Forged in Fire (2015–…): Season 3, Episode 6 - Hunga Munga - full transcript

- 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

entered the Forge
to test their skills.

- Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Watch out. Watch out. Watch out.

- Only one will
take home $10,000

and be crowned
"Forged in Fire" champion.

- My name's Ryan Lewis.



I've been bladesmithing
for 12 years now.

I work as an electrician,
and I'm also a fire chief.

I also have two kids, a wife,
two dogs,

and some chickens, so...

- I'm Harlan Whitman, and I've
been forging knives since 2002.

I am a goofy person.

I'm the guy who makes knives
and also really likes pink.

- My name's Eric Anthony Leong.

I'm part bladesmith,
part prop fabricator, part DJ.

I'm half Chinese.
I love going back to my roots,

and I get my inspiration
from my family.

- My name is Jared Williams.

I've been making knives
for 27 years.

I get sanity from
the knife-making process.



It's like this whole
body-mind-spirit.

I don't want to make knives.

I have to make knives.

- Bladesmiths,
welcome to the Forge.

You have volunteered to engage

in three rounds of edged
weapon-making competition,

designed to test every aspect
of your capabilities,

from design to forge
to fit and finish.

At the end of each round,
you will present your work

to our panel of expert judges.

First up, master bladesmith
Jason Knight,

historic weapons re-creation
specialist David Baker,

and last, edged weapons
specialist, Doug Marcaida.

Ultimately, they decide
which of you

will be the "Forged in Fire"
champion

who also leaves here
with a check for $10,000.

In your first round
of competition,

you'll be using this.

- I am completely confused.

There's nothing there.

- Don't worry, guys.
We didn't forget your steel.

All of the tools that you need
to make your blades

are on the tool
stands next to you,

including your steel.

In your first round challenge,

you'll have to pick
from the tools

on the table in front of you
to forge

a signature blade
of your own design.

Choose wisely
because there's plenty of steel,

but only a limited
number of tools.

- I'm looking over at the cart.

I'm seeing hammers,

and I was like,
"I might really need those."

So I was kind of reluctant
to have to build out of that.

- The blades themselves
must fall

within the following parameters:

the length of the blade,
not including the tang,

must be between
11 and 16 inches.

The overall length
of your weapon

must not exceed 22 inches.

Keep in mind that
in the second round,

you'll be attaching handles
to your blades

to turn them into
fully functional weapons

that will then be tested
for strength and durability

in an ice chop and for sharpness
in a tatami mat slice.

And just to keep things
a little bit more interesting,

you must also include
a serrated edge in your blades.

You will have ten minutes
to work on your design.

You will have three hours
to forge your blades.

When the time runs out,
one of you will be asked

to surrender his weapon
and leave the Forge.

Good luck.

Your time starts now.

These guys have got a lot
of tools to choose from.

They've got hammers.
They've got fullering tools.

They've got files.

Over here, Ryan has
pulled out some files.

- Yeah.
The files are a good idea, Dave.

- Well, yeah.
They've got so many of them.

I mean, even if they use one,
they'll still have more files

to do whatever finish work
they need to do with a file.

- I was kind of looking
at the steels I have to use,

and I was just kind of like,

"Ugh."

I'm gonna be building a blade
that's a competition chopper.

The big part is serrations,

where that edge is really
gonna meet that tatami mat.

So I want to get the
serrations as fine as possible

so that they're not grabbing
and tearing material.

I was trying to figure out,
"Do I use the hammer?

Is a file big enough?
No."

I'm going with kind of a
hybrid tanto-kukri kind of thing,

and then, I'm hoping to keep

the serrates kind of
near the base of the blade.

I'm drawing something
that feels sexy...

That's gonna look good
with big serrations.

I have picked this design

because I think that
it'll swing well,

and they're gonna be chopping.

- I chose a hammer
because I know

that I actually have enough
other hammers

to get the job done.

I'm designing Chinese dadao.

It's designed for cutting
down brush and also execution.

It's gonna be
a significant chopper.

I'm also putting
a serrated edge on the back.

I want to make it
look apocalyptic.

- Three, two, one.

Bladesmiths, your design window
has closed.

Your three-hour
forging time starts now.

So we're off.

So Harlan and Ryan cleaning
teeth off of their files,

and then, over here,
we've got Jared

and Eric working with hammers.

- I go straight to the grinder
to remove the teeth.

Welding.

With the three files,

I'll be able to get
my width of the blade

and the length of the blade
as quickly as possible.

Watch out.

- I'm ready to battle.

- Now, is it possible to forge

an entire blade out of one
of those hammerheads?

Is that...
- Yes, shouldn't be a problem.

Now, what is the steel?
What is that hammer made out of?

- Right.
- I chose the hammer steel

because it could take a beating.

It's a little bit harder
metal; I know it will get hard.

I am ADD, so I'm
switching back from the press

to the hammer
to the press to the hammer.

I can't make up my mind
what I want to use.

- Eric moving very quickly.

This is a three-hour
competition,

and I hope that he's
pacing himself.

- It only gets hotter
as we progress.

- Always waiting for
the steel to heat up.

I chose a file.

I know that the file
will harden.

Once you get it in the forge,

everything's starting
to heat up.

I just start crushing metal,
putting it in the press,

and seeing if your welds
are gonna take or not.

- I'm going with a hammer.

I feel there's enough material
in the hammerhead

that I can pull the blade
out long enough.

Let's do a handle.

Gonna try to horseshoe the tang.

So I'm gonna try to wrap
that around the wood,

so I'll have, like,
this exposed tang

on either side with
the wood core in the middle.

- I like it.
It's bold.

He's taking a chance.
- It's so outside the box.

- I got plan B if I need to.

I'm really hoping
this works out.

We'll see.

- One hour has already elapsed.

You have just two hours
remaining to finish your work.

- So I've got my files stacked
in this thing

and welded together this way,
and I'm forging the tip.

So as I was forging the tip
out, I noticed my weld

at the very tip not
lined up correctly.

It starts opening up.

So I'm taking it over
to the chop saw.

Cuttin'.

I hope I have enough material.

Cutting that last little
1/2-inch piece off,

go back over,

start forging the tip again.

- I'm at the grinder.
I need to make sure

that I have enough cutting edge,

and sure enough, I am short.

So I have to improvise.

I was a little short
on the length.

Basically, changing the design
to another sword

called a panabas.

I realize I don't have enough,
so I need

to go into where that guard is

and do a guardless sword.

A panabas sword
doesn't have a guard.

It's not what I
really wanted to do,

but it's a cool-looking
post-apocalyptic weapon,

and I know that I can fix it
on the grinder.

It would kill a lot of zombies,
that's for sure.

So I spread my handle out.

I wrapped it around
my 1/2-inch bar.

I realized that I haven't
forged them evenly

on both sides.

I got no clue
what I'm gonna do with that.

I don't think
this is gonna work.

I'm gonna have to go to plan B.

- All that splitting, and you
just put it back together.

- So at this point,

I'm gonna try to forge-weld
the two little sides together.

That was the eye of the hammer.

Gonna just make it a full tang.

Oh.
Brick down.

- Wow.
Look at Eric's blade.

That's dramatic-looking.

- I'm going to make really
big, scooped serrations,

and it just looks cool.

- Shazam.
Look at that.

- Huge serrations.

- So I always think of
serrations as, like,

fangs on something.

So he's got shark fangs.

He's got Chihuahua fangs.

"To cut or not to cut,"
that is the question.

- I use a triangular file,
and I just cut in the edge.

I get about 15 minutes
into this,

and I'm, like,
a quarter of the way done,

and I need to find a quicker way
to do this.

And I go over to the Dremel bit.

Balls to the wall.

Put the serrations in,
and just get it done.

Well, it was doing pretty well.
The steel's not hardened yet.

- You have just
60 minutes remaining.

- There's a lot of ways that
a heat treatment can go wrong.

It's really the, like,
heart and soul of a good knife.

I go back to the forge,
brought it up

to what I thought
was the right color,

and plunged it in the oil.

- And Harlan's in the oil.

- When I pull the blade out,

everything seems pretty good.

Nice and slidey.

- I'm definitely being
very conscious of the time.

I need to get it in the quench.

- No, you don't need
any more heat.

- Ryan is quenched.

- Pull it out.
It seems pretty good.

- So I got my blade
going into heat treat.

Throw it in the oil.

Big, old flames.
Great.

Everything looks good.

I think I've nailed it.

Grab a file, throw it on it.

Dead soft.

I got to heat it up hotter.

- I look over and see Jared.

He actually has the exact same
hammer that I was working with.

I noticed that he quenched in
oil first, and it wasn't hard.

- Hotter.
- And he said, "Water."

- Got to go hotter.
- I heard him say, "Water."

- Got to go hotter.
- What's that?

- Got to go hotter.
- Got to do water?

Yeah.

I was like, "All right."

I am so scared, dropping that
blade into the water,

because I know that if it breaks
at that point, I'm screwed.

- Oh, into the water!
- Water quench!

- Into the water!
Can he...

- Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo.

- There we go.
- Ooh.

- If my blade cracks,
I'm kind of SOL.

- Oh, into the water!
- Water quench.

- Into the water!

- As long as he don't
drop it on the ground.

- Oh, like that.

- As any good bladesmith
should know,

the very worst thing
that can happen when

you drop a freshly-quenched
blade on the floor

is it can shatter
into a bunch of pieces.

- That was a bad move.
- I did it.

Put one on the floor.
It didn't break, though.

I see no cracks.

It's hard.

I am perfectly safe.

- Everybody's drying them
but me.

I got, like, 30 minutes left.

Go in for the second quench.

- Jared, back in the quench.

- Pull it out of the quench.

It looks really good.

Yes.

I'm hard.
Okay. Game on.

I've got serrations
and a blade to grind out.

- Bladesmiths, you have
only 20 minutes remaining

to finish your work.

- Now it's the grinder Olympics.

I find this imperfection
and honestly just, like,

don't even stop grinding.

Actually grind away,

and just keep grinding until

I can't see
the imperfection anymore.

By the grace of the metal gods,

I was able to get past
that little imperfection.

- Ten, nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four,

three, two, one.

Shut down your machines.
Drop your tools.

Place your blades
on top of your anvils.

Your work is done.

- Whoo!

- Bladesmiths,
in just three hours,

each of you has formed
a signature

serrated-edged blade
using nothing more

than steel from tools
on your workbench.

Good job.

And now, it's time
for the judges

to take a closer look
at your work.

Jared, you're up first.

- One of the things I like,
this subtle recurve.

What I don't like
is how skinny it is.

But because you left
some weight back here,

it feels pretty good
in your hand.

- We're gonna be doing
a tatami slice.

Serrations will catch
on tatamis.

But your serrations
here are very tight.

That actually should slice
all the way through.

Good job, sir.
- Thank you.

- Eric, please, present your
blade to the judges.

- Welcome to
the zombie slayer club.

Did you put that hole there
on purpose?

- On purpose, yes.
- By putting a hole at

the end of that split,

that split won't
travel either direction.

That's smart work.

- Thank you.

- Your blade that we're gonna
be using to slice

doesn't have any
serrations at all.

So the serrations on the top...

They aren't in danger
of breaking on the ice.

Good strategy.

- Harlan, you're up.

- Well, Harlan, one of the
coolest things on this

is your serrations back here.

- I had never tried that before,

and I don't know
where it came from.

- Man, that's pretty aggressive.
Well done.

- Thank you.

- Right at the finger well...

Not a good place to lose metal

'cause what you're doing is

you're creating a weak spot
in that blade.

- No, I know.
- The main concern I have

is the numerous cracks we see.

- As soon as it went in the
oil, I was questioning myself

for why it went in when it did.

- Okay.
- Ryan, you're up.

- I like your subtle recurve.

Your forge well looks good.

There are a couple cracks

I'm noticing on
the spine back here.

- Okay.
I didn't notice those earlier.

Thank you.
- Thank you.

- Feel of the blade's
very light.

So definitely,
it's gonna be fast.

You can use velocity
to cut through.

And I like the tight
serrations on this.

Good strategy.
Good job.

- Thank you.
- Well, gentlemen, now it's time

for the judges to discuss
the finer details of your work.

Please leave your blades.

Thank you.

- I hardly noticed
anything you guys were doing.

Like, the whole world just kind
of collapsed around me,

and I'm just...

Sinks into that moment.

- Let's go ahead
and take a closer look.

We'll start with Jared's blade
on the end.

- I'm not crazy about the fact
that he used the edge

of the grinder
to make the serrations,

just 'cause it puts points,
as opposed to scallops.

There's a little bit
of a whoopty-doo in there.

- Jason, maybe the technical
definition of "whoopty-doo"?

- Uh, the technical definition
of "whoopty-doo"

is a curve followed
by another curve,

but in the wrong direction.

So if you put it this way,

we call it a recurve,
and that's sexy.

But this way is a whoopty-doo.

- I'm just hoping that
my blade fully hardened.

- Mine definitely got hard,
but I felt so rushed.

- Let's talk a little bit
about Harlan's blade.

- It is by far the most dramatic

and beautiful serrations
among all the blades.

Nicely done.

- Yeah, whenever we see
our smiths

not go through the process
of thermocycling,

we've seen a lot
of this kind of cracking.

- Let's take a look
at Eric's blade.

- Looks like it should be aboard

a Klingon battle cruiser.

I like the curve.

It's, you know, somewhat
reminiscent of, like,

a wakizashi or something.

So I think it will
probably cut well,

if he gets it sharp.

- Putting serrations
not on the edge

that we're gonna be testing
is interesting

because now,
he doesn't have to think

about the edge catching
on the tatami mats.

The one thing also
I want to bring up

is he water-quenched this,

and we don't see any cracks.

- Let's move onto Ryan's blade.

- He's got a nice,
subtle recurve.

His serrations are small enough

they may dig into
that tatami mat.

But also, the points
may break off in the ice.

- There are some cracks
on the back of this blade

where the files
were welded together.

One file or the other
is cracking.

So that kind of tells me that
maybe the metal's not one piece.

- Ryan's blade has cracks.

Harlan's blade has cracks.

Ryan's cracks were on the spine,
Harlan's on the edge.

Of these two blades,

which one is worse
than the other?

Doug, have you determined

which of these bladesmiths
is going home?

- Yes.
- Dave?

- Yeah, I've managed.
- Jason?

- Yes.
- All right.

Let's go tell our smiths.

The judges have finished
their deliberation.

It is time for one of you
to leave the Forge.

Harlan, your blade did
not make the cut.

- Harlan, we loved the way
you did your serrations,

especially on the top.

I'm gonna copy that.

I just think that's cool.

- Thank you.
- Unfortunately,

you have cracks from the top
of the bottom serrations,

almost the whole length
of the blade,

and that will be catastrophic

when we begin to use that knife.

So that's why we have
to send you home.

- Harlan, please surrender your
weapon and leave the Forge.

- I understand why they made
their decision.

A blade like that could
potentially break and injure

whoever is testing the blade.

Obviously, after spending
three hours

in a mad dash to finish a blade,

I would do a lot
of things differently.

But I have no regrets.

- Gentlemen, you've made it
through to the second round.

Congratulations.
As you know, in this round,

you'll be attaching handles
to your blades

to turn them into
fully-functional weapons

using this range of material
provided in our pantry.

You will have three hours
in this round.

You can use that time to address

any flaws or issues
that are in your blades.

But keep in mind,
at the end of this round,

we will be testing your weapons
for strength and durability

in an ice chop,

for sharpness
in a tatami mat slice.

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.

- And off to the races we go.

There's a lot of really
cool stuff over there that,

if one of these guys
really wanted

to impress the judges,
they could use.

- The handle is just
as important as the blade.

- That's right.

- The first thing I want to do
is fix the issues in the blade.

I'm definitely concerned
about some of the cracks

or the dark lines that
he pointed out in the spine.

- Just grinding away on it
is maybe not a great idea.

- Well, removing material is not
going to strengthen the blade.

- The time limit definitely
gives me stress.

If I don't have time to
fix anything, I'm just screwed.

If I mess up,

I don't have enough material
to really fix it.

It's not looking good.

- Going into round two,
I am so nervous.

- Ryan is still grinding.

He'll have a fillet knife soon.

- I'm definitely being
very conscious of the time

as I'm grinding this thing away.

- One hour has elapsed.

You have only two hours
remaining to finish your work.

- Going into round two,

find a really nice piece
of pinecone with the red.

- Jared has got
the stabilized pinecone.

We know that that has
a really cool effect,

almost like fish scales
on the handle when it's done.

- I want to kind of focus
a little bit more

and not feel so rushed,

even though I am rushed.

- The material I'm choosing
is cocobolo.

Cocobolo's a hardwood
from the rainforest.

It's gonna be
a very difficult part,

because it's a hard, hard wood.

- Ryan has chosen
a gray-green Kirinite.

- That's going for
the bling-bling look.

- Right now, at the moment,
I'm hating that clock.

That clock is kicking my ass.

I'm trying to always be
like the duck on the pond.

You know, smooth motion on top.

But underneath the water, man,
my feet are just...

"Ahhh!" You know,
your brain's just spinning.

- At this point, I find

the right size brass rod
that's solid,

because I don't want
to use a screw pin.

- Eric just beating the hell
out of his brass pins

to get them to go
onto his handle.

- And the pin could also bend.

- But there's no
backing out now.

- There we go.

I'm deciding not to use glue

because the pin is sticking
really, really good.

A mechanical bond is just
as good as a chemical bond.

- Bladesmiths, 30 minutes.

- So I'm working on
the bevels of the blade.

I'm not quite as happy
with my blade grinds

as I would like to be.

I noticed my serrations
are starting

to kind of wear out
a little bit.

- Between Jared and Ryan,
they both have these serrations

on the edge of the blade
that we're gonna be testing.

- I think the serrations
and how they sharpen those

is gonna become
incredibly important.

- So I was told my blade's
a little too skinny,

and it's a little thin.

I'm doing the best I can,
trying to blend things in,

trying to straighten
out some lines.

I've just got to keep
trucking at it

and do the best I can
on this blade.

- I'm looking to add a little
bit of flair to my blade.

- So Eric back over
at the pantry.

He's grabbing
some black leather.

Apparently has a plan.

- I would wrap it
around the handle.

- That'd be cool.

- What I plan to do
is to make a sash.

The sashes on the swords
that are from China

are designed to confuse
the opponent.

- So have you ever used a weapon

that had a tassel
on it like that?

No.

- Yeah.

- Ten, nine, eight,

seven, six, five,

four, three, two, one.

Stop your work.
Your time is up.

- That was fun.
- That was interesting for sure.

- Now that it's been
handed over to the judges,

it is essentially up
to the winds of fate now.

- I know that I have
a good knife.

I feel like I'm one step
closer to winning.

- Bladesmiths,
this is the ice chop.

I'm gonna test the strength
and durability of your edge

by taking each of your knives

and chopping the block
of ice six times.

Let's see if they're
tough enough to hold up.

Jared, you're up first.

Are you ready?
- Ready.

- I don't see any damage

to your serrations,

and this was the place
I was concerned about...

Those little points
breaking off.

So it is plenty tough.

I didn't really have too much
trouble with the handle.

It did want to kind of turn
on me a little bit,

but that's actually one
of the most fun chops

that I've done so far.

- Thank you.

- Eric, ready?

- Absolutely, sir.

- Eric, no damage.

But because your handle
is so round,

it did want to spin
around a little bit.

However, you have enough
weight in the blade

that as I'm chopping,

I mean, it just... it wants to go.

That's where it wants to be.

It wants to get into that ice
deeper and deeper.

This is distracting me, though.

I wish that this
was not on there.

Overall, you did well.

Blade held up.
Good job.

- Thank you, sir.
- Ryan, you're next.

Are you ready?
- I'm ready.

- I am so nervous right now.

I have worked hard
to fix the blade.

I'm hoping it performs
really well.

- Watching the blade snap,
you definitely feel

your stomach kind of sink
down a little bit.

You're just like...

- Man, I feel really bad
for the guy,

and I'm also really excited.

Just a whole bag
of emotions going on.

- Bladesmiths, there is no need
to continue with the testing.

Ryan, because your blade

suffered catastrophic
blade failure,

I must now ask you
to leave the Forge.

- Thank you, guys.

It's a little frustrating

knowing that I can't finish
to the end.

But it's just the end
of this experience.

I've got plenty more to do.

I'll be smithing at home again.

I'll be making other blades
and chopping ice.

So I think now
it's time for me to go home

and start fighting fires again.

- Eric, Jared, congratulations.

Your weapons were strong
enough to propel you

into this final round
of competition,

which means you're both one step
closer to the title

of "Forged in Fire" champion
and that check for $10,000.

Now we're sending you back
to your home forges

to create an iconic blade
from history...

The hunga munga.

The term hunga munga refers

to a variety of central
African throwing knives,

all of which feature
a series of double-edged

iron blades attached
to a rawhide handle.

The hunga munga was
not only formidable

in hand-to-hand combat,

but could be thrown
from a distance,

with some reports
claiming it had

a throwing range
of up to 250 feet.

As armor was not used often
in central Africa,

this type of throwing iron
was particularly devastating.

Hunga munga was
often very valuable

and could be traded for goods.

The hunga munga was also wielded

by Buffy Summers
in the cult series

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

First thing
I thought was, "."

I was not expecting that.

- Your weapon must fall within
the following parameters:

it must have a sharpened head,

crescent blade,
a spear, and a spike.

You must also include
a handle arm

with a sharpened spike
above the handle.

It must be an effective, working
version of that deadly weapon.

However, we want you to make
something that's unique,

that could only come
from your forge.

- I'm looking forward to decking
this hunga munga out

and putting my own
signature style

in the details
and decorative work.

- I'm trying to think of how
complicated this thing

will be to build.

It's complicated forging.

- You will have five days
at your home forge

to complete this challenge.

At the end of those five days,

you will return and present
your finished weapons

to our panel of expert judges.

Only after they've
subjected your weapons

to a series of brutal tests

will they declare one of you
the "Forged in Fire" champion

who walks away with that check
for 10 grand.

Good luck, bladesmiths.
We'll see you in five days.

- First day. Really happy
to be back in my shop.

I have never made anything
even remotely like this before.

This is, like,
a cross between a sword,

boomerang, chakram...

battle axe.

I got to plan this out.

I'm gonna start with this blade,

then pull this off
from the side,

and then start working
the spike in.

This is a wild build.

So I'm gonna have to heat
this all up.

I'm gonna have
to drive this down.

It's almost a chess game.

I've got to think, like,
five moves ahead on this thing,

'cause if I screw up once,

it could completely ruin
the piece of steel I got,

and I got to start over.

This chunk here, hopefully
turn into my sickle blade here.

Maybe if I heat this area here,

swing this out of the way
here...

I'm gonna push that
up into there.

Then I can push this around.

That spear point's
gonna be a bitch.

- It's day one.
I got a sheet of metal,

and I'm gonna be slicing
the shape out of it

and forge out the blade

from a general shape
that I cut out.

So what's left to do now,
put it in the forge,

and get it heated up
and drawn out.

Making this hunga munga's
a lot different

than making a movie prop.

A prop doesn't really need
to do the task.

For instance,
cutting or slicing or killing.

This actually does have
to perform a specific task.

So this is definitely
a lot more challenging.

This is the hardest part.

I mean, moving metal,
working with the heat...

This is a heavy,
heavy, big blade.

I'm very tired,

and I just don't have
the strength

to really move
the metal quickly.

Whoa!

I feel like I am going
to fall over.

- Day three.
I'm feeling pretty good.

Got done with the forging,
did normalizing,

and now I'm getting everything
prepped and ready for quench.

That looks badass.

So you know, right now,

I'm just kind of getting a feel
for how I want to move this

to get it under the burners.

So everything's looking great.

I've got my forge set up,

and I realize...

I need a quench tank.

Oh.

I don't have
a quench tank big enough

to quench this thing.

Yeah, I wasn't
quite expecting that.

I have been so thorough
with my measurements,

and the one thing I forget

is something to quench
the damn thing in.

Nope.

I've got a pretty substantial
junk pile in my backyard.

Hopefully I got
something back there.

Plastic.

Yeah, to put it mildly, yo,

I'm a little freaked out
right now.

I got nothing to quench
this thing in.

I junk pile in my backyard.

So hopefully
I got something back there.

Nope.

That would work,
but it's plastic.

I think this'll work.

Perfect.
Grabbing the angle grinder.

I'm cutting this thing
right down the center.

It'll work.

That was a little stressful,

and I'm genuinely

getting a little nervous
around this quench.

This is a pivotal moment
in this whole construction.

So I'm just trying
to get some heat

into that section real good.

Okay.

Oh, my goodness.

Straight as a arrow.

- It's day three.
I'm a little sore,

but I got the blade profile
forged out,

and I feel great
about my blade design.

Bam.

I still think it looks
like something from Whoville.

Now it's time
for the heat treat.

Everything leading up
to this point is just critical.

All right.
Here we go.

Beautiful.

I was totally giddy when
I got it out of the quench,

and I just want to give it
a test throw.

This thing is definitely
a lethal weapon.

It's not a prop.

It's definitely something
you don't want thrown at you.

It will stick.

- The plan for today is
finish up the pommel,

carve in the sunbeam,
and then wrap the handle.

This was a really difficult
piece to forge and to create.

Maybe I should have some...
Some worries

going into the final round,
but I really don't.

I did the best I can do.

I'm super confident
in what I made.

We'll just see how it pans out.

I think this thing's gonna
just perform spectacularly.

My competitor... he better
really bring his A-game,

'cause I'm feeling good.

- Day five.
I need to finish the handle,

blacken the blade to give it

a little bit more sinister look.

Oh, that's sweet.

Carving a little
fat man with a mustache.

The eyes look like
they have puka shells.

Puka shells were a sign
of wealth in Africa.

Making this hunga munga's
harder than I expected.

I felt really
pushed to my limit.

But I'm pretty confident
this will pass the test.

Walking in, it looks like
a giant gladiator arena,

and it just feels mesmerizing.

- Eric, Jared, welcome back,
and welcome to the fort.

Your weapons will now be put
through a series of three tests.

But before we start that,
is there anything, Jared,

that you'd like the judges
to know about your hunga munga?

- The most hours I've ever
put into a forging yet.

Had to figure out how much
steel I needed

for the various blades,

so I could cut
and bend it around

and hand-forge it.

I'm very happy with it.

- All right.
Eric?

- I did a lot of
decorative stuff...

Elements that the tribes used...

Wood and leather.

I even had some bone and silver.

It was one of the most
challenging knives

I've ever made.

- Well, gentlemen, up first is
the sharpness test.

Doug?

- Bladesmiths, to see how sharp
your blades are,

I will take your weapon,
and I will test

the crescent-shaped blade
and the spear.

If your blade is sharp,

it should lacerate cleanly
through this stretched leather.

Jared, you're up first.
Are you ready?

- I am.
- Let's do this.

Well, Jared, your handle wrap
feels good to the hand.

The blade of your crescent
and your spear

right there is sharp enough

to lacerate cleanly through
this stretched-out leather.

It will cut.
Good job, sir.

- Thank you.
- Eric, you're up. Ready?

- Yes, sir.

- Okay, Eric.

Nice grip.

Your crescent edge over here...

At the initial start,
not so sharp.

But once you got it going,
it lacerated.

Your spear edge... same thing.

It started off here, but once
it got going, it lacerated.

Not all edges
are as sharp as the other,

but it is sharp enough to cut.

My concern was this design that
you have over here for this.

You know, being that
it's a weapon

that you move around,

having that pointed at me
is never a good idea.

- Right.
- Otherwise, though,

this blade will cut.

Good job.

- Thanks.

That first slice skipped across,

and it got to a part
where it was sharper.

Blade's not performing well.

I'm quite disappointed.

- Bladesmiths,
this is a kill test.

The hunga munga was a weapon

with multiple configurations
of blades on top of a blade.

To see how lethal your weapon
is according to its design,

I will take your weapon,

and I will deliver
multiple strikes

on this ballistics dummy.

Let's see how lethal
your blade is.

Jared, you're up first.
You ready?

- Definitely.

- It looks like he's bleeding.

- Well, Jared, every facet
and design

of your blade will
definitely do damage.

Your crescent edge
nicely lacerated

through the tip on that,

hooked, and gutted whatever
was in there.

Your small blade,
I had to angle a little bit,

because there's not
much space over there.

But as you can see, if you
work it according to its design,

you can jab right into it.

And of course, your spear tip

crushed through the bones
and into the heart.

This, sir, will kill.

Great job.

- Thank you.
- Eric, you're up next.

- Yes, sir.
- Let's do this.

- Didn't get that
laceration there. Hmm.

- Okay, Eric.
Your spike right there?

It's in a good position
because I can easily go in there

without worrying about this
getting in the way.

So when we come
to the spear tip,

that went through all the way,
broke bone, and into the heart.

Your weapon will kill.
Good job, sir.

- Thank you.
- Next up is the strength test.

For that,
I'll pass you onto Dave.

- Gentlemen, we've seen that
the hunga munga can be used

as a close-quarters weapon.

But it was specifically
designed to be thrown.

So to test the strength
of your weapon,

I'm gonna throw it three times
into our wooden target here.

If your heat treat is sound,

the structural integrity
of your weapon

should hold up to the impact.

If not, we could have
a catastrophic failure.

Jared, you're up first.

- Ready.
- All right.

- Safeties.

- Nice.
- Nice.

- Damn.
He split that log.

That's cool.

Ah, ha, ha.

- Hmm.

- Nice.

- No catastrophic failure.
I'm happy it didn't break.

- Nah, just a scratch.

- Oop.

- Really happy with my design.

Final throw,
it sticks in beautifully.

- Well, as you can see,
this is a dangerous weapon

all the way around.

It feels really good
in the hand.

All that forward weight
makes it rotate beautifully.

Your edge is still a razorblade.

I mean, once this
thing's traveling,

I don't want to be
on the other side of it.

Your cord wrap made it
really nice to throw.

Well-executed.
- Thank you.

- Eric, your turn.
- Let's do it.

My only concern that I have

is that I might not have
softened it enough.

I don't know if it's
gonna break or not.

- All right.

- There you go.

Nice.

- Well, Eric, this feels
pretty good in the hand.

I like all this detail

you did down in here.
- Thank you.

- I mean, it doesn't affect
the throw.

It doesn't affect the strength.
But still, it's there.

Dug in nicely.

When it hit up here,
it kind of bounced out.

It scored up the wood.
It would've taken a man out.

The other two throws
dug in nicely.

Looks to me like
your edges held up fine.

That's still all right
and tight.

Nicely done, Eric.

- Thank you.
- Bladesmiths,

the weapons tests are complete.

Now we're gonna head back to
the Forge so that the judges

can deliberate the finer
details of your work

to determine which of you
will be the next

"Forged in Fire" champion

who also receives
that check for ten grand.

Thank you.

Gentlemen, the judges have
completed their deliberation,

and they've made
a final decision.

But before I give you
that decision,

they have some things they'd
like to say to both of you.

- Jared, I absolutely hate
hunga mungas,

until I saw yours.

The way you pulled that off out
of one piece is very impressive.

You were using the art of the
bladesmith and the blacksmith,

and I want it.

Well done.

- Thank you.
- Doug?

- Eric, you turned
in a hunga munga

that was fast, and in terms of
throwing, it did very well.

But what I really like
about your blade

is the spear handle
is far enough

to where I can smash with it,
so it's more functional.

I like that a lot.

- Thank you.
- Eric, Jared,

you've both done fantastic work
on your hunga mungas.

However, in this arena
of competition,

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

Jared, congratulations.

You are the
"Forged in Fire" champion.

Eric, your hunga munga
did not make the cut.

Dave will explain.

- Eric, the addition
of that spike on the back

was a question mark,
but in the end,

it came down to the overall
finish and construction,

and the way it did not perform
in the sharpness test.

That's why we got to let you go.

- Eric, please
surrender your hunga munga.

- The judges' feedback...
I agree completely.

I have no regrets whatsoever.

I came here to prove
that I could do it,

that I could overcome a task
that was seemingly impossible.

I may not be the
"Forged in Fire" champion,

but I can only go up from here.

- Jared, congratulations.

You are our new
"Forged in Fire" champion

and will be receiving
a check for $10,000.

How do you feel?

- I don't know what to say,
really.

- It's kind of a shock right
now.

I...

- That's straight-up
the prettiest

and most terrifying thing

we've ever had on the show.

- Thank you.
- I mean,

the combination of the two.

- I want it.
That's how I feel about it,

and I don't feel like that
about a lot of knives.

But that's a cool piece.
- Thank you.

I won; it's still kind of
settling in.

10 grand is going into the shop.

There'll probably be
a little trip involved

for my fiancée and myself.

Boy, having the title
of "Forged in Fire" champion...

It's gonna definitely
be a game-changer.