Forged in Fire (2015–…): Season 3, Episode 8 - Xiphos Sword - full transcript

- For have faced offerica's
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.

- Oh, oh, watch out, watch out,
watch out!

- Only one
will take home $10,000...

- Whoo!
- And be crowned

"Forged in Fire" Champion.

- My name is Jonathan Maynard.



I'm from
Worcester, Massachusetts.

I grew up reading
a lot of fantasy novels.

I never wanted to be the person

to defeat the evil overlord.

I wanted to be the guy who made
the magic sword

that they used to defeat
the evil overlord.

My name is Riley Butz.

I'm from Phoenix, Arizona.

I got started smithing
when I was nine.

Aside from bladesmithing,
I also play

in a Celtic punk band.

Punk rock.

Punk to the bone.

- My name is Sam Rutherford,
and I'm from Portland, Oregon.



I came here today
for two reasons.

I came to prove myself
as a bladesmith,

and I came to up.

My name is Keith Hill.

I got started bladesmithing

when I was challenged by my wife
to make a blade

out of a horseshoe.

Six hours later...

in your face, I made one.

The rest is history,

and I just kept on
making more blades.

- Bladesmiths, welcome
to the Forge.

You're here to engage
in three rounds

of blade-making competition
designed to push

your skills to the limit,

from design to forge
to overall construction.

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

to our panel of expert judges...

ABS Master Smith Jason Knight,

historic-weapons
re-recreation specialist

David Baker,

Kali martial artist
and edged-weapon specialist

Doug Marcaida.

Ultimately
they decide which of you

will be
the "Forged in Fire" champion,

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

All right, gentlemen,
are you ready to begin

construction of your blades?

Well, speaking of construction,

in the first round
of competition,

you'll be using these...

Backhoe buckets.

Your first challenge
is to forge a blade

in your signature style,

harvesting metal
from these backhoe buckets.

Oh.

Of all the things
I thought about,

all the things I prepared for,

I was not prepared
for bulldozer parts.

- The blades themselves

must fall within
the following parameters...

The length of the blade,
not including the tang,

must fall
between 10 and 13 inches.

The overall length
of your weapon

must not exceed 22 inches.

Keep in mind that in round two,

you'll be placing
a handle on your blades,

turning them
into fully functional weapons

that will then be tested
for sharpness

by cutting through
a ratchet strap

and for strength and durability

by chopping
on a construction barricade.

You'll have ten minutes
to work on your design.

You have three hours
to forge your blades.

Good luck, bladesmiths.

You're gonna need it.

Your ten-minute design window
starts now.

- I like that move.
Did you see that?

- I'm choosing to make a kukri,

a very big, beefy one.

It's not gonna break easy.

It's a very powerful design.
It's ancient.

And it hasn't changed
for the last 2,000 years.

- Everything I make,
I want it to have a purpose,

and I want people to use it
and like to use it.

I'm designing a mini machete,

just because of the challenge.

It's a chop-and-slice challenge,

and I think that's one
of the best knives for it.

- I'm planning on making
a Viking-style seax.

They are, in my opinion,
the epitome of knife.

I think the bucket makes
the Viking seax

a natural choice.

I have lots of straight pieces
of steel to play with.

I have lots of material
to cut and mess around with,

and to bring a seax out of that,

I think, would be
the most effective use.

- I'm going to make
a Spanish belduque.

It's a very powerful blade.

It has a lot of backbone,

pushing the edge through
whatever you're gonna hit.

And it's just one
of my favorite blades.

- Bladesmiths, your design
window is now closed.

Your three-hour forge time
starts now.

What steel is useable
on those buckets?

- The most hardenable steel
on that bucket are the teeth.

That's where you're gonna get
a lot of wear resistance.

- I'm nervous about finding
the right piece of steel.

I'm planning on using
one of the teeth of the bucket.

That's most likely
gonna be the piece

that's highest carbon,
meaning it'll take

a lot of wear and tear,
a lot of pressure.

- The teeth have a soft core,
yes, Dave?

- Yeah. Not a big core.
But there is a core of metal

in there that's made
to come out of there.

- Getting my metal into
the forge first feels great.

It makes me feel like I can
maybe relax a little bit,

since I've got my piece off

so much sooner
than the other guys.

It's going well.
I'm making a knife.

- I'm gonna go
for the side of the bucket.

That's going to be
the quickest to cut.

- Keith is just cutting
a piece of steel

out of the side of the bucket,

and that's what he's
gonna work with.

- I hope not.

- Is there a lot of carbon
in that metal?

- It is a hardenable steel,
but it's not hardenable

like the stuff
that we're used to.

What you've got there
is too soft.

- I don't know what type
of metal that it truly is.

So hopefully this metal
will hold a edge.

- There's a real simple way
for these smiths to know

if they've got
hardenable material.

Take a small piece of it,
get it red hot,

quench it, and see if it snaps.

- The consequences
of grabbing the wrong steel

could cost me this challenge.

So I'm just gonna take a piece
of the mounting bracket,

which I know has to be tough,

and just hope it turns out
for the best.

Heads up!

- I don't really know why

they would choose
the back part of the bucket.

What he should be doing
is cutting a tooth off.

- Success!

I've got steel in the fire.
I'm ready.

- I just want to forge
a good high-carbon steel.

So I'm gonna go for the teeth
if I can get them off.

I'm cutting,
and the grinder wheel's gone.

So I went through,
and I'm cutting again,

and there's another grinder
wheel gone.

That's three...
Four discs already.

- Torch. Torch it.

- You know, if you haven't used

a cutting torch before,

if you don't get them set up
right, they don't cut right.

- You know, I think what Riley
might be failing to realize

is that these backhoe buckets
are used to dig

in really tough ground,

and wailing on that
with a hammer

is not gonna
move that steel anywhere.

- No.

- Everybody's got their steel.

.

Way behind!

I went to the torch,
put a big flame on it

and just cut out a blade.

- One hour has elapsed!

You have only two hours
remaining to finish your work!

- I want to get the tang
formed now.

And then start shaping
the blade.

The hardest part is shaping it,

just because it's not
a big, square block.

It takes a little finessing.

- It looks like he's trying
to draw it down,

but it's just mushing up.

It's almost like squeezing
a piece of bread.

- It's too soft.

- It is so much fun
to use that power hammer.

I just felt like a little kid
playing with a big, big toy.

If I do win,
I'm getting a power hammer.

I feel like a kid
in a candy store.

This is phenomenal.

- The power hammer
has its place.

But I like to do
everything by hand.

This is an exhibition
of what I can do,

not what the power hammer
is capable of.

- Sam's technique
for hammering seems to be

to reach to heaven
and bring that down

with a vengeance.

- There's a "Rocky" film
I really like

where the big man himself
goes to Russia

and fights this
supreme Russian juggernaut.

Named Ivan Drago.

Well, it feels an awful lot

like I'm going up
against three Ivan Dragos.

- Right away, when I put it
on the power hammer,

something's not right.

It doesn't move right.

I'm seeing bits and bubbles

that shouldn't be happening
as the steel's moving.

Eventually,
I start to see that the tooth

is not actually a solid piece.

It has a soft core.

- That core could have
been removed

before he started
his forging process.

- Even if I flatten it,
it's gonna have air pockets.

It's gonna have inclusions.
It's gonna be weak.

I may not have a knife
to present to the judges.

.

- Oh, whoa, whoa!

- Oh!
- In the water bucket.

- Is he abandoning it?

.

It's just not gonna work.

- Oh, whoa, whoa!

- Oh!
- In the water bucket.

- Is he abandoning it?
- Yep.

He just realized that
that core in there

was not going
to weld up for him.

It could have been removed
before he started

his forging process.

It's hard to get apart,
but it's possible.

- Steel fails sometimes,
especially when you're using

recycled and salvaged steels.

You don't know what
you're actually getting

until you start to use it.

- Jon is starting over.

- He's cutting on the side
of the bucket,

as opposed to where he might

be drawing a harder steel.

- This'll be an interesting
first round

if we have competitors

turn in mild steel blades.

- If they don't harden
the blade,

then they haven't turned in
a hardened blade.

- You have just 60 minutes
remaining to finish your work!

Riley looks like he's made
a large cheese spreader.

- He's making a spatula.

- My knife's not quite as thick
as I thought it was.

So I'm worrying that I haven't
cut out a big enough piece.

I'm drawing out the tang

so it becomes part othe blade.

I marked out my 10 inches
for my blade here.

I'm gonna start drawing the tang
out past my kill line.

This is death.

If it's not this long, I'm out.

- I don't think we've ever seen

a shape like Keith
is making right now.

- It's really
aggressive-looking.

- I'm happy with
where the blade is right now.

But I noticed
that I had one little piece

of slag up at the tip.

If I keep on grinding it,

I'm going to start
weakening the blade,

so I'm gonna do
the best that I can

and see where it takes me.

- For the heat treat,

I'm just gonna go
with my standard

normalize quench.

The trick to normalizing
is making absolutely sure

that you go from hot
to cold several times.

Got to wait for it to cool
completely to black,

or if I dunk it in water,
it'll seize up and crack.

I'm using the shadows
here in the Forge

underneath the tables and tools

just to make absolutely sure
that my blade is getting

to dead cold black.

If I don't get this 100% right,

the knife could be soft,
the knife could be too hard,

and I could be screwed.

- We should have
a quench coming up here.

In just a minute with Sam.

He's right on the edge.

- Ready?

Yes!
Whoo!

- I felt excited for him, too.

I almost started clapping.
- Look at that.

You got that
gorgeous hardness line.

Aw, yes!

- You have 15 minutes remaining
to finish your work!

Jon has made a hell
of a comeback.

He's kept his cool.

But he hasn't gone

to any of the smaller contact
wheels to clean that fuller.

- All I need is 15 minutes
to reliably make sure

that I have a quench.

If I don't get
the heat treat right,

it might bend, it might break.

I made it thick.

I'm hoping it'll stand up
to what they do.

- Ten, nine,

eight, seven, six,

five, four, three,

two, one!

Bladesmiths,
shut down your machines!

Drop your tools!

- This knife is called conquest

because I look to my left
and my right...

and I've dominated.

- Bladesmiths,
your first-round challenge

was to forge signature blades
using those backhoe buckets.

Now it's time
for the judges to take

a closer look at your work.

Keith, you're up first.

Please present your blade
to the judges.

- When you were working
with your steel,

and you had it in the press,

you kind of got
that taco thing happening.

And it looks like some of that
stayed right in there.

I mean, I can't really get
a fingernail in it,

so it looks like
it's closed up pretty good.

It does feel good in the hand.

Good job.

- Sam, you're up next.

Please present your blade
to the judges.

- Nice shape for a chopper.

It's very thick,
but you know what?

Because of
the questionable steel,

that might work in your favor.

It's heavy,
but I like the design.

Good job.
- Thank you.

- Riley, you're up next.

- Think of it as
the feather knife.

Looks like a turkey feather.

Very thin.

You had more steel
than this, didn't you?

- No.
- You had a small piece, okay.

- Yeah.

- That is exactly 10 inches.

Depending on what we were
slicing or cutting,

it could be a very, very
effective cutter.

Good job.

- Jon, you're up last.

- Jon, I like the seax shape.

Before they were bowies,
we had seax.

I see you started to kind of go
with a fuller in there.

It's very rough, still.

If you make it
to the second round,

you'll possibly
do something about that.

- Well, gentlemen,
I'm gonna ask you

to leave your weapons
on this table and step away

while the judges deliberate
which of you

moves on to round two

and who has to leave the Forge.

Thank you.

- This is gonna be interesting.

- Anybody else shaking harder
than they've ever shook before?

- Yeah.

- All right, judges,
let's go ahead

and discuss each blade's
strengths and weaknesses.

We'll start with Keith's,
on the end.

- Very interesting design
that Keith presented us.

You've got a point here

that definitely lends
you to thinking

it's going to be thrusting.

We are doing testing
on chopping,

and the widest part,
where you're gonna be

trying to do most
of the effective chopping,

is very close to the handle.

Ideally, you want it to be
in the middle of the blade

or at the tip
so it's more accurate

when you're doing your chops.

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

What do you think?

- I like the blade profile.

It's similar to what he drew.

Yet it is very thick.

The handle is a little too long
and too skinny,

but it was interesting
to watch him.

He was having a lot of fun.

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

Dave.
- The turkey feather,

as he called it.
- The turkey feather.

- Riley pushed through.
He beat this thing flat.

He was having some issues
out there, you could tell.

The problem is,
anything this thin

on anything outside
of a kitchen knife,

it'll work,
but it's just not supported.

- So let's move on to Jon's blade.

- This blade is pretty seax-y
in its profile.

Everything else is pretty lumpy.

Looks like it was ground
on highway.

Like I was hanging out the car,

grinding like that.

- Yeah, I mean, it has
the roughest grind

of all the blades.

It needs a lot of work.

- Judges, all these things taken
into consideration,

it's time for you to decide
which of our smiths

is leaving the Forge.

Have you made
your final decision?

- Yeah.
- Let's go tell our smiths.

All right, bladesmiths,

the judges have examined
your work,

and they've made
a final decision.

It's time for one of you
to surrender his weapon

and leave the Forge.

Riley, your blade
did not make the cut.

- Riley, this was one
of our tougher challenges.

- Yeah.
- But the problem is,

it being so thin,
it's just not executed

in a way that's gonna hold up
to our chop-and-slice tests.

And that's why
we got to let you go.

- Okay.

- Riley, please surrender
your weapon.

- I wish I had taken more
out of the bucket.

I didn't cut off
enough material,

so I had to draw it out

and that made it just too thin.

I came in here
as a punk-rock blacksmith.

And I'm leaving here
as a punk-rock blacksmith,

just with a little more
drive in me.

- Gentlemen, this is round two.

In this round, you'll be
attaching handles to your blades

to turn them into
fully functioning weapons.

It will then be tested
for sharpness,

cutting through a cargo strap,

and for strength and durability

by chopping
into a construction barrier.

Keeping with
our construction theme,

you must also incorporate

one of these construction
materials visually

into your handle's
overall design.

When the time runs out
and the tests are complete,

one of you will have
to surrender his weapon

and leave the Forge.

Any questions?

All right, gentlemen,

your three-hour time starts...

now.

Anything you'd use
in a blade over there?

- Probably would have gone
for that stop sign.

We have all these amazing
handle materials.

They can make accents out of
the reflective, shiny bits

and use handle material
that we know is gonna hold up.

- Hmm.

The barricade draws my eye

because it's very flat

and it's white.

Now, white underneath anything
will always pop.

- There you go.

- Get it.

Bite it.

- I probably would have used
the chop saw, but...

See, here we go.

This is the way a gentlemen
with a gray beard does things.

That's right.

- I decided to go
with the white plastic legs

from the road barricade
for the scales on the tang.

- Keith, pretty much doing
the same thing as Sam is.

He's got the plastic
from the sawhorse.

- I think they're both using
them just to make liner.

- How much time
does each of these smiths need

to work on their blade?

- Jon has the most.

- I need to enhance this fuller,
make it look better,

make it a little more even
on both sides

so it looks beautiful
for the judges.

That was cool.

- I decided to use
some blue and gold kirinite

to go over the white liners
from the barricade.

All the holes
are drilled properly.

Everything's flat.

Now all I have to do
is make sure the pins fit.

Aw, man!

- Oh, we hate the "oh, man."

- That blows.

There's a crack.

Double.

There's another crack.

Already an hour and a half in.

- Sam is nearing
that point of no return.

- I don't know
if anybody heard the thump,

but that was my heart
hitting the sole of my boots.

Kirinite, ladies and gentlemen.

I'm finished.

- So it looks like Sam's
kirinite scales have broken.

Is this a good time for him
to abandon this process

and go with something else?
- Yeah.

- There's cracks
in this kirinite.

I'm a little bit gun-shy
about using kirinite again.

It's just brittle material,

and I like to lock my pins down
with a hammer.

I chose a slightly
tougher material... micarta.

And I'm doing
the exact same steps.

If I'm gonna show
the world what I've got,

I got to make sure that I'm
starting with good stuff.

- I can't really tell
what Keith has going on here.

- The different layers
on the handle are

epoxy, micarta,

and then I have
the road barricade.

Ha ha.

- I think Keith is actually
making a booby trap over there

with a lot of
pins and nuts and bolts

and projectiles in there.

- I'm a messy man.

- You have only
60 minutes remaining.

- The stop sign is the perfect
piece to use

for the guard and the butt cap

because they're both the end.

And we stop at the end.

The aluminum isn't really,
really beautiful,

but I'll let the reflective
surface of the stop sign

speak for itself.

I'm over at the pantry.

In the back, I spot a nice piece

of used hammer handle.

All my knives
are meant to be tough

and survive anything
you put at them.

I know the hammer handle
will do that job,

and that's what I'm working for.

- Sorry, big guy.

The handle material
has been swapped out,

The epoxy has dried,
and my pins are set.

Now I'm gonna march over
to the grinder

and start taking away material.

The gods have been good today.

- Yeah, man.

- I'm just moving very carefully

and making sure
not to take off too much.

I just want a person to smile
when they touch it.

- Man, that handle is thick.
Look at that thing.

- Keith's handle doesn't look
any thinner than Sam's.

- The most crucial thing
that I get right

is shaping the handle

so it has a good,
strong grip on it

and it's not going to slip
out of their hands.

- Look how much
Keith is battling

with that plastic.

- The plastic is kind of rolling
over and melting.

It's not really allowing me
to grind as hard

as I really would want to.

I'm starting to feel
a little stressed.

But I'm trying to remain calm.

- You have just
30 minutes remaining!

- I left a small eyelet
at the bottom of the blade

'cause I had a little inkling
that I would make

a nice wrist strap
for the judges.

- I tell you what,
those are fingers

that are not unfamiliar

with braiding stuff together.

He's moving.

- My wife taught me
how to do this.

I do it to my own hair,
and I figured

it'll make it
a little bit stronger

instead of just using
a piece of caution tape.

Right at the last few minutes,
I want to put

a little magic in my blade.

So I decide to etch it
with the runes

for the name of Thor, the God
of Thunder from Norse myths,

hopefully to impart
some of his power to my blade.

- Ten, nine, eight,

seven, six,

five, four, three,

two, one.

Bladesmiths, drop your tools.

Your work is done.

- My blade reminds me...

Of my wife...

Strong and very sexy.

- All right, gentlemen, this is
the strength test.

To test the durability
of your edge,

I'm going to take five chops
into this road barrier

with your blade.

Jon, you're up.
You ready?

- Absolutely.
- All right.

- I'm scared, I'm nervous.

Got to let it out somehow,

and deep-breathing techniques
are known to work.

- Well, your blade held up well.

There's no chips or dings.

But your handle...
It's awful round.

And this guard overhang,
on my hand,

is just enough to start
digging in.

But good job.
- Thank you.

- Sam, you're up next.
Are you ready?

- I'm ready.

There we go, Dave.

- Well, Sam, no distortion,
no rolling.

Bledge held up fine.

Your handle, though...
It's just that squareness

that's right here.

Instead of being indexed
towards your front,

it's kind of more indexed
towards the side.

It kind of wants to be
in my hand like that,

which makes the whole knife
want to roll on impact.

All in all, though, well done.

So, Keith, you're up.
Are you ready?

- Yes, sir.
- All right, let's do this.

Okay, well, there's
no distortions on your edge,

no chipping, no bending.

Your handle... it's pretty rough.

But the shape is comfortable.

I mean, it fills my hand nicely,

and it's indexed well.

I know right where that edge is.

All in all, nicely done.
Thank you.

Next up is the sharpness test.

For that, I'll give you to Doug.

- Bladesmiths,
to test the edge of your blade

and see how sharp it is,

I will take your weapon,
and I will run it across

these cargo straps.

Jon, you're up first.
You ready?

- Ready to rock.

- Okay, Jon, you definitely have

a razor's edge on your blade
right here.

It cut cleanly through
these cargo straps.

But the handle's a little bit
rounded for my hand.

So it's kind of hard to tell
where it's really indexing at.

But it will cut.
- Thank you.

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

Doug Marcaida.

This man could take me apart,

and he wouldn't have to use
my knife to do it.

- First off, the indexing
of your handle is very blocky.

So it affects the way
you handle the blade.

So, as I dragged it
and felt some resistance,

the weight distribution
and your handle design

started to make the blade turn.

But for the first three slices,

using the belly of the blade,
it cut cleanly,

and for that, sir, it'll cut.

- Thank you.

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

- Yes, sir.

Well, Keith, off the bat,
it's comfortable in the hand.

Your blade starts to get
really thin.

So it's razor sharp over here.

So initially, it cuts
all the way through.

But it gets thicker in the back.

And it was sharp enough
to cut through

all three initially.

It will cut.
- Thank you.

- Bladesmiths, the judges
have made their final decision.

It's time for one of you
to leave the Forge.

- Bladesmiths, it's time for
one of you to leave the Forge.

Sam, your weapon
did not make the cut.

- Sam, the profile
of your blade looks great,

no issues on your edge.

The only issue was the way you
designed your handle

caused it to turn
during testing.

And that's the reason
why we have to let you go.

- Sam, please surrender
your weapon.

- Unfortunately,
my handle-making skills

just weren't up to par today.

That's all right.

This experience was an
opportunity for me to learn.

I came here to make a knife
and up,

and I think I succeeded in both.

- Jon, Keith, congratulations.

When you came to this forge,
you used our tools

and our equipment to forge
signature blades

in your signature style.

Now we're sending you back
to your home forge

where you will re-create
an iconic weapon from history...

The xiphos.
- Okay.

- The xiphos was
a double-edged short sword

wielded in Ancient Greece
by the hoplites,

around the 6th century, B.C.

The hoplites were
armored soldiers,

famed for battling
in phalanx formation...

A virtually impenetrable wall
of shields and spears.

If a hoplite's spear was
broken or lost in battle,

his trusty xiphos
served as backup.

Much like Frodo's
iconic sword Sting,

in "The Lord of the Rings,"

the xiphos featured
a leaf-shaped profile

and short blade length,

effective for thrusting
and slashing

in close-quarters combat

It lives on in Greek literature

as a classic weapon of warfare,

notably brandished by Achilles

in Homer's epic poem,
"The Iliad."

It must be
an effective working version

of that Ancient Greek weapon.

- I "seephos" the xiphos,
and I'm ready to work.

I've always wanted to make one,
and now's my chance

to make the best one I can.

- Your blade must have
a symmetrical leaf shape,

with a guard and pommel.

You will have five days
at your home forge

to complete this challenge.

At the end of five days,
you will return

and present
your finished weapons

to our panel of expert judges.

Only after they've
put them through

a crucible
of excruciating tests...

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

who also walks away
with ten grand.

Good luck, bladesmiths.

We'll see you in five days.

- You got this, buddy.
- Yeah.

- It's great to be back here
in my home forge.

This is my troll cave.

This is where I lurk
in the darkness

and the shadows.

For my xiphos motif,

I jumped to my favorite
Greek god, Poseidon.

Gonna try and do
a horse-head guard...

The horse being the animal
of Poseidon,

the one he made
from the sea foam.

It's ambitious.
It's crazy.

But that's the idea.

Who knows if it'll actually
work out?

Today my main goal is to get

this enormous hunk of steel
down to length.

I'm gonna
bash the hell out of it.

If you look really close,

you can seephos the xiphos
hiding in the metal.

I've only got
one xiphos pun, guys.

That's all you're getting.

Sorry about that.

- This will be the first time
I've ever built

a xiphos sword.

"Forged in Fire" in Greek.

I'm gonna try to put that
right on the hilt.

In the fire we go.

I love working with steel
because you're watching

your baby being born
right before your eyes.

The sword's coming along
real nice.

The metal's doing exactly
what I want it to do.

My wife and I are very active

in the pirate-reenactment
community.

And that's really where
I got my start

in making blades.

And that's why...

- Today I'm gonna do
my annealing.

I'm making a container
to hold my vermiculite and sand,

which will allow me to
anneal my blade overnight.

Vermiculite and sand
is a good mixture

for containing that heat
for a long periods of time,

allowing me
to quench my blade tomorrow

without any weirdness occurring.

There we go.

Getting towards
critical temperature.

Not even close.

The vermiculite and sand
mixture was too dense,

so the blade fought me
on the way down,

and now please don't be bent.

And now I have a bent blade.

- I'm doing my annealing.

Not even close.

The vermiculite and sand
mixture was too dense,

so the blade fought me
on the way down,

and now please don't be bent.

And now I have a bent blade.

My blade may not be
as strong now.

If my annealing medium
isn't gonna work tonight,

I definitely
don't want to anneal

during my day tomorrow...

Way too much time.

I'll just have to, uh...

straighten it out, normalize it,
and quench it right now.

- The blade
is coming along real well.

The grip and the handle
and the tang

is starting to take shape.

We're now cutting
the umbilical cord,

and we're gonna birth a baby.

There you go.

Now I have to heat-treat it.

Fingers crossed, and here we go.

I didn't hear any tings.

That's a great sign.

I think we have
a real good blade.

The baby just got baptized.

- The quench went pretty well.

I think we have
a good blade here.

Excellent.

I'm a little bit
behind schedule.

So I decided to not make
the horse guard

that I wanted to do,
but last night

it came to me in a dream

I have a much simpler
guard design.

It's gonna be straight
with some curly cues up.

A little Celtic inspired,
but much more simple

and traditional.

That's pretty good.

The blade's got to be
finished tomorrow.

So that's the game plan.

Finish the blade.

- I did a little test
and dropped the blade tip

first right into the cement...

to see how the blade would fare

against something real hard.

Cracks the cement.

Nothing on the tip.

It's working out.

Now I'm going to
attach the handle

and then do all the etching.

There is a hidden tang.

Tang is no more.

I feel great.

I'm real happy with the blade.

I can't wait to chop something.

We're gonna sacrifice
a virgin pineapple.

Sweet.

- Bladesmiths, welcome back
and welcome to the fort.

You've had five days
at your home forges

to forge your xiphos.

Jon, how did it go?

- Everything that could go wrong
did go wrong,

but I got it made.

I went with
the theme of Poseidon,

the Greek god of the ocean.

I decided to etch it
with his name.

Curling waves for the guard
and the pommel.

Tried to go for strength and
overall sharpness and utility.

- Cool.
- Keith, how'd it go for you?

- It went well.

The blade came together.

Took the theme
of "Forged in Fire."

I put "Forged in Fire"
on the side of the hilt

on the guard in Greek.

- Well, gentlemen,
both of your weapons

look absolutely stunning.

But it's all about how they hold
up in our weapons tests.

First up, the sharpness test.

Doug.

- Bladesmiths, this is
the sharpness test.

I will take your weapon
and test its edge

by cutting the rope,
which will release the sandbags

and then cut the sandbag.

Let's see how sharp
your blades are.

Jon, you're up first.
You ready?

- Ready to go.

I'm scared.

I don't know.
I don't know.

I'm worried that something's
gonna go wrong.

Okay, Jon, this side
is very sharp.

And the other side is sharp,

but to get through the rope,
it took three cuts.

The balance, overall,
of the sword feels good.

This, sir, will cut.
- Thanks.

- Good job.
Keith, you're up.

You ready?
- Yes, sir.

That was cool.

- All right, Keith,
your blade required two slices

to cut through the rope.

But it did cut through.

And then on the backhand slice,
cut nicely on the sandbag.

I like the guard.

I like the details
that you put into your blade.

This, sir, will cut.
- Thank you.

- Next up, the strength test.

Dave.

- Gentlemen, to test the
strength of your weapons,

I'm gonna take two blows
on either side

of these helmets,

see how your weapons hold up.

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

- I guess so.
- Okay.

- My swords are always designed

for strength and for toughness.

But I'm terrified of the test
because anything can happen.

- Jon, you're up first.
Are you ready?

- I guess so.
- Okay.

- This is where
I'm hoping to excel.

My blade is meant to withstand
insane amounts of impact.

- Not a mark on the blade.

Very nicely done with that.

One thing I did notice...

We just got
a little loose down here,

right there on your guard
and your pommel.

It's not terrible,

but there's a little movement.

But you've got
a very strong blade here.

- Thank you.
- Nicely done.

So, Keith, you're up.
You ready?

- Aye.
- All right.

It held up well.

I like your handle a lot.

It's contoured to my hand.

All in all, really nicely done.

- Bladesmiths, the judges have
made a final decision.

Before I tell you
what that decision is,

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

- Keith, one of the things
I really liked

is the choice
of African black wood

mixed with
the bronze on the handle.

It was really gorgeous.

I would have liked to have seen
the blade a little less extreme

in the curves,
a little more subtle curves.

But overall, you did well.

- Thank you, sir.

- Jon, I had a bit of a problem
with the size of your handle.

In my hand, it felt
a little chunky.

Having said that, though,

I love that "convexed" edge
you have,

where that grind
goes right down to the tip

with no secondary bevel.

Nicely done.
- Thank you.

- Jon, Keith, in this final
round of competition,

you've both delivered
exactly what we asked for,

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

Keith, congratulations.

You are
the "Forged in Fire" champion.

Jon, unfortunately,

your weapon
did not make the cut.

- Jon, your blade did very well
on the strength test.

The issue we found was
in the fit and finish

of you handle construction.

Your pommel either came loose,
or it was loose,

and there was some gapping
that we could see through it,

and it's for this reason
we have to let you go.

- Understood.

- Jon, please
surrender your weapon.

- I've had a great time.

And I've learned more
about myself in bladesmithing

than I have
at any other point in my life.

Ten grand would have been nice,

but I can go earn that ten grand

with what I've learned.

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

but I definitely won best hair.

- Well, Keith,
at least you didn't

get all dressed up for nothing.

You're our new

"Forged in Fire" champion

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

- Oh, my gosh.
I just want to jump up and down

and scream,
"Yay! I did it!"

"Forged in Fire" champion.

Life doesn't get
much better than that.