable
here.

I know my tools.

I want to do a ram's head

with horns following the sides
of the hammer.

I think I can knock it out.

[rock music]

I'm gonna use
a tool-steel ball bearing

as the head of my hammer,

make sure it's a solid block
of steel by the time I'm done.

I'm about to punch a hole
through the head of the hammer

for the handle.

Hopefully, nothing goes wrong.

I could split the hammer in two.

Then I would have
to start from square one.

[rock music]

♪

♪

- I'm happy to be here
at the home forge.

I'm in my element.
I know what all my tools are.

I know how to use my tools.

So being here at home's
a big advantage for me.

It takes a lot of steel
to make the amount of Damascus

that I'm gonna make.

The plan for the day
is to get my Damascus made.

I'm gonna take the two dissimilar metals.

I'm gonna heat 'em up in my
forge, get everything hot.

I'm gonna flux 'em,

keep the oxygen out of there
so scales doesn't form.

Then I'm gonna
beat 'em together.

[frenetic rock music]

♪

I'm feeling a little nervous
right now making this Damascus.

I can get a bad weld.

If I get a bad weld in it,

everything
I've done so far is ruined.

It's not a serviceable weapon
at that point.

I'd have to scrap it
and start again.

[rock music]

- I'm halfway through day two,

and I'm getting the horns
on the ram's head now.

♪

I'm bending the horns down,

Gonna have, like,
a very organic curve to it.

Oh, [bleep].

[torch clicking]

[bleep].

I run out of oxygen
on my oxy-acetylene torch.

I'm not exactly where I want to
be on the horns, the hammerhead,

and it's starting to wear on me.

I'm just gonna have to come in
in the morning and focus

and hustle and make sure
I'm doing everything right,

don't make any mistakes.

I don't have any room for that.

[rock music]

♪

- All right, now we're ready
to rock and roll.

Yesterday was a busy day for me.

I got the Damascus
forged for my head,

and I've got it squared
to about the right dimensions.

The hammerhead's gonna start
taking shape for me today.

The langets are pretty much
gonna lock everything in.

♪

[laughs]

That is cool.

I'm looking at these sharp
corners on these slots,

and I know I'm gonna
have a problem with this

if I try to full quench it.

Where I've put
the langet pockets in there,

that can crack.

It's thinner than everything
else.

I could literally end up
with two pieces of hammer.

I'm gonna do a differential
heat treat on it.

I'm gonna try to harden
the front and harden the back

but leave the middle soft.

If I crack the hammer
while I'm quenching,

that could be disastrous for me.

[rock music]

♪

- Yesterday I was able to get
the hammerhead finished

with all the detail,
get it quenched.

And today
I'm getting into the handle.

♪

Mylan is to add
some upholstery rivets

down the sides and the front
and back of the handle.

It's gonna be a mix
of unique decorative work

and traditional-style war hammer

with the spike
and the hammerhead.

It's good to go.

♪

- Yesterday I was able
to finish up my top cap.

Today I'm gonna focus
on getting everything

finished up
and making it pretty.

All right, I've got some plans
for you today.

Let's see if she's ready
for prime time.

♪

Whoo! Yeah,
I think that'll work.

No problem.

♪

Well, I'm real happy
with the way it came out,

the weight, the balance.

I love the way it feels.

I've done everything I can.
I've tested my hammer.

I've made it look nice.

But it's still anybody's
ball game.

♪

- Jeff, Craig, welcome back.

Because your weapons
are war hammers,

we decided to leave the Forge
and bring them to a location

a little bit more benefiting
their medieval style.

You've had five days
to work on your weapons.

How'd it go at your home
forge, Jeff?

- I had a great time
making the hammer.

The horns gave me a little bit
of trouble,

but I like the way it looks.

Overall, I think it's great.

- How'd it go for you, Craig?
- It went good.

I had a little problems
with the langets.

But I got 'em inlaid like
I wanted to, so in the end,

I'm really happy with 'em.

- Well, gents,
your weapons look great,

but looks are
secondary to performance.

We are now gonna
put both your weapons

through three different tests.

First up, the sharpness test.

Dave?

- Gentlemen...

the war hammer was primarily
a close-quarters weapon.

But it was devastating
to anything it went up against,

which occasionally
was a castle door.

So I'm gonna take several
strikes against this oak door,

to see how well the pick
on your weapon penetrates.

Craig, you ready?

- I'm ready.

I see the doors set up.

I'm thinking, "My war hammer
just gonna demolish this door."

I'm pretty confident
in my hammer.

[tense music]

♪

- Well, Craig, this really
felt great in my hands.

It's got a nice balance to it.

Your pick... I don't see
any real distortion on it.

The shape of your pick

with that nice drop hook
to the end of it

really penetrated well.

And you could see,
when I got it in that door

how hard it was to remove.

- Yeah.
- Nicely done.

- Appreciate it.
- Beautifully executed.

- Thank you.

- So, Jeff, your turn.
You ready?

- Let's smash it.
- All right.

[rock music]

♪

[metal clanging]

So... we started losing pieces.

I could tell that they're
on there only decoratively,

so I was able to continue on.

Good thing: head's still
right and tight.

- Right.

- The way your pick
leans out towards the front

gave a lot of penetration.

I was really able to just
blow parts out of this door.

- Mm-hmm.
- Nicely designed.

- Thank you.
- Well-executed.

- Thanks.

- Bladesmiths, now it's time
for the kill test.

War hammers have been known
to deliver piercing blows

into armor and crush
the person behind it.

I will deliver strikes
at this ballistic dummy

that's wearing armor.

Then we can see how much lethal
damage your war hammer can give.

Craig, you're up.
Are you ready?

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

[rock music]

♪

- Craig, I love the balance
of this blade, no indentations.

Now let's see how much damage
we put on the dummy.

No visible broken bones,

but that definitely did pierce
the skin.

- Nice.

This will definitely kill.

Nicely done, sir.
- Thank you.

- Jeff, you're up next.
You ready?

- Yes, sir.

The kill test, it's the most
important part to me.

I want it to smash that piece
of plate steel, break some ribs,

and ruin some organs.

[rock music]

♪

- Well, Jeff, looks like
the other langet did break off.

Do you know what?

This is still very sturdy.

But let's see how much damage
it's done internally.

♪

He's got some broken ribs right
here, broken bones throughout.

It went all the way through.

And even through armor,
you pierced the skin,

and you caused
some internal damage.

Jeff, your weapon will kill.

- Awesome.
- Good job.

- Thank you.

- Gentlemen,
this is the strength test.

The war hammer was a favorite
on the medieval battlefield.

So I'm gonna
take your war hammer

and to test its strength
and durability,

I'm gonna take several blows
against our stone wall

and see
how much of this I can move.

- You know,
I'm feeling pretty nervous.

I know what it's capable of.

I've worked with it at home.

But still, yeah,
watching somebody else do it,

it's nerve-racking for me.

[tense music]

♪

R hammer,

and to test its strength
and durability,

I'm gonna take several blows
against our stone wall

and see how much of this
I can move.

Craig, you're up.
- All right, let's do it.

[rock music]

♪

- Wow, that held up really well.

And that's pretty much a hole
I could crawl through.

That'll work.

- Perfect.

- So the handle...
What I do like is,

I could swing it one-handed,
but with two hands,

I could generate a heck
of a lot of energy.

Beautiful job.

- Excellent, excellent.
Thank you.

- Jeff, you're up.

- Let's knock it down.

[rock music]

♪

- It's long,
and when I was swinging,

it was way out in front of me

as opposed
to being close and in control.

Shot some sparks off.

- Right, I seen that.

- All in all,
a good performance.

- Great.

- Well, gentlemen, you've given
the judges a lot to consider.

We'll see you back at the Forge.

[tense music]

Craig, Jeff, you were given
five days at your home forge

to fabricate war hammers,

and you both performed very well
in our weapons tests.

But there can only be one
"Forged in Fire" champion.

J?
- Craig, that's a great piece.

Your fit
and finish is outstanding,

and I love the fact that you
can see

the differential heat treat
in the hammerhead and beak.

There is a slight delamination
in one corner of the hammer face

that does concern me
a little bit, though.

- Jeff, there's a word that
they call "functional art."

You have it right there.

The beautiful design you have
of that hammer is amazing.

My only concern was,
during the kill test,

the langlet came off.

It could've been better secured.

- Gentlemen,
it was not an easy decision.

Both of your weapons are superb,

but there can only be
one "Forged in Fire" champion.

[tense music]

Craig, you are
the "Forged in Fire" champion.

Congratulations.
- Thank you.

- Jeff, your weapon
did not make the cut.

- Jeff, with pieces coming
off of it, and the fact

that it can only really be used
as a two-handed weapon,

those things added together
started to become a problem.

- Please surrender
your war hammer.

[tense music]

- I respected the judges'
decision.

If I knew what I know now,
I would've changed some things.

[rock music]

- Craig, congratulations.

You are the "Forged in Fire"
champion.

- It was a fun challenge.

- Craig, you will also be
receiving a check for $10,000.

- I'm just stoked.
It's crazy.

This experience,
it was a grueling process.

You know, I got to do something
that I really enjoyed

and I'm really passionate about.

I came here for my son.

I mean, it doesn't get any
better than that.

[rock music]