All language subtitles for Fire - 7x33_track2_jpn

[dramatic music]tic mu]

♪ ♪

- my name is nicolas nichols.

I am
a classically trained chef.

The thing about making knives

and being in restaurants

is they're both
very, very hot environments,

and I love and I thrive
on the heat.

I would really, really love

if we were to make
kitchen knives.

That would be awesome,

because that's what
I'm used to holding

in my hand all day.

♪ ♪

- my name's logan brackin.

I've always been real crafty

with my hands, and I thought,

"hey, you know what?

I could do something
really cool

and give a lasting gift
to my family members.

And so, from then, I've been
making blades ever since.

♪ ♪

- my name's keaton goddard.

I've always enjoyed working
with my hands,

and I just came
across a video one day

of a guy making a knife
out of a file.

And I was like, "all right.
That's kind of cool."

so I tried it and
just kind of grew from there.

I'm taking on this competition
to prove to myself

that I can do it.

I quit my job
a few months ago,

and I'm just trying to do
my own thing.

♪ ♪

- my name is dale paris.

I'm 48 years old,

and I'm a full-time farrier.

I started bladesmithing
six years ago.

I just took
some old horseshoes

and put some blades
on the end of 'em

just because I could.
[laughs]

and I just kind of
got the bug.

♪ ♪

- bladesmiths,
welcome to the forge.

You are here to test
your bladesmithing skills

in three timed rounds
of edged-weapon making.

They will be judged
by a panel of experts.

These are the guys that tell us

which of you is the next
"forged in fire" champion,

walking out of here
with a check for $10,000.

So what do you say we meet 'em?

Up first, abs master smith
j. Neilson.

Next, historic weapons
re-creation specialist

david baker.

And last, edged- and
impact-weapon specialist

doug marcaida.

Gentlemen, on your anvils
is a cloth.

Go ahead and lift
that cloth up.

♪ ♪

what you have there

is a two-inch-diameter
round stock

of w-1 high-carbon steel.

Now, today we're measuring
how well you guys move metal,

how well you put it exactly
where it needs to be.

So there will be
no signature blades

in your signature style today.

No, no, instead
you'll be forging

the last piece to a puzzle...

♪ ♪

this puzzle.

You must take
that bar of steel

and forge as precisely
as possible

the last piece in our custom
"forged in fire" puzzle here.

There are no length
and width parameters.

You will be judged
on how closely

you can forge that steel
into that exact shape.

Now, you have just enough steel

to make
that full-tang design happen,

so make sure
you plan accordingly.

- One wrong hammer blow,
and you're gonna be in trouble.

♪ ♪

- you'll have just three hours

in this first round
of the competition.

Now, if you make it
to the second round,

you'll have a chance to attach
handles to your blades,

and then we'll test them
for strength and durability

in a bone chop

and for edge retention

in the dreaded and infamous
apple slice.

Gentlemen, I remind you
that after this first round,

one of you will be selected
to surrender your blade

and leave the forge.

Good luck, bladesmiths.

Your three hours starts now.

♪ ♪

so this is a unique challenge.

Basically, these guys have
to take that bar of steel

and forge that exact shape

cut into our
"forged in fire" puzzle.

How difficult is this?

- Yeah, it's difficult.

It's a lot harder
to make something

that's a set design
on demand.

They've actually got a cutout
instead of a blade here.

- Dale and keaton already
have work sticks

welded onto their rounds,

and they've got them
in the forge.

- I look over,
and I see keaton

and dale over there
welding already.

And I grab some paper,
and I trace out my shape,

so that way, I can measure
and take dimensions

on different aspects
of the blade.

- Logan immediately comes over
with a piece of paper.

- There you go.
- And he's gonna trace out

his design.

♪ ♪

- coming from a culinary
background,

we had this thing called
mise en place,

which means
"everything in its place."

I like to get my stuff
set up,

get everything ready to go

before I start running around
like a crazy person in here.

Trying to get my time
spaced out.

That way,
I know what's going on,

'cause I don't want to get beat
by the clock.

This is a very, very big piece
of steel,

but it's a really, really
big knife,

so I just got to be patient
and let it heat up.

- While the steel's
heating up, I run over

and grab
a piece of paper

and then head to the puzzle.

Want some help there?

- Keaton was nice enough--

he helped me finish tracing
it out.

This is good for me.
Let's do yours.

- I know we're here competing,
but at the end of the day,

we're all in this together.

♪ ♪

- so I want to go over

and trace the piece
of puzzle.

- You help him,
then we'll jump.

- Sweet.
- Yep.

- Keaton really helped me out
by holding my paper up.

- Dale has come over.

Everybody is mimicking
what logan's already done

by starting to trace out
the shape.

- It was nice how
it worked out.

Everyone helped everyone else
get their pattern.

- Making this template's
a nice way

to have a good idea
of where that size is

and everything else.

- Good?
- Yeah.

♪ ♪

- I haven't really done
anything this precise before.

I think I'm just gonna try and
get it a little bit oversized

and sort of grind that final
shape so it'll fit perfectly.

Hot behind you.

♪ ♪

my idea here is to not only
draw the billet out lengthwise

but also widthwise

so that the billet
doesn't become too long.

I'm feeling pretty good so far.

- There's a really big belly
on the bottom of this blade,

and I'm trying to make sure
that I have enough room

to put that in there.

- Well, now we've got nick
on the press

on the left side of the forge.

- I don't want it to be
too thin.

I know that j. Is gonna try

to beat the heck
out of this knife,

and I want to have enough
on the backside of this knife

to whenever he hits it,
it's not gonna mess it up.

- My plan is to take it over
to the press,

draw it out to about three
inches shy of the length,

and then widen it to about
two inches of the blade.

♪ ♪

- the first step to me
is to fuller that metal out.

That's smart work.

- Overall, this is
a wicked challenge.

It's hard.

I did not think that
taking a round piece of steel

and making a puzzle piece
was going to be this difficult.

- There's a lot
of different curves

on this knife,

so I need to think to myself

strategically
how to move the metal.

You can put it back,

but it's kind of like putting
toothpaste back in the tube.

It's really hard.

I'm thinking the press
is gonna be the best way

to lengthen and widen
the metal.

- Dale rotating in.

♪ ♪

- I'm reheating and pressing.

I'm getting to the point
where I notice

that I don't have
enough metal

in the right areas,

and I have it thinned out
too much.

[groans]

there's no way
that I can recover

to meet the parameters
of the knife.

If I went and tried
to chase it,

it would waste
a lot of valuable time

I could be going home.

♪ ♪

- I'm reheating and pressing
and reheating and pressing.

I'm getting to the point
where I notice

that I don't have
enough metal,

and I have it thinned out
too much

[groans]

so I have to start all over.

♪ ♪

- dale has ditched
his original piece of steel,

and he's starting over.

- I already know
that I'm behind.

I have to use my time
very wisely

to play catch-up.

- So now that
I'm done forging,

I need to refine things.

I head over
to the belt grinder,

and I start cleaning up
the blade.

- Keaton's starting to grind

some of the flat surfaces
on this blade.

- I work on refining
the profile,

getting that
recurved-blade shape in.

- Bladesmiths!
One hour has elapsed!

You have two hours remaining
to finish your work!

Two hours!

- I keep going back
to the puzzle

because I don't want to take
off too much material

- keaton is our only smith
who continues to walk up here

and trace the outline
of this blade

onto his billet.

Keaton's really got
the right idea here.

♪ ♪

- I'm hitting this knife
over the horn of the anvil

and the curve is coming in
just like I want it to.

- Looks like logan
is just adding

a little bit
more curve

- I stretch the handle out,

I take it over,
and I look at the steel

compared with the puzzle piece,

and, crap, it's too long.

♪ ♪

- logan's somehow finding steel
to cut off of this blade.

- Logan's cutting off
at least four inches.

We gave these guys enough
steel to make that pattern.

They really should not be
removing any material.

- I don't need unnecessary
amounts of metal

on the back end of this.

♪ ♪

- logan might be able to forge
that shape,

but it's gonna be
a mini version.

- My steel's thin,

but I think I'm gonna get
pretty close

if everything ends up
going well.

- Now that I have
the beginning of my knife,

I need to put
my template on it

so that I can draw the pattern
on the blade.

- Dale's been letting
his hammer go,

and he's caught up quite a bit.

- When you attack a shape
you've never done before,

and it doesn't work out

you learn a lot of things

that you shouldn't be doing.
- Right.

- So, when you try it again,
you don't go down that road.

♪ ♪

- I'm trying to cool it down

so that I can put it
into the water

without the metal cracking.

I know that that's
a big no-no,

but it's a risk that I'm gonna
have to take,

because I've already lost

30 or 40 minutes
in the beginning.

- Putting it in the water,

there's a good possibility

he puts a bunch
of stress fractures in there.

- The next thing is,
grind down to my profile.

That's
the most important point.

♪ ♪

- right now
not real confident.

This is definitely not
a blade-shaped object at all.

It looks more like a boat oar.

I mean, if I was going to go
down the hudson,

I guess I'd be okay.

- Now, you can see
nic's paddle.

Doug, what do you think
of that shape?

- It's a spatula.
[laughs]

- it's a spatula.
[laughter]

- I'm struggling a little bit.
It's a little hot in here.

I'm trying to catch up.

Not an excuse, you just
got to adapt and overcome.

♪ ♪

- nic is struggling with this

a little bit more
than I thought.

- Once I get this rough,
rough profiling done,

I'm gonna head over
to the grinder.

I feel like that's
my strongest suit

in this whole competition.

- Bladesmiths!

Two hours has elapsed!

You got 60 minutes
remaining!

- With an hour left,
I want to quench,

and I want to get over
to the grinder to grind.

I'm always on a time crunch
at my house.

My wife does a good job
of reminding me,

"hey, it's time to finish up."

and I can just hear wil willis
in the back of my head--

"hey, you've got one hour!"

♪ ♪

- logan just quenched
over here.

♪ ♪

- just skates right
over the edge,

and I'm ecstatic.

- The large amount that logan
took off concerns me.

- He might come up
a little bit short.

- I've got to put in
this choil,

and then that little-bitty
kick on the back.

My biggest concern
is finishing

before the time runs out.

♪ ♪

- so I'm at the grinder.

I look at the clock.
I have 30 minutes left.

I need to get this thing
in the forge

and quench it.

I'm definitely nervous

'cause I've never worked
with w-1 before.

♪ ♪

- he quenched at that perfect
salmon color.

♪ ♪

- it looks straight,
check it for hardness,

and I'm not happy.
[file scraping]

the file is not skating
off the blade.

- That blade hardened up.

Listening to the file on there,

it sounded to me like he had
a bunch of decarb on the blade.

- I think keaton's gonna put
that back.

- Oh, boy.
- Big mistake.

- So, unfortunately,
I have to go back in the forge.

This is really bad because

it can develop cracks
and warping.

♪ ♪

- oh, looks like keaton went
for a second quench.

♪ ♪

- this time,
when I pull the blade out,

it's got a bad warp in it.

So I go over to the bench,
put it in the vise,

try and straighten it by hand,

and it's not where
it needs to be.

♪ ♪

I got to do a third quench.

♪ ♪

- did keaton just go back
in the forge?

- Yes, he did.

- So keaton going back in
for a third time.

Not feeling good
about his heat treat.

- The whole time,
I know the clock's ticking.

I'm nervous as hell.

Just praying that it's
straight.

It's got a little bit
of a warp.

I'm a little bit worried,

but at this point,
I'm running out of time.

I think I can grind it out.

I need to keep moving.

- 20 minutes!

20 minutes, bladesmiths!

♪ ♪

- I feel my blade
is looking really good.

I'm liking my profile.

It's fitting in the puzzle.

Now I need to go
quench my blade.

♪ ♪

- dale is really
the come-from-behind kid here.

♪ ♪

- everything looks good,
looks straight.

♪ ♪

- oh!
- Oh, no!

[laughing]

- drop that anywhere.

- Time to french-fry your arm.

- Oh, boy.

- Oh, he's got oil
all over his sleeve.

Now he's gonna catch on fire,
this guy.

- Basically, he just turned
his arm into a wick.

- I decided to sacrifice
my shirt for the blade.

I felt that the blade
was more important.

And luckily, I brought
a second shirt with me.

I go directly back over
to the grinders,

and I'm gonna just do as much
material removal

as I possibly can.

- 15 minutes!

♪ ♪

- I got this profile down
the way that I want it.

Might not be the exact shape
that's up there,

but I'm gonna have
to move forward.

I really, really need
this quench to go right.

It's now or never.

♪ ♪

- nic quenched.

- I got my little jig set up
to make sure it's straight.

♪ ♪

[blade clatters]
- oh! That's where that goes.

- It may be hard,
but it's still brittle.

♪ ♪

- there's just this big,
huge crack

at the tip of my knife.

♪ ♪

I don't want to give up,

but at this point, I don't
know that I can do anything.

♪ ♪

- five...Four...Three...

Two...One!

Bladesmiths, shut down
your machines,

drop your tools!

This first round of competition
is over!

♪ ♪

- I'm looking down
at this thing,

and no matter what way I look,
I see the crack.

I feel like I got
a shooter's chance,

but I don't know
what's gonna happen.

♪ ♪

- all right, bladesmiths.

In this first round
of competition,

we asked you guys to forge
the missing piece

to our "forged in fire" custom
puzzle over here.

Now, we found our piece,

and it's time to check
how yours fit up.

Dale, you're up first.

Please present your blade
to the judges.

♪ ♪

- very close.

- All right, dale, first off,

really good job on knowing
when to start over--

smartest thing you did
out there.

These cracks you've got,

these multiple cracks
along here,

you're gonna have to really
deal with these carefully,

because this crack
right here in the middle

goes halfway
through this blade.

So there's no just grinding it
to shape

and hoping they go away--
they're not gonna go away.

But again, I commend you

on knowing when
to change your direction.

I think that was
a really smart move.

- Keaton, you're up.

Please present your blade
to the judges.

♪ ♪

- that's really good.
It's closest.

♪ ♪

- I got a tip for you.

Before you run a file across,

take some of the scale off
and then hit it with the file,

'cause I think what
you were doing

was, you were just blowing
through scale,

forged scale that was on there,
not the hard steel underneath.

But this right here,
this deep forge mark,

that's gonna be tough
to get out.

But I think you're set up good.

I think you did a good job.

- All right, logan.

Let's see how your blade
matches up.

Please present your weapon
to the judges.

♪ ♪

- definitely a lot
of gaps there.

♪ ♪

all right, logan. As you were
trying to draw it out,

you cut out some steel,

so, obviously,
there's not enough steel

to fill the gaps in there.

Your grinds are uneven.

If you move forward,

I'd really like to see you
clean that up.

- All right, nic, you're up.

Please present your blade
to the judges.

♪ ♪

- doesn't match at all.

♪ ♪

- I kind of like the shape
of this.

It's just--
it's not the same shape.

You have this
really pronounced ridge

and then a break,

as opposed to this
almost flat line

on the back of this.

The 800-pound gorilla
in the room,

other than me,
is that crack.

I've seen w-1 pop like this.

It's definitely a big issue.

♪ ♪

- all right, bladesmiths.

The judges have made
their final decision.

The bladesmith leaving
the forge is...

♪ ♪

nic.

Unfortunately, your blade
doesn't make the cut.

Doug marcaida's
gonna tell you why.

- Nic, aside
from the open crack

that you have
in your blade,

this challenge was all about

forging a blade that would
fit into our puzzle,

and your blade didn't do that.

It's for those reasons
we're sending you home.

- Nic, please surrender
your blade.

- They made
the right decision.

I'm a little disappointed.

I didn't really want
to go home first,

but it was the wrong shape.

Didn't quite make it out

to the size
that it needed to be.

Getting to have this experience
was definitely

a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity,

and I wouldn't
change anything.

♪ ♪

- bladesmiths, congratulations.

You've made it to the second
round of this competition.

The additional stipulation
in this round

is that you must use at least
two different types

of handle material on each side

of the tang for your blades
to create that handle.

You have just two hours
in this round

in which to finish
all that work.

That includes addressing
the flaws and issues

identified in your blades.

After the time runs out
in this round,

your blades will be tested
for strength and durability

in a bone chop

and for edge retention
in an apple slice.

And then based on their
performance in those tests

and your overall craftsmanship,

one of you will be selected
to surrender your blade

and leave the forge.

Gentlemen,
your two hours starts now.

♪ ♪

two hours to work out
the issues with the blades

and get them ready for testing
by attaching handles to 'em.

That's two different materials
on both sides.

- The first thing I do
is head back to the grinder.

My idea here is just
to get everything

as flat as possible.

- Keaton's got to clean up
his blade.

He's got that really deep
forge mark on that one side.

♪ ♪

- I'm giving myself
about 30 minutes

to take care
of these issues.

And from there,
I'm gonna move on

to finding materials
for my handle.

♪ ♪

- I'm trying to correct some
of the issues

that I have on my blade--
one of them being

just a wonky profile.

- Logan has to fix the grinds
that he has.

They're very uneven.

- I think I'm gonna
finish strong,

but I really don't know.

I'm mostly concerned
with the clock.

- When you're on the grinder,
it just eats up so much time.

The main thing
that I have to address

is that I have five cracks
in my blade.

- He would be very wise--

open those cracks up
so he gets deep penetration

on any welding he does on that.

♪ ♪

- so I went ahead and ground
'em out a little bit,

welded 'em up.

Now I'm just getting
everything flat.

I feel like I'm
in an okay spot right now.

I start grinding my blade
down to its profile,

and I'm noticing that the
cracks are still appearing.

[bleep].

♪ ♪

this has become a problem.

Have to grind the cracks out
and hope that I get 'em fixed.

- Concerns me that dale
had to go back

and open 'em up again,
and reweld them again.

♪ ♪

- I go back to the grinder,

and I notice that I have
two more cracks

oh, [bleep].

I don't have time for this.

I need to get this fixed.

If I don't,
then I'm automatically gone.

♪ ♪

this is make it or break.

♪ ♪

- I start grinding back
down to my profile,

and I notice that I have
two more cracks.

Oh, [bleep].

Now I have to go back
for a third time.

[judges groaning]
- oh, no.

- The more he was grinding,
it was exposing more cracks.

- I hope this will be
the last time

I'm gonna have to weld.

[bleep].

♪ ♪

- all the bevels on this blade
look great.

It's pretty straight now.
I'm happy with it.

So I can finally get
to my handle.

I'm thinking
in the back of my head,

"g10 is a pain in the butt
to drill.

Horn is not gonna work."

I look up, and I see
this red piece of wood,

and it's got two holes already
drilled into it.

I'm gonna use that
as the first part

of my handle material.

The other one, I just grab
linen micarta

'cause it usually holds up
really well.

I like to take my time.

For me, I would rather turn in
a somewhat unfinished handle

and know
that it's not gonna break

than to turn in a handle
that's put together well,

but the glue didn't set,

and the second they chop
something, crack.

♪ ♪

- I'm feeling pretty good.

I was able to get most
of the hammer blow out.

There's still a little bit left
right there, obviously,

but I don't want to go too thin
for the strength test.

- The only thing that we're
really worried about

with keaton's blade
is that deep hammer mark

and his heat treat.

- Now I'm going to move on
to my handle.

This is really the puzzle part.

Getting everything to fit
and line up

is the hardest part
about this.

I cut out my handle scales,

and then I match them
up together

by clamping them, I save time

because I don't have to grind
them individually.

I don't really know what kinds
of wood I went with.

I just went
with different colors

to make it look like a puzzle.

- Bladesmiths!
60 minutes has elapsed.

That is half the time
in round two.

One hour.

- I know that time
is getting short.

I know I got to deal
with my handle.

I know I need two different
handle materials,

so I just go grab two big,
thick pieces of wood

and figure I'm just gonna
grind it all away.

♪ ♪

- so I have everything
glued up.

Got everything where
it needs to be

with a solid mechanical
connection.

In the larger piece here,
I have two pins going through.

Smaller piece, I have one.

Theoretically,
it should be solid.

- Keaton's got a nicely
shaped blade,

it fit into our puzzle well.

- I think keaton will get by
with that one deep hammer mark.

- The next step
is gonna be sharpening

and then shaping the handle.

♪ ♪

- 15 minutes, bladesmiths!

- My goal with the handle is
just make it nice and smooth.

Keep it skinny.

- Man, that looks nice.

♪ ♪

- my cracks are gone.
I have my handle glued on.

Everything looks good.

Now all I have to do
is get my handle done.

- I think dale's shaping
his handle already.

♪ ♪

- there we go.

- Five minutes, bladesmiths.

You have less than
five minutes remaining

to finish your work.

- When I'm making knives,
there's times I wing it,

and there's times I don't.

The second I got over
to that grinder,

it's winging it.

I've got to make
this handle feel good.

- We've got logan doing
some hand-sanding.

- He's doing the old airport
shoeshine technique.

- As I get closer and closer
and closer,

I grab it, and I went,
"that's a handle."

- five...Four...Three...

Two...One.

Bladesmiths, shut down
your machines, drop your tools.

This second round
of competition is over.

- Finally, the clock stops.

I put down my knife,

and I'm not gonna lie--
I'm really nervous.

Bone chops are not kind
on blades.

But I think that if it survives
j. Neilson's hand,

I'll be okay.

- Bladesmiths,
welcome to our strength test...

The bone chop.

Now, to test
your edge-holding ability

and overall construction
of your blades,

I am going to,
with great joy and violence,

beat your blades
into these bones

and try to get all the way
through them.

Now, I really don't care what
your blades do to the bones,

if they get through them
or not.

I want to see what the bones
are gonna do to your blades.

Logan, you're up first.
You ready to go?

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

♪ ♪

- we're about to do
the bone chop.

♪ ♪

my blade looks like
it's got a good hardness,

but have you ever seen
j. Neilson swing a blade?

He could hit that bone
and snap.

- [grunts]

♪ ♪

[grunting]

♪ ♪

- okay, logan,
let's start with your handle.

The best feature
about the handle

was the finger well here.

So I was able to pretty much
lock in on that.

Your blade, on the other hand,

stayed straight,

but you got several actual
tears in the metal.

And there's a bunch of
chewed-up spots in the middle.

So problem
with the heat treat.

But overall, you survived.

Good job.
- Thank you, sir.

- All right, keaton.
How you feeling?

- Little nervous.
- Little nervous?

- Yep.
- I feel fine.

- Let's do it.
- [laughs] let's do it.

♪ ♪

going in the bone chop,
seeing the testing in person,

it's way more brutal
than you think.

I'm pretty nervous
about mine breaking.

♪ ♪

- [grunting]

♪ ♪

keaton, couple things.

You can see your edge
rolled over.

So there's an issue
with the heat treat.

It's got a couple
chew points.

The handle, you lost...

Part of your bolster material.

But overall,
it stayed straight and in line.

Good job.
- Thank you.

- All right, dale.
Last one to go. You ready?

- Ah, yeah,
since I'm the last one,

there's no one else.

Let's do it.
- [laughs]

♪ ♪

- I feel very confident.

I have a decent edge
on my blade,

but I know that my blade had
five cracks,

and I'm hoping that I got them
all addressed

and my blade holds up.

♪ ♪

right now,
I'm a little bit nervous.

♪ ♪

- I know that my blade
had five cracks,

and I'm hoping that I got them
all addressed,

and my blade holds up.

♪ ♪

- okay, dale, on the plus side,

you got through the first bone,
no problem.

Bad side is,
you got no knife now.

Your grain structure actually
looks very good.

But if you look on this side,

there's that dark spot
right there.

You had a stress fracture
in there

that the bone
just opened up completely.

But you got through one bone,

and you never quit,
so good on you.

- Thank you.

♪ ♪

- dale, your blade has suffered
a catastrophic failure

in the first strike
in our strength test

and can no longer continue
with testing.

Now I'd like to invite you
to shake our hands,

shake your competitors hands,

and then exit the forge
to the right.

- This experience
has been really good for me.

I may not be
a "forged in fire" champion,

but I know
that I gave it my all

and my best and I never quit.

When I go home,
I'm gonna get back in the shop

and make more knives.

♪ ♪

- logan, keaton,
congratulations.

You guys have made it

to the final round
of this competition.

Now it's time to send you back
to your home forges

to re-create an iconic weapon
from history...

♪ ♪

the japanese ono.

Oh, yes.
[rim shot]

and here to tell you
more about it,

historic weapons re-creation
specialist david baker.

- The japanese ono
was a long battle-ax

used by the samurai warriors
during the 17th century.

Measuring
nearly six feet long,

these intimidating poleaxes

were used
to destroy barricades

and smash opponents' armor.

After becoming feudal japan's
official police force

during the edo period,

the samurai used their ono
to keep the peace,

which they accomplished
for over 250 years.

Gentlemen, your final challenge
is to forge a japanese ono

that falls within
the following parameters.

The overall length
of this weapon

must be between
58 and 60 inches.

It is
a double-headed ax blade,

and the larger head
of this blade

must measure between
seven and nine inches.

- Never heard of it.
Never seen it.

I'm a little bit worried

about figuring out how to make
the whole thing

out of one piece
'cause it's pretty big

and it's kind of
an awkward shape.

So it's gonna be
a tough challenge.

- You'll have four days
at your home forges

in which to complete
all this work.

After that, you'll return

and present your weapons
to our judges,

and then they'll test
the hell out of them.

And then based on your
craftsmanship

and your weapon's performance,

they'll declare one of you
the "forged in fire" champion,

who also earns a check
for $10,000.

Good luck.
We'll see you in four days.

- Good luck, man.

♪ ♪

[hammer clangs]

- we are in bryan, texas,

and I am making
a japanese ono.

My goal is to maybe get it
lengthened

to the length parameters

and then see how much steel
I have left to work with.

[machine whirring]

I've almost got it
to the width that I want it.

Once I get it
shaped and straightened,

I'm gonna cut what extra
I don't need off,

and I'm gonna stack that
in my billet

to draw out the edge portion.

♪ ♪

and now it's time to forge it
all together.

♪ ♪

so mainly what
I'll do tomorrow

is start with working
this area right here.

I'd like to fatten this out,

and then I'll be happy
with this for the most part.

♪ ♪

[hammer clangs]

- so it's the final round.
I'm back here on nantucket.

I'm gonna make
a japanese ono.

So I start by trying
to widen the steel

with the drawing hammer,

and I realize it's gonna make
my ax way too thin.

So I take the bar of steel,

and I'm just hitting it
into the anvil.

So, if I upset it,
it'll get fatter,

and then I can draw it wider
from that thickness.

♪ ♪

not only is it getting thicker,

but I'm also starting
to get that crescent shape

that I'm looking for.

♪ ♪

so it's the end of day one.

I got both of these ax heads

pretty much completely
forged out.

I didn't have any
"oh, [bleep]" moments today,

but you never know--
there could be one coming up.

- I feel like today's
gonna be a good day.

I'm gonna go ahead
and clean up the piece.

I'm gonna set all
my weld lines with the welder

and create a scarf weld

so I can bring out more
of the head of the ax.

So I'm gonna draw it out
a little bit both ways

and see how well they stuck.

♪ ♪

[machine whirring]

♪ ♪

I start noticing cracks.
My welds aren't welded up.

And as I'm just grinding
and grinding and grinding,

I see I've only got
a 16th of steel left.

♪ ♪

[bleep].

My blade broke.
It shattered.

Kind of disappointed
right now.

The forge welds
never stuck.

The original piece
was all that held on.

I've got to start over.

I've got to find something
to turn in.

♪ ♪

trash.

♪ ♪

this is not what I planned.

♪ ♪

- I start noticing cracks.

My welds aren't welded up.

And I see I've only got
a 16th of steel left.

♪ ♪

[bleep].

My blade broke.
It shattered.

♪ ♪

the forge welds never stuck.

The original piece
was all that held on.

I've got to start over

I've got to find something
to turn in.

♪ ♪

I've got plenty of time to at
least turn in something ugly.

So I've got some spring steel,
and we're gonna go from there.

♪ ♪

[machine whirring]

it's going good.

Tomorrow I have to finish
the small head.

I've got to shape
the big head,

and then the rest of the day
I can start working

on the handle.

- It's the start of day three.

I was not able to quench
last night.

I need to quench this thing
as soon as possible

because I'm running
out of time.

♪ ♪

I did it!

Nice and straight.

♪ ♪

ah, this is great.
Dude, I'm so happy.

It's time to do some casting.

I'm casting
the heart ornaments

that are gonna go around
the holes in the ax.

Artistry and craftsmanship
are very important to me,

so I want to incorporate that.

I put some bronze
in the crucible,

get the bronze melting.

♪ ♪

I pull 'em out, cool 'em off
in some water.

It's just looking really good.

Perfect.

- It's the morning
of day three.

It's going okay,
considering the fact

I had to restart yesterday.

Hopefully just finish drawing
out the little head

and then start drawing
out the big head.

♪ ♪

I've got a small ax head.
I'm happy with that.

I got to finish shaping it,
then go along the big one.

[machine whirring]

I'm actually kind of happy
it fell apart at this point.

It's coming out a lot better.
It's working a lot better.

I think it was meant to be.

♪ ♪

I've almost got the shape
of my head,

so I'm gonna stick it
in the forge real quick,

heat it up, and then
we're gonna go for a quench.

♪ ♪

big side first.

♪ ♪

now I'm about to quench
the smaller part.

Too hot, too hot, too hot,
too hot, too hot, too hot.

♪ ♪

[files scraping]
like music to my ears.

End of day three.

Honestly, I'm just happy

that I'm gonna be
turning something in.

- So it's the start of day
four.

Got the bronze hearts
attached.

The ax head
is pretty much done.

Shiny!

Next is figure out
this handle.

Just gonna use
this piece of hickory.

Got a nice, straight grain
to it.

I head over
to the belt grinder,

and I just start
hogging off material.

I'm just trying to get it
down to a manageable size

because I don't really have
a lot of time.

I'm also shaving the end
of the hickory

so that it'll slide into
the socket of the ax head.

♪ ♪

and I got to do
one more thing--

drill the hole
and then put that pin in it

and peen it over.

♪ ♪

and we're done.

Am I going to be making another
one of these anytime soon?

Oh, no.

♪ ♪

- logan, keaton.

Welcome back to the forge.

You fellas have had four days
at your home forges

to build your onos.

Logan, how'd it go?

- I had a few "oh, no's"
with my first ono.

- Okay.

- My second one came out
a lot better.

My ono is made out of a dump
truck leaf spring--5160.

The handle
is made out of hickory.

I put a leather wrap
to strengthen the neck.

It's a single pin
with epoxy and a shaft.

- All right, all right.
Keaton...

How do you compare?

♪ ♪

- my blade's forged
out of 80crv2.

It is tig-welded
to the steel socket,

and it is attached
to a hickory shaft,

and then I created
some bronze embellishments

to go around the heart-shaped
holes in the blade.

- All right, gentlemen.

Now it's time to see
whose blade

is worthy of being
a "forged in fire" champion

in our strength test,
a sharpness test,

and up first, doug's keal test.

Doug.

♪ ♪

- all right, bladesmiths.
Welcome to the keal test.

It's time to find out

what kind of lethal damage
your onos will do.

To find that out,
I will take your weapon

and deliver some lethal blows
on this ballistics dummy.

Let's see if your onos
can be an "oh, yes!"

[chuckles]
logan, you're up first.

You ready for this?
- Yes, sir.

Coming into testing,
my biggest fear

is that the shaft's
gonna break.

But I made this ono for battle.

It is ready to keal.

♪ ♪

[chuckles]

- [breathing heavily]

♪ ♪

oh...No.

[laughs]
logan.

This is a lot of fun.

The damage that you did
with your design over here--

for every chop
using this digs in,

on the way out, it guts you.

Pretty much opened everything

and crushed everything
in its path.

More importantly, your ono
is an "oh, yes."

it will keal.

- Thank you.

- Keaton, your turn, sir.
You ready?

- Oh, yeah.

- Let's do this.

- Coming into testing,
I'm feeling good.

I think my weapon
is lightweight.

It's gonna cut well,

and I'm excited to see
what this thing can do.

♪ ♪

- all right, keaton,
let's talk about your ono here.

At first, when I picked it up,
I was like, "oh, wow.

That's light."

but then when I wielded it,
I was like, "oh, yes."

this thing stayed on.
It's solid.

Your edges,
they're sharp.

And that's why it dug in
very deep.

Overall, sir,
your ono is an "oh, yes!"

and it will keal.
- Thank you.

♪ ♪

- bladesmiths.

Welcome to our strength test--

bamboo wall chop.

Now, to push your onos
to the limit,

I'm gonna beat them
repeatedly

against this strong, thick,
springy bamboo.

Now, again, it's not what
your onos do to the wall.

It's what the wall does
to your onos.

Logan, how you feeling?

- Good.
- Good. I feel good, too.

Let's go to it.

- I'm a little nervous
about the wall chop.

I'm afraid something's
gonna break on my blade.

Bamboo is tough,

and I have no clue what's
gonna happen to my weapon.

♪ ♪

- [grunting]

♪ ♪

all right, logan, good job.

Your edge is still good.

Everything's still tight.

It's heavy.

The wrap makes it a
little difficult to slide down

during the chop,

but everything's
still tight, sharp.

Did a lot to that.

Good job.
- Thank you, sir.

- Keaton, how you feeling?
- Good.

Let's do it.

I feel like we're pretty much
neck and neck.

We both performed really well
on the keal test.

Hickory's a pretty strong
material.

So, if that shaft breaks,
that's it--I'm going home.

♪ ♪

- going into
the strength test,

the ono is only
going to be as strong

as its weakest point.

So, if that shaft breaks,
that's it.

I really need to perform well
in this test.

♪ ♪

- [grunting]

♪ ♪

- he's letting it go, huh?

♪ ♪

- all right, keaton, good job.

It's nice, light, fast,
easy to swing.

My favorite aspect

is how you have the wood
going all the way through

and split up top here.

Your edges are still good.
Everything's tight.

Good job.
- Thank you.

♪ ♪

- all right, bladesmiths.

Now it's time to find out
how sharp they are.

This is the sharpness test.

The water tube slice.

Now, unlike the strength test,

this is all
about what your edge does

to those water tubes.

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

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

- Coming into this test,

seeing how keaton performed
on the wall,

I feel like I'm behind.

And I'm a little nervous
at this point.

♪ ♪

- all right, logan.

That's an impressive cut--
very clean,

no jagged edges on the tubes.

Your weapon, sir,
it will cut.

- Thank you, sir.
- Good job.

- All right, keaton,
your turn, sir.

You ready?
- Yep.

- Let's do this.

- The last test is critical.

I really need it
to have nice, clean cuts.

So any edge damage
from the strength test

could be the difference
between winning and losing.

♪ ♪

- all right, keaton, let's
talk about your weapon here.

Once again, I have to mention

just how thin the profile
of your blade is,

making it razor-sharp.

And the cuts are very clean.

Overall, sir,
it'll cut.

- Thank you.

- All right, bladesmiths.
The weapons tests are complete.

I just need to get final
confirmation from them

about which of you is our
"forged in fire" champion.

♪ ♪

all right.
Weapons tests are complete.

Doug, is one more effective
than the other?

- No, they both performed
equally well.

- Okay, now let's talk

about weight, balance,
and craftsmanship.

- Weight, balance,
and craftsmanship

are all found
in one particular weapon...

- I agree with doug.

Logan's blade is
really forward-heavy.

It's a little harder
to control.

- All right.

♪ ♪

all right, bladesmiths.

The judges have evaluated
your craftsmanship.

You've both done incredible
work here today,

but only one of you can be
the "forged in fire" champion,

and that champion is...

♪ ♪

keaton.
Congratulations.

You're the "forged in fire"
champion.

Logan, unfortunately, your
weapon didn't make the cut.

David baker's
gonna tell you why.

- Logan, you brought us
a beautiful weapon.

This came down
to the finer details

of weight and balance

and the usability
of the weapon.

And that's why
we're letting you go.

- Yes, sir.

- Logan, that is a highly
devastating weapon,

but at this time,

I have to ask you
to please shake our hands

shake your competitor's hand,
and please exit the forge.

Come on forward, my friend.

♪ ♪

- I'm happy for keaton,
but I'm disappointed.

I broke my first blade
the first two days in,

so, I mean, being able
to crank something out

in 23 hours,
I'm happy with it.

Moving forward, I'm going
to continue headstrong.

I may not be
a "forged in fire" champion,

but I'm happy that
I made great friends.

- Keaton, that
beautifully crafted

and deadly ono
has earned you the title

of "forged in fire" champion,

and that's a title
that comes with a check

for $10,000.

Good job, brother.

♪ ♪

is that your smiling face?

- [laughs]
- 'cause you look like

you're in pain right now.
- No, I'm excited.

- All right. Come on forward
and shake our hands, my friend.

- "forged in fire" champion--
I did it.

This experience
has been great.

It was definitely a challenge.

The biggest thing I took away
from this

was just work hard,
keep going,

no matter what happens.

♪ ♪