my name is josh weston i got into blade
smithing
from spartacus something inside of me
lit on fire and i had to
make swords i'm jason reddick
i started making blades when i was a kid
with my grandfather
i'm 100 of self-taught
jason josh congratulations you've made
it to the final round
when you came here we asked you to forge
a blade in your signature style using
our tools and our forges
now we're sending you home to create an
iconic blade from history
the kukri hell yes
the kukri is a blade issued to nepalese
soldiers known as the gurkhas
during the anglo-nepalese war in the
early 19th century
the kukri became renowned in the western
world for its versatility on the
battlefield
the kukri's unique curved design and
angle of the blade
gives it the ability to slice and chop
simultaneously
the gurkha soldiers were said to be so
skilled with kukri
that it acted as an extension of their
arm
today the kukri is far more visible
worldwide
seen in films like resident evil
extinction and big trouble in little
china
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it must be a fully functioning authentic
version of that deadly weapon
i'm really nervous because i know
literally
nothing about this blade
you will have five days to complete this
challenge good luck bladesmiths
we'll see you in five days
i am very very happy me likey
the mid bar is welded together i've
drawn out a new piece of steel
i'm forge welding them together there's
a lot of forging left to be done
i am doing my damnedest to win this
thing i've got to
try to quench this thing it's going to
be difficult to get an
even temperature the quench
is the most critical part of the sword
build
all right who's ready this is it if this
blade
doesn't survive the quench i'm sunk
there's just no coming back from it
i'm finding absolutely nothing wrong
with this blade
everything is exactly as it should be
i have a blade
now that i'm back home i feel much more
at ease i'm used to my equipment
i've got a wonderful family and if i
could win this
it would mean all the support that my
family's given me over the years is
you know they've been correct to do it
this is a lot larger of a cookery than
i've made before
so it's going to be a little bit more
forging and stuff than
what i'm used to yeah i wish the hell's
a little bit lighter
i think we'll be all right got the blade
shaped up the way i
wanted blade seems nice and straight i'm
leaving it cool now
we're good now i can heat treat it
be real careful not to move it let this
thing sit still inside the oil
and completely cool down at this point
i hope i got time to get everything done
all right
that's good
jason josh welcome back many battles
gurkha soldiers have fought we're
defending forts just like this one
so we thought it would be an ideal place
to test your kukris we will now put both
of your weapons through a series of
tests
first up the strength test doug
bladesmiths kukris were multi-purpose
knives as well as weapons of war it was
also used commonly to clear the fields
of nepal
as well as chop wood to test the
strength of your kukri
i will cut through these sugar canes
jason you're up you ready i'm ready i'm
getting nervous
because it's all out of my hands now
well jason this is a beast
thank you i do not see any indentations
in your blade at all
so it cut nicely but the handle
construction
is very hard to hold on to because it's
very smooth
but once again it did its job
good job thank you josh you're up you
ready
i'm ready is this thing even gonna hold
up and come out in one piece at the end
i have no idea well josh i don't see any
indentations on your edge over here
i like the balance your handle is nice
and comfortable around the hand i was
able to maintain control of it
and the edge is sharp enough to cut
through these sugar canes
good job i think coming out of the sugar
cane test
we're at a tie right now all right
gentlemen
next up is the kill test the kukri is a
powerful weapon in combat
so much so that in 1814 22 000 british
soldiers went up against 600 gurkhas
armed with the kukri the british
suffered massive losses and the gurkhas
never surrendered thus began the legend
and reputation of the kukri
to test the lethality and function of
your blade i will take your cookery and
i will slash you these carcasses
jason you're up all right let's go
my heart's beating anytime you cut bone
it's very very hard on a blade if you're
gonna get a chip or something in your
blade it's gonna happen when you cut
through bone
well jason the beast over here
it cuts just the way it sliced through
this time
i felt a nice curve in your design this
sir
will kill thank you josh you're off you
ready
let's do it i'm half excited and half
my pants
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well josh your blade didn't slash all
the way through the carcasses
but it did cut and those kinds of cuts
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will kill
jason josh you were given five days at
your home
forge to design and fabricate signature
kukris
you've both done a fantastic job this
was a very
difficult decision but there can only be
one
forged and fire champion
jason congratulations
josh unfortunately you did not make the
cut
josh when i saw your blame the strength
test the way it performed
i expected it to continue performing
that way and your edge retention didn't
hold up
so that's why i have to let you go josh
please surrender your weapon i am
disappointed
but what i've learned from this
experience
is invaluable and even though i didn't
walk away with 10 grand today
i don't feel like a loser so that's a
really nice relief at the end of it
jason congratulations you were the
fortune fire champion
which comes with a ten thousand dollar
check yes
i just won ten grand oh god i'm honey
i'm so
happy right now i can barely talk man
you got a beast there
that thing you get that motion that's
going to keep going and killing your
edge held up great
thank you i came here to prove that
i'm doing the right thing with my life
and i feel like i've accomplished a lot
i'll be bragging about this for a long
time to come
[Music]
you