All language subtitles for Forged.in.Fire.S10E01.720p.WEB.h264-EDITH_Subtitles01

[dramatic music]

♪

- Over the years,
we've seen hundreds of smiths

walk through our doors
to compete for a chance

at becoming a
"Forged in Fire" champion.

- Oh, yeah!

- But now, for the first time,
we're going to them.

♪

We're scouring
the bladesmithing hotbeds

of America, looking
for the country's best shops

and their top smiths.

Just like how barbecue
is different in Saint Louis

than it is in Texas,

blacksmiths have unique styles
and techniques that originate

from the shop they call home.

Each week, one of our judges
will travel to one

of the nation's top forges
to put their local style

to the test and handpick
their top bladesmith

to come back
to our home forge.

Each forge's champion
will battle

for $20,000 for themselves

and $10,000 of forging
equipment for their shop.

- It's anyone's game.

- This is "Forged in Fire:
On the Road."

♪

Today, we've traveled
halfway across the country

with ABS Master Smith
J. Neilson.

- America's home to some of
the world's top bladesmiths,

and the forge I chose
is where thousands

have gotten their start.

We're heading
to the world-renowned

Bill Moran School
of Bladesmithing,

located in Texarkana, Texas.

Home of the oldest
bladesmithing school

in the world,
Bill Moran is a legend.

He not only founded the school

and the American
Bladesmith Society,

but he also revived
the lost art of Damascus.

And today, smiths from
beginners to ABS Master Smiths

travel near and far to learn,
refine their skills,

and teach others the craft.

Now three of their top smiths
will compete

to represent this shop
and me for their chance

at becoming
a "Forged in Fire" champion.

♪

- My name is Chris Julian.

I'm 31 years old.

I've been making knives
for about seven years.

I'm really excited about
coming here and representing

the Bill Moran forge
on this competition

and showing y'all
what we do out here.

It's gonna be a great time.

- My name is Jaymes Stevens.
I'm 37.

The Bill Moran School
is the place to go

to really learn how
to hone your craft.

So it is
kind of surreal feeling

to come back to the school
that I learned so much from,

and to be able to come back
and represent the school

feels really good.

♪

- I'm Jake Anstaett.
I'm 21 years old,

and I have six years'
experience.

Knives, hot metal,
and a hammer--

that's just my passion, man.

I'm really stoked they
gave me the opportunity

to come out here.

This place was here
pre-internet,

so this was the only

true bladesmithing school
taught by masters.

It's a privilege
and an honor to be here.

♪

- Well, bladesmiths, welcome
to the competition, guys.

We are thrilled to be here
with you in Texarkana

at the Bill Moran
School of Bladesmithing.

Today, we're being hosted

by this shop's coordinator,
Don McIntosh.

Now, this forge
was specifically chosen

by our own ABS Master Smith
and judge, J. Neilson.

So each of you will not only
be representing

the Bill Moran School
of Bladesmithing,

but also J in this competition.

Now, gentlemen,
here's how it's gonna go.

The three of you are about
to take part in two rounds

of bladesmithing competition.

The end of each one
of those rounds,

there will be an elimination.

But if you take home the crown
from this forge,

you'll then compete
against the other winners

from our road tournament
in the final showdown.

♪

Now, gentlemen,
there is a lot at stake here

because one of you has
the opportunity to come out

on top of this competition,
which doesn't mean

you just have bragging rights.

You will also get a check
for $20,000 for your pocket.

To make the deal
a little bit sweeter,

the Bill Moran School
of Bladesmithing

will also get
up to $10,000 worth

of forging equipment
and supplies.

Now to kick things off,
we're gonna start

with a five-straight-hour
bladesmithing round.

We're gonna ask you to build
a blade from start to finish.

Since this school's founder
Bill Moran is considered

the father
of modern day Damascus,

we found it only fitting
for you to make

a signature blade
in your signature style,

using this.

♪

What you're looking at here
are layers of 1075

and 15N20 high carbon steel.

And that's what we
want you to use to make

a layered Damascus billet.

Now, because the ABS
considers Damascus

to be at least
300 layers thick,

we want you to make
your signature blades

with at least 300 layers.

- 300 layers?

How am I gonna do that,
forge a blade,

and put a handle
on in five hours?

- Once that five hours is up,
I'm going to ask you

to turn your blades over
to J. Neilson here,

and he's gonna put your blades
through a series

of ABS-Master-Smith-inspired
tests.

So good luck and stay sharp,

because your time starts now.

Here we go. All right.

We've got
three signature blades

in their signature style.

We just need to have at least
300 layers of Damascus.

So what I'm excited about
is this shop

is all about blade-making
specifically.

Sometimes, we have
competitors who are

blacksmiths who make knives.

These guys are knife makers
who make knives.

- And I expect to see
good work out of this.

- 300 layers in five hours?

That's a lot to ask for
in that amount of time.

- Time management is a massive
factor in this competition.

- So on my first stack,
I'm going for 14 layers.

I'm gonna go ahead
and stretch out my billet

and cut, stack five times.

So it's gonna be 70 layers.

And then my second go around,
I can go ahead

and stretch that out again,

and I'm gonna stack it
five more times.

That's gonna give me
350 layers,

so I'll be well within
the parameters,

as far as our layer count.

- You don't want to have
anything possibly come apart.

So clean that steel up.

Might save you some
trouble later on.

- It's a pretty picture to
have everybody on grinders.

- Oh, I bet.
- Grinding at the same time.

- It's fun when we got the
four contestants at our shop,

and they're all on that anvil,

swinging the hammer
at the same time.

We're just kind of like--
[sings tune]

♪

- 300-layer Damascus
did seem to be

a little bit of a challenge.

It's gonna be tough,
but I think I can do it.

We start out with 14 different
layers, forge that together.

Then we draw that out,
cut, and restack.

Then do five sections.

And if I do that twice,

that will render me
350 layers.

- Next class you teach,
though, you should

put that clock up on the wall.

Say, OK, class is
over in five hours.

- I can't wait to tell them,

"Bladesmiths,
you have 10 minutes!"

[laughter]

- A little bit worried.

I'll keep pushing through,

and we'll make
something happen.

- Texarkana is the border
between Texas and Arkansas,

and I'm super stoked.

I get to represent the Bill
Moran School of Bladesmithing.

I get to represent Texas,
and hopefully bring home a win.

♪

I'm starting with 14 layers.

I'm gonna draw that out,
cut it into six.

That gets me 84.

Draw that out again,
cut it into four.

And that gives me 336.

So that gets me up
to layer count.

- So Don, we've got
propane forges at our forge.

And you said these
are natural gas?

- Natural gas.

- Is there any big difference

in the amount of heat
it puts out?

- Natural gas
doesn't heat as quick,

and it won't get as hot.

- So hopefully,
when these guys first put

those billets in there,

they will let that steel
sit in there, soak,

and get hot enough
so it's actually gonna

have this first
successful forge weld.

- There's no rush at this
point because if you rush,

that'll just cause you problems
later in the competition.

- Who's B.R. Hughes on that
big old panel back there?

- B.R. Hughes is one of the
founding members of the ABS.

He's the only one
that's still living.

- Does he ever come out here?

- Yeah, every class.

And boy, the people
just love to meet him.

- That's great.

- He's kind of a legend.

- Oh yeah, B.R. is a super guy.

It's pretty incredible
that we're

in America's first
bladesmithing school ever.

- No kidding.

- I can't even imagine
how many ABS Master Smiths

have gone through this place.

- The American Bladesmithing
Society was founded

in 1976 by Bill Moran,
Bill Bagwell,

Don Hastings, and B.R. Hughes.

During that time, less than
a dozen known bladesmiths

existed in the country.

So the guild was created
to encourage the growth

of the craft
by increasing resources

available to new smiths

and by setting
a fundamental standard

to determine
a bladesmith's skill.

Today, smiths must pass
extreme performance tests

to earn the rankings of
Journeyman and Master Smith.

♪

- Why is it not working here?

♪

Welding.

Plumbing, you don't
do a lot of welding.

So I need to work
on my welding skills

because I had some major issues
with that there.

- We're about 30 minutes in,

and Chris is still
at the stick welder.

These little time delays
add up and compile

and make this competition
a whole lot more difficult.

- Welding!

- That was pretty quick.

Within 30 minutes, Jake got
his stack welded together,

heated up,
and now he's on the press.

- The first pass is gentle.

You just want light taps
to condense it enough

to where your ends don't
fray apart,

your center doesn't bulge.

It's just, again, patience.

My welds look good.

Now, I can just get it hot
and draw it out.

- Jake has got a good system.

He's moving along nicely.

♪

- So working on
this first billet,

what's their primary
goal to set themselves

up for the next step?

- Stretching that steel out,

and hoping their math is right.

- Hoping their math is right?

[laughs]

- The layers actually
multiply pretty quickly.

- Oh, yeah.

Jaymes's forge welds
are looking

very evenly colored,
very solid.

I think he's gonna cut it
and stack pretty soon here.

♪

It's about time.

Chris is off the welder,
into the fire.

What I'm concerned
about is he's gonna

have to go back
to the welding station

at least two more times
in this competition.

- Hey, I need to take some
welding lessons from you,

apparently.
- [laughs]

- I'm behind, and I'm not
liking this one bit.

It's stressing me out.

And golly, I'm hoping I can
catch up to the guys in time.

- All right, guys,
one hour has elapsed.

You've got
four hours remaining.

That was not something
that Chris wanted to hear,

'cause he's significantly
behind at this point.

- I still gotta cut,
stack again twice.

I need to hurry up
and get on that.

- Forge!

- Jake's already
on the chop saw.

He's cutting up
for his next stack.

- I'm curious to see how
many pieces he's cutting,

how he's gonna stack that up.

- I get to 24 inches,
cut it into six equal lengths,

which gives me 84 layers.

♪

Then, I notice there's
a delam at the top.

I don't wanna forge in delams.

- We have the first
potential mishap going on.

- I think we might be
seeing a little stress

flaring up on Jake.

- This is where the
mind game comes in.

He was so used to
being the front runner.

- I know this is gonna
cause me trouble

if I don't take care
of that now.

So I'll try to
grind out that layer

and try to get that delam out.

I should be already welded
by now, but it's all good.

Adapt and overcome.

♪

- Ow!

- Golly!

- Son of a bitch.

- We're in the danger zone.

- Yeah, no kidding, man.

I just got pegged.

- He's trying to blind us
so you can't see his blade

when you're judging it.

- Oh, [bleep].
Hey!

My bad. [laughs]

- Damn Texas snowstorm.

- That's it.

[laughter]

- All right, Jaymes
is the first one

into this final stack.

I've got to say,
he's got pretty

uneven lengths on his layers.

- Yeah, hopefully he
doesn't start folding

those ends over
on each other,

causing cold shuts in the ends.

♪

- He's going more aggressive
than he did the last time.

- Yeah.

♪

- Mm, that's gonna suck.

- Going to forge!

I see that I have a
delamination forming.

I just had one separate.

- Oh, no.

- You can see
that back corner,

when he has putting
it in there,

there was a really bright
white spot in there.

There might be
a gap in the welds.

- Oh.

- If I let this problem
stay in the material,

I could forge weld
a bad spot into it,

and it would come apart.

- OK, so we got
a bakery going on

at Jaymes's
workstation here.

And I think what Jaymes
is trying to do

is close up those uneven ends,
get between those seams,

and clean out any junk
that might be in there,

and then seal
the entire billet up.

And now I want a donut.

- You want a what?
- I want a donut.

Now I want a powdered donut.

♪

- Jaymes doesn't seem like he's
upset, by the looks of him.

So I think his
billet's doing OK.

- One thing I will say
about these three smiths--

can't complain about their
forge welding skills.

They've been doing a good job.

- It just goes to show that
this shop is put together

extremely well,
and you've got smiths who

are talented fighting today.

- Well, this is not their
first ball game on Damascus.

- Yep.

♪

- Bill Moran is sometimes
referred to as the father

of modern-day Damascus because
he is known for taking

the ancient craft
of forge welding steel

and updating it
for modern times.

For centuries, blacksmiths
and bladesmiths would

forge weld
different steels together

and fold them over repeatedly

to create a stronger blade.

By the mid-1900s, the increase
in use of machines

and mass-produced steel
led most bladesmiths

to use the stock removal
method to make a knife

out of a solid bar of steel.

Bill Moran wanted
to change that

and encourage more people
to use

the traditional blacksmithing
methods to create knives.

In the 1970s,
he began experimenting

with forge welding layers
of steel together,

which gave his knives
a stunning pattern

without sacrificing strength
and durability.

By rediscovering
this lost art,

Bill was successful
in reigniting the passion

for forging blades across
the country.

♪

Jake's been over here,
grinding on those pieces

for a good 20 minutes.

- Yeah, Jake was about
30 minutes ahead.

Now, he's about
30 minutes behind.

- Yeah.

Oh, how the tables have turned.

- Press!

Chasing that delam ate up
a lot of my time.

But I just have to stay calm
and just do what I know.

And what I know
how to do is forge.

- Jake is on the press.

This is his second forge weld.

It seems like he's kind
of rushing a little bit,

so this is where
mistakes can happen.

- Yeah.

- I got my 84-layer count
drawn out to 20 inches.

I'm gonna cut it
into four lengths, restack,

weld, and that should
bring it to 336 layers.

I'm back in the game.

I'm right with everyone else.

It's anyone's game.

- All right, gentlemen,
with two hours down,

you've got three hours left.

How do you guys feel about
the competition so far?

- Can't remember the last
one of these competitions

where it was such a tight race.

All these smiths are really
good, very impressive.

I'd be happy
with any of them winning

and representing me
in the finals.

♪

- I have now reached
my layer count,

and so now I need
to get all that material

into dimensions that I
can use to make a knife.

- Jaymes's blade is
still really thick.

- He's planning on doing
some serious grinding, or--

- I hope so.

- For the design that I have
in mind, the Bowie style,

I knew it needed a clip point.

It needed a large,
sweeping cutting radius

and a fairly solid handle
to cut or to be useful.

Phew!

Shooting fire.

- Since the Damascus is done,

now it's time to forge a knife.

I'm gonna make
a camp knife/Bowie,

something that has kind
of rugged edge geometry

but is also durable enough
to chop through stuff

and hold up.

I got my blade rough forged.

Time to do a couple
of thermal cycles

and get ready to quench.

♪

- Just trying to get it
shaped out the way I want it

and hopefully get
it heat treated.

So that way,
I can get onto the handle.

'Cause the sooner I get on
that handle, the better.

- You know how many smiths
who've come through here

who are now Journeymen
or Masters?

- I know at one time,
just about every Master Smith

had come through this program.

- Just about.

- Just about.

- Gotta address
a couple things.

- This school was basically
a godsend for a lot of people

because there was no internet.

You're lucky if you
could find a VHS tape

on how to make knives.

Maybe a couple of books
out there,

but there wasn't a lot unless
you knew somebody.

- That's it.

- I ended up wanting to
do a recurve Bowie Knife.

I've done the design before.

It's something that's
familiar with me.

And I know it should do
good for this challenge

'cause I've used it in
other knife competitions.

- These guys quickly become
standalone bladesmiths.

They're gonna go somewhere
in this industry.

- Mm-hmm.

- That's why they're here.

- Good choices.

♪

- Everything can go wrong
in a quench.

My blade could break.

It could split open and delam.

Anything can happen.

♪

[grunts] Whoo!

- Jake's the first one
to quench a blade.

- Oh, nice.

This is the part where
it's like the horses

are coming around the track.

You see who's
gonna pull out now.

- Quench went well.

It's all in one piece.

My blade is hard.

I'm happy.

That I made it this
far in the competition

without anything catastrophic,
it's exhilarating.

But I need to throw
a handle on there.

- Don, is there any specific
reason you only

have the one quench tank here?

- Yeah, no.

[laughter]

- They get that extra
10 grand here,

they can get another
quench tank.

- Yeah, fair enough.

♪

All right, Jaymes is quenched.

That's two down.

- I ensure that
everything is solid,

but I'm slightly
concerned about the time.

I need to hurry up
and get my handle finished.

I need to get it
attached to the blade.

But if I keep working,

I know I can
complete the task.

♪

- All right,
checking magnetism.

♪

All right, three smiths
with quenched blades.

- Nice.

- Last but not least,
Chris is done.

- I don't have any warps.

I'm happy about it.

I need to get
the handle on ASAP.

♪

- I got my holes drilled,
so now it's time

to get this handle going.

- All right, gentlemen,
we are down to the final hour.

- I see that clock.

And you try not
to focus on it,

but it gets to you.

- Slap that epoxy
on there, Jake.

- Look at that.

Being very liberal with it.

♪

Don, what kind of
handle material

are you guys supplying
for these knives?

- Most of it is a maple.

- Good, sturdy handle wood.

- Good wood.

- You guys source it locally?

- Yes.
- Really?

- Yeah. As a matter of fact,

knife making friend
cut the tree

and brought it up here
and give it to me.

- That's great.

I need better friends.

- Thanks.

- I was talking about you.

[laughs]

- At this point, I'm
ready to start drilling

the holes in the handle.

♪

Oh.

- It starts throwing
shavings and then stops.

- Nope.

- We probably should
have called ahead

and let you know to get
some more drill bits.

We run through them so fast.

♪

- Oh!

And there's a broken drill bit.

- Oh!

- I don't have time for this.

One more 1/8 inch drill bit,
please.

These drill bits
are gonna be my pins.

- There, he's
officially got the most

expensive pins in his handle.

- The tang is too hard.

So I have to stop,
get the torch,

and warm it back up
to soften it.

But I can take the heat
treatment out of the blade

if I let that heat creep up
too far into my blade.

I want to make sure that
it all stays in the handle

so it has a very sturdy,
strong edge.

- This is one of those
sink or swim moments.

- He's got the torch
way too hot.

[tense music]

I'm slightly concerned
about the time,

'cause I'm getting close.

So at this point,
I need to hurry up

and get my holes drilled.

All right, going back
to the table.

And then start
my glue up process.

♪

- Chris went ahead
and drilled his holes

before he quenched the blade.

So now he's got
handle scales on.

- He can focus every bit of
energy on shaping the handle.

- As far as shaping the handle,
I knew that shape that

I needed to make it kind
of fit in the hand real nice

and not want
to turn in the hand.

Because if the handle
isn't comfortable,

the other person is not
going to want to use it.

But there's not a whole
lot of time on the clock

to do this right now.

♪

- I think Chris might
be overestimating

the size of your hand.

- Might be.

- This thing looks like
a knife for giants.

♪

Start finishing up!

You've only got two minutes.

[up-tempo rock music]

♪

- Two minutes can
be a long time

if you're holding your breath.

[laughter]

- I'm sure a couple of
these guys probably are,

'cause they know
what's coming next.

- Yep.
- Five, four,

three, two, one.

Well done, gentlemen.

Stand by for testing.

- The clock hit zero,
I got a knife,

and I can't believe I
produced this in five hours.

I couldn't be more pumped.

- Bladesmiths,
welcome to testing.

♪

Since we're at the Bill Moran
School of Bladesmithing,

I figured we'd do some
ABS-style testing.

In order to be an ABS Master
Smith to move in ranks,

they must pass through
a series of tests,

two of which
we have here today.

We're gonna start
with the 2x4 chop,

see how your edges hold up.

Then we're gonna see if we
can cut through that rope.

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

- Yes, sir. Let's do it.

♪

I'm glad they picked me
to go first,

but a little nerve-racking.

J is the knife breaker, man.
[laughs]

♪

- [grunting]

♪

[tense music]

♪

- All right, Jake, nice job.

Blade edge held up well.

It's still sharp.

You've got a nice edge on this,

but it's not
a very toothy edge.

So it didn't really bite
into the rope quite as much.

But overall,
everything held together.

Nice job.
- Thank you, sir.

- Jaymes, you ready?

- I'm ready.
- Let's do it.

♪

- I'm excited, but I'm also
a little bit nervous

to see how it's going
to perform.

The knife could break,

but I'm pretty confident
in my heat treat abilities.

And I hope J does
not hold back one bit.

♪

[grunting]

♪

- [whispering] Nice.

♪

- Jaymes, 350 layers,
nice work.

But I think I'm gonna
turn in my dumbbells,

just carry this knife with me.

A lot of thickness here.

Kind of became a problem
with the rope cut,

and you do have a delam
right here on that edge.

♪

But everything's tight.

Your steel looks good.

The handle's fine.
Nice job.

- Appreciate it.
Thank you.

- All right, Chris,
ready to go?

- As ready as I'll ever be.

♪

I'm freaking out.

I'm nervous as all get out.

Both Jaymes' and Jake's blades
performed awesome.

And I'm really
worried about my blade

and how it's gonna perform
with the chop test

and the rope cut.

♪

- [grunting]

♪

- Good job, Chris.

- Thank you.

- 350 layers, nicely done.

Your Damascus looks fine.

Got just a tiny bit of shine,
tiny bit of glint.

But there's no real damage
to the edge.

Overall, nice job.

- Thank you.

- The judges are about
to announce who's going home.

I'm pretty nervous
because everyone's blades

held up the same.

So it's anyone's game
at this point.

♪

- Well, guys, first off,
if I was wearing a cowboy hat,

I'd tip it to you
for a job well done.

But this is a competition,
and one of you

does have to go home.

And the bladesmith leaving
is...

[suspenseful music]

Jaymes.

Unfortunately, your blade
did not make the cut,

and J. Neilson's
gonna tell you why.

- Yeah, Jaymes.
I gotta give you credit.

We asked for 300 layers.

You gave us 350,
completely functional blade.

But the weight of that blade
was an issue.

And you're the only blade
that had a seam.

And that seam actually ran
into the edge of the blade.

That's the reason
we're letting you go.

- Understood.

- Jaymes, we really
appreciate that you're here,

and you fought so hard,

but your time in
this competition has ended.

I'm gonna have to
ask you to please

step off the testing floor.

- I agree with
the judge's decision.

I gave it my 110% effort,
and I'm pleased with it.

Having gone through
the Bill Moran School,

all the things that I learned,
they all came into play,

and I hope it shows.

♪

- Guys, congratulations
on making

it through the first round.

That means the two of you
are still in this tournament

and in the running for
$20,000 going to yourselves

and an extra $10,000
that could be

coming back here to the Bill
Moran School of Bladesmithing.

Now as you probably noticed,
this competition has

been all about the ABS theme.

And we figured we'd keep that
going into this next round,

where we're sending
you back to your home forges

to build this.

[dramatic music]

ABS Master Smith's
quillon dagger.

[both chuckle]

The quillon dagger dates back
to 13th century Europe,

where it was popular with
everyone from the basic soldier

to the highest knights.

Featuring a sharply tapered,
double-edged blade

with a pointed tip,
this weapon was designed

to deliver deadly stabs
and thrusts through armor

during close-quarters combat,

as well as protect
the wielder's hands

with its namesake guard.

Today, in order to earn
a Master Smith's rating

in the American
Bladesmith Society,

a smith must forge
this Damascus dagger

and have it pass through
rigorous evaluation.

♪

But, guys, you're so talented.

We figured, why not
supersize this a little bit

and have you build
a short sword version

of the dagger?

Just make sure they fall
within these parameters:

Your blade length,
measured from tip

to where it meets the guard,

needs to be between
18 and 20 inches.

Needs to be double-edged,
have a medial ridge,

a cross guard
with intricate quillons,

a fluted handle,
and a functional pommel.

And as I'm sure you expected,

we're of course going
to ask you to make

the blade with Damascus steel.

I'm sorry in advance.

I think you guys have
your work cut out for you.

But you're both very talented,
so good luck, gentlemen.

We'll see you back at
our forge in four days.

- Hey, good luck, man.
- Good luck to you.

♪

- We're at my home forge
right now in Plano, Texas.

I gotta bring a win home

for the Lone Star State.
[laughs]

My goal for day one
is to start forging a blade

and get 300 layers.

About to do
my first forge weld.

♪

Think those are pretty
solid forge welds.

♪

I got it to the length I want

and got to cut my billet up,
prep it again.

You know, I restacked
into four pieces.

Now I got a pretty
solid forge weld.

So just gonna keep
stretching her out,

get it up to about 27 inches,
and get my knife going.

♪

As I'm drawing up my billet,
something's not right.

We're getting
a little too thin.

I don't have enough material.

21 and 1/2, that's--

it's not where I need to be.

I'm really bummed out
with myself right now.

[bleep], dude.

- As I'm drawing up my billet,
something's not right.

[bleep]

I don't have enough material,

so I'm freaking out
a little bit.

21 and 1/2, that's--

it's not where I need to be.

And then realized,
I left out a piece of steel.

[bleep]

Right here is the piece.

I cannot believe--
[laughs] I left this out.

I knew I was
forgetting something.

I fell short so tomorrow,
I'll have to add

that other piece of steel in,

try to get my length to where

I can start forging out
a blade.

♪

- It's morning of day one.

I'm ready to get started on
this quillon short sword.

[chuckles]

Glad that I'm getting
to represent Arkansas

and my friends
and the Bill Moran School.

They would be happy with
how I did on this challenge.

Got a good squish on it.

It's looking pretty good
to me so far.

♪

So I have enough material to
work the tang and work my kit,

and it came out phenomenal.

So far, so good. [laughs]

- It's beginning of day two.

Yesterday, realized my
billet's a little short.

And I left out
a piece of steel.

It was bumped up
against my chop saw.

So I'm gonna chop it up,

add that other piece
of steel in,

and try to get my length.

♪

This looks really good,

so that middle layer is the one
I left out, like an idiot.

But we're going
to reincorporate that,

and that has 25 layers.

I think it's gonna
look really cool.

Let's get rocking and rolling.

♪

Everything looks to be
going pretty solid.

Time to get my blade
looking like a knife.

♪

I was a little behind
on day one,

but I caught up
and got 344 layers.

Hell yeah.

That's looking good.

So I couldn't be more
pleased with how today went.

Got a sword, man.

- It's morning of day two.

Now that the blade's forged
to where I want it,

hope that this
quench works out.

If this thing ends up cracking,
I'm out of the competition.

Okay.

♪

This blade's quenched.

I'm happy about that.

♪

And oh my goodness, it's hard.

I'm like, yes.

[laughs]

- Beginning of day four.

Yesterday on day three,
got my blade heat treated.

♪

I just gotta get everything
fit up,

and start shaping
my handle material.

It's not gonna be
the best flute.

♪

I, myself, am a perfectionist,

especially with my craft
and what I do with my work.

I'm real OCD,
and I like to nitpick my stuff

and just make it
as good as I can make it

when fitting up a handle.

♪

The whole build was
super challenging,

but I'm grateful to be
a part of this competition,

and I'm super proud
to represent

the Bill Moran
School of Bladesmithing.

Holy [bleep], guys.

Ha! I got that done!

I got that done.

That looks so frickin' cool.

Badass.

- It's morning of day four.

It's crazy how quickly
things have gone with this.

Yesterday, I did a whole bunch
of work on the handle pieces.

So only things I need to
do is put an edge on it,

glue up the handle,
and it's ready to go.

♪

Both my guard and my pommel,

they are made
out of mild steel.

♪

There you go.

The weapon is put together,
peened on, looks good.

So I get to play
with it a little bit.

♪

[chuckles]

I think it
will definitely cut.

♪

[tense music]

♪

- Well, gentlemen, Don,
welcome to our testing grounds.

Now, last time we saw you,
it was at your home field

at the Bill Moran
School of Bladesmithing

in Texarkana, Texas.

We gave you four days
to come back here

with a short sword version

of the Master Bladesmith's
daggers.

And guys, I gotta say,
they both look phenomenal.

But before we put these blades
through a series of tests,

I want to hear about them.

So Chris, tell us about yours.

♪

- It was a lot of fun to make.

95 layers of Damascus,

mild steel guard and pommel.

I can't remember exactly
what kind of wood it was,

but it felt pretty dense.

So I thought it would
work for the handle.

- It looks good.
- Thank you.

- Jake, how about you?
- It was fun, man.

I enjoyed it.

♪

It's 344 layers of Damascus

with a wrought iron guard
and pommel,

copper accents,
and a bog oak handle.

- Phenomenal work, guys.

All right, gentlemen,
the time has come.

We've got to find out
which one of you

is moving forward in the
next leg of the tournament,

staying in contention for that
$20,000 check for yourselves

and an additional $10,000
that could go back to Don

and the Bill Moran School
of Bladesmithing.

And to do that,
we've gotta put your blades

through a series of tests.

Before those tests,
I'm gonna hand you over to J.

♪

- Well, bladesmiths,
your big blade versions

of the Master Smith
quillon dagger

look really nice.

But looking good is one thing.

Functionality
is more important.

So I'm gonna take both
of your short swords

and do a series
of thrusts and chops

on this ballistics dummy rig.

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

- As ready as I'll ever be.
- Let's do it.

- I see the Viking helmet.

I see the shield there.

I'm wondering OK, am I gonna
have an edge roll on this?

'Cause as soon as
he hits that helmet,

it could damage my edge.

♪

[hard rock music]

♪

[grunting]

♪

- [laughs]

- Just kick the
[bleep] shield off.

- Who needs a sword?

♪

♪

All right, Chris, nice job.

Very well balanced.

With the fluting you
have on this handle,

it was a good grip.

The shield wanted
to put up a bit of a fight,

but we made it through.

- Yes, sir.

- The only thing I
have to say negative

is the alignment,

'cause I'm holding
the handle vertically,

and you can see that blade
curves off to one side.

But all in all,
everything's sharp.

Everything is tight.

Nice job.
- Thank you.

- All right, Jake,
you ready to go?

- I'm ready.

- All right, let's do it.

- It's a little
nerve-racking having J

about to start destroying
stuff with my sword.

My biggest fear
is that metal helmet.

If my blade chips or glints,

that could be the thing
that sends me home.

♪

- [grunting]

♪

♪

- All right, Jake, nice job.

Everything's still
in alignment.

Nothing wrong with the edge.

Nothing chipped out
or anything.

Everything's tight.

I like the
counterbalance you put

in here with the wrought iron.

The fluting on here
gave me a good grip.

So overall, very nice job.

- Thank you, sir.

♪

- All right,
bladesmiths, now we know

your blades are functional.

Next, we're gonna see
how strong they are

and how well they hold up
in our strength test.

♪

Chris, you're up first again.
You ready?

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

♪

[heavy metal music]

♪

♪

All right, Chris, real nice.

Good grip, able to hold on
no problem.

You do have some glinting.

♪

So you can hear that?
- Yes, sir.

- That's the worst one
right there.

So you do have some
edge damage.

But obviously,
it was still sharp enough

to cut through those bags.

Again, that blade being kicked
off throws off the thrusting.

Overall though, nice job.

- Thank you.

- Jake, ready again?

- Let's do it.

[suspenseful music]

♪

[heavy metal music]

♪

♪

- All right, Jake, nice job.

Cut deeply into the steel.

There's some glinting.

It's got a little bit
of a roll.

Aside from that, everything
is still straight.

Good job.
- Thank you.

♪

- Well, gentlemen, this is it.

We started this competition
back in Texarkana

with you guys putting
together Damascus blades,

and you went above and beyond.

But only one of you can
come out on top

of the Texarkana leg
of this tournament

and move forward
into the final leg,

fighting against
three other smiths

we pick up across America.

And the winner of this leg, who
will be representing

the Bill Moran School
of Bladesmithing

and J. Neilson is...

♪

Jake.

Congratulations.

Now Chris, unfortunately, your
blade did not make the cut.

And J is gonna tell you why.

- Chris, you should be
very proud of your work.

Did a great job.

But that bend in the blade--

honestly, if this was
a Master Smith test,

it wouldn't have been
picked up from that.

Second of all, your edge took
more damage during the testing

than your competitor's.

That's why we're
letting you go.

- Well, Chris, we want to
say thank you for coming out.

You're clearly
a very talented smith.

But unfortunately, your time
in this competition has ended.

I'm gonna have to
ask you to please

step off the forge floor.

- Thanks, man.

All in all, I'm just happy
with how my blade performed.

I completely agree with
his decision to vote me off.

♪

I'm pretty sure
Jacob has what it takes

to win the whole thing.

I'm looking forward
to seeing him win.

♪

- Jake, congratulations.
That makes you the winner

of the Texarkana leg
of this tournament.

You're moving forward
in the final leg,

still fighting for
that $20,000 to go

in your pocket and $10,000
in gears and supplies

to go back to Don and the Bill
Moran School of Bladesmithing.

- I don't even know
how to feel.

This is so cool.

It was anyone's game.

It was such a close
fight from the beginning

at Texarkana to here.

Chris has been an
awesome competitor,

but I took home
the victory today.

And I don't even
know what to do.

[laughs] It's pretty awesome.

- Congratulations.
- Yes, sir.

- Very, very well done.
- It was a pleasure.

I'll be representing the Bill
Moran School of Bladesmithing

in the next leg
of this challenge,

and I'm super excited.

So let's get after it.

♪