Jay, Stephan, congratulations.
You're both in the final round.
Now we're sending you back to your home forges,
where you're nice and comfortable,
to make an iconic weapon from history--
the Zweihander.
[music playing]
The Zweihander, which means two-hander in German,
was a massive sword wielded by Swiss and German mercenary
armies in the 16th century.
Sometimes stretching to over six feet in length,
the Zweihander was a long sword featuring an extended grip
and broad guard.
As European armies employed more pikes and polearms
on the battlefield, the Zweihander
emerged as a counter weapon.
This enormous sword was used to break up
pike formations by cutting spear-ends and opening
up holes in enemy lines.
Due to its size, the Zweihander was only wielded by the biggest
and most audacious soldiers.
If these soldiers survived charges into enemy spears,
they would often be paid double for their substantial risk.
The Zweihander eventually faded from the battlefield,
but survives today in games such as "Dark Souls."
It must be an effective working version of that weapon.
JAY: I've never made a Zweihander before.
Of course, I've never made a friction folder either,
but that turned out OK, right?
[laughs nervously]
HOST: Your blade must have a double edged flamberged blade,
guard, ricasso, pommel, and two lugs.
You will have five days at your home
forge to complete this challenge.
At the end of those five days, you
will return and present your weapons
to our panel of expert judges.
Only after they've submitted them
to a series of brutal tests will they declare one of you
the champion.
Good luck, bladesmiths.
We'll see you in five days.
STEPHAN: Today, we're going to forge the Damascus
and get our rough forged blank, hopefully.
I'm looking for about 200, maybe 250
layer ladder pattern Damascus.
One thing I like to do when I really want to just kind of get
into it and [growling] rock it out,
I'll eat a super spicy pepper.
[grunt] Yeah!
Let's go!
JAY: So far, it's coming together really good.
My grind marks meet up right here in the center really good.
It's time to quench.
When you have a five-foot blade, that
means you had to have almost a five-foot quench tank, which
means now to get the blade in the quench tank,
you're at 10 feet in the air.
This can be pretty bad.
If the quench doesn't go good, we're
gonna have to start all over.
Sweet.
It didn't break.
That's what I was hoping for.
Now I can start working on the guard.
The scallops look good.
I got the handle glued on and tightened down.
So today we're gonna get it sharp and test it.
I'll see your watermelon and raise you a bucket.
[music playing]
This blade is a beast.
It's gonna be able take some punishment
and deal some punishment.
[chuckles] It will cut.
Now, the Zweihander was known as a weapon of intimidation.
To test the sharpness of your edge,
I'm going to cut into this bundle of sugar cane twice--
once with either side.
Jay, you're up first.
Are you ready?
Ready as I'm ever gonna be.
I know my blade's sharp.
I know it'll do good.
I'm expecting something epic, but
until it's really put to the test, you just never know.
[music playing]
It's got a lot of weight to it,
but obviously it's plenty sharp.
Nicely done.
Thank you.
DAVE: All right, Stephan, you're up.
Are you ready?
Can't wait.
Jay's weapon did really well cutting
through the sugar canes.
I'm not nervous about mine, but, you know,
I don't know if it's gonna cut better than his.
His cut real strong.
It's light.
It's easy to wield.
That guard-- it's almost where it's into you
when you're swinging it.
You can see it cut deep and clean.
It looks like the blade held up beautifully, so nice job.
Thank you.
Bladesmiths, the Zweihander was a weapon of war.
Big weapon, big damage.
I will take your weapon and deliver killing
blows on this ballistic dummy.
Let's see how much damage your weapon can do.
Jay, you're up first.
You ready?
Go for it.
MAN: Let's do this.
[music playing]
It is a heavy weight, and it's harder to manipulate
with multiple blows.
But on the thrust, I was able to go in one side and all the way
on the opposite side of the dummy.
This, sir, will kill.
Thank you.
Stephan, you're up next.
You ready?
Absolutely.
MAN: Let's do this.
[music playing]
That was brutal.
OK, Steve, the edge of your sword
is sharp enough to lacerate all the way into the ribs,
and on the power strike, that would disembowel and ruin
this person.
That's the idea.
This sword will kill.
Good job.
Thank you.
DAVE: Gentlemen, this is the strength test.
Now, the Zweihander was often used against pike formations,
so I'm gonna take yours Zweihanders
and go against a rack of pikes here five times
with each of your blades, see how far I can break through.
Jay, you're up.
Are you ready?
Ready.
[music playing]
Wow.
When you start swinging this thing,
it moves things out of its way.
I don't see any damage to your edge.
Nicely done.
Thank you.
All right, Steve, you're up.
Do it.
DAVE: OK.
The third test is probably the one
I'm the most confident about.
You know, I've-- I've beat the heck out of this sword,
and it's doing well.
So now it's just how much mayhem can Dave cause.
[music playing]
Obviously, it's a good cutter.
It actually bit into that wood and split
that right down the middle.
Very easy to wield because of its light weight,
but I think we've bent just a little bit.
It's bent in two directions, and there is a crack now
developing in the handle.
Gentlemen, we've got a lot to discuss.
We'll see you back at the forge.
I'm concerned.
I had a warp in my blade, so I don't know who's
gonna end up with the win.
Bladesmiths, the judges have made their final decision.
It's time to declare one of you the "Forged in Fire" champion.
Jay, congratulations.
Stephan, unfortunately your sword did not make the cut.
Dave will explain.
Stephan, I think what you did with your steel is
visually stunning, but what this came down to
was the strength test.
When your handle developed a bend in two directions,
that caused a stress fracture in the handle,
as well as a slight bend right where the lugs are.
And it's those reasons combined that are sending you home.
I understand.
Stephan, please surrender your weapon.
STEPHAN: I'm disappointed.
I really wanted to win, but that's OK.
I love being at the forge.
It's hot.
It's dirty.
You'll smell funny, but it is so rewarding.
HOST: Jay, congratulations.
You are the "Forged in Fire" champion.
Good job.
[applause]
Thank you.
HOST: How do you feel right now?
I feel like my heart's about to burst out of my chest.
Well, it's the heaviest weapon I've ever had
to wield in this competition.
Very well balanced and a powerful weapon, too.
Thank you.
And the way you built your handle--
that tells me a lot about the way that you make things.
The wood is fitted on and then wrapped with leather
with these reinforcing pieces underneath.
That's the proper way to construct it.
Thank you.
Well, Jay, in exchange for that sword and those socks--
[chuckling]
--you will be receiving that check for $10,000.
JAY: When they announced that I was the winner,
it felt really good.
I've had people tell me, you know,
you're good at what you do, but I always
have this kind of self-doubt.
To make it all the way to the end and be the champion,
I'm so happy.