WIL WILLIS: Bladesmiths, congratulations.
You've made it into the third round of this competition,
and now it's time to send you back to your home forges
to recreate this iconic weapon from history.
That weapon is--
Charlemagne's Joyeuse.
Good luck.
We'll see you in four days.
MITCH: All right, it's day 1.
Today the plan is to get the blade forged out.
This is definitely out-of-the-box for me,
so this will be the first sword I ever completely assemble.
We're going to start out with a bar of 1075 high-carbon steel.
We're going to do a lot of the quick forging
to shape with a power hammer.
Whenever you try to move a big piece of metal like this,
it's quite a challenge to keep it straight.
Whoa.
It's getting long and heavy and hard to hold.
So end of day 1, good day.
We've got the blade forged out.
It's cooling down between a couple of 2x6s,
so that way it doesn't warp as it cools down.
Tomorrow we'll get it ready for heat treating.
PEYTON: I'm back here in Valentine, Nebraska,
and I'm here to make Charlemagne's Joyeuse.
Currently I've never made a sword before.
This is going to be an interesting experiment for me.
So I'm going to use a big piece of 5160 bar stock that can take
a lot of damage and flex well.
I want to make sure I got the length of the blade done,
down to a reasonable size.
So this steel is definitely the most awkward thing that I've
ever worked with in the shop.
It's like a big, wet noodle.
End of day 1, I've got my blade profiled.
Tomorrow the plan is I'm going to start heat treating
and get this Damascus ready for the cross-guard.
MITCH: It's the morning of day 2.
Now we're going to get ready for heat treating.
The main thing is I'm definitely paying really close
attention to the parameters.
Getting pretty close to coming up in temperature,
so we're about five minutes away and we'll be quenching her.
All right, this is it.
Eureka.
All right.
Well.
I'm worried that hitting the bottom of the quench tank
did some damage.
Come on, man.
I tried to fish it out, but unfortunately I
didn't catch anything.
Ended up pouring it out in a 5-gallon bucket in my yard.
I got the blade out, so it's all good now.
I did pick up a slight warp close to the tip.
I should be able to straighten that
out during the temper cycle.
So time will tell.
PEYTON: The morning of day 3, plan today
is to grind in my fullers and get all my fittings
ground down and shaped.
So my biggest fear of putting in this fuller
is just grinding right through my blade.
I can kind of tell how close it is just
by feeling it with my hand.
After about an hour, the fuller's done
and everything is looking good.
Coming out pretty well.
Now I can work on profiling the pommel and guard
and getting them exactly to where I want it.
For my handle I choose diamond wood
because it can take a lot of abuse
and it's not going to break.
I'm in the homestretch now.
Tomorrow I'm just going to be focusing on getting everything
fitted and glued together.
It's a good-looking piece so far.
MITCH: Morning of day 4, I got a lot of work ahead of me.
My biggest focus is going to be getting the blade straight,
and so I want to get that out of the way and then go from there.
My solution is to extend the width of the jaws
with some angle iron, heat it up, and use
some wooden dowels to put the proper pressure
where it needs to be.
She's straight.
Oh, that's so freaking awesome.
Now I need to make the handle.
Time's running out, so it's a race to the finish.
She's getting there.
End of day 4.
Man, it's been quite a trip.
Everything turned out great.
A lot of hard work, but I believe
it really paid off in the end.
That's a sword in four days.
DOUG MARCAIDA: All right, bladesmiths,
welcome to the kill test.
To find out how lethal your weapons are according
to its historic design, I will take your weapon,
deliver some killing slashes and thrusts on this poor carcass.
Mitch, you're up first. You ready for this?
Yes, sir.
[music playing]
All right, Mitch, let's talk about your sword here.
Your edge coupled with the weight that you have here
allows for very deep cuts with every strike.
Overall, sir, it will kill.
Thank you.
All right, Peyton, it's your turn.
You ready? - Oh yeah.
[music playing]
All right, Peyton, that was "joyeuse."
What I like about this sword is not
just about the edge or the point,
it's the balance of this.
I can actually use some velocity and it cuts deep.
Overall, sir, it will kill.
Thank you.
DAVE BAKER: All right, gentlemen, it's time
for the strength test.
Now, to test the strength and overall construction
of your blades, I will be attacking
our armored knights here.
Now, this is not about what your blades
are going to do to that target.
It's about what that target's going to do your blades.
Mitch, you're up first.
You ready for this?
Yes, sir.
[music playing]
I think I just peed a little.
All right, Mitch, your edge did take some damage here.
You can see the chip right there and some rolls.
And your sword is heavy.
You know, this is a lot of weight for a single-hand sword.
More in the range of a two-handed sword
as far as the weight goes.
But she held up, she's in one piece.
Good job, Mitch.
Thank you.
All right, Peyton, you're up.
You ready?
Yeah.
[music playing]
All right.
It's weighty, but the weight is all back in my hands
so it doesn't feel as heavy in the blade.
This sword has a much better point of balance
than the other sword.
Your blade did take some chips and some edge rolling,
but I think your grinds are beautiful,
the sword is all solid.
You did a good job.
Thank you.
DOUG MARCAIDA: All right, bladesmiths,
welcome to the sharpness test, the sandbag gauntlet.
To test the sharpness of your weapon,
I will slash across these bags.
Now, unlike the strength, this is all about how sharp
your blades are and how well they cut these bags.
Mitch, you're up first. You ready?
Yes, sir.
[music playing]
All right, Mitch, so despite some
of the damage of rolls and chips,
it wasn't an issue at all in cutting these bags.
It will cut.
Thank you.
All right, Peyton, your turn, sir.
Are you ready?
Yes, sir.
[music playing]
All right, Peyton, the handle construction
is smooth but ovoid enough to where I wrap my hand around it
and I get a very good grip.
It will cut.
Thank you.
WIL WILLIS: Mitch, Peyton, the judges' deliberation
is complete.
You guys have done fantastic work on these finale weapons,
but there can only be one "Forged in Fire" champion.
Our new "Forged in Fire" champion is--
Peyton, congratulations.
You're the "Forged in Fire" champion.
Mitch, unfortunately your blade didn't make the cut.
Mitch, you brought us a sword that performed well
in all three of our tests, so this came down to the finer
points of craftsmanship as in where
to place the balance point on that blade
and the general weight.
That balance point being so far forward made it harder to wield
and harder to control, and that's
why we're letting you go.
I understand.
Mitch, you've been a great competitor
this entire competition, but at this time,
I have to ask you to please surrender your blade.
MITCH: Obviously was a little disappointed.
Being my first sword, nothing to compare it to.
I thought the weight felt good.
I tried to keep the 6- to 8-inches balance point
that I was told normally swords carry.
So overall, happy with what I turned in
and I'm happy for Peyton.
If I had to lose to anyone, I'd just as soon lose to him.
Peyton, congratulations.
You are the new "Forged in Fire" champion,
and that is a title that comes with a check for $10,000.
Congratulations.
Please present your sword to the judges.
PEYTON: I'm the next "Forged in Fire" champion.
Aw, it's just crazy.
As soon as I heard my name, it was just like a weight just got
pulled off my chest.
Just like-- [sigh] it's over.
Finally can breathe.