[music playing]
Eric, Jared, congratulations.
Your weapons were strong enough to propel you
into this final round of competition, which means you're
both one step closer to the title of "Forged in Fire"
champion and that check for $10,000.
Now we're sending you back to your home forges
to create an iconic blade from history, the Hunga Munga.
The term Hunga Munga refers to a variety of Central African
throwing knives, all of which feature
a series of double-edged iron blades attached to a rawhide
handle.
The Hunga Munga was not only formidable
in hand-to-hand combat but could be thrown from a distance,
with some reports claiming it had a throwing
range of up to 250 feet.
As armor was not used often in Central Africa,
this type of throwing iron was particularly devastating.
Hunga Munga was often very valuable
and could be traded for goods.
The Hunga Munga was also wielded by Buffy
Summers in the cult series, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
First thing I thought was [bleep]..
[laughs] I was not expecting that.
Your weapon must fall within the following parameters.
It must have a sharpened head, crescent blade,
a spear, and a spike.
You must also include a handle arm with a sharpened spike
above the handle.
It must be an effective, working version of that deadly weapon.
However, we want you to make something
that's unique that could only come from your forge.
I'm looking forward to decking this Hunga Munga out,
and putting my own signature style in the details
and decorative work.
I'm trying to think of how complicated
this thing will be to build.
It's complicated forging.
You will have five days at your home
forge to complete this challenge.
At the end of those five days, you
will return and present your finished weapons
to our panel of expert judges.
Only after they've subjected your weapons to a series
of brutal tests will they declare one of you
the "Forged in Fire" champion who walks away
with that check for 10 grand.
Good luck, bladesmiths.
We'll see you in five days.
[music playing]
First day, really happy to be back in my shop.
I have never made anything even remotely like this before.
This is like a cross between a sword,
boomerang, chakram, battle axe.
I gotta plan this out.
I'm gonna start with this blade, then
pull this off from the side, and then
start working the spike in.
This is a wild build.
[hammering]
[whirring]
JARED (VOICEOVER): So I'm gonna have to heat this all up.
I'm gonna have to drive this down.
It's almost a chess game.
I've got to think like five moves ahead on this thing,
because if I screw up once, it could
completely ruin the piece of steel I got
and I got to start over.
[hammering]
This chunk here hopefully will turn into my sickle blade here.
[sawing]
Maybe if I heat this area here, swinging this out of the way
here.
[whirring]
[hammering]
I'm gonna push that up into there.
Then I can push this around.
[whirring]
[hammering]
That's--
[clanging]
[inaudible] point's going to be it.
[music playing]
[whirring]
ERIC (VOICEOVER): It's day three.
I'm a little sore, but I got the blade
profiled, forged out, and feel great about my blade design.
Bam.
Still think it looks like something from Whoville.
Now it's time for the heat treat.
Everything leading up to this point is just critical.
[rumbling]
All right, here we go.
Beautiful.
[music playing]
ERIC (VOICEOVER): I was totally giddy
when I got it out of the quench and I just
want to give it a test throw.
This thing is definitely a lethal weapon.
It's not a prop.
It's definitely something you don't want thrown at you.
It will stick.
[laughs]
[music playing]
JARED (VOICEOVER): Plan for today is finish up the pommel,
carve in the sunbeam, and then wrap the handle.
This was a really difficult piece to forge and to create.
Maybe I should have some worries going into the final round,
but I really don't.
I did the best I can do.
I'm super confident in what I made.
And just see how it pans out.
I think this thing's gonna just perform spectacularly.
[scraping]
My competitor-- he'd better really bring his A-game,
because I'm feeling good.
Bladesmiths, to see how sharp your blades are,
I will take your weapon and I will test the crescent-shaped
blade and the spear.
If your blade is sharp, it should lacerate cleanly
through this stretched leather.
Jared, you're up first.
Are you ready?
I am.
Let's do this.
[music playing]
Well, Jared, your handle wrap feels good to the hand.
The blade of your crescent and your spear
right there is sharp enough to lacerate cleanly
through the stretched-out leather.
It will cut.
Good job, sir.
Thank you.
Eric, you're up.
Ready?
Yes, sir.
[music playing]
OK, Eric.
Nice grip.
Your crescent edge over here, at the initial start,
not so sharp.
But once you got it going, it lacerated.
Your spear edge, same thing.
It started off here.
But once it got going, it lacerated.
Not all edges are as sharp as the other,
but it is sharp enough to cut.
My concern was this design that you have over here for this--
being that it's a weapon that you
move around, having that pointed at me is never a good idea.
Right.
Otherwise, though, this blade will cut.
Good job.
Thanks.
ERIC (VOICEOVER): That first slice skipped across
and it got to a part where it was sharper.
Blade's not performing well.
I'm quite disappointed.
Bladesmiths, this is a kill test.
The Hunga Munga was a weapon with multiple configurations
of blades on top of a blade.
To see how lethal your weapon is according to its design,
I will take your weapon and I will deliver multiple strikes
on this ballistics dummy.
Let's see how lethal your blade is.
Jared, you're up first.
You ready?
Definitely.
[music playing]
[squishing]
[laughs] It looks like he's bleeding.
Well, Jared, every facet and design of your blade
will definitely do damage.
Your crescent edge nicely lacerated through the tip
on that hook and gutted whatever was in there.
For your small blade, I had to angle
a little bit because there's not much space over there.
But, as you can see, if you work it according to its design,
you can jab right into it.
And, of course, your spear tip crushed through the bones
and into the heart.
This, sir, will kill.
Great job.
Thank you.
Eric, you're up next.
Yes, sir.
Let's do this.
[music playing]
[squishing]
[crunching]
[slapping]
Didn't get that laceration there.
Hm.
OK, Eric.
Your spike right there?
It's in a good position because I
can easily go in there without worrying
about this getting in the way.
So we come to the spear tip.
That went through all the way, broke bone, and into the heart.
Your weapon will kill.
Good job, sir.
Thank you.
Next up is the strength test.
For that, I'll pass you on to Dave.
Gentlemen, we've seen that the Hunga Munga can be used
as a close-quartered weapon, but it was specifically
designed to be thrown.
So to test the strength of your weapon,
I'm going to throw it three times into our wooden target
here.
If your heat treat is sound, the structural integrity
of your weapon should hold up to the impact.
If not, we could have a catastrophic failure.
Jared, you're up first.
Ready.
All right.
Safeties.
[music playing]
[tapping]
ALL: Nice.
Damn.
It split that log.
[laughs] That's cool.
[clanging]
Ooh.
Nice.
No catastrophic failure.
I'm happy it didn't break.
[grunts] [bleep]
Nah, just a scratch.
Boop.
Really happy with my design.
Final throw, it sticks in beautifully.
Well, as you can see, this is a dangerous weapon
all the way around.
It feels really good in the hand.
All that foward weight makes it rotate beautifully.
Your edge is still a razor blade.
I mean, once this thing's traveling,
I don't want to be on the other side of it.
Your cord wrap made it really nice to throw.
Well-executed.
Thank you.
Eric, your turn.
You ready?
Let's do it.
[music playing]
[bang]
[thump]
Oh my.
There you go.
[bang]
Nice.
Well, Eric, this feels pretty good in the hand.
I like all this detail you did down in here.
I mean, it doesn't affect the throw.
It doesn't affect the strength.
But still, it's there.
Dug in nicely.
When I hit up here, it kind of bounced out.
It scored up the wood.
It would have taken a man out.
The other two throws dug in nicely.
Looks to me like your edges held up fine.
That's still all right and tight.
Nicely done, Eric.
Thank you.
Eric, Jared, you've both done fantastic
work on your Hunga Mungas.
However, in this arena of competition,
there can only be one "Forged in Fire" champion.
[music playing]
Jared, congratulations.
You are the "Forged in Fire" champion.
Eric, your Hunga Munga did not make the cut.
Dave will explain.
Eric, the addition of that spike on the back
was a question mark.
But in the end, it came down to the overall finish
and construction and the way it did not
perform in the sharpness test.
That's why we gotta let you go.
Eric, please surrender your Hunga Munga.
ERIC (VOICEOVER): The judges' feedback, I agree completely.
I have no regrets whatsoever.
ERIC (VOICEOVER): I came here to prove that I could do it,
that I could overcome a task that was seemingly impossible.
I may not be the "Forged in Fire" champion,
but I can only go up from here.
Jared, congratulations.
You are our new "Forged in Fire" champion and will be
receiving a check for $10,000.
How do you feel?
[applause]
I don't know what to say, really.
It's kind of a shock right now.
That's straight-up the prettiest
and most terrifying thing we've ever had on the show.
Thank you.
I mean, the combination of the two.
I want it-- that's how I feel about it.
And I don't feel like that about a lot of knives.
But that's a cool piece.
Thank you.
JARED (VOICEOVER): I won.
Still kind of settling in.
[laughs] 10 grand is going into the shop.
There'll probably be a little trip involved
for my fiance and myself.
Boy, having the title of "Forged in Fire" champion,
it's going to definitely be a game-changer.