James, Paul-- congratulations.
You've made it to the third round of this competition,
which means you're both one step closer
to the title of "Forged in Fire" champion
and a check for $10,000.
When you came here, you used our forge to create push knives.
Now we're sending you back to your home forges
to recreate an iconic weapon from history.
And that weapon is the Katzbalger.
Introduced during the Renaissance
in the late 15th century, the Katzbalger
became the main sidearm for European soldiers
known as Landsknechts.
A dominant military force, these soldiers
defended the Holy Roman Empire in times of unrest.
Designed for close hand-to-hand combat,
the Katzbalger was often shorter than other broad swords,
but quick and efficient in action.
Soldiers wielded these weapons in deadly ambushes,
using devious tactics to lure the enemy into fatal attacks.
Its sturdy build and broad, sharp blade
made it a powerful chopper, while its signature
S-shaped guard was instrumental in defense.
Good luck, bladesmiths.
We'll see you in five days.
Good luck, man.
It's day one in the challenge and we're in Moose
Pass at the family forge.
I'm excited to get to work.
OK, the fire is lit.
Hopefully we get the blade forged out today,
the tang and the fullers-- hey, that's our blade--
and get a good start on the day.
OK, here we go.
We're going to start making a blade.
A piece of steel is too wide this way.
It's three and a half inches this way,
and it can't be over two.
So I gotta bring it this way.
If I press-- move too much metal at once, this will fold over.
It's called a taco.
And there'll be a bad spot in your steel.
Small bites, no tacos--
we don't like tacos.
I'm probably a little behind schedule
right now, where I wanted to be.
I was hoping to get a little farther with the blade.
And this really bites me in the butt.
Imagine, it's going to turn into something straight--
maybe.
JAMES: It feels good to be home.
Best-case scenario for day one, get the blade forged up.
Worst-case scenario is the shop explodes
and we all die horribly.
My biggest concern is the fuller.
I've never put one in a blade.
First thing I'm trying is the guillotine fuller.
It could work well, but it's muscle powered.
That didn't work.
Guillotine is not working nearly as much as it needs to.
I have to stop and figure something else try.
Plan B, I need to use a set of spring fullers
under my power hammer.
Her name is Gunhilda, which means battle maiden.
That's good.
I've got my fuller.
It actually looks pretty decent.
Feeling pretty sweaty right now.
PAUL: Today is day three of the challenge.
I'm a little behind where I wanted to be.
But hopefully we can catch up.
No.
[bleep] damn.
Whoo.
You start moving too fast, you just build problems.
Today I'm going to put our hand guard on there.
Aw, I don't know this is a saveable billet.
Oh no.
I'm having a few obstacles.
[bleep]
A handguard got overpressed and it got too thin.
[bleep] damn it.
So that means I start over.
It's tough when you have a failure
like I had on the handguard.
It cost me four hours.
It set us behind a bunch.
[bleep] done.
Agh.
Ready to go.
To be successful today, I definitely
need to be through with the heat treatment
and on to the rest of the process.
The deadline looms ever closer.
But I'm not worried about it, unless I
have something major screw up.
Ugh, there's a big old nasty warp in it.
[bleep]
PAUL: It's morning of day five.
And today, we've got a lot of work to do.
We're going to finish off our handguard,
and then a lot of grinding.
I'll put this down here like this.
Then I'll wrap this around here.
There we go.
It's going to look something like that.
You know, I'm really feeling the time crunch right now.
And I still have to sharpen my edge.
See if I can get an edge on it.
Day five was rough.
I'm done.
JAMES: I'm feeling fairly comfortable about the condition
of the blade.
I did a second heat treat to get the warp out.
Now I'm going to get the handle assembled.
I've got to get the grip shaped.
I don't have time to waste.
That actually feels pretty decent.
I don't want to send this sword to the competition
without thoroughly testing it.
Just a little off the top.
Tastes like victory.
Gentlemen, this is the strength test--
a smith's nightmare.
So what we'll do is we'll take your blades.
We'll lock them into our vise over here
and fire one round from this pistol.
Now, if your blade's strong, it should just split that bullet.
If not, we could have a blade shatter.
James, you're up first.
You ready?
Ready.
OK-- 3, 2, 1, fire.
[gun firing]
JAMES: The blade is still intact.
I can't see any damage.
So we're good to this point.
You can actually see where it left a little bit
of that bullet on your blade.
There's the tiniest deformation.
Other than that, everything's still together.
Good job.
Nicely done.
All right, Paul. It's your turn.
You ready?
I'm ready.
OK-- 3, 2, 1, fire.
[gun firing]
I see the bullet splits, blade doesn't fly in half,
which was a relief.
That's almost identical damage, Paul.
Again, you can see where the bullet left a little scar
around along the side.
All right, good job.
Thank you.
Bladesmiths, to see how sharp your weapons are,
I will take your sword and deliver a slash
using each side of your blade.
And I'll deliver a thrust.
James, you're up first.
You ready?
Let's do it.
All right, James, let's talk about your sword.
Your edge is razor sharp.
On the delivery downward, it was easily into the bag
and slashed into it.
Your tip, not coming to an exact point,
but because of that edge geometry,
was easy enough to thrust into this bag.
And your blade will cut.
Good job.
Thanks.
Paul, you're up next. You ready?
- I'm ready. - Let's do this.
All right, Paul, on the cuts over here,
it starts to lacerate, but not deeply
enough to go into the bag.
The edge geometry you have of your tip over here
isn't as sharp as I thought it would be.
This did not penetrate the bag at all.
When you flipped it over, same thing also with the other edge.
It did lacerate, but not as deep.
Overall, your blade will still cut--
not as deeply.
Good deal.
Next up is the kill test.
The Katzbalger is a weapon that was used in history to kill.
I will take your sword and I'll deliver lethal blows
on this big carcass.
James, you're up first. You ready?
Let's do it.
Let's do this.
All right, James, let's talk about your blade.
This section right here, it nicely sliced into the carcass.
It chopped through the spine into some bone.
And overall, your blade will kill.
Thank you.
Good job.
Paul, you ready?
I'm ready.
Nope.
Well, Paul, unfortunately, your edge over here, some areas
are rolled.
And it hit the mark.
But it did not lacerate or cut into the pig.
So, unfortunately, your blade will not kill.
No edge at all.
Gentlemen, I know you've worked
very hard on your blades.
But in this arena, there can only be one "Forged in Fire"
champion.
And that champion is James.
Congratulations.
You are the "Forged in Fire" champion.
Thank you.
Paul, unfortunately, your blade did not make the cut.
Paul, please, surrender your weapon.
PAUL: I absolutely agree with the judges' decision.
- Paul, thanks so much. - Thanks.
Appreciate you guys.
I mean, I just ran out of time.
There was nothing else.
Congratulations, man.
Thank you.
His blade performed the way it was supposed to.
And mine performed like a spoon.
I may not be the "Forged in Fire" champion,
but ladies, I'm single and ready to mingle.
Call me.
Love to dance.
James, congratulations.
You are the "Forged in Fire" champion
and will be leaving here with a check for $10,000.
Good job.
Thank you.
I'm the "Forged in Fire" champion.
I will never win points for prettiness,
but the tests here or on the battlefield,
it's not the pretty weapon that wins.
Good job.
I'm very lucky to be able to make a living
creating something useful.
And I will use my winnings to make more blades.
[theme music]