[music playing]
Neil, Theo, congratulations.
You've made it into the finale for this competition.
It's only one thing you have left to do,
and that is to go back home and recreate
an iconic weapon from history, the Tai Chi sword.
Emerging from China over 2,500 years ago,
the Tai Chi sword is known as the gentleman
of weapons due to its refinement and sophistication.
Symbolizing power and authority, the weapon
is one of the most common ancient weapons still
in practice with millions of students studying it worldwide.
Fast and light, it's straight, double-edged blade
was used for quick stabs and lethal cuts.
While the sword's fairly blunt lower section was built
to block and deflect attacks.
Its reputation is also preserved in popular culture
through its role as the coveted Green
Destiny Sword in the film "Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
Your blade must be double edged, have a winged guard,
and pommel.
Last time I was on the show, I made an naginata.
In comparison, the Tai Chi sword has a lot more blade.
It's going to be a lot of work.
You will have five days at your home
forge to accomplish this.
At the end of five days, you'll return to present your work
to our panel of expert judges.
And only after they've brutally tested
them will they declare one of you
the "Forged of Fire" Champion of Champions
and give you that cash.
I'm concerned because the Tai Chi sword is really light.
I probably have regular knives that are
heavier than that whole sword.
So that's a challenge for me.
Good luck, bladesmiths.
We'll see you in five days.
Good luck, man.
My name is Neil Kamimura.
I was asked to come back, and I would never say no
to my "Forged in Fire" family.
What I feel I've come back for is
to represent the people just starting off
and show them that you can do this.
I've got to build a Tai Chi sword.
This is the first time I've ever made something this long.
Holy [bleep].
But I'm never going to quit.
The blade has to be heated evenly.
Trying to get the sword lighter has been kind of difficult.
And being that this is the longest
thing I've ever heat treated, I'm not really set up for it.
You can feel it want to bend because
of the weight of the tip.
So I am scared.
If something goes wrong, I won't have time to fix it.
My blade is straight.
I don't have to re-quench it.
I'm stoked.
My name is Theo Nazz.
Winning "Forged in Fire" allowed me
to turn my hobby into a full time career in knife
making and teaching.
The biggest obstacle is the raw amount
of forging I have to do then getting the guard to forge well
to the blade itself and then being able to forge
the pommel on as well.
If the welds don't hold, everything
will be coming apart.
How important are guards on swords?
They can be integral.
Ba dum tic.
The quench, big moment of truth.
If things go wrong right now, I've got to start again.
So no pressure.
Perfectly straight.
Things went amazingly well.
I'm happy with the blade.
If I win, the money would most likely go to starting
a new life with my wife.
I had to put that in there.
I'd get in trouble if I didn't.
Oh, God.
We're still recording.
I'm sorry, Daisy.
Theo, Neil, welcome back to the forge.
Theo, tell us about your blade.
It went very well.
I did an integral guard and pummel.
I forged welding on both of them.
The blade's handle is relatively simple
construction so that it can be beaten the [bleep] out of.
You sound monotonically excited about that.
Neil, how did it go for you, man?
Same recipe as the last time I was here.
Go to the junkyard, get some stuff because I didn't
expect to make it this far.
All right.
Well, gentlemen, up first is the strength test.
Ben.
Champions, I'm going to be hitting this bamboo five times.
Remember, it's not what your sword does to the bamboo
but what the bamboo does to your sword.
Theo, you're up first.
How are you feeling?
A little nervous.
Let's go for it.
[music playing]
Well, Theo, this is a brute of a sword.
The edge held up perfectly.
I don't see any problems.
Still straight as an arrow.
The handle is a little bit difficult to really control.
I would have liked a little bit more meat on it.
But very well done.
Thank you.
Neil, you're up next.
Boy, that's a tough test.
That bamboo setup, it's literally
just blunt force trauma.
I don't think a lot of blades can survive that kind
of jarring and punishment.
[music playing]
Well, Neil, this sword is heavy.
I wouldn't want to be running around with it.
There's a little bit of damage that the bamboo
gave back to your sword.
But it's still straight.
Very well done. Nice job.
Thank you.
Next up is the sharpness test.
For that, Dave.
All right, gentlemen.
I'm going to be chopping through these tatami mats
using both edges of your sword.
Let's see if your blades still have an edge.
Neil, you're up first.
Are you ready for it?
Yeah.
Sure.
I'm very nervous at this point.
This is the make it or break it moment.
I have to perform well on this test.
All right, Theo.
Definitely a sharp blade.
You can see the nice clean slice and then
burying into the second.
I like the design.
It's definitely a solid piece.
And that's one of the nice things about it.
I don't feel like it's going to go anywhere.
Well done.
Thank you.
All right, Neil.
You ready?
Yeah.
[laughs]
[music playing]
So the biggest thing is all that weight.
About twice what it needs to be as far as weight goes.
It's difficult to swing.
And then the edge of this blade, it's
got a very stout profile almost like an ax.
Just kept it from cutting all the way through.
Theo, Neil, we took five champions,
we whittled it down to two.
But there can only be one "Forged
in Fire" Champion of Champions.
That champion is Theo.
Congratulations.
Neil, unfortunately, your weapon did not make the cut.
Neil, you came up and showed us
that you had the heart to make it to the finals
against four other champions.
But your sword took some damage through the strength test.
But more than that, it's heavy.
A Tai Chi sword is known to be strong, sharp, and light.
For those reasons, we have to let you go.
Neil, please surrender your weapon.
I 100% agree with the judges.
Theo earned it.
But I don't look at this as a failure in any means.
Because I gave it my all.
I can walk away look everybody in the eye
and have everyone's respect.
And that's worth more to me than any title
or any amount of money.
Theo, congratulations.
You are the new "Forged in Fire" Champion of Champions
and will be receiving a check for $10,000.
How do you feel right now?
Woo, the nerves and the butterflies and the nerves
are still going.
But thank you, guys.
Please present your weapon to the judges.
I [bleep] won.
My ego was pretty big beforehand,
and I think this is only going to inflate it.
Not a good thing, not a bad thing.
I think.