Forged in Fire (2015–…): Season 3, Episode 10 - Zulu Iklwa - full transcript
Four new bladesmiths are put to the test when they must forge a bayonet blade and engineer it to attach to a rifle. After a round of grueling tests on their bayonets, the final two bladesmiths are sent home to spend five days forg...
- For two seasons,
America's
most talented bladesmiths
have faced off
in the ultimate competition...
- Getting pretty hot
in the kitchen.
- Making some of history's
deadliest weapons.
Now, with the stakes
higher than ever,
a new batch of bladesmiths
enter the Forge
to test their skills.
- Whoa, whoa,
watch out, watch out, watch out.
- Only one will take home
$10,000...
- Whoo!
- And be crowned
"Forged in Fire" champion.
- My name is
Clarence Amos Jackson.
I'm from Tallahassee, Florida.
I found out that my grandfather
Clarence, my first name,
spent a lot of time
in front of a furnace.
So it's in my blood.
- My name's Lyle Wynn.
I'm from Brandon, Mississippi.
I used to hunt a lot,
and I wanted to make
my own knife
to use while hunting.
And once I did that,
I had other people
that wanted knives too.
So I started making
knives more often.
- My name is Scott McReynolds.
I'm from Melbourne, Florida.
All my friends and family think
I'm crazy for trying out
the competition,
but my kids really wanted me to.
- My name's Matt Moline,
I live in Algonac, Michigan.
I have a 9-to-5 office job.
After that, I actually drive
about an hour to my next job,
which is bladesmithing.
You don't drive an hour
after work every day
to go bang on hot steel
unless you're truly
passionate about it.
- Welcome to the Forge.
Each of you has entered
this crucible of competition
to have your blades judged based
on their design,
construction, and performance,
all in the hopes of
Winning $10,000
and the title
of "Forged in Fire" champion.
But first, you'll have to pass
three rounds of challenges
and tests
and the scrutiny of our panel
of expert judges.
Master bladesmith Jason Knight.
Historic weapons re-creation
specialist David Baker.
Edged weapons specialist
and Kali martial artist
Doug Marcaida.
Bladesmiths, on the tables
in front of you are four rifles.
Don't worry, we're not having
you forge any firearms today.
Your first round challenge
is to forge
the blade of a bayonet
that will fit on these rifles.
- I've never attempted
to try to make a bayonet.
So, I'm going to wing it
the best I can.
- On the anvils in front of you,
you see a cloth.
Each one of you go ahead
and lift that up.
The blade of your bayonet
must be forged
from that piece of spring steel.
- The hardest part
about this challenge
is going to be uncoiling
this big,
massive chunk of metal.
Luckily, it's not rusty.
- Keep in mind that
in the second round,
you'll be attaching handles,
guards,
and the bayonet lug
receiver to your blades.
Additionally, your bayonet
must be attached
to these rifles by the end
of this round.
They will then be
tested for strength
and durability in a fish slice,
and stabbing
into a metal fuel can.
Your first challenge
is to forge signature blades
in your signature style.
You will have ten minutes
to work on your design.
You have three hours
to forge your blades.
Good luck. Your time starts now.
- I think this is one of
our most difficult
round one challenges
that we've had.
- Technically, yeah.
They've got to actually make
something
that's going to
affix to something else.
- I'm drawing a recurve blade.
I saw some Civil War bayonets
in the museum in my hometown,
and the coolest ones there
were these cool
recurve-style bayonets.
- The design I'm going
for is going to be
an old-fashioned
spear point dagger.
Nothing too fancy.
And I'm going to put a fuller
in the inside,
mainly because with the fuller
it creates less drag.
I planned on forging
a very simple guard
to go with it,
nothing elaborate.
- I'm gonna design a knife
that has a clip point on it.
Therefore, it'll have a edge
on top at the front
and an edge on the bottom,
so that when they test it
on the fish,
it'll still make a nice cut.
- What I'm gonna
make is something curvy,
because I thought it would
add a little extra style
to set myself apart
from my competitors.
I'm trying to make
something that's futuristic.
- Bladesmiths, your design
period has closed.
Your three-hour
forging time starts now.
- All right.
- Looking at the steel,
that's just way too much
steel to make a blade.
I can probably make two or
three blades out of that thing.
- So, Matt is chopping it up
on the chop saw.
He's got pieces in the forge.
- This piece of material
is used to being a spring,
not being a blade.
So you've got to get it
out of that form.
- Well, if you get
the metal hot enough,
then you'll get that reaction.
- There we go.
- Mechanical advantage.
- Just want to get it
straightened out real quick.
Coming to the hammer.
So I'm going
to the power hammer.
I've never worked
with it before,
so it's probably gonna be
a love-hate relationship.
It's like, you know, first date,
hey, how you doing?
- Ah!
- This might be one of our most
technical challenges.
- I think it is.
- Because not only do they have
to create that guard
with the barrel ring,
they have to account for the bayonet lug.
- Yep.
- If they don't get that just right,
then the bayonet will not fit
to the end of the rifle.
- Right.
- I have zero experience
with bayonets.
I have never made a knife
that attaches to a gun.
In here with these
other three guys,
I feel like the old man
of the group,
but I'm not gonna
let these young boys whip me.
- Yeah, there we go. We've got
some teamwork going on.
- I wanted to leave it
the full length
so I can have a handle
to hold rather
than working it with tongs.
When Clarence came over
and helped me
get my spring straightened out,
I realized, even though
this is a competition,
the camaraderie
between the bladesmiths
is a great thing to witness.
Let me help him.
- Some of this stuff that
you're doing is heavy work,
and if you see
somebody struggling,
you're not just gonna sit there
and watch them, you know?
So that's what we do.
I work somewhat intuitively,
definitely letting the material
that I'm working
with speak to me.
My plan for this round
is to straighten this steel out,
get it under the power hammer,
get it shaped.
I was a '90s kid.
Ninjas were big.
I guess it switched from cowboys
to, like, ninjas and samurai.
And my dad
was into martial arts,
and we watched martial
arts movies,
so I think the blade was a
part of culture at the time for me.
- The design that Scott's
decided to go with,
a kris, putting all these waves.
Now, he needs to make sure
that he aligns the spine
where it's true,
'cause if you make too many
waves that don't align,
it's like an accordion
for a thrusting test.
- I'm struggling with hammering the curves
and twisting the blade
back and forth.
- This guy's having a lot
of trouble with his curves.
- I'm taking my time,
because it's easy to lay out
what you want
the finished product
to look like,
but how you get there
isn't laid out on that paper.
- Lyle, back
from the scrap pile.
- I have to start working
on the guard.
- They've got enough time
to forge a blade
and start working on that guard,
then they can
absolutely do that.
- That's cool.
- I want to see if
I can drill it.
I don't want to have to try
to drill something that's hard.
And it is tool steel,
so I might.
I've been working on this guard,
and it looks okay,
but it's not wide enough.
So I'm gonna start over.
You learn from your mistakes,
so I made a mistake.
- One hour has elapsed!
You have two hours remaining
to finish your blades!
Notice Matt's pace
has fallen way off.
- I'm getting a little fatigued.
It took everything to just keep
my composure and to keep going.
- There we go.
We're in the fullering tool.
- I start smacking in
the fuller.
The fuller's fighting me
a little bit.
I'm a little worried, because
I don't do them that much.
So I'm just praying,
doing it freehand,
that it's gonna line up.
Nothing's worse
than a crooked fuller.
- Matt's going for the guard.
He's heated it up and he's
flattening it out right now.
- So I know I need to make
a guard for this thing.
And so I choose to use
the same material
that the knife's made out of.
- I started off trying to make
the guard and the blade
at the exact same time,
running back and forth.
- Scott's been working his guard
and his steel together,
and if he can keep effectively
going back and forth
between blade and guard,
it might just put him ahead
for the second round
of this competition.
- I'm working
on a hand guard for this.
Most time-consuming part
of the whole process
is to get this to fit right.
I'm waiting for the blade
to get up to weld temperature.
I'm gonna attempt
to weld the guard on.
It's gonna be tough, 'cause I've
got a real thin piece of metal
I don't want to get too hot
against a real thick blade.
- Oh, he's gonna
forge weld it on.
- I think I'm running
a little bit behind,
but I think I'll be okay.
- I don't make a lot of guards.
But now I have to make a unique
guard in this competition,
so it's gonna be hard.
Whoo.
- Clarence, what's going on
with your hand there?
You all right?
- Yeah, I'm good.
- Clarence, you're bleeding.
I don't have time to bleed.
- All right, thank you.
- The only thing pushing
right now
that I've got to do is
get it heat treated.
- Lyle just quenched his blade.
- All right.
- I pulled the knife out,
and to my amazement,
it's straight.
That's a big relief.
- You have just 30
little minutes
remaining to finish your work!
I don't know
why I said 30 little minutes.
- They're little minutes.
- They're little minutes.
- They're faster.
- They start shrinking.
- Oh, yeah.
- I will give this to Scott.
It is a bold decision
to try to go with a Kris blade
with only three hours
in this competition.
- Without a good quench
and a good hard edge,
it just would never hold up
to any testing.
- Oh, Scott, making fire.
- Fire, fire, fire.
- Oh... oh... oh!
- Touching fire with your hands
is never a good idea.
- What are you doing?
- When I grabbed the blade,
all I can do is feel
my fingers burning.
- Oh no.
- Scott's blade coming out
of the oil. Fire!
- Oh, oh, oh, oh!
- Oh, no!
- What in the wide world
of sports is he doing?
- Does he do that at home,
you think?
I hope he's in a concrete
or metal building.
- I pull it out, and I
have a slight warp to it.
But I have a few seconds
to grab that blade,
even though it's on fire,
and bend it straight
before it cools down.
I have to finish it,
and I was able to get very close
to a perfectly straight blade.
- You have 15 minutes
to finish your work!
- I quench it.
I think I pulled it out
a little too early,
because it flamed up
on me really quick.
And I took my file,
and I realized
that it's biting right
into the blade.
So that's just not gonna work.
- Matt's in for
his second quench.
- I take it out,
I go to scrape it,
and it's just digging
right into the steel.
- So Matt's going in for
a third quench.
- Wow.
- Quenching for a third time
is a little bit of a gamble,
because if you're not careful,
you can really put some
stress cracks onto the blade.
I take it out, and it's got
a little bit of a warp.
But I know that I can
work with this.
It's fully hardened.
I run the file.
It's just scraping
right off of it.
I did it.
- Five minutes, bladesmiths!
- I think I can finish.
I'm just gonna have
to cut some corners.
I put my blade in the oil.
I don't hear any cracks,
I don't hear any tings.
I don't hear any, you know,
nightmares happening.
I pull it out. It's on fire.
That's not normal for me, so...
- Ah!
- Oh, no.
Don't want to see him do that.
- Oh, Clarence.
Clarence just dropped
his whole blade
in the water bucket
and left it there.
- Oh, it's gonna be plenty hard.
Hard as glass.
- Oh, yeah, yeah.
- Is that a critical
error, Jason?
- Not a good idea,
because it could easily crack.
- Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six,
five, four, three,
two, one!
Bladesmiths, shut down
your machines! Drop your tools!
Place your blades
on top of the anvils!
- Oh, thank goodness.
It's done.
- Bladesmiths,
in just three hours
each of you has managed to forge
a blade for your bayonet.
Matt, you're up first.
Please present your blade
to the judges.
- Well, Matt, your fuller's...
I like the idea, but
your fuller's a little off.
It's traveled a little bit.
But it is lean, it's light.
It's a good thrusting shape,
and if you get
a good edge on here,
it'll probably be a good cutter.
- Thank you.
- Scott, you're up.
Please present your blade
to the judges.
- Scott, I think it was
a really bold
and brave move to work
on something
that it looked to me
like you had never fooled
around with before.
- I've never made
a curved blade before.
- But you pulled it off.
I mean, you got something there.
I don't see any issues
in the steel,
and that's the most
important thing to me.
- Lyle. You're up.
- Lyle, your blade looks great,
other than you have
some grinding left to do,
and I'm sure you know that.
- Right.
- But overall, it looks like
it's gonna be
a great shape for a bayonet.
- I think it's all gonna
come down
to what type of a grind
you put on this.
Looks like you're setting up for
a saber grind, but we'll see.
But it should be
a good thruster.
- Thank you, sir.
- Clarence, it's your turn.
- Clarence, great design.
It feels good as a weapon.
One of the issues
we may have with your blade
is that you shocked it
with water
while it was still hot,
and we always know
that that brings about
some possible surface cracks
or a crack in the blade.
But overall, though,
the feel of your blade
and watching you work,
it was fun. Thank you.
- Thank you.
- That shape's fantastic,
and yeah, with the lug
on there and the receiver,
it would look very nice the way
this blade drops away
from the barrel.
But again, that quench,
the metal doesn't react well
to cooling that quickly.
And what you wind up with are
these multiple surface cracks,
and it brings into question
the structure of this blade.
- I feel confident,
but I really don't know.
Based on the judges' feedback,
I'm just in limbo.
- The judges have made
a final decision.
It's time for one of you
to leave the Forge.
Clarence, your blade
did not make the cut.
Jason will explain.
- Clarence, your forging
was great,
your grinding was great,
your shape was beautiful.
But when you quenched the blade
and then threw it in the water,
that caused a crack
in the spine of your blade.
It goes across the spine
and back towards the handle.
That critical ure
is why we have to send you home.
- Clarence, please
surrender your blade.
- I may not have won,
but for the parts
that I did well,
I performed, you know,
better than I expected.
This has been
a great learning experience.
So to the remaining contestants,
I wish you the best.
Good luck.
- Bladesmiths, you've made it
through round one.
Good job.
In this round, you'll be
attaching handles, guards,
and the bayonet lug receiver
to your blades
to turn them into
fully-functional bayonets.
You will have three hours
in this round.
You can use that time
to address any flaws or issues
that were identified
in your blades.
But keep in mind,
when the time runs out,
and your weapons
have been tested,
one of you will have
to surrender his weapon
and leave the Forge.
Good luck, bladesmiths.
Your time starts now.
- What would you be working on,
Dave, if you were out there?
- More than anything,
I'd be getting
that guard on the blade
and mounting that lug.
Those are the two things
that have to happen
before you can really deal
with a handle.
- The first thing I want to do
is get on the grinder
and start going to town.
- Matt's grinding on his tang,
and that tang was already lean.
- Thinner, and thinner,
and thinner.
- I'm not sure why Scott
is working on handle material.
I think it's very interesting.
- My handle's
a little bit oddly-shaped.
So I'm going to do multi layers
of Micarta.
I'm gonna be able to hide
a lot of flaws
if this handle's extremely busy.
- What's he doing out there?
- I cut a little bit
of my T-shirt.
It's a little thicker material
than the paper towels.
- How is paper towel and
t-shirt gonna become a handle?
- He's got a plan.
He's got a plan.
He's got to have a plan.
- I have somewhat of a plan.
- The first thing I've got to do
is get the slot cut
in this guard,
start filing so that
I can have a slot big enough
to fit over the tang.
This is one of the things that's
gonna take me the longest.
- He is diligently
going about it.
- One hour has elapsed!
You have two hours
remaining to finish your work!
- The guard's where
I want it to be.
So now I need to start
squaring this thing up.
So I weld that little piece
to the tang.
I totally forgot
to put the guard on first.
- Matt has welded
his bayonet receiver lug
onto the tang of his blade,
but his guard wasn't slipped on.
- Which makes no sense at all.
- It's supposed to go
through there.
It's one of those dumb rookie
mistakes
that I don't know
how I missed it,
but I missed it.
Now what am I gonna do?
Yonet receiver lug
onto the tang of his blade,
but his guard wasn't slipped on.
- Which makes no sense at all.
- It's supposed to go
through there.
In my head, I'm going, "Matt,
you've got
to be kidding me, man."
So I went over to the bandsaw
and start
cutting out the slots to fit
the guard on the blade.
It's not the proper way
to do it,
because you don't want
to just fill it with weld.
You want to have at least
something structural in there.
But you've got to make
something work
in this competition,
because I'm not gonna
not have a blade
mounted on a gun
at the end of the day.
I'm gonna make it happen.
- Scott has not worked
on his blade one bit.
- He is going to have
that handle on there.
I like his way of just going...
you know, he's just going at it.
- I notice that my guard
is slightly off-center,
but there's not really any way
to fix that
once the handle is on.
I had to sacrifice
position for time.
- Two hours has elapsed!
You have only one hour remaining
to finish your work!
So Lyle has framed
out his handle
to fit around
the bayonet receiver.
- He's checking it
and fitting it,
checking it and fitting it.
His craftsmanship
is at the master level.
- I'm struggling to get
the groove
cut into this metal right now.
- 30 minutes!
You have only 30 minutes
remaining to finish your work!
- So I got the pieces fitted
to where,
you know, I want them to be.
And I'm thinking, it's time
to pick up the pace.
Almost there. Almost there.
I need to do a little
small hole, drill out the tang,
and that's gonna give me
the compression
I need for my handle.
I start drilling,
and it's
drilling and it's drilling,
but the bit is
just starting to slip.
And I'm going, that's right.
It's a hardened blade.
I'm gonna be here for another
hour just doing this,
and I just don't
have time for it.
- Matt... freaking out
a little bit.
- I'm gonna do a cord wrap.
Probably not the best support,
but it should hold up.
I'm hoping.
Okay. You will be finished.
- Well, Lyle's blade's
really shaped nicely.
I think all he has to...
Just put an edge on it.
- Scott is still working
on contouring his handle.
Still has not
touched that blade.
- You have
ten minutes remaining!
Your bayonets must be affixed
to the rifle when time is up!
- I'm more concerned
about the position of the lug
on the rifle.
It won't slide down far enough.
- Well, that's one way
to fix it.
- I'm grabbing it
and just beating
and trying to bend
the finger guard
around the end of the barrel.
- Oh, boy.
- Ten, nine, eight, seven,
six, five,
four, three,
two, one!
- It's on there.
- Bladesmiths, drop your tools!
Secure your rifles!
Your work is complete.
- I'm not super happy,
but I'm not sad about it either.
- Going into the testing,
I'm nervous, actually.
I really, truly hate my handle.
I'm just praying, though,
that it doesn't
break or fall off.
- This is the strength test.
I'll be testing the strength
and durability of your bayonets
by stabbing them into these
fuel cans three times.
Lyle, you're up first.
- I'm ready.
I was wondering
what the gas tanks
were gonna be, and now I see.
These look like some tough
gas tanks to penetrate.
- Well, Lyle,
your initial fit up was great,
and everything held together
on this.
There was no issue
with re-attaching it.
Very solid.
Overall, you made a bayonet.
Well done.
- Thank you.
- Scott, you're up next.
You ready?
- Don't break it.
- I had difficulty getting my
bayonet attached to the rifle,
so hopefully it will
be good enough.
- Well, Scott, you just
barely have it fitting here.
It is a design problem,
but is it attached enough.
I feel like
it's still safe to test.
Scott, I think your guard
has loosened
a little bit right here
because of the way
you designed it.
It didn't fit properly,
so there is a little bit of,
a little wiggle on it.
Overall, it still functioned.
- Thank you.
- Matt, you ready?
- No.
- Ha ha.
We're gonna do it anyway.
- All right.
Wow.
It was a big relief
to see the blade stab
through like it was
supposed to do.
- Well, Matt, not too bad.
Probably had the loosest fit
of all of the bayonets,
but your blade pierced
into the can very easily.
Well done.
- Thank you.
- Next up is the sharpness test.
For that, I'm gonna
turn you over to Doug.
- This is the sharpness test.
To test the edge of your blade,
I will take
your detached bayonet,
and I will attempt
to slice across this fish.
If your blades are sharp,
it should cut through.
Lyle, you're up first.
You ready?
- I'm ready.
I've never tried to cut
a fish other than to filet one.
I'm so nervous right now.
- Okay, Lyle, the design
of your guard did
actually get in the way.
However, parts of your edge
over here did make contact
with the fish.
It just didn't lacerate.
Scott, you're up next.
You ready?
- Ready.
I'm extremely nervous
about this slicing test.
I'm not sure
if it's gonna quite do it.
Y?
- Ready.
- Let's do this.
- I'm extremely nervous
about this slicing test.
I'm not sure
it's gonna quite do it.
- Okay, Scott, the one thing
that I'm having an issue here
is the lug that you have.
Trying to get a good,
comfortable feel,
it wants to turn the blade out.
So what it did was it bruised it
on the initial cut
and then lacerated
toward the end.
So that's telling me that this
is not a very sharp blade.
Matt, you're up next.
You ready?
- Let's do it.
There's still
the issue of the handle.
Even though he's slicing fish,
you're still gonna put
some good leverage on there.
I pray it works out.
- Okay, Matt.
Very light blade,
so the mass is not there
to lacerate all the way through.
But as you can see,
you definitely lacerated.
It's a sharp blade.
It will cut.
- Thank you.
- The weapons tests
are now complete.
The judges will now discuss
your weapons' design,
construction, and performance.
While they do that,
I'm gonna ask you
to step off the Forge floor.
Thank you.
- How you doing?
- I don't know.
- All right, judges, our
bladesmiths' round two challenge
was to complete their blades
by attaching handles,
guards, and bayonet
lug receivers.
Let's start with Lyle's
on the end, Doug.
- With Lyle's blade,
it looks like a bayonet.
The construction here,
very straight spine.
It feels good,
and it went nicely on the rifle.
The only issue I have,
the guard did get
a little bit in the way,
simply because the sweet spot's
a little bit lower
than doing something from afar,
to be able to cut
through a very wide fish.
- Yeah, this is definitive
of what a bayonet
should look like and feel like.
Easily went on the rifle,
punctured holes in the fuel cans
with no problem.
His technique for forging,
heat-treating,
everything he did was what
I would expect from someone
who has the experience
that Lyle has.
- So, let's take a closer look
at Scott's blade
and Matt's blade.
Is there any argument
to be made for
one of these blades
going forward over the other?
- Can I make that argument?
- Yeah.
- This is a bayonet.
This isn't.
I can tape a knife
to the barrel of a rifle.
It doesn't make it a bayonet.
This one fits.
The lug sits tight.
This one, lug fits tight.
This one, the lug
doesn't fit tight.
As a matter of fact, it was
mashed into place with a hammer.
- Okay.
- Remember, that lug
right there, with multiple uses,
will get you a lot of blisters.
- Here's something else
I know about warfare.
I've used bayonets.
I've trained with bayonets.
And I only see two bayonets
on this table.
And I don't know
if you judges agree,
but I'm gonna ask you.
Doug, have you made
your final decision?
- Yes, I have.
- Dave?
- Yep.
- Jason?
- Yeah, man.
- Let's go tell our smiths.
Bladesmiths, the judges
have made their final decision.
It's time for one of you
to leave the Forge.
Scott, your blade
did not make the cut.
Dave will explain.
- Scott, historically, a bayonet
was a soldier's backup weapon.
It had to be fully functional
both on and off the rifle.
Due to the positioning
of the lug on your bayonet,
we couldn't get it to fully
affix to the rifle,
and when it was in your hand,
it actually wound up
digging into your palm.
- Scott, please
surrender your weapon.
- My experience here
was a wonderful experience.
If I had to do it again,
I probably
would have paid attention
to fitting the lug
a little bit better.
But if I can give
someone encouragement
to go out and try something,
even if they've never done it,
you know, you can make it.
- Lyle and Matt,
congratulations.
You've made it to the final
round of this competition.
When you showed up here,
you used our forge
and our equipment
to forge bayonets.
Now we're sending you back
to your home forges
to re-create an iconic
blade from history.
The Zulu iklwa.
- All right.
- That's cool.
- The Zulu iklwa was introduced
by the famous Zulu king, Shaka.
He reigned over the Zulu
Empire's expansion
through southern Africa
from 1816 to 1828.
A celebrated warrior
in his own right,
Shaka developed a number of
military improvements
for the Zulu,
including the mandatory
adoption of the iklwa.
Replacing long,
light throwing spears,
the iklwa was shorter
and featured
a blade at least
ten inches long.
The spear wasn't thrown.
Rather, it was thrust
into the enemy,
and would be carried along
with a cowhide shield.
It was a fearsome weapon
utilized
against British colonialists
trying to expand
their African colonies.
The Zulu iklwa was also wielded
by Zulu warriors
in the classic film "Zulu."
It must be an effective,
fully-functional version
of that iconic weapon.
Additionally, it must have
a double-edged spearhead.
- I've made spears in the past.
I've even had people
that wanted one to hunt with.
I think I'll be able to do
this very successfully.
- You will have five days
at your home forge
to accomplish this task.
At the end of those five days,
you will return and present your
weapons to our panel of judges,
who will then subject them
to a series of dynamic tests.
Only once those tests
are complete will they declare
one of you
the "Forged in Fire" champion
who also leaves
with that check for 10 grand.
Good luck, gentlemen.
We'll see you in five days.
- Good luck to you, man.
- All right, man.
Good luck to you too.
- It's day one,
and we're at my home forge.
It's got all sorts of different
construction type of equipment.
It's kind of the man cave,
as I like to call it.
All right.
That's a pretty big blade.
I don't have any power hammers
or presses.
I deal with everything by hand,
which actually
I'm really proud of.
At the end of the day,
I should have it
pretty much mostly forged out.
I'll be pretty happy if
I get at least that far today.
It's looking pretty good.
- It's great to be back
in my own shop.
I may not have
all the best tools,
but I can definitely get it done
with everything I have here.
A Zulu iklwa, that's something
I've never heard of.
I believe that's the sound
it makes
when it goes in and pulls out.
Ik-lwa!
My plan for the day is to get
a point on the piece of metal,
and then I'm gonna have
to figure out the tang.
I think I'm gonna make
a one-piece tang
that will penetrate
into the handle,
as well as lock it down
with some sinew.
All right.
- Plan for today is to do
some final forging on the blade,
straighten out everything
a little bit,
and get this thing
to heat treat.
Quenching now.
Don't think it took.
The file's actually
digging into the blade,
which means it didn't
fully harden.
So I know I had to go in
for a second quench,
which is not something
that you want to do
over and over and over again.
Definitely feel
a lot of anxiety.
It's not looking good.
Knowing my opponent,
and how well he can forge,
I'm pretty sure he might be
a little bit farther ahead.
I'm not sure I'm gonna
get it done.
And so I had to do
a second quench.
But with the time constraint,
there's a lot that can go wrong.
So I have to make sure
that I do this right this time.
Yeah, that's just
skating across.
It's the birth of a South
African Zulu iklwa, right there.
- After a lot of thought
last night,
I decided I'm gonna clay
the center of the iklwa.
Putting this clay on here
is gonna keep the center
from getting as hard.
It won't cool as quick
when I go in the oil,
and that'll make it softer
in the middle,
so this will be less likely
to break when it's tested.
It's skating across there.
I'm happy with it.
- Today, I'm gonna
antique it a certain way,
and then we'll get
a handle attached.
I like a lot of contrast,
so I've got ferric chloride
over there.
That'll actually turn this
particular type of steel black.
That's just gonna fade
into that nice high polish.
It's gonna look really sharp.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Time to start doing the handle.
I'm adding a leather wrap
to this guy,
give a better grip.
I think it's gonna be nice
to have something
that pops a little more
than just a plain old handle.
Now I want to start
slicing some stuff.
Wow.
- I'm past all the forging.
I'm through with the steel work.
Now it's on the toughest
part for me, my handle.
I'm using zebrawood, which
comes from central Africa.
That's gonna make
a real nice look.
To wrap the blade,
I'm using pig intestine,
and that's gonna draw up nicely
and help hold it in tight.
It's tricky, and it stinks.
Makes me hungry.
The only thing left
to do is to test it.
So I'm gonna use
the thickest part of the blade
and see if it'll cut through
in one full swing.
Oh, my goodness.
Let me try it one more time.
There you go.
- Lyle, Matt, welcome back.
You've both had five days
at your home forge
to work on your Zulu iklwas.
Lyle, tell us a little bit
about your weapon.
- I did a lot of firsts.
I actually clayed the blade
so it wouldn't be hard
in the center,
and the wood is zebrawood.
The sinew is actually pig
intestine casing for sausage,
'cause I wanted something
that would actually
shrink up on there.
So I think
it's gonna hold up well.
I'm pleased with it.
- Matt, why don't you tell
the judges
a little bit about your blade?
- I designed mine
a little differently
than what history has shown.
I made a socket
instead of a traditional tang.
I incorporated my style.
I like leather elements
and leather wraps
and also had buckskin
on the blade as well.
So I'm looking forward
to seeing what you guys do.
- Well, gentlemen, up first,
the sharpness test. Doug?
- The iklwa was a African weapon
used by the Zulu warriors.
Though it's a short spear,
it also acted like a sword
because of its design.
To see how sharp your blades
are, I will take your weapon
and try to cut through
this slab of meat.
Lyle, you're up first.
You ready?
- Yes, sir. I'm ready.
- Well, Lyle,
your handle over here
allows me to grip
and give it more weit
at the tip.
So when acting like a sword,
you can really feel the power
when you're dropping down.
And as you can see,
it cut cleanly through the meat.
Overall, sir,
your weapon will cut.
Good job.
- Thank you.
- Matt, you're up next.
You ready?
- Let's do it.
Seeing Lyle's blade cut
like it did,
I'm going, ah, crap.
I'm so nervous right now.
- Let's do it.
Seeing Lyle's blade cut
like it did,
I'm going, ah, crap.
I'm so nervous right now.
- Okay, Matt.
A very light weapon like this,
if held like a slashing sword,
could be an issue
when you have a rounded handle.
It makes it kind of hard
to index.
But the important thing is,
it will cut.
Good job.
- Thank you.
- This is a kill test.
The iklwa was so deadly,
because up close,
you could use it
in different ways
and maneuver the blade.
To see how much lethal
damage your weapon can do,
I will deliver four killing
blows on this ballistics dummy.
Lyle, you're up first.
You ready?
- Yes, sir. I'm ready.
I've never tried
to cut ballistic dummies.
I'm anxious to see
how it performs.
- Well, Lyle, your weapon
here feels good in the hand.
Definitely,
it's easy to maneuver
the blade in different ways.
It's so sharp that it lacerated
and disemboweled
the gut right here.
It cut through all the way
into the sternum
right there, lacerated it.
And then right into the heart.
Your weapon, sir, will kill.
- Thank you.
- All right, Matt.
You're next. You ready?
- Let's do it.
- Well, Matt, your leather
wrapping on the handle here
made it very comfortable.
Your edge over here
is very sharp.
It lacerated deep into the guts.
It went all the way
into the ribs,
the thrust deep
into the abdomen.
Overall, sir,
your weapon will kill.
- Thank you.
- All right.
Next up is the strength test.
Dave?
- So, gentlemen, what we're
going to do to test the strength
is we're going to tap
the tip of your blade
into these blocks of wood
and then pry them to the side.
If your blades
are tempered properly,
they should hold up beautifully
and just pry
a piece of wood out.
If not, well, we'll see.
So, Matt, you ready?
- Let's do it.
I can't believe
he's actually gonna drive it
in like a nail
and then torque it back.
I'm just, like, freaking out.
I'm like, just don't break.
Just don't break on me.
- That's not your blade.
It's okay.
Okay.
Yes.
We did it. I did it.
- What I saw as I was
prying this out
is that blade flexed
quite a bit at the tip,
and then that wood gave way.
That's nice.
It's got just enough movement
that it didn't fracture.
The neck's still true here.
Well done.
- Thank you.
- Lyle, you're up next.
You ready?
- Yes, sir. I'm ready.
I wasn't expecting
the tip to break off.
My heart just fell out
of its place.
- As I started to go to
the side, there wasn't any flex
in that blade much at all.
It just popped right off.
- Everything's been fun,
but this looks dim for me.
- The judges have made
a final decision.
The "Forged in Fire"
champion is...
Matt. Congratulations.
- Congratulations, Matt.
- Thank you, Lyle.
- Lyle, your blade
did not make the cut.
David will explain.
- Lyle, you brought us
a beautiful weapon.
It felt great in the hand.
It tested beautifully
in two of our tests.
But it came down
to that strength test.
That brittle tip snapping off.
- Yeah.
- Because of that,
we've got to let you go.
- Okay.
- Lyle, please surrender
your weapon.
- Thank y'all
for the opportunity.
It's been a great experience.
- Lyle, thank you.
- Once the tip broke off,
I expected this.
I gave it my best shot.
Congratulations.
- Thank you, Lyle.
- I can go home
with my head held high.
I enjoyed it.
I made something I was proud of.
It was just an oversight
on my part.
- Matt, congratulations.
You are the
"Forged in Fire" champion
and will be receiving
that check for 10 grand.
Good job.
- Thank you.
- I don't know if you realize,
but I flexed that blade
to at least 45 degrees
before it popped
that piece of wood out.
- You scared me
when you did that.
I thought for sure that would...
- It scared me.
- This is amazing.
This is really cool.
I can't believe I did it.
Obviously what you're going
for, but to have it happen
is...
ah, it's cool!
America's
most talented bladesmiths
have faced off
in the ultimate competition...
- Getting pretty hot
in the kitchen.
- Making some of history's
deadliest weapons.
Now, with the stakes
higher than ever,
a new batch of bladesmiths
enter the Forge
to test their skills.
- Whoa, whoa,
watch out, watch out, watch out.
- Only one will take home
$10,000...
- Whoo!
- And be crowned
"Forged in Fire" champion.
- My name is
Clarence Amos Jackson.
I'm from Tallahassee, Florida.
I found out that my grandfather
Clarence, my first name,
spent a lot of time
in front of a furnace.
So it's in my blood.
- My name's Lyle Wynn.
I'm from Brandon, Mississippi.
I used to hunt a lot,
and I wanted to make
my own knife
to use while hunting.
And once I did that,
I had other people
that wanted knives too.
So I started making
knives more often.
- My name is Scott McReynolds.
I'm from Melbourne, Florida.
All my friends and family think
I'm crazy for trying out
the competition,
but my kids really wanted me to.
- My name's Matt Moline,
I live in Algonac, Michigan.
I have a 9-to-5 office job.
After that, I actually drive
about an hour to my next job,
which is bladesmithing.
You don't drive an hour
after work every day
to go bang on hot steel
unless you're truly
passionate about it.
- Welcome to the Forge.
Each of you has entered
this crucible of competition
to have your blades judged based
on their design,
construction, and performance,
all in the hopes of
Winning $10,000
and the title
of "Forged in Fire" champion.
But first, you'll have to pass
three rounds of challenges
and tests
and the scrutiny of our panel
of expert judges.
Master bladesmith Jason Knight.
Historic weapons re-creation
specialist David Baker.
Edged weapons specialist
and Kali martial artist
Doug Marcaida.
Bladesmiths, on the tables
in front of you are four rifles.
Don't worry, we're not having
you forge any firearms today.
Your first round challenge
is to forge
the blade of a bayonet
that will fit on these rifles.
- I've never attempted
to try to make a bayonet.
So, I'm going to wing it
the best I can.
- On the anvils in front of you,
you see a cloth.
Each one of you go ahead
and lift that up.
The blade of your bayonet
must be forged
from that piece of spring steel.
- The hardest part
about this challenge
is going to be uncoiling
this big,
massive chunk of metal.
Luckily, it's not rusty.
- Keep in mind that
in the second round,
you'll be attaching handles,
guards,
and the bayonet lug
receiver to your blades.
Additionally, your bayonet
must be attached
to these rifles by the end
of this round.
They will then be
tested for strength
and durability in a fish slice,
and stabbing
into a metal fuel can.
Your first challenge
is to forge signature blades
in your signature style.
You will have ten minutes
to work on your design.
You have three hours
to forge your blades.
Good luck. Your time starts now.
- I think this is one of
our most difficult
round one challenges
that we've had.
- Technically, yeah.
They've got to actually make
something
that's going to
affix to something else.
- I'm drawing a recurve blade.
I saw some Civil War bayonets
in the museum in my hometown,
and the coolest ones there
were these cool
recurve-style bayonets.
- The design I'm going
for is going to be
an old-fashioned
spear point dagger.
Nothing too fancy.
And I'm going to put a fuller
in the inside,
mainly because with the fuller
it creates less drag.
I planned on forging
a very simple guard
to go with it,
nothing elaborate.
- I'm gonna design a knife
that has a clip point on it.
Therefore, it'll have a edge
on top at the front
and an edge on the bottom,
so that when they test it
on the fish,
it'll still make a nice cut.
- What I'm gonna
make is something curvy,
because I thought it would
add a little extra style
to set myself apart
from my competitors.
I'm trying to make
something that's futuristic.
- Bladesmiths, your design
period has closed.
Your three-hour
forging time starts now.
- All right.
- Looking at the steel,
that's just way too much
steel to make a blade.
I can probably make two or
three blades out of that thing.
- So, Matt is chopping it up
on the chop saw.
He's got pieces in the forge.
- This piece of material
is used to being a spring,
not being a blade.
So you've got to get it
out of that form.
- Well, if you get
the metal hot enough,
then you'll get that reaction.
- There we go.
- Mechanical advantage.
- Just want to get it
straightened out real quick.
Coming to the hammer.
So I'm going
to the power hammer.
I've never worked
with it before,
so it's probably gonna be
a love-hate relationship.
It's like, you know, first date,
hey, how you doing?
- Ah!
- This might be one of our most
technical challenges.
- I think it is.
- Because not only do they have
to create that guard
with the barrel ring,
they have to account for the bayonet lug.
- Yep.
- If they don't get that just right,
then the bayonet will not fit
to the end of the rifle.
- Right.
- I have zero experience
with bayonets.
I have never made a knife
that attaches to a gun.
In here with these
other three guys,
I feel like the old man
of the group,
but I'm not gonna
let these young boys whip me.
- Yeah, there we go. We've got
some teamwork going on.
- I wanted to leave it
the full length
so I can have a handle
to hold rather
than working it with tongs.
When Clarence came over
and helped me
get my spring straightened out,
I realized, even though
this is a competition,
the camaraderie
between the bladesmiths
is a great thing to witness.
Let me help him.
- Some of this stuff that
you're doing is heavy work,
and if you see
somebody struggling,
you're not just gonna sit there
and watch them, you know?
So that's what we do.
I work somewhat intuitively,
definitely letting the material
that I'm working
with speak to me.
My plan for this round
is to straighten this steel out,
get it under the power hammer,
get it shaped.
I was a '90s kid.
Ninjas were big.
I guess it switched from cowboys
to, like, ninjas and samurai.
And my dad
was into martial arts,
and we watched martial
arts movies,
so I think the blade was a
part of culture at the time for me.
- The design that Scott's
decided to go with,
a kris, putting all these waves.
Now, he needs to make sure
that he aligns the spine
where it's true,
'cause if you make too many
waves that don't align,
it's like an accordion
for a thrusting test.
- I'm struggling with hammering the curves
and twisting the blade
back and forth.
- This guy's having a lot
of trouble with his curves.
- I'm taking my time,
because it's easy to lay out
what you want
the finished product
to look like,
but how you get there
isn't laid out on that paper.
- Lyle, back
from the scrap pile.
- I have to start working
on the guard.
- They've got enough time
to forge a blade
and start working on that guard,
then they can
absolutely do that.
- That's cool.
- I want to see if
I can drill it.
I don't want to have to try
to drill something that's hard.
And it is tool steel,
so I might.
I've been working on this guard,
and it looks okay,
but it's not wide enough.
So I'm gonna start over.
You learn from your mistakes,
so I made a mistake.
- One hour has elapsed!
You have two hours remaining
to finish your blades!
Notice Matt's pace
has fallen way off.
- I'm getting a little fatigued.
It took everything to just keep
my composure and to keep going.
- There we go.
We're in the fullering tool.
- I start smacking in
the fuller.
The fuller's fighting me
a little bit.
I'm a little worried, because
I don't do them that much.
So I'm just praying,
doing it freehand,
that it's gonna line up.
Nothing's worse
than a crooked fuller.
- Matt's going for the guard.
He's heated it up and he's
flattening it out right now.
- So I know I need to make
a guard for this thing.
And so I choose to use
the same material
that the knife's made out of.
- I started off trying to make
the guard and the blade
at the exact same time,
running back and forth.
- Scott's been working his guard
and his steel together,
and if he can keep effectively
going back and forth
between blade and guard,
it might just put him ahead
for the second round
of this competition.
- I'm working
on a hand guard for this.
Most time-consuming part
of the whole process
is to get this to fit right.
I'm waiting for the blade
to get up to weld temperature.
I'm gonna attempt
to weld the guard on.
It's gonna be tough, 'cause I've
got a real thin piece of metal
I don't want to get too hot
against a real thick blade.
- Oh, he's gonna
forge weld it on.
- I think I'm running
a little bit behind,
but I think I'll be okay.
- I don't make a lot of guards.
But now I have to make a unique
guard in this competition,
so it's gonna be hard.
Whoo.
- Clarence, what's going on
with your hand there?
You all right?
- Yeah, I'm good.
- Clarence, you're bleeding.
I don't have time to bleed.
- All right, thank you.
- The only thing pushing
right now
that I've got to do is
get it heat treated.
- Lyle just quenched his blade.
- All right.
- I pulled the knife out,
and to my amazement,
it's straight.
That's a big relief.
- You have just 30
little minutes
remaining to finish your work!
I don't know
why I said 30 little minutes.
- They're little minutes.
- They're little minutes.
- They're faster.
- They start shrinking.
- Oh, yeah.
- I will give this to Scott.
It is a bold decision
to try to go with a Kris blade
with only three hours
in this competition.
- Without a good quench
and a good hard edge,
it just would never hold up
to any testing.
- Oh, Scott, making fire.
- Fire, fire, fire.
- Oh... oh... oh!
- Touching fire with your hands
is never a good idea.
- What are you doing?
- When I grabbed the blade,
all I can do is feel
my fingers burning.
- Oh no.
- Scott's blade coming out
of the oil. Fire!
- Oh, oh, oh, oh!
- Oh, no!
- What in the wide world
of sports is he doing?
- Does he do that at home,
you think?
I hope he's in a concrete
or metal building.
- I pull it out, and I
have a slight warp to it.
But I have a few seconds
to grab that blade,
even though it's on fire,
and bend it straight
before it cools down.
I have to finish it,
and I was able to get very close
to a perfectly straight blade.
- You have 15 minutes
to finish your work!
- I quench it.
I think I pulled it out
a little too early,
because it flamed up
on me really quick.
And I took my file,
and I realized
that it's biting right
into the blade.
So that's just not gonna work.
- Matt's in for
his second quench.
- I take it out,
I go to scrape it,
and it's just digging
right into the steel.
- So Matt's going in for
a third quench.
- Wow.
- Quenching for a third time
is a little bit of a gamble,
because if you're not careful,
you can really put some
stress cracks onto the blade.
I take it out, and it's got
a little bit of a warp.
But I know that I can
work with this.
It's fully hardened.
I run the file.
It's just scraping
right off of it.
I did it.
- Five minutes, bladesmiths!
- I think I can finish.
I'm just gonna have
to cut some corners.
I put my blade in the oil.
I don't hear any cracks,
I don't hear any tings.
I don't hear any, you know,
nightmares happening.
I pull it out. It's on fire.
That's not normal for me, so...
- Ah!
- Oh, no.
Don't want to see him do that.
- Oh, Clarence.
Clarence just dropped
his whole blade
in the water bucket
and left it there.
- Oh, it's gonna be plenty hard.
Hard as glass.
- Oh, yeah, yeah.
- Is that a critical
error, Jason?
- Not a good idea,
because it could easily crack.
- Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six,
five, four, three,
two, one!
Bladesmiths, shut down
your machines! Drop your tools!
Place your blades
on top of the anvils!
- Oh, thank goodness.
It's done.
- Bladesmiths,
in just three hours
each of you has managed to forge
a blade for your bayonet.
Matt, you're up first.
Please present your blade
to the judges.
- Well, Matt, your fuller's...
I like the idea, but
your fuller's a little off.
It's traveled a little bit.
But it is lean, it's light.
It's a good thrusting shape,
and if you get
a good edge on here,
it'll probably be a good cutter.
- Thank you.
- Scott, you're up.
Please present your blade
to the judges.
- Scott, I think it was
a really bold
and brave move to work
on something
that it looked to me
like you had never fooled
around with before.
- I've never made
a curved blade before.
- But you pulled it off.
I mean, you got something there.
I don't see any issues
in the steel,
and that's the most
important thing to me.
- Lyle. You're up.
- Lyle, your blade looks great,
other than you have
some grinding left to do,
and I'm sure you know that.
- Right.
- But overall, it looks like
it's gonna be
a great shape for a bayonet.
- I think it's all gonna
come down
to what type of a grind
you put on this.
Looks like you're setting up for
a saber grind, but we'll see.
But it should be
a good thruster.
- Thank you, sir.
- Clarence, it's your turn.
- Clarence, great design.
It feels good as a weapon.
One of the issues
we may have with your blade
is that you shocked it
with water
while it was still hot,
and we always know
that that brings about
some possible surface cracks
or a crack in the blade.
But overall, though,
the feel of your blade
and watching you work,
it was fun. Thank you.
- Thank you.
- That shape's fantastic,
and yeah, with the lug
on there and the receiver,
it would look very nice the way
this blade drops away
from the barrel.
But again, that quench,
the metal doesn't react well
to cooling that quickly.
And what you wind up with are
these multiple surface cracks,
and it brings into question
the structure of this blade.
- I feel confident,
but I really don't know.
Based on the judges' feedback,
I'm just in limbo.
- The judges have made
a final decision.
It's time for one of you
to leave the Forge.
Clarence, your blade
did not make the cut.
Jason will explain.
- Clarence, your forging
was great,
your grinding was great,
your shape was beautiful.
But when you quenched the blade
and then threw it in the water,
that caused a crack
in the spine of your blade.
It goes across the spine
and back towards the handle.
That critical ure
is why we have to send you home.
- Clarence, please
surrender your blade.
- I may not have won,
but for the parts
that I did well,
I performed, you know,
better than I expected.
This has been
a great learning experience.
So to the remaining contestants,
I wish you the best.
Good luck.
- Bladesmiths, you've made it
through round one.
Good job.
In this round, you'll be
attaching handles, guards,
and the bayonet lug receiver
to your blades
to turn them into
fully-functional bayonets.
You will have three hours
in this round.
You can use that time
to address any flaws or issues
that were identified
in your blades.
But keep in mind,
when the time runs out,
and your weapons
have been tested,
one of you will have
to surrender his weapon
and leave the Forge.
Good luck, bladesmiths.
Your time starts now.
- What would you be working on,
Dave, if you were out there?
- More than anything,
I'd be getting
that guard on the blade
and mounting that lug.
Those are the two things
that have to happen
before you can really deal
with a handle.
- The first thing I want to do
is get on the grinder
and start going to town.
- Matt's grinding on his tang,
and that tang was already lean.
- Thinner, and thinner,
and thinner.
- I'm not sure why Scott
is working on handle material.
I think it's very interesting.
- My handle's
a little bit oddly-shaped.
So I'm going to do multi layers
of Micarta.
I'm gonna be able to hide
a lot of flaws
if this handle's extremely busy.
- What's he doing out there?
- I cut a little bit
of my T-shirt.
It's a little thicker material
than the paper towels.
- How is paper towel and
t-shirt gonna become a handle?
- He's got a plan.
He's got a plan.
He's got to have a plan.
- I have somewhat of a plan.
- The first thing I've got to do
is get the slot cut
in this guard,
start filing so that
I can have a slot big enough
to fit over the tang.
This is one of the things that's
gonna take me the longest.
- He is diligently
going about it.
- One hour has elapsed!
You have two hours
remaining to finish your work!
- The guard's where
I want it to be.
So now I need to start
squaring this thing up.
So I weld that little piece
to the tang.
I totally forgot
to put the guard on first.
- Matt has welded
his bayonet receiver lug
onto the tang of his blade,
but his guard wasn't slipped on.
- Which makes no sense at all.
- It's supposed to go
through there.
It's one of those dumb rookie
mistakes
that I don't know
how I missed it,
but I missed it.
Now what am I gonna do?
Yonet receiver lug
onto the tang of his blade,
but his guard wasn't slipped on.
- Which makes no sense at all.
- It's supposed to go
through there.
In my head, I'm going, "Matt,
you've got
to be kidding me, man."
So I went over to the bandsaw
and start
cutting out the slots to fit
the guard on the blade.
It's not the proper way
to do it,
because you don't want
to just fill it with weld.
You want to have at least
something structural in there.
But you've got to make
something work
in this competition,
because I'm not gonna
not have a blade
mounted on a gun
at the end of the day.
I'm gonna make it happen.
- Scott has not worked
on his blade one bit.
- He is going to have
that handle on there.
I like his way of just going...
you know, he's just going at it.
- I notice that my guard
is slightly off-center,
but there's not really any way
to fix that
once the handle is on.
I had to sacrifice
position for time.
- Two hours has elapsed!
You have only one hour remaining
to finish your work!
So Lyle has framed
out his handle
to fit around
the bayonet receiver.
- He's checking it
and fitting it,
checking it and fitting it.
His craftsmanship
is at the master level.
- I'm struggling to get
the groove
cut into this metal right now.
- 30 minutes!
You have only 30 minutes
remaining to finish your work!
- So I got the pieces fitted
to where,
you know, I want them to be.
And I'm thinking, it's time
to pick up the pace.
Almost there. Almost there.
I need to do a little
small hole, drill out the tang,
and that's gonna give me
the compression
I need for my handle.
I start drilling,
and it's
drilling and it's drilling,
but the bit is
just starting to slip.
And I'm going, that's right.
It's a hardened blade.
I'm gonna be here for another
hour just doing this,
and I just don't
have time for it.
- Matt... freaking out
a little bit.
- I'm gonna do a cord wrap.
Probably not the best support,
but it should hold up.
I'm hoping.
Okay. You will be finished.
- Well, Lyle's blade's
really shaped nicely.
I think all he has to...
Just put an edge on it.
- Scott is still working
on contouring his handle.
Still has not
touched that blade.
- You have
ten minutes remaining!
Your bayonets must be affixed
to the rifle when time is up!
- I'm more concerned
about the position of the lug
on the rifle.
It won't slide down far enough.
- Well, that's one way
to fix it.
- I'm grabbing it
and just beating
and trying to bend
the finger guard
around the end of the barrel.
- Oh, boy.
- Ten, nine, eight, seven,
six, five,
four, three,
two, one!
- It's on there.
- Bladesmiths, drop your tools!
Secure your rifles!
Your work is complete.
- I'm not super happy,
but I'm not sad about it either.
- Going into the testing,
I'm nervous, actually.
I really, truly hate my handle.
I'm just praying, though,
that it doesn't
break or fall off.
- This is the strength test.
I'll be testing the strength
and durability of your bayonets
by stabbing them into these
fuel cans three times.
Lyle, you're up first.
- I'm ready.
I was wondering
what the gas tanks
were gonna be, and now I see.
These look like some tough
gas tanks to penetrate.
- Well, Lyle,
your initial fit up was great,
and everything held together
on this.
There was no issue
with re-attaching it.
Very solid.
Overall, you made a bayonet.
Well done.
- Thank you.
- Scott, you're up next.
You ready?
- Don't break it.
- I had difficulty getting my
bayonet attached to the rifle,
so hopefully it will
be good enough.
- Well, Scott, you just
barely have it fitting here.
It is a design problem,
but is it attached enough.
I feel like
it's still safe to test.
Scott, I think your guard
has loosened
a little bit right here
because of the way
you designed it.
It didn't fit properly,
so there is a little bit of,
a little wiggle on it.
Overall, it still functioned.
- Thank you.
- Matt, you ready?
- No.
- Ha ha.
We're gonna do it anyway.
- All right.
Wow.
It was a big relief
to see the blade stab
through like it was
supposed to do.
- Well, Matt, not too bad.
Probably had the loosest fit
of all of the bayonets,
but your blade pierced
into the can very easily.
Well done.
- Thank you.
- Next up is the sharpness test.
For that, I'm gonna
turn you over to Doug.
- This is the sharpness test.
To test the edge of your blade,
I will take
your detached bayonet,
and I will attempt
to slice across this fish.
If your blades are sharp,
it should cut through.
Lyle, you're up first.
You ready?
- I'm ready.
I've never tried to cut
a fish other than to filet one.
I'm so nervous right now.
- Okay, Lyle, the design
of your guard did
actually get in the way.
However, parts of your edge
over here did make contact
with the fish.
It just didn't lacerate.
Scott, you're up next.
You ready?
- Ready.
I'm extremely nervous
about this slicing test.
I'm not sure
if it's gonna quite do it.
Y?
- Ready.
- Let's do this.
- I'm extremely nervous
about this slicing test.
I'm not sure
it's gonna quite do it.
- Okay, Scott, the one thing
that I'm having an issue here
is the lug that you have.
Trying to get a good,
comfortable feel,
it wants to turn the blade out.
So what it did was it bruised it
on the initial cut
and then lacerated
toward the end.
So that's telling me that this
is not a very sharp blade.
Matt, you're up next.
You ready?
- Let's do it.
There's still
the issue of the handle.
Even though he's slicing fish,
you're still gonna put
some good leverage on there.
I pray it works out.
- Okay, Matt.
Very light blade,
so the mass is not there
to lacerate all the way through.
But as you can see,
you definitely lacerated.
It's a sharp blade.
It will cut.
- Thank you.
- The weapons tests
are now complete.
The judges will now discuss
your weapons' design,
construction, and performance.
While they do that,
I'm gonna ask you
to step off the Forge floor.
Thank you.
- How you doing?
- I don't know.
- All right, judges, our
bladesmiths' round two challenge
was to complete their blades
by attaching handles,
guards, and bayonet
lug receivers.
Let's start with Lyle's
on the end, Doug.
- With Lyle's blade,
it looks like a bayonet.
The construction here,
very straight spine.
It feels good,
and it went nicely on the rifle.
The only issue I have,
the guard did get
a little bit in the way,
simply because the sweet spot's
a little bit lower
than doing something from afar,
to be able to cut
through a very wide fish.
- Yeah, this is definitive
of what a bayonet
should look like and feel like.
Easily went on the rifle,
punctured holes in the fuel cans
with no problem.
His technique for forging,
heat-treating,
everything he did was what
I would expect from someone
who has the experience
that Lyle has.
- So, let's take a closer look
at Scott's blade
and Matt's blade.
Is there any argument
to be made for
one of these blades
going forward over the other?
- Can I make that argument?
- Yeah.
- This is a bayonet.
This isn't.
I can tape a knife
to the barrel of a rifle.
It doesn't make it a bayonet.
This one fits.
The lug sits tight.
This one, lug fits tight.
This one, the lug
doesn't fit tight.
As a matter of fact, it was
mashed into place with a hammer.
- Okay.
- Remember, that lug
right there, with multiple uses,
will get you a lot of blisters.
- Here's something else
I know about warfare.
I've used bayonets.
I've trained with bayonets.
And I only see two bayonets
on this table.
And I don't know
if you judges agree,
but I'm gonna ask you.
Doug, have you made
your final decision?
- Yes, I have.
- Dave?
- Yep.
- Jason?
- Yeah, man.
- Let's go tell our smiths.
Bladesmiths, the judges
have made their final decision.
It's time for one of you
to leave the Forge.
Scott, your blade
did not make the cut.
Dave will explain.
- Scott, historically, a bayonet
was a soldier's backup weapon.
It had to be fully functional
both on and off the rifle.
Due to the positioning
of the lug on your bayonet,
we couldn't get it to fully
affix to the rifle,
and when it was in your hand,
it actually wound up
digging into your palm.
- Scott, please
surrender your weapon.
- My experience here
was a wonderful experience.
If I had to do it again,
I probably
would have paid attention
to fitting the lug
a little bit better.
But if I can give
someone encouragement
to go out and try something,
even if they've never done it,
you know, you can make it.
- Lyle and Matt,
congratulations.
You've made it to the final
round of this competition.
When you showed up here,
you used our forge
and our equipment
to forge bayonets.
Now we're sending you back
to your home forges
to re-create an iconic
blade from history.
The Zulu iklwa.
- All right.
- That's cool.
- The Zulu iklwa was introduced
by the famous Zulu king, Shaka.
He reigned over the Zulu
Empire's expansion
through southern Africa
from 1816 to 1828.
A celebrated warrior
in his own right,
Shaka developed a number of
military improvements
for the Zulu,
including the mandatory
adoption of the iklwa.
Replacing long,
light throwing spears,
the iklwa was shorter
and featured
a blade at least
ten inches long.
The spear wasn't thrown.
Rather, it was thrust
into the enemy,
and would be carried along
with a cowhide shield.
It was a fearsome weapon
utilized
against British colonialists
trying to expand
their African colonies.
The Zulu iklwa was also wielded
by Zulu warriors
in the classic film "Zulu."
It must be an effective,
fully-functional version
of that iconic weapon.
Additionally, it must have
a double-edged spearhead.
- I've made spears in the past.
I've even had people
that wanted one to hunt with.
I think I'll be able to do
this very successfully.
- You will have five days
at your home forge
to accomplish this task.
At the end of those five days,
you will return and present your
weapons to our panel of judges,
who will then subject them
to a series of dynamic tests.
Only once those tests
are complete will they declare
one of you
the "Forged in Fire" champion
who also leaves
with that check for 10 grand.
Good luck, gentlemen.
We'll see you in five days.
- Good luck to you, man.
- All right, man.
Good luck to you too.
- It's day one,
and we're at my home forge.
It's got all sorts of different
construction type of equipment.
It's kind of the man cave,
as I like to call it.
All right.
That's a pretty big blade.
I don't have any power hammers
or presses.
I deal with everything by hand,
which actually
I'm really proud of.
At the end of the day,
I should have it
pretty much mostly forged out.
I'll be pretty happy if
I get at least that far today.
It's looking pretty good.
- It's great to be back
in my own shop.
I may not have
all the best tools,
but I can definitely get it done
with everything I have here.
A Zulu iklwa, that's something
I've never heard of.
I believe that's the sound
it makes
when it goes in and pulls out.
Ik-lwa!
My plan for the day is to get
a point on the piece of metal,
and then I'm gonna have
to figure out the tang.
I think I'm gonna make
a one-piece tang
that will penetrate
into the handle,
as well as lock it down
with some sinew.
All right.
- Plan for today is to do
some final forging on the blade,
straighten out everything
a little bit,
and get this thing
to heat treat.
Quenching now.
Don't think it took.
The file's actually
digging into the blade,
which means it didn't
fully harden.
So I know I had to go in
for a second quench,
which is not something
that you want to do
over and over and over again.
Definitely feel
a lot of anxiety.
It's not looking good.
Knowing my opponent,
and how well he can forge,
I'm pretty sure he might be
a little bit farther ahead.
I'm not sure I'm gonna
get it done.
And so I had to do
a second quench.
But with the time constraint,
there's a lot that can go wrong.
So I have to make sure
that I do this right this time.
Yeah, that's just
skating across.
It's the birth of a South
African Zulu iklwa, right there.
- After a lot of thought
last night,
I decided I'm gonna clay
the center of the iklwa.
Putting this clay on here
is gonna keep the center
from getting as hard.
It won't cool as quick
when I go in the oil,
and that'll make it softer
in the middle,
so this will be less likely
to break when it's tested.
It's skating across there.
I'm happy with it.
- Today, I'm gonna
antique it a certain way,
and then we'll get
a handle attached.
I like a lot of contrast,
so I've got ferric chloride
over there.
That'll actually turn this
particular type of steel black.
That's just gonna fade
into that nice high polish.
It's gonna look really sharp.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Time to start doing the handle.
I'm adding a leather wrap
to this guy,
give a better grip.
I think it's gonna be nice
to have something
that pops a little more
than just a plain old handle.
Now I want to start
slicing some stuff.
Wow.
- I'm past all the forging.
I'm through with the steel work.
Now it's on the toughest
part for me, my handle.
I'm using zebrawood, which
comes from central Africa.
That's gonna make
a real nice look.
To wrap the blade,
I'm using pig intestine,
and that's gonna draw up nicely
and help hold it in tight.
It's tricky, and it stinks.
Makes me hungry.
The only thing left
to do is to test it.
So I'm gonna use
the thickest part of the blade
and see if it'll cut through
in one full swing.
Oh, my goodness.
Let me try it one more time.
There you go.
- Lyle, Matt, welcome back.
You've both had five days
at your home forge
to work on your Zulu iklwas.
Lyle, tell us a little bit
about your weapon.
- I did a lot of firsts.
I actually clayed the blade
so it wouldn't be hard
in the center,
and the wood is zebrawood.
The sinew is actually pig
intestine casing for sausage,
'cause I wanted something
that would actually
shrink up on there.
So I think
it's gonna hold up well.
I'm pleased with it.
- Matt, why don't you tell
the judges
a little bit about your blade?
- I designed mine
a little differently
than what history has shown.
I made a socket
instead of a traditional tang.
I incorporated my style.
I like leather elements
and leather wraps
and also had buckskin
on the blade as well.
So I'm looking forward
to seeing what you guys do.
- Well, gentlemen, up first,
the sharpness test. Doug?
- The iklwa was a African weapon
used by the Zulu warriors.
Though it's a short spear,
it also acted like a sword
because of its design.
To see how sharp your blades
are, I will take your weapon
and try to cut through
this slab of meat.
Lyle, you're up first.
You ready?
- Yes, sir. I'm ready.
- Well, Lyle,
your handle over here
allows me to grip
and give it more weit
at the tip.
So when acting like a sword,
you can really feel the power
when you're dropping down.
And as you can see,
it cut cleanly through the meat.
Overall, sir,
your weapon will cut.
Good job.
- Thank you.
- Matt, you're up next.
You ready?
- Let's do it.
Seeing Lyle's blade cut
like it did,
I'm going, ah, crap.
I'm so nervous right now.
- Let's do it.
Seeing Lyle's blade cut
like it did,
I'm going, ah, crap.
I'm so nervous right now.
- Okay, Matt.
A very light weapon like this,
if held like a slashing sword,
could be an issue
when you have a rounded handle.
It makes it kind of hard
to index.
But the important thing is,
it will cut.
Good job.
- Thank you.
- This is a kill test.
The iklwa was so deadly,
because up close,
you could use it
in different ways
and maneuver the blade.
To see how much lethal
damage your weapon can do,
I will deliver four killing
blows on this ballistics dummy.
Lyle, you're up first.
You ready?
- Yes, sir. I'm ready.
I've never tried
to cut ballistic dummies.
I'm anxious to see
how it performs.
- Well, Lyle, your weapon
here feels good in the hand.
Definitely,
it's easy to maneuver
the blade in different ways.
It's so sharp that it lacerated
and disemboweled
the gut right here.
It cut through all the way
into the sternum
right there, lacerated it.
And then right into the heart.
Your weapon, sir, will kill.
- Thank you.
- All right, Matt.
You're next. You ready?
- Let's do it.
- Well, Matt, your leather
wrapping on the handle here
made it very comfortable.
Your edge over here
is very sharp.
It lacerated deep into the guts.
It went all the way
into the ribs,
the thrust deep
into the abdomen.
Overall, sir,
your weapon will kill.
- Thank you.
- All right.
Next up is the strength test.
Dave?
- So, gentlemen, what we're
going to do to test the strength
is we're going to tap
the tip of your blade
into these blocks of wood
and then pry them to the side.
If your blades
are tempered properly,
they should hold up beautifully
and just pry
a piece of wood out.
If not, well, we'll see.
So, Matt, you ready?
- Let's do it.
I can't believe
he's actually gonna drive it
in like a nail
and then torque it back.
I'm just, like, freaking out.
I'm like, just don't break.
Just don't break on me.
- That's not your blade.
It's okay.
Okay.
Yes.
We did it. I did it.
- What I saw as I was
prying this out
is that blade flexed
quite a bit at the tip,
and then that wood gave way.
That's nice.
It's got just enough movement
that it didn't fracture.
The neck's still true here.
Well done.
- Thank you.
- Lyle, you're up next.
You ready?
- Yes, sir. I'm ready.
I wasn't expecting
the tip to break off.
My heart just fell out
of its place.
- As I started to go to
the side, there wasn't any flex
in that blade much at all.
It just popped right off.
- Everything's been fun,
but this looks dim for me.
- The judges have made
a final decision.
The "Forged in Fire"
champion is...
Matt. Congratulations.
- Congratulations, Matt.
- Thank you, Lyle.
- Lyle, your blade
did not make the cut.
David will explain.
- Lyle, you brought us
a beautiful weapon.
It felt great in the hand.
It tested beautifully
in two of our tests.
But it came down
to that strength test.
That brittle tip snapping off.
- Yeah.
- Because of that,
we've got to let you go.
- Okay.
- Lyle, please surrender
your weapon.
- Thank y'all
for the opportunity.
It's been a great experience.
- Lyle, thank you.
- Once the tip broke off,
I expected this.
I gave it my best shot.
Congratulations.
- Thank you, Lyle.
- I can go home
with my head held high.
I enjoyed it.
I made something I was proud of.
It was just an oversight
on my part.
- Matt, congratulations.
You are the
"Forged in Fire" champion
and will be receiving
that check for 10 grand.
Good job.
- Thank you.
- I don't know if you realize,
but I flexed that blade
to at least 45 degrees
before it popped
that piece of wood out.
- You scared me
when you did that.
I thought for sure that would...
- It scared me.
- This is amazing.
This is really cool.
I can't believe I did it.
Obviously what you're going
for, but to have it happen
is...
ah, it's cool!