- Bladesmiths,
the steel that you need in this first round of competition
from these.
Will pulled the cover off of these things,
and I have one word that comes to mind--
[bleep]
Today you'll have to harvest the steel
you need to make your blades from these motorcycles.
You will have three hours in this round.
The length of your blades must be between 9 to 11 inches
long, not including the tang.
The overall length of your weapon
must not exceed 22 inches.
Good luck, bladesmiths.
Your three hours starts now.
[bleep]
It's pretty nerve wracking knowing
you're going to have to make something off of a motorcycle.
First thing that comes to mind, probably take something
like the chain, which has a good nickel content,
make a utility camping knife.
Simple, holds up good.
Canister Damascus comes to mind because that would incorporate
pieces off of the motorcycle, which is a requirement,
but also give you enough high carbon
steel from another source to hopefully get a decent billet
to make a blade.
I've got a heck of a temper.
I'm going to try my best to not lose it
if something goes wrong, but I can't promise anything.
Pretty much everybody is going with the same idea.
Canister Damascus is one of your only options.
Jonathan, I didn't see him use any white out
on his Canister Damascus.
I don't know that he has experience doing [inaudible]..
Hurry up and wait.
Hurry up and wait, brother.
I'm stressed out about whether or not that Canister Damascus
is going to come out in one uniform billet,
or if it's going to come out with spider webs and cracks
all in it. OK.
Let's make some sparks.
I'm cutting the side of it off.
I am prying at it with a chisel and a hammer.
Nothing's happening.
Nothing's working.
I don't like it when things go wrong.
[bleep]
So I just start prying at it as hard as I can go,
and little by little, I get the four sides off.
OK.
Start drawing it out, thinking everything's great.
Next thing I know, there's cracks everywhere.
[bleep]
My only plan is kind of going to crap.
The clock's ticking.
He's in trouble.
So I'm staring at a pile of metal chunks.
So I've got to come up with another plan.
Jonathan, he's going for more parts?
He's going for the other part of that disk.
Looks like he's starting from scratch.
Holy--
So I start drawing out my blade shape
and I'm actually making up some of the time I lost.
Jonathan's moving that piece of steel very quickly.
Then I look down, and that knife doesn't look
like anything I have ever made.
And I don't know if it'll actually harden at the quench.
10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two.
one.
Bladesmiths, shut down your machines, drop your tools.
This round is over.
Huge mistake.
That blade wasn't even 1,100 degrees when
he popped it in [inaudible].
Bladesmiths, in this first round of competition,
you were to source the steel that you needed
from a pair of motorcycles.
Now it's time for the judges to take
a closer look at your work.
Andy, you're up first.
Please present your blade to the judges.
I understand this was your first canister weld?
- Yes, sir, it was. - It's beautiful.
There is warp.
It starts right about there.
But, I mean, it is one solid piece.
Well done.
Jordan, please present your blade to the judges.
Well, Jordan, I do like the shape of your knife.
One question I have for you.
You file checked after quenching in water.
How did you think it was ever going
to get harder than heating it up that hot
and quenching it in water?
I figured I might as well make a giant fireball to go out in.
I'm just really concerned about that quench, especially
that last going back in there.
I mean, fireballs are cool, but hard blades are cooler.
Jonathan, you're up.
Please present your blade to the judges.
Well, Jonathan, the handle is comfortable.
I like the swell at the back.
You quenched towards the end. Let's hope it's hard.
Bladesmiths, the judges have completed their deliberation
and they've made a final decision.
The bladesmith leaving the forge is--
Jordan.
Your blade did not make the cut.
Ben Abbott's going to tell you why.
Well, Jordan, unfortunately your last attempt at a quench
failed to harden your blade.
You turned in a soft blade.
Although you and Jonathan both missed a parameter,
your flaws would be far more difficult to fix in round two.
So Jonathan lucks out this time.
But, unfortunately, we're going to have to let you go.
Jordan please surrender your blade.
I agree with the judge's decision 100%.
I wasn't expecting the other blades
to get hard like they did.
At some point in the future, I sure
do hope that my name will be listed among some
of the best bladesmiths.