GRADY POWELL: Eric, Dave.
Congratulations, gentlemen.
You guys have solidified yourselves spots
in our third and final round of this competition.
Now, in this final round, we're gonna be sending you guys back
to your home forges to build yet another iconic weapon
from Korean history.
We're gonna have you build this--
the woldo.
DOUG MARCAIDA: The woldo is a pole-arm weapon
that has been wielded by Korean warriors
since the sixth century.
The large crescent blade provided the user
with incredible force to deliver lethal blows and deep cuts
with one swing into an opponent.
Historically, this heavy weapon required special skills
and was only wielded in battle by elite Korean warriors.
Today, Korean martial artists who specialize in the woldo
perform intricate maneuvers with this intimidating weapon at
festivals and cultural events.
All right, gentlemen.
We're giving you four days to build your woldo swords.
And I want to see your best work, because one of them
will be worth $10,000.
We'll see you in four days.
[music playing]
ERIC HEMKER: My name is Eric Hemker, I'm 29 years old,
and I'm a design engineer.
I design seat structures for cars.
And it's very important, because if that person's not
comfortable, they're not gonna buy that car.
Same thing goes for a knife.
If that is not comfortable, they're
not gonna wield that knife.
There we go.
The woldo is in good shape.
I've got plenty of meat on there that I can grind back and get
to the shape I'm looking for.
[music playing]
That is a hard blade.
Overall, good clinch.
So I decided, as a little decorative embellishment,
to add a little grip to the handle.
I'm gonna flute and inlay some paracord.
I'm using imperial red and royal blue to honor
the colors of the Korean flag.
So I'm pleased.
DAVE ARMOUR: My name is Dave Armour
and I am from Auburn, Illinois.
I got into bladesmithing when I was 15.
I went to a theme park where they had a gun and knife shop,
and a man was demonstrating how to make a knife.
Being 15 and just being fascinated,
I followed him into his shop and asked so many questions,
he literally took a book on knife making that was for sale,
threw it at me, and said, get the hell out of the shop.
I may have ruined this early on.
I forged a piece over so that, actually,
the top part was actually folding over on itself.
It's called a cold shut.
Causes all kinds of problems later on, 'cause
the pieces aren't attached.
I go over to the grinder.
If I can grind out, I'm not too bad.
[exhales]
So right now, it's just back to the grinder.
Good news is, everything's solid.
The cold shut I was worried about is grinding out.
I have a blade ready to heat treat.
Hup.
I'm straight.
[scraping]
Yup.
And it's hard.
That's as good as I can hope for right now.
So I grabbed some pink paracord that I'm gonna use to wrap
the areas between the collars.
And then I have a pink wood stain that I'm going
to stay in the hickory with.
When I do a knife show, I always have one knife on my table
that has a pink handle.
It's not the typical-looking thing,
but I think it looks kind of neat so I'm gonna go with it.
I think this is a solid piece.
I think it'll test well, but we're gonna see what happens.
[music playing]
DOUG MARCAIDA: Bladesmiths--
--and welcome to the KEAL test.
To find out what kind of lethal damage your weapons will do,
I will take your weapons and deliver lethal blows
on this ballistics dummy.
Eric, you're first. You ready for this?
- Yes, sir. - Right.
Let's do this.
[music playing]
[splatting]
All right, Eric.
Let's talk about your woldo here.
It is forward-heavy.
There's a lot of metal in here, but it is wieldable.
Now, your edge is sharp.
It penetrates deeply into this ballistics dummy,
cutting the gel torso and into the bones.
Over all, sir, your woldo, it will KEAL.
Thank you.
All right, Dave. Your turn, sir.
You ready?
Yes, sir.
Let's do this.
[music playing]
[splatting]
[thump]
[laughs]
DOUG MARCAIDA: All right, Dave.
Let's talk about your woldo here.
It is a little bit heavier than the other weapon.
Heavier weapons require a lot of adjustments.
But your edge here is sharp with this forward weight
that cuts deep into this ballistics dummy
and cuts the bones inside.
But in doing so, sir, your edge over here
did take a little bit of rolling.
But the other parts are fine.
And overall, sir, your woldo will KEAL.
Thank you.
DAVE BAKER: All right, gentlemen.
You know what time it is.
It's time for the strength test.
We're calling this one the Bamboo Man Attack.
To test the overall construction of your blade,
I'm going to take them and gently tap them
against our bamboo men over here.
[laughter]
Now, remember, this is not about what your weapons
do to these targets.
It's about what these targets do to your weapons.
Eric, you're up first. You ready?
Yes, sir.
All right.
[grunts]
[music playing]
[grunting]
[laughs]
DAVE BAKER: So Eric, right off, this is a heavy beast.
Your balance point's not bad.
I kind of like that right there where
you can manipulate the weapon.
As far as the weapon performance goes,
you maintain an edge all the way along.
It's still sharp.
Nicely done.
Thank you.
All right, Dave. You're up.
Ready? - Yes, sir.
[music playing]
[grunting]
All right, Dave.
Your weapon is really, really heavy.
So you can make a devastating cut,
but recovery is really slow.
As far as the blade, the blade itself is dented sideways
here and up above here.
But still solid, so you survived quite nicely.
Well done, Dave.
Thank you.
[music playing]
DOUG MARCAIDA: Bladesmiths, this is the sharpness
test, the Sugar Cane Slice.
To find out how sharp your weapons are,
I'm gonna attempt to cut through all these sugar canes.
Unlike the strength test, this is all about what
your weapons do and how well they cut the sugar canes.
Eric, are you ready to do this?
Yes, sir.
[music playing]
[crash]
[thumps]
All right, Eric.
Let's talk about your edge here.
Your edge, it's sharp.
It cut through all the sugar canes.
And overall, sir, your weapon, it will cut.
Thank you.
Dave, it's your turn, sir.
Are you ready for this?
Yes, sir.
[music playing]
[crash]
(QUIETLY) Damn.
All right, Dave.
Let's talk about your weapon here.
It's still sharp and it cuts cleanly all the way through.
But the weight of your blade, as I'm cutting, dragged downward
and I ran out of sugar cane.
But overall, sir, your weapon, it will cut.
Thank you.
GRADY POWELL: Well, gentlemen, you
both performed extremely well in our Korean theme challenge.
Both your woldos did great during our tests.
But this is a competition and there has to be a winner.
The judges have made the decision and today's
"Forged in Fire" champion is--
Eric.
Congratulations.
Now, Dave, you fought hard.
But unfortunately, you're not today's winner,
and Dave is gonna tell you why.
DAVE BAKER: Dave, your blade did great in the KEAL test
and did well in the sharpness test.
What this came down to are two things.
The overall weight of your blade and the damage
it took in the strength test.
Those are the reasons we're letting you go.
I understand.
Thanks for having me.
GRADY POWELL: Well, Dave, it's clear you have
what it takes to fight in this forge.
You're an extremely talented smith.
But unfortunately, your time in this competition has ended.
And for that reason, I'm gonna have to ask you to please
step off the forge floor.
(WHISPERING) Good job, man.
Well, Eric, you know what that means.
You are the newest "Forged in Fire" champion.
You're gonna be walking out of here with a check for $10,000.
Congratulations.
[applause]
ERIC HEMKER: I feel awesome, coming
out here, winning the competition, having my skills
validated.
This is a crowning achievement of mine.
Well done.
Thank you.
If somebody wants me to make a woldo,
it's gonna cost 'em $10,000.