Dave, Gabe, congratulations.
You've made it into the final round of this competition.
Now we're sending you back to your home
forges us to recreate an iconic weapon from history--
the yatagan.
Good luck, bladesmiths.
We'll see you in five days.
Good luck.
[music playing]
DAVE: I've been assigned to make a yatagan.
I don't know how to spell yatagan,
but here I am making one.
I've never made a blade this long,
and I've never made one that requires such an ornate handle.
So I'm nervous.
This is going to have to chop through a pig, a thigh bone,
maybe try to cut through Wil's biceps.
I don't know.
I'm going to make it to cut.
I think I've got the curve right.
I think I'm sitting pretty.
Gabe, my competitor, is a very competent smith,
so hopefully I'll have a blade that will stand
up and equal or surpass his.
GABE: It is very important to get the rough shape today.
And if I do not get the rough shape knocked out today,
then that'll throw the rest of the four days way behind.
I don't have a power hammer or a forging press,
so I have a lot of work ahead.
This is my power hammer right here.
I think I'm the underdog.
Dave's got the upper hand.
He's been doing it for a lot longer.
It's his to lose, I think.
And I hope I'm going to come in there
and sneak and take it from him.
I really like the shape.
Dave, you're going down, buddy.
DAVE: Today, the plan is to make my mokume billet
for the bolsters and the ornamentation that
goes on the side of the blade.
Mokume technique in Japanese means "wood grain metal."
It's laminated nickel silver and copper.
And I'm squeezing them together under high heat,
and they should bind.
I'm going to create an interesting pattern
in the steel.
All right.
That's for later.
It's quite time-consuming, but I think the end product
will be worth it, assuming it takes.
That's hot.
Now I see if I've got a viable billet.
Yes.
Not molten.
Also a good sign.
This better be worth it.
One thing I'm concentrating on the most today
is making sure everything is symmetrical
and getting ready for heat treating.
Feeling a little nervous.
If I have some things out of whack, then it'll pull.
That's one way you can cause warps,
but I'm praying and hoping that's not an issue.
[music playing]
Hmm.
She has developed.
I have a nice warp.
I don't have time to make another blade.
I have to fix this warp or I have no shot at winning.
[groans]
I'm going to clamp the blade in a position
so that the warp is overcorrected,
and hopefully it'll fix itself in the temper.
Otherwise, I have no idea what I'm going to do.
DAVE: The mokume came out great.
It was worth it.
And yesterday, I quenched the blade,
and it came out straight and hard.
Today, I'll start working on the ebony handle.
So that to that.
I chose ebony because it's really pretty wood.
The material's a little brittle, but I
think it should be just fine.
I'm not really sure if I got this thing fitted properly.
Gonna hope for the best right now.
Success.
I would like the test to be on a banana--
a nice, soft banana.
But I suspect it's going to be a giraffe or a fire
hydrant or a cuckoo clock.
I don't know what they're going to come up with.
I hope it does well.
[music playing]
GABE: I fixed the warp as best as I possibly could.
The goal for today is to be dialed in on the handle.
I'm going with this marble wood.
It's already square.
It's got some width so that I can sculpt in the ears.
We are all together.
This sword I have dubbed "Dumbo" because it
looks like an elephant.
Everything's come together into something I'm proud of.
Let's go whack something, shall we?
That's a pretty clean cut.
I'll call that a day.
Bladesmiths, to see what kind of lethal damage
your weapon will do, I'll take your yatagan
and deliver slashes and thrusts on this ballistics dummy.
Dave, you're first.
Are you ready?
Yes, sir.
Let's do this.
DAVE (VOICEOVER): I'm so nervous right now,
and I'm just hoping my blade will perform well.
[music playing]
He's got bowels dropping out everywhere.
Let's talk about your weapon, Dave.
It follows the feel of a yatagan.
It's supposed to be light and deadly.
The edge you have here is sharp, where
it's curved in to lacerate.
Your yatagan will kill.
Thank you very much.
All right, Gabe, your turn.
You ready?
Go nuts, man.
Let's do this.
GABE (VOICEOVER): Dave's blade performed
seemingly really well.
Guts falling out of the thing and blood everywhere.
So a little nerve-racking knowing that it'll have
to at least measure up to that.
[music playing]
All right, Gabe.
It is so light.
It really feels like it's not there.
It's almost scary.
When I thrust, it penetrates easily and slashes down.
Overall, sir, your blade will kill.
Thank you.
DAVE (VOICEOVER): I think we cut quite similarly.
I would prefer to be ahead, but right now I
feel like we're neck and neck.
All right, gentlemen.
This is the strength test.
To test the strength of your weapon,
I'll be chopping into these bones six times.
Dave, you're up first.
Hacking bone is a very difficult
thing to do with a thin edge.
I'm aghast knowing what's going to be coming.
[music playing]
All right, David.
That's a tough test.
Those are very thick bones, but what we've got going on here
is a lot of chipping and distortion on your blade.
We've also got a major crack in your handle that
runs right up through the pins.
All right, Gabe.
Your turn.
You ready for this?
Go nuts.
[music playing]
OK, Gabe.
The convex edge you've got on here
is pretty much the perfect edge for a test like this--
sharp and strong.
I can feel just the smallest amount of a roll.
Nicely done.
Thank you.
All right, gentlemen.
Next up, the sharpness test.
For that, I give you Doug.
DAVE (VOICEOVER): I have edge damage.
I have handle damage.
It's disheartening, but it's not over yet.
Bladesmiths, to see if your blade is still sharp,
I will take your weapon and slash through these silks.
If your blade is still sharp, it should cut cleanly.
If not, it may rip or tear or, worse, do nothing.
Dave you're up first.
You ready?
Yes, sir.
Let's do this.
[music playing]
All right.
I love the balance of your blade.
I like the way it curves in, but you
can really feel the edges now.
It's serrated.
It hangs up with silk.
But then on the last piece, just when it's nice and taut,
you can lacerate and cut through it.
Overall, your blade will still cut.
Thank you.
All right, Gabe.
It's your turn. You ready?
I'm ready.
Let's do this.
[music playing]
All right, Gabe.
Your blade is so light, you're barely
like cutting through air.
I glided through this, lacerated,
and of course, in the finishing cuts here,
cut easily through that silk.
It cuts.
Good job.
Thank you very much.
Bladesmiths, you both created remarkable finale weapons.
But in this arena of competition,
there can only be one "Forged in Fire" champion,
and that champion is--
[music playing]
--Gabe.
Congratulations, you are the "Forged in Fire" champion.
Dave, your weapon did not make the cut.
Dave, you brought us an outstanding weapon.
That yatagan is fantastic.
But during the strength test, we lost structural integrity
in the edge of your blade and in the handle,
with both scales fracturing.
And those are things we obviously can't overlook,
so that's why we're going to let you go.
Sure.
Dave, please surrender your weapon.
DAVE (VOICEOVER): It's exactly what I expected.
It was very difficult testing, but I'm
still the guy with the cracked edge and the broken handle.
It's like going out with a beautiful blonde
and finding out she has BO.
And my blade has BO.
Gabe, congratulations.
You are the "Forged in Fire" champion
and will be receiving a check for $10,000.
Good job.
I've never seen anybody less stoked
about getting 10 grand in my entire life.
Why don't you please present that weapon to the judges.
GABE (VOICEOVER): It feels great to be the "Forged in Fire"
champion, but I'll do my celebrating
behind closed doors.
I felt like I was the underdog, but underdogs win sometimes,
I guess.
[laughs]
[music playing]