Jason, Seth, congratulations.
Your boarding axes have earned you a spot in our finale.
Now we're sending you back to your home forges
to recreate an iconic weapon from history.
That weapon is--
Blackbeard's infamous cutlass.
Good luck.
We'll see you in five days.
[foreboding music]
SETH: I'm feeling pretty excited to be back in my home forge.
Today I'm going to be making two different kinds of Damascus.
I've never made a weapon of this caliber this size,
and I've never done any kind of knuckle bow or D-guard.
I have a huge chunk of steel here.
That's for sure.
The judges really hit on the handle and weight distribution.
I'm going to make sure the handles aren't too big
but they're not too small, because there
will be multiple operators.
[heavy metal music]
JASON: So it's start of day one, and I
cannot wait to get started on Blackbeard's legendary cutlass.
I've never built anything like this, not even close,
so I'm going to be making most of it up as I go along.
Plan for day one--
I definitely want to have the blade shaped out, formed out.
I want to have the fullers done.
I want to have the rough grind done.
So I'm using this guillotine tool to try and get
these fullers forged in.
I have no press, no power hammers.
Uh, my power hammer is--
look at that, huh?
This is the problem.
You get an arm like that and one like that.
SETH: I did the heat treat.
Today, I want to work on the handle.
I've never put a guard together like this ever.
Getting all the measurements right is just guesswork.
I'm doing Damascus for all the handle pieces.
I want all of it to be uniform.
If something's out of place or out
of whack or out of tune or out of twist,
it's not going to work.
It's a lot of steel to be putting on a handle.
Yeah.
I hope that the amount of steel on the weapon
won't make it too heavy.
Blackbeard just might as well throw it in the water
and use it as an anchor.
JASON: It's day three.
The blade is out of tempering, looking really good.
But there is a ton of work to do today,
and it's going to be forging the handle parts.
So I'm going to go through my scrap pile to find steel.
It's probably just going to be some kind of mild steel.
And the plan is to take it one piece at a time
and forge it as if I was forging a jigsaw puzzle.
The guard bone's connected to the knuckle bow
bone's connected to the rear [inaudible] bone.
It's going to be a--
an interesting forging process.
Even though it's going to be cheesy and campy,
I'm making the clamshell guard look like clamshell.
This morning, uh, got a lot of grinding to do on the blade
and shaping the handle.
I want to do a robust edge on it.
I want to keep it thick so it doesn't get broke up so easily.
I've bent my guard out to get the heat treat right,
and now I've got to bend it back in.
We'll see how good my temper is.
[clanking]
Ooh.
[bleep]
I just broke my knuckle bow.
This is not how to get into the final day.
It's hard.
I think it's going to be a pretty good struggle
trying to get it together.
What I'm going to do is shorten out my knuckle bow,
get it into--
position to where I need it.
Maybe breaking it was a blessing in disguise.
I got to rework the knuckle bow the way I
wanted it, to make it prettier.
I like it.
My sword is all together.
It's all one piece now.
It's a cutlass.
It's Blackbeard's cutlass.
Heavy-- ish.
DOUG: Bladesmiths, to test the lethality of your cutlass,
I'm going to inflict lethal wounds
on these ballistic dummies.
Jason, you're up first.
You ready?
I sure hope so, Doug.
Let's do this.
[heavy metal music]
[blade impact sounds]
All right, Jason.
You've got a very big handle here.
But at least it's got the swells.
It's got an indexing to where I hold onto it,
I can tell where the edge is.
The weight that you have in this weapon is so light in a sense
that I can wield it even around here.
You cut the clavicle into the ribs, all the way
through the lungs.
And definitely, it will kill.
All I ever wanted to hear.
Made my day.
DOUG: Seth, you're up next.
You ready?
Let's get some.
[heavy metal music]
[blade impact sounds]
[chuckles]
DOUG: All right, Seth.
Your sword is forward-heavy without a balance coming back.
I don't know whose shoulder's going to hurt more,
the dummy's or mine.
But your weapon, sir, will kill.
Thank you.
To test the strength and durability of your swords,
I'll be chopping through these bones
and then attacking that peg leg.
Now, remember, this test is not about when your blades
do to these targets.
It's about what these targets do to your blades.
Jason, you're up. You ready?
Nope.
[chuckles]
[sighs]
[blade impact sounds]
The balance of your weapon is really nice,
which is surprising because you've made
a two-handed cutlass.
Your blade held up very well, except for the one little chip.
And it's not even a chip.
It's a roll.
So it didn't blow out.
Good job.
Thank you, Dave.
DAVE: All right.
Seth, are you ready?
Yes, sir.
[blade impact sounds]
DAVE: All right, Seth.
First up, this thing's a beast.
It is probably a pound heavier than your competitor's sword.
Your blade-- I can run my fingernail down this.
I can see a couple of glinting spots,
but it really didn't take any damage.
DOUG: All right, bladesmiths.
Let's find out if there's any edge left.
This is the rope cut and pirate sail slash.
To test the edge of your cutlass,
I will cut this rope, which will raise the sail,
and then I will slash the sail.
This is all about what your sword
will do to the sail and rope.
Jason, you're up first. Ready?
Yes, sir.
[blade impact sounds]
DOUG: All righty, Jason.
Your edge cut through the rope easily and cuts with every part
that the edge met on this pirate sail.
Overall, sir, your sword will cut.
Awesome.
DOUG: Seth, how you feeling?
Feeling good.
Let's go.
Let's do this.
[blade impact sounds]
All right, Seth.
What are the chances you find a very dull spot
on the first cut on the rope?
But on the second cut, it found another spot that was sharp.
But on the sail, working a heavy sword like this
affects my cuts.
Jason, Seth, the judges have tested your weapons,
and they've made a final decision.
And the new "Forged in Fire" champion is--
Jason, congratulations.
You're the new "Forged in Fire" champion.
Seth, unfortunately, your blade did not make the cut.
DOUG: Seth, your weapon was significantly heavier,
and it had a stout edge that underperformed
on the sharpness test.
For that reason, we're sending you home.
WIL: Seth, please surrender your blade.
SETH: No regrets, man.
I think I made an exceptional blade,
but it is what it is, you know?
Elimination's elimination.
That's the name of the game.
I'm proud of myself, but I don't feel as good
as I would have if I had won.
WIL: Jason, congratulations.
You are our new "Forged in Fire" champion,
and that's a title that comes with a bundle of bullion
that's worth 10 grand.
How are you feeling right now?
[chuckles] I mean, come on.
That's incredible.
Please, present your blade to the judges.
JASON: What?
"Forged in Fire" champion?
I don't know how to respond because I never expected
to be here, saying that.
I don't know.
[laughs] What?
What do you want from me?
[symphonic metal music]