WIL: Mike, Matt, congratulations.
You've made it to the next phase in this operation, which means
we're sending you back to your home forges
to recreate this iconic weapon, the United
States Air Force non-commissioned officer's
sword.
[sigh]
You'll have four days at your home forges
in which to complete this challenge.
At the end of four days, you'll return and present your swords
to our panel of expert judges.
And after they've put them through the paces,
they'll move one of you one to our final Battle
of the Branches competition.
You also need to make a scabbard for the sword.
Oh, man.
I'm just messing with you.
Good luck, bladesmiths.
We'll see you in four days.
Good luck, brother.
MIKE: It's day one.
It feels great to be back here in my home forge.
For this blade, I'm going to be using Damascus.
And I'm going to try to put in a twist just for fun.
A lot of Air Force ties in how I live my life day-to-day,
and this challenge was no exception.
There's a lot of firsts for me on this blade.
I've never done Damascus this long.
I've never heat-treated anything this long.
I've never made a crossguard like this before.
It's going to be a bit stressful for me.
None of my welds popped, so at least it's a solid billet.
So we won't know for sure until we're grinding into it,
but I'm fairly certain it was a successful twist.
I don't think we have any inclusions.
I think it's going to look pretty good.
So I've got 16 layers now in this billet.
I've got it drawn out enough.
I can cut it into three sections and stack it back on itself
for a total of 48 layers.
This is going to be one of the longest things I've ever
forged, so keeping it straight might
be a little bit of a challenge, especially
with the twist in it.
That could cause some things to warp.
All in all, a solid finish for day one.
[music playing]
MATT: Now that I'm one of two [inaudible] left,
I definitely want to be, you know,
the one that shows that the Air Force has
what it takes to win the "Forged in Fire" branches competition.
The plan for today is to draw the 1084 round stock out.
I'm just going to draw the line on the floor to give me an idea
of how far I've drawn it out.
To start, the 1084 steel was 20 inches.
I've got to draw it out to about 35 inches
to get the crossguard, the handle, and the pommel.
I've still got to draw it out quite a bit, get it down.
This 27- to 28-inch sword, it's going to be
interesting keep it straight.
It is at negative 18 outside right now,
so I'm ready to get inside and turn this forge on.
So yesterday, I got the blade drawn out.
This morning, we're going for the quench.
Getting something this long hot and keeping it straight
is going to be one of my biggest challenges right now.
Now, I've got a warping issue.
I might be heat treating it again.
In the back of your mind, you're always thinking,
did the heat treat not go well?
Quenching two times, we'll have, you know, bad grain structure.
I have a ton of concerns.
Slight warp, but at this point, I'm
definitely not quenching again.
MIKE: It's the morning of day four.
I didn't sleep very well.
I still need to finish the pommel.
I need to finish the crossguard.
And I haven't even started the handle yet.
I can tell we're almost through, though.
Almost there.
I can feel it.
I definitely think this is a blade
worthy of having me stand at the Air Force
and go on to the final round.
It is an example of how I problem-solve,
how I look for solutions, and how I don't give up.
All right.
That's as good as we're going to get.
MATT: Day four.
And today, I need to get the crossguard fitted up,
the handle shape wrapped with wire,
and then the pommel assembled as well.
[inaudible]
Looking at the original NCO sword,
I was trying to figure out what the best way to make
that wire-wrapped handle was.
Safety wire.
We used that in the military.
I thought that was good to kind of throw
a little Air Force-ism into it.
It works perfect.
I'm definitely nervous that I have only one day left.
In the back of your mind, you're always thinking,
do I have what it takes to move on to the Battle
of the Branches?
I mean, that's what it's all about.
That's it.
May the best airman win.
DOUG: All right, airmen.
Now, I'll take your weapon and deliver
some thrusts and slashes on this ballistics dummy.
Mike, you're up first.
You ready? - Absolutely.
Let's do it.
[laughter]
All right, Mike.
It's a very light sword.
Because of that, you can move with it.
Now, your tip allows for a nice thrust.
With your edge, it slices.
I can feel every cut in there.
But more importantly, it will kill.
- Thank you. - All right, Matt.
Your turn.
You ready, sir?
Yes, sir.
[sigh]
[chuckling]
All right, Matt.
Let's talk about your blade here.
The edge that you have here is very sharp.
The point punctures nicely.
And most importantly, sir, it will kill.
Awesome.
Thank you.
All right.
Next up, the strength test.
For that, we have Ben.
Hello, bladesmiths.
To test the strength and durability of your swords
as well as their overall construction,
I'll be bashing them into this propeller.
Mike, you're up first. You ready?
No.
[laughter] We're going to do it anyway.
All right.
[pounding]
[sigh]
[pounding]
[clattering]
Good job.
Oh, my gosh.
Well, Mike, your blade help up great.
The only issue I have with it is that I would really
like this pommel to be bigger.
If the pommel were bigger, it would give me a stop.
But it's got a nice weight.
It's still sharp as when it started.
Really well done.
Thank you so much.
Matt, you're up. What are you thinking?
I'm ready.
[pounding]
[clattering]
That's badass.
Well, Matt, your blade held up great.
It's still sharp.
This is a much heavier sword.
But the biggest issue I have is with the crossguard in back.
Your crossguard is loose.
It wiggles.
And also, your wire wrap is loose.
But it's all in one piece.
It did a heck of a thing on that propeller.
Well done.
Thank you.
BEN: But we're not finished yet.
Next up is the sharpness test.
And for that, I give you to Doug.
All right, airmen.
To test the edge of your blade, I'm going to be
cutting across these harnesses.
I'm looking for clean cuts.
Mike, you're up first.
You ready for this?
Let's do it.
Let's do this.
- Good job. - Right through it.
That was good.
Sharp.
All right, Mike.
Light in flight and sharp enough to cut through the harness.
It will cut.
Thank you, sir.
Good job.
Thanks, man.
All right, Matt. Your turn, sir.
You ready? - Yes, sir.
Damn.
DOUG: All right, Matt.
Let's talk about your blade here.
It's kind of heavy.
It's so forward in its weight that on this slash, using
the last six inches, it just scratched
the back of the harness.
But on the backhand swing, where it's going all the way through,
it cut the harness.
But your weapon, sir, it will cut.
Thanks.
Good job, man.
Thanks.
Mike, Matt, the bladesmith moving forward is Mike.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Matt, first of all, thank you for your service.
You have a beautiful sword that did quite well.
But we based our decision on the fact
that your guard came loose, the weight of your sword,
and the wire wrapping is also loose.
That's the reason we're sending you home.
Yes, sir.
Matt, at this time, I have to ask you
to please surrender your blade.
MATT (VOICEOVER): I feel good no matter what.
I mean, I'm glad I made it here.
DOUG: Good job.
Thank you.
I'm proud of myself for sure.
Mike's going to represent the Air Force well.
He's got a lot of people rooting for him, me, as well.
And he's a good bladesmith, so good luck.
Mike, they said you're only as good as your competition,
and you overcame a fantastic competitor
to move forward in this competition
to represent the entire branch of the Air Force
at our Battle of the Branches competition.
How do you feel?
It feels amazing.
Please present your blade to the judges.
MIKE (VOICEOVER): I can't believe
I'm the Air Force champion.
I'm looking forward to showing the rest of the DOD
what we've got.
There's a lot of added pressure moving forward.
Now, I'm competing against the Army, the Navy,
and the Marine Corps, and we've got a little bit
of a rivalry going on.
So you better bring it, because you know I'm going to.