Forged in Fire (2015–…): Season 8, Episode 26 - Forged in Fire - full transcript

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[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- My name is cody kruseman,
I am 20 years old,

And I've been bladesmithing
for four years now.

I got into bladesmithing
because, as a kid,

I always loved
the action scenes in movies.

Anytime there was
a weapon associated,

I always wanted one.

So eventually, I decided,
"you know what?

I'm gonna make one."

- My name is caleb peck.
I'm 31 years old,



And I'm a production manager
for a flour mill.

Walking out to the forge floor,

It's kind of a surreal
feeling for me.

I would love to see a piece of
my work on that wall someda,

But I just gotta focus
on the final prize.

- My name is tony bravo.
I'm 46 years old.

I'm a journeyman lineman
and a part-time bladesmit.

Back home, I have a lot
of people rooting for me.

I've got two daughters.

My youngest is going off
to college,

So those $10,000 would
definitely come in handy.

- My name is colin roy.
I'm 28,

And I'm a full-time metal
fabricator and blacksmith.

It started in my parents'
one-car garage.



I almost burned it down twice,

But I finally saved up
enough money.

I was able to build my own shop,

And that's where
I'm working out of today.

- Bladesmiths,
welcome to the forge.

The four of you are here

Because you are
talented bladesmiths,

But what we wanna find out

Is which one of you
will rise above your peers

And earn the title
of "forged in fire" champion

And a solid check for $10,000.

♪ ♪

We've got three rounds
of bladesmithing competition

Set up for you.
At the end of each one,

You're gonna present your work
to our panel of expert judges,

Abs master smith j. Neilson,

Historic weapons re-creation
specialist dave baker,

And edged weapon
specialist doug marcaida.

Today in the forge,

We're excited to bring back
a competition

That is gonna test your ability
to make good decisions now

That will, hopefully,
help you out

Down the road later.

This is a challenge
we are calling now or later.

♪ ♪

So on this table, we have
four tiers of challenges.

If you choose
an easier round one,

That comes with the hardest
round two and vice versa.

If you choose
the harder round one,

You will have
the easiest round two.

- I see that table,
and I'm thinking "oh, crap."

There's so many options.

I just start getting a pit
in my stomach.

- So let's talk
about your choices.

If, in round one, you wanna go
with the easiest challenge,

You can do 100+layer damascus,

But that comes with
a keyhole guard and handle.

Your next option, if you wanna
go a little bit harder,

You can do the fishhook
canister damascus,

But you are gonna cast
your pommel and your guard.

Now, stepping it up,
you can go with the cube

And stack damascus,
and all you'll have to do

Is a two-tone handle
and mosaic pins.

And finally, the hardest
round one challenge

Is the turkish twist damascus,

But all you have to do
is add a g10 handle.

Regardless of what
you guys choose,

I want you to make
signature blades

Between 13 and 15 inches.

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

- Yes, sir.

- Come on up
and pick your poison.

- I'm trying to weigh up
my options.

Looking at the fishhook canister

And the 100-layer damascus.

I think I'm gonna go
with the fishhook canister.

- Fishhook canister
damascus, all right.

- Canister is kind of
daunting at first,

But it's a lot easier
than you'd think

Because you don't have to worry
about cutting and stacking.

♪ ♪

- Colin, you're up.

- I take longer
to do fit and finish

Than I do to forge a blade.

I've got to pick whatever is
gonna be fastest in round two,

Even if it means I have
to hustle more in round one.

- Going with
the turkish twist, I love it.

All right, tony, you're up.

- The crucible just scares me.

Obviously,
the g10 is gonna be easy.

But your first challenge
is the most difficult.

So I'm thinking I can
kind of meet in the middle.

- All right,
cube and stack damascus.

Cody, you're up last.

- If I choose something
extremely hard

For the first round,

Then I might not make it
to round two.

That's all I'm thinking about
at this moment.

- All right, so you went
with the 100+ layer damascu.

♪ ♪

Now, bladesmiths, in round two
of this competition,

You'll add handles
to your blades,

Turning them
into fully functioning weapons,

At which point the judges
will check for strength

And durability in a coconut chop

And then check
your edge retention

In a water bottle slice.

Good luck.
Your time starts now.

♪ ♪

Now everyone is moving
with a purpose.

- They all got a lot to do
in three hours.

- All right, so same.

I'm doing
the 100-layer damascus.

I'm gonna do an initial
forge weld of eight layers,

Chop those layers up
into seven different pieces,

Re-forge-weld it again,
then cut it in half,

And that will give me
over 100 layers.

Normally, I'd have
to use a calculator

'cause I would not be able
to figure it out.

I failed math in high school.
Look at me now.

The first thing I'm gonna do
in this round

Is clean my steel.

If you don't have clean steel,

Your welds are not gonna set.

- They all have
different processes,

But the beginning part
is all the same.

It's all forge welding.

- I'm very familiar
with stack damascus.

I do it all the time.

But if anything goes wrong,
then I'm screwed.

♪ ♪

- I'm pretty confident
with canister damascus.

It all comes down
to the prep work.

I'm filling my can
with fishhooks

And 1095 powder.

The thing with canister:

There's always a chance
of dead spots.

So I'm taking my time
packing that can,

Making sure there's
no air in there at all.

Air pockets could cause
delams or inclusions

And then a failure
during the testing.

Everything looks flush.
Give it a few extra taps.

I'm ready to put a cap on it,
weld it,

And put it in the forge.

Now it's just to wait and bake.

- Welding!

- The most interesting thing
to watch right here

Is that turkish damascus.

- Yeah, what is it?
I've never seen that before.

- It's a variation
of a twist pattern.

You do a minimum of five bar,
twisting them alternately,

Forge welding that
into one piece.

- I've only got three hours,

So I'm working two billets
at once so I can get double

The amount of work done
in the same amount of time,

Because while I'm working
on one,

The other one's heating up.

My steel is getting up
to a bright yellow,

So I know that it's time
for me to set those welds.

♪ ♪

Working with two billets
is tough.

If I don't get both of them
right on the first try,

It's over.

Billets are looking good,
but I can't waste time.

I just have to keep moving.

♪ ♪

- What is the process
for the cube and stack?

- It's just like doing
any other canister.

It's just smaller.

If I was doing
the cube and stack,

I'd forge weld the two cubes,

Slice the side off each of them,

Put those together, forge weld,

And just run with it.

- I do plan to peel the can off

So I can really reveal
my pattern.

Put the wite-out in the can,

I'm not gonna lay it on
too thick.

It'll take forever to dry.

- I'd leave the can on
and not use the wite-out.

It's just more
sacrificial material

You can take off later
if you need to.

I'm gonna go ahead and set it
on the side of the forge

Where it gets
a little bit of heat.

Once it's dry,
I can get the springs in it,

Pour in my powder,

Close it up, and weld.

- Setting these first welds
is a big deal.

If that doesn't stick,
then I'm done.

- All right, cody
on his first pass on the press.

- Oh, way aggressive.

- Yeah, I'd be setting
my welds gently first

Before I start putting
that much pressure on billet.

- I get my welds all set,
and so far,

I'm feeling great
about this billet.

Now I'm gonna have to cut
and restack this thing

To get up to a hundred layers.
Perfect.

I just wanna make sure
that I don't get sent home

Because of parameters.

- Bladesmiths,
we are one hour down,

Two hours to go.

- I'm getting ready
to take my billet,

Go over to the forge press.

If I don't get
these forge well set,

Then I'm probably gonna have
to start over.

♪ ♪

Everything feels pretty solid.

Now I'm gonna start
drawing out that bar.

So far, so good.

- I got my can forge welded.
I went to the power hammer,

And I could feel
that my billet is solid.

And I think it's time
to peel the cans off.

♪ ♪

- Removing the cans
is always fun.

- The first can comes off,
so I'm feeling great.

I'm having a little more trouble

With the second can,
and the time is going.

- Son of a bitch.

- Get it, tony.

- Tony is trying to knock
his can out of the canister.

- I don't know
why it's not coming off.

I'm hitting it with all I got.
I am giving her hell.

♪ ♪

I get the can off.

Now I'm feeling awesome.

♪ ♪

- What really sets
the turkish twist out

From other twists of damascus
is that they alternate,

So I need to make sure

That I twist my two billets
in different directions.

- Colin got a lot of twists
in there.

That's pretty good.

- Now I hope he's keeping track.

If you get the same amount
of rotation on each bar,

The stars line up better.

- And I measure my shortest bar,

And I know that's gonna be
what I cut in half

For my alternating twists.

All right.

I've got three billets
on the anvil.

Once I trim them
and then cut them in half,

I'll have six billets.

The rules only call for five,

So I'm going with five billets.

I don't want to screw up.

Which billets
go which direction?

So I take my soapstone,

And I mark the direction
on them.

I need to make sure that
that pattern

Is alternating correctly,

'cause if one of those
is in the wrong spot,

I'm going home.

All right, where are
my soapstone marks?

- I start getting
my blade form to shape,

Just a real basic camp knife.

You need something
that has a good spine

That can withstand coconuts
and a good edge

That can still stay sharp
to cut the water bottles.

I got a good-looking blade,
good-looking shape.

I think with my profile,

It'll hold up during testing.

- Bladesmiths,
you have one hour remaining.

♪ ♪

- So I've welded
my two cubes together.

I go to the press.

I give it a couple
of light squeezes

Just to make sure that I get
a solid weld.

It's time to go
to the power hammer

And start drawing it out.

- I'm really worried about tony.

- He's got a very small billet.

- I don't think that's enough
for a 13-to-15-inch blade.

It's gonna be difficult.

- As I'm getting my length,

I realize
I may not have enough steel.

I'm going back to the ruler,

And I'm marking
where I need that edge to be.

I have to use every millimeter.

One more.
I just meet the parameter.

I got the length.

It's starting to feel like,
"hey, I'm gonna make this."

But definitely worried

That I'm running a little thin.

So I gotta be careful

Because in the quench,

A thin blade may warp or crack.

♪ ♪

- My five billets
are tacked together.

Now it is time
to forge weld 'em.

I'm juggling back and forth
between big blue and the press

To make sure
I get my billet nice and flat.

Now that the billet's
together, and it's holding.

I wanna start getting
the tang worked out,

Forging it down
pretty aggressively.

Oh, you bitch.

It splits wide open.

The first thing that comes
to my mind is,

"I'm going home."
[bleep]

The delamination could be bad
because there's

A lot of force on it.
It could break.

- Cutting that off.

- I cut the pieces
of the billet off.

Hope I got enough steel
in there.

It doesn't look like
it traveled anywhere.

Just in case, I'm gonna get it
back into the forge,

Make sure anything that
may not completely set

Will be.

Oh, yes!

- I have my final billet
with 112 layers

Stacked, welded,
and in the forge,

And now I need to get moving.

- I think cody is the only one

Who's really falling behind.

- At first, it starts to weld
fairly decently,

But then just the very edge
of it starts to not set.

Oh, crap.

- And his billet

Is splitting
straight down the middle.

- This is a very big problem.
I should restart the billet,

But I can't because I don't
have enough time to do that.

If I can't figure out a way
to fix it,

Then I'm done.
I'm going home.

[bleep]

- Either peel it up,
try to clean it, and flux it,

And reweld it,
or just cut that off.

- This is a very big problem.
I should restart the billet,

But I don't have enough time
to do that.

I need to get up
to welding temperature again

And then try and reset
those welds.

I am not working
for perfection at this point,

So I just have to use
what I have.

I think those welds are set.
I just wish I had more time.

♪ ♪

- Guys, caleb's in the oil.

- He quenched that
with the can on.

That kind of works to keep
any cracking from happening.

- Coming out of the quench,
everything went good.

I got a good-looking blade,
but it's pretty freaking thick.

I gotta get
this mild steel can off.

I'm looking at the clock.
I'm looking at what I have,

Thinking I should've forged t
a little thinner,

But I'm just gonna pitch
a tent and keep grinding.

♪ ♪

- I'm looking at the clock.
I realize

That it's time to start
getting ready for the quenc.

Being that my blade is thin,

I am worried that I may get
a fracture in the blade.

♪ ♪

- All right, tony quenched.

In the beginning, it looked like

He didn't have enough steel
to make this happen.

He came through.

- It looks straight,
but as I'm grinding,

I notice a warp.

Damn it.

Not good.

I'm trying to grind it out,
and...

But I can tell it's still there.

But it's really all I can do

Because I cannot take off
any more steel.

- Mother [bleep].

♪ ♪

- The last thing I wanna see
when I quench this

Is a crack in the steel.

♪ ♪

- It's quite impressive
the way colin is working.

- He knows what he's doing.

I'm very excited to see
that turkish quench.

♪ ♪

- Looks like I'm in good shape.

I know those judges.
They wanna see

That damascus pattern,

And so I have to give it

A nice, flat surface

That's gonna accept
a really good etch.

Oh, sweet!

- I've got a rough profile.
I know I need to go ahead

And start setting up
for the quench.

If those welds didn't set,
there is a very good chance

That my billet
could break in half.

You're the man.

♪ ♪

I pull it out of the quench.
I think I'm okay.

- All right, all the smiths
have now quenched.

- As I'm grinding,
I see tiny cracks

Start traveling up my blade
to where I can see it move.

After the quench,
there were no cracks there,

So I don't know what happened.

There's five minutes
left in the round.

There's nothing I can do
to address these,

So I gotta at least make
this knife

Look somewhat presentable.

- Five, four, three, two, one.

Gentlemen, turn off
your machines.

Put down your tools.

Round one in this competition
is over.

- 100-layer damascus seemed
like a good choice,

But I probably should have gone
with something

That doesn't require
as much welding.

I'm going to have a lot of work
to do in round two.

- All right, bladesmiths,

You guys took
your choice techniques

And turned them
into 13-15 inch blades.

But the time has come
for the judges

To critique that work

And decide
who's gonna be heading home.

Cody, you chose
the 100+ layer damascus.

Please present your work.

♪ ♪

- I like the profile...

Other than what happens
kind of from here back.

This seam
along the spine here...

Now, I'm hoping that
that can be ground away.

Other than that,
you've got a little bit

Of a warp in the blade,

But your edge looks solid.

Good job.
- Thank you.

- All right, caleb, first round,

You had
fishhook canister damascus.

Ready for critique?
- Yes, sir.

- Let's see it.

♪ ♪

- You still got a lot of mass
in here, which is a good thing

Because there's a warp in there,

But I don't see any issues
with the steel at all.

Real nice job.
- Thank you, sir.

- Tony, you chose
the cube and stack damascus.

Let's see what you got.

♪ ♪

- All right, tony, let's talk
about your blade here.

I love the profile.

It reminds me of an itak
that we used in the philippines

For cutting coconuts,
but it's a very thin blade.

And you have a pronounced warp
that needs to be taken care o.

Otherwise, the steel is solid.
Good job.

- Thank you.

- All right, colin,
you had the turkish twist.

Let's see what you came up with.

♪ ♪

- All right, colin,

Today's daredevil in the forge.

This came out very nice.

One thing that does concern me:
You've got a seam here

That runs down into the choil
and into the blade edge.

It's doesn't seem like
it's very deep,

But this is really a bad spot

To have steel
that's not stuck together.

But otherwise, good job.

- Thank you.

♪ ♪

- Gentlemen,
in this competition,

Only three of you can move
forward into the second round,

Which means
somebody's heading home.

And the bladesmith leaving
the forge is...

♪ ♪

Cody.

Unfortunately,
although you worked very hard

And you presented a blade,
it's not gonna make the cut,

And doug's gonna tell you why.

- Cody, first up, I commend you
for turning in

100-layer damascus
in a three-hour challenge,

But the warp, the seams...

Your blade has the most issues
going to the second round,

And for that reason,
we're sending you home.

- I understand.

- Well, cody,
I'm gonna have to ask you

To please surrender your work
and leave the forge floor.

- The clock got the best of me.

The standards
that I normally produce

Are a thousand times better
than what I produced today.

I gave everything that I could,

And I'm just happy

That I was able to turn in
a completed blade.

- Well, bladesmiths,
congratulations.

The three of you
are moving forward

Into the second round
of this competition.

We're gonna find out if your
first-round challenge choice

Is gonna pay off.

Caleb, you're gonna have
to cast a pommel

And a guard out of bronze.

Tony, you've got
a two-tone handle

That's gonna need
some mosaic pins.

And colin, you went
with the most difficult

Round one challenge,

So in this second round
of the competition,

You just have to add
a g10 handle.

Regardless of how difficult
your challenge is,

You all only have two hours
on the clock to complete it.

At the end of this round,

The judges are gonna test
your blades

For strength and durability
in a coconut chop.

Then they're gonna check
your edge retention

In a water bottle slice.

Good luck.
Stay sharp.

Your time starts now.

♪ ♪

We have three
different techniques going on,

All of which are
personally chosen poisons.

♪ ♪

- I'm starting
the casting immediately.

Since I've never done
any kind of casting,

That's gonna be
the challenge for me.

So stand by.
[laughs]

- Well, it looks like caleb's

Just digging out a hole
in the sand.

So I think he is just gonna
cast a big old block

And grind to shape.

- The bronze needs to liquefy
inside the foundry.

So while it's over there,
heating it up,

I'm gonna start
grinding out this warp.

- That foundry is gonna take
probably 10-12 minutes

To heat that bronze to liquid.

- I'm grinding out this warp,
ad it's actually coming out.

I'm very pleased with
how everything is going so far.

- I almost guarantee
caleb is very jealous of colin.

All colin has to do is slap
on a couple of g10 handles,

Clean it up.
He's good to go.

- [groans] let's see.

No.

There's tons of g10 selection
in the pantry.

Most of it, though,
is really bright colors.

I like things
that are a little simpler.

So I go for the red and black.

Yeah.

♪ ♪

- Colin's got
the easiest round two,

But he needs to cut down
that tang

And do something
with the seams that showed up.

- I start grinding
as much material off as I ca.

If I don't fix the delamination,

They could split
and even break apart.

That's game over.

I'm seeing
that delamination go awa.

I'm so relieved.

♪ ♪

- The mosaic pin
doesn't seem too hard.

I grab a red dye for the pins,

So when I start grinding on 'em,

You can see the pattern
in that red.

- Red epoxy is gonna give it
a little bit more flair.

- Well, great.

- My pins are looking great.
Everything is solid.

Now I gotta get
my two-tone handle going.

I'm more of a natural,
scales kind of guy.

So I start to work on two
pieces of wood and my liner.

- Tony's two-part
handle construction

Is probably riskier than
the guard and the pommel ar.

If you don't get them
glued up probably,

They can cut loose in a test.

- Bladesmiths,
you have one hour remaining.

♪ ♪

- I see that the... the material's

Actually ready to pour.

I have to be very careful
because if I spill it,

Then I gotta start
this process all over again.

- We're pouring.

- Pour that bronze!
Pour that bronze!

- As the bronze is setting
in the sand,

I'm letting it cool down.
I take both pieces out.

My guard actually looks
pretty cool.

And as far as the pommel goes,
it's a big chunk of bronz.

So I decided to cut it in half.

But right now,

I still got a lot of things
that I gotta do.

And that decision to make
a harder round two

Is really messing
with me right now.

- I quenched the entire blade,

But I tried to leave
the tang out

'cause I wanted that
to still be soft,

Knowing that I have
to drill holes in it

To pin my handle on.

♪ ♪

I drill my first hole,
no problem.

I start drilling my second hole.

Mother [bleep].

Even though I didn't quench
the entre tang,

There was still
enough heat in there,

And it probably got hard.

- Colin's running
into his first little hiccup.

♪ ♪

- I grab the mapp gas torch,

And I start heating up
that point

To make drilling those holes
through the handle easier.

I'm making sure that I keep
the blade

Submerged in water

So that I don't have
to risk any heat

Getting into the cutting edge
that might soften it.

- There you go.

- Drill bit goes through,
but I'm tight on time.

But the only way I can keep up
with it is to keep moving.

- While my wood scales
are drying,

I'm moving to
straightening out my blad.

- I think tony's got more
than one bend in that blade,

So trying to straighten
that out is gonna be tricky.

He's gonna have to put
some kind of heat to it.

- But you gotta be careful

That you don't heat it up
too much.

You don't want that heat
to travel down to your edge.

If my blade gets too hot,
I can ruin the tamper,

And it won't hold up
to these tests.

I am worried at this point.

- Oh, boy, he's got no room
for error.

- Moment of truth.

- My wrap looks a lot better.
I know my edge is solid.

So I'm feeling great.

♪ ♪

- Bladesmiths,
you have 30 minutes remaining.

- Now that my scales
are roughed out,

I wanna make sure that I get
my knife in the ferric chloride

Before it's too late.
Cool.

The pattern looks awesome.

It shines right through.
It's time to glue my handle on.

- I do like the fact that colin
did a lot of extra etching

To bring that pattern out,

But that handle is really small.

- I'd like to put
some more time into my scale,

But I look at the clock,

And I just don't have
the time to do it.

I really have to put
a sharp edge on this knif.

- I only have a few more
minutes, and I'm frantic.

It's crunch time.

I got the pommel threaded
and fitted up,

But time is not my side.

There's a good possibility
that I might not finish.

- He's working in panic mode.

It's never a good mode
to work in.

- I get the handle shaped up
the best I could

And put a super rushed edge
on this thing.

Hopefully, it holds up
during the testing.

- Tony, you need to get rolling
on that handle.

That thing's huge.

I think he's got a bar of soap
in his hands.

- I'm trying to get
some contour.

When I hold that handle,
it needs to stay in my hand.

If it rolls, the judges won't
be able to wield it correctly.

- Five, four, three, two, one.

Gentlemen, round two is over.

♪ ♪

- Looking at my blade,
it's not pretty at all.

The handle is
what really bothers me.

We'll see how the handle
holds up in testing.

♪ ♪

- All right, gentlemen,
you know what time it is.

It's time for the strength test,

The coconut chop.

Now, this test is all about
what these coconuts do

To your knife
and not the other way aroun.

Colin, you're up.
Are you ready?

- Yes, sir.
- Okay.

♪ ♪

- I don't usually test them
on coconuts.

They've got that hard layer
on both sides.

Dave's getting ready.

I'm getting more
and more nervous

Just waiting for him
to take that first swing.

♪ ♪

- Yeah.
[laughs]

♪ ♪

- All right, so colin,
I was worried

That the handle would be
a little bit on the thin side,

But actually, the way it flares,

It was really comfortable
in my hand.

The only issue we have
is this section.

I kind of blew a piece out
right here on the edge.

But other than that,
it's a great-looking piece.

Well done.
- Thank you very much.

- Tony, you're ready?
- Yes, sir.

- Promise I'll be gentle.
[laughs]

- Thank you.

♪ ♪

- After seeing colin's chip
on his blade,

My heart kind of dropped,
thinking "wow.

My blade's a lot thinner
than his."

We might have
a little problem here.

♪ ♪

- All right, tony,
as far as your handle goes,

If it were any shorter,
it wouldn't fit me,

But it fits me just fine.
Having that little flare

At the end
it's really nice retentio.

You got, like, 90% of that warp
out of there, which is great.

I don't see any issue
with your edge.

You did a great job.
Well done.

- Thank you, sir.

- Caleb, you're ready?

- Yes, sir.
- Okay.

♪ ♪

- By far, what I'm
worried about is the handle.

It's blocky.
It's very big.

And with the amount of force
that david puts in that blade,

The handle construction
could just blow apart.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- All right, caleb,
it is still in one piece,

But my issue is really
your back here in the handle.

It's really just kind of
a big mass

As supposed to having
a handle shape to it.

Every time I swing it,

I have to adjust it and hold it.

But the blade is still
together, so well done.

- Thank you, sir.

♪ ♪

- All right, bladesmiths,
this is the sharpness test,

The water bottle slice.

What I'm gonna do
is take your weapon

And try to cut through cleanly
on these water bottles.

Colin, you're up first.
Are you ready for this?

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

♪ ♪

- [laughs] yeah!

♪ ♪

- All right, colin,
let's talk about your blade.

The balance on this blade
feels good.

Despite missing a little piece
right there,

It was not an issue at all

To cut through
the water bottles.

Overall, sir,
your turkish damascus blade

Will cut.

Tony, are you ready?

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

♪ ♪

- All right, tony, let's talk
about your blade here.

Your edge is sharp, because
even on the three bottles

That it did not cut,
on the back side,

There are clean slices on that.
I just run out of blade.

Overall, sir, your blade,
it will cut.

- Roger.

- All right, caleb, your turn.
So are you ready?

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

♪ ♪

- All right, caleb, let's talk
about your weapon here.

The kind of design that
you have on your blade hee

Is very obtuse,
almost like an ax.

It cuts the bottles,
but also tends to push it.

But I'd say all the way up
to the last bottle, it cut.

♪ ♪

- Gentlemen, this
was not an easy competition.

In the first two rounds,
you dictated the difficulty.

For two of you, it pays off

'cause you're gonna be
moving forward

In the third round
of this challenge.

But that means one of you
is heading home.

The judges have made
their decision,

And the bladesmith
leaving the forge is...

♪ ♪

Caleb.

- Caleb, we know
you're a great bladesmith,

But you just run out of time.

The thick edge,
that handle setup...

Those are the reasons
we're sending you home.

- I understand.

- Caleb, it was an honor

Watching you out there,
but unfortunately,

At this time,
I'm gonna have to ask you

To please step off
the forge floor.

- Thank you, guys,
for having me.

♪ ♪

Looking back, I should have
pushed the envelope

On the first round

Just so I could have
an easier round two.

But my decision in round one
ended up biting me in the butt.

Anyway, it was
a great experience overall,

And it was an honor
to be on the competition.

♪ ♪

- Tony, colin, congratulations.

The two of you
are moving forward in the third

And final round
of this competition.

Now, in this last round,
we're gonna send you back

To your home forges to build
an iconic weapon from history.

Gentlemen, we want you
to build this,

The burmese dha.

- Holy molly.
- Hell, yeah.

- The burmese dha
traces its roots back

To 16th-century southeast asia.

The single-edged,
double-handed sword,

Features a slightly curved blade

Designed to inflict deep,

Deadly slashes
against enemies in battle.

The weapon was so effective,

Soldiers continued to use it
in combat

Through world war ii,

Where u.S.-Aided
resistance forces

Known as kachin rangers
wielded this blade

Fighting in the hills
of myanmar.

- Now gentlemen, when
you're building your dhas,

You need to follow
these parameters.

You guys need to include
a curved blade

That measures between
21 and 23 inches.

You need to include a guard
and a two-handed handle.

- Hell, yeah.

The profile of it is exactly
what I was hoping to make.

I cannot wait to go home
and work on this.

- Bladesmiths,
you guys will have four days

To build your burmese dhas.

So good luck.
See you then.

♪ ♪

- I'm feeling pretty good,
really looking forward

To getting started
on this sword.

It's go time.

I'm gonna be working
with a damascus pattern,

Trying to go above and beyond.

I'm in it to win it right now.

Beautiful.

I'll be using 15n20,
1080, and 1095.

15n20 is gonna really give
those bright finishes,

And the 1080 and 1095
give it a lot of strength.

It's working out great.

I'm way ahead of schedule.

I can get the blade
quenched today.

If I don't quench this blade
at the right temperature,

I'll have to start over.

All right, I think
we're going for it.

It's now or never.

I feel my whole body tense up
as I dunk it in the oil.

Yep, we're good.

Right where I wanted to be
by the end of the day.

I can't wait to see
what's in store for day two.

That looks [bleep] cool.

♪ ♪

- I'm back in my home forge.

We're about to start to build
on the burmese dha.

All right, here we go.
So the game plan for day one

Is to make
a 100-layer damascus billet.

I gotta give it that wow factor.

It's heavy, a big billet.

I'm gonna stack it to 25,
stretch that out,

And then cut it in fours,
restack it, making 100.

This is a timed competition,

So you wanna make sure
that everything sticks

And you got
a solid piece of steel.

I've got my 100-layer billet.
Overall, I feel great.

Now I can't wait
till this is over.

♪ ♪

- Day two, I wanna keep
the momentum going,

Just get this done, and start
grinding that blade down.

There's a lot of meat
to take away.

Ugh.
And that's when I see it.

I got a really big warp
in the blade.

Ah, that sucks.

It's a bit of a corkscrew.

That's something
I can't bend or grind out.

Looks like I'm gonna have
to re-quench my blade.

I am dreading
having to quench again.

[bleep]

Every time is another chance

My blade could crack
and I'm at square one.

Let's see what happens.

♪ ♪

The blade goes in the oil,
comes out.

I get it clamped down.

Looks like I got the warp
almost out of it.

It looks good enough for now.

I think we're good.

- At the start of day three,

We have a heat-treated
and tempered blade,

And now I'm going to blue
the spine

To give it some more durability.

I don't know what
they're gonna test it with,

So I want it to be strong
as all get out.

Now I'm starting
to see some color.

We're getting there.

So by keeping the blade
in the wet sand,

It's gonna act as an insulator,

And it's gonna prevent
the heat from traveling down.

Little by little.

If I do it right,

I'm gonna have
a shock-absorbing spine,

And it will withstand any type
of test that they put on it.

I didn't get a complete blue.
We got half a blue.

But you know what?
I think we're good.

- Day four.

It's really great
being this close to the end,

But I don't wanna get
too comfortable.

I wanna make sure
that I still put

Everything I have into this
to get it done.

That is perfect.

I get my handle
all fit together.

Everything's
looking really good.

And I spent a lot of time
polishing everything,

Getting a really nice finish
on it.

This is one of the best blades
I've ever made.

In my mind,
this is a winning weapon.

Tony, I'll see you
at the competition.

Better bring your a-game.

- Day four.

Today is pretty much
a fit and finish day.

I chose to go with osage orange
on my handle material

Because it's a hardwood.

It'll survive any blow
that they're gonna give it.

Everything's good.
I got it fitted.

It looks great.
It's gonna do some damage.

♪ ♪

[bleep]
I almost hit the ground.

[laughs]

♪ ♪

- Well, tony, colin,
welcome back to the forge.

It's great to have you.

You brought us two burmese dhas
that are masterpieces.

Before we get into the testing,
I wanna hear about 'em.

Tony, how did it go for you?

- Construction is 1084,
15n20, 100-layer damascus

With a osage orange handle
and a brass pommel.

- Colin, how about you?

- The blade is made out
of 15n20, 1080, and 1095,

The guard and pommel
are turned 1045,

And the handle is ebony.

- Well, guys,
your blades look awesome,

But we only have one way
we can find out

Which one of them
is gonna be worth $10,000

And the title
of "forged in fire" champion,

And that's with
a couple of tests.

And up first, the keal.
Doug?

- Bladesmiths, welcome
to the keal test.

♪ ♪

Your burmese dhas are beautiful,

But are they deadly?

To find that out,
I'm gonna take your weapos

To deliver some lethal blows
on this pig carcass.

Tony, you're up first.
You ready for this?

- Absolutely.

- All right, so am I.
Let's do this.

- Going first
in the competition does set

A little level of anxiety
because I have to set the bar.

I know I have
a strong, strong blade,

But anything can happen.

♪ ♪

- All right, tony, let's talk
about your weapon here.

This is a gorgeous piece.
The handle construction for me

Is a little bit
on the larger side,

But every cut, every thrust, is
very sharp on this pig carcass.

And overall, sir,
your burmese dha, it will keal.

- Thank you, sir.

- All right, colin,
your turn, sir.

You ready?
- Yup.

- All right, let's do this.

- I'm a little worried.

There is a lot

Of really tough bone
in that pig.

I'm hoping that when
doug hits that spine,

That warp doesn't any worse.

♪ ♪

Whew.

♪ ♪

[snickers]

♪ ♪

Oh, come on.

♪ ♪

- That was a big slice.

- All right, colin, let's talk
about your weapon here.

Stunningly beautiful
damascus pattern,

Beautiful handle,
easier to control

'cause
it's a little bit smaller.

Now, your edge is very sharp.

Your tip thrust
and slashes nicely,

But you already had
a little bit of a warp earlier.

Now, it's even more pronounced.

But overall, sir, your weapon,
it will keal.

- Hell, yeah.

- Bladesmiths, welcome
to our strength test.

Now I'm going to take
your beautiful damascus swords

And beat the heck out 'em

Against these guys in the armor
and shields and helmets.

Now, what your blades
do to these dummies

Is not as important to me

As what
the dummies do to your blades.

Tony, you're up first.
Ready to go?

- Get you something.
- I can do that.

♪ ♪

- Definitely worried about that,

The initial impact.

They're trying
to break your blade.

It could be disastrous.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- All right, tony, breathe.
This held up well.

You do have a little glinting
here and there,

But compared to what was done
to that, that's great.

The blade's still straight.

Everything else
is still razor-sharp.

Good job.
- Hot diggity dog.

- All right, colin,
how are you feeling, bud?

- Well, we'll know
when it's done.

- Well, let's find out then.

♪ ♪

- Here we go.

♪ ♪

- Colin, you survived.

I'm gonna start
with your handle.

The smaller diameter gives me
a little more control,

A little easier to hold on to,
but counterbalance is nice.

We've got some minor glinting.

But you still got a good edge
on there.

It's still sharp.

So overall, nice job.

- Thank you.

- All right, bladesmiths,
this is the sharpness test,

The tatami mat slice.
I'm gonna take your weapon

And try to slash across
these tatami mats.

Tony, you're up first.
Are you ready for this?

- Let's do it, sir.

- Let's do it.

♪ ♪

- All right, tony, let's talk
about your weapon here.

Your edge does cut very well.

Overall, sir, your weapon,
it will cut.

- Thank you.

- Colin, your turn, sir.
You ready?

- Yup, let's do it.
- Let's do it.

♪ ♪

- All right, colin, let's talk
about your weapon here.

When the edges make contact
with the tatami mats,

It will cut.

- Thank you.

♪ ♪

- All right, guys,
your burmese dhas showed

That you are both
very skilled bladesmiths.

But the judges have decided

Who the "forged in fire"
champion is.

And today, that smith is...

♪ ♪

Tony, congratulations.

Now, colin, you crushed it,
but unfortunately,

You're not the "forged in fire"
champion today,

And doug's gonna tell you why.

- Colin, you brought us
a beautiful weapon,

But your weapon was the only
one that took some damage

During the keal test,
where you developed the warp.

That's the reason
you didn't win today.

- Understood.

- Well, colin,
unfortunately, your time

In this competition has ended.
I'm gonna have to ask you

To please step off
the forge floor,

But thank you
for your hard work.

- Thank you.
I'm really disappointed

That I'm getting sent home
for that stupid warp.

I should've just made
a new blade,

But it was
a real close competition.

If I'm gonna lose to someone,
I'm glad it was tony.

[bleep] warps.

- Well, tony,
it was not an easy road,

But you did it.
You are the newest

"forged in fire" champion.

And you just won yourself
a check for $10,000.

Congratulations.

- This challenge
really made me realize,

Whatever you wanna do,

Go out and do it.
Just be the best at it.

My name is tony, and I am
the "forged in fire" champion.