[MUSIC PLAYING]
Zack, Frank, Nehemiah-- congratulations.
You've made it into the final round of competition.
Now we're sending you back to your home forges
four five days to recreate an iconic weapon from history.
The Nzappa zap.
Jazz.
All right, bladesmiths, good luck.
We'll see you in five days.
Let's do this.
Uh-huh.
[ROCK MUSIC]
ZACK LEWIS: Today we're here in Sonora, California--
here to make an Nzappa zap.
Let's see how this goes.
I can't fit it in here, so I might have
to do this thing old-fashioned.
To be truthfully honest, I'm scared [BLEEP]-- less.
My master had a personal emergency.
He had to leave the competition, and now I'm stranded
here doing this on my own.
Just got to keep it together.
It's amazing.
I made it this far by myself.
But I'm going to give it my all--
give 110%-- and see what I can do.
There we go!
Today it's my turn.
I got to turn this square piece of hot metal into a blade.
Nehemiah split it down the middle of the night
before so that I can pull that apart, and there's my blade.
Zack better be bringing his game!
The charcoal forge is one of the most interesting ways to heat
treat, and what I'm looking for is an even
red color all the way across.
That's the right color, Nehemiah.
NEHEMIAH BROUSSEAU: Yep.
[ROCK MUSIC]
Now, let's hear how this thing sounds.
[SCRAPING ON BLADE]
Awesome.
NEHEMIAH BROUSSEAU: [WHISTLES]
It's hard.
Incredible.
[ROCK MUSIC]
Day three-- and I'd like to be a little further than I am.
I want this thing to be perfect before I quench.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
I'll go ahead and heat up my oil little bit here.
If I want to be "Forged in Fire" champion,
I got to pull out all the tricks.
I figure I got to preheat this stuff.
You won't have it around 200 degrees.
Never had that going on.
It's really getting a little bit out of hand--
kind of getting to an uncontrollable fire.
I'm a little nervous.
I have never felt anxiety like this before.
It's really getting a little bit out of hand.
I need that [BLEEP] Stop sign.
Kind of getting to an uncontrollable fire.
[ROCK MUSIC]
[LAUGHS] Luckily, that worked.
I didn't want to have the fire department out here.
Now I can quench my blade.
[ROCK MUSIC]
FRANK ALLEN WREN II: Today is my last day.
I'm working this copper cap.
I've got to get this on here for part of the decoration.
All right.
Aw, [BLEEP] damn it!
Crack.
I think I'm going to just go right to the grinder
and grind it now.
NEHEMIAH BROUSSEAU: Yeah?
[BLEEP]
[ROCK MUSIC]
The breaking of the handle's a little bit
of a blessing in disguise.
Well, now I got to to hang onto that right up to the butt.
The handle was way too thick.
Yay!
I'm glad to be done.
Nehemiah will have it tomorrow.
He will be sharpening the blade and getting
it completely finished.
Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close up.
ZACK LEWIS: My quench came out great.
I don't want to be cocky or anything,
but the blade's looking awesome.
It's got all the intricate artwork on the steel.
I really did a weird hammer pattern,
so it looks like it was made just rocks in the Congo.
I'm hoping to put this Nzappa zap on the mappa map.
First time using it.
[CRASH]
Think it'll cut-- probably will "keel."
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Bladesmiths-- now the Nzappa zap was a brutal
weapon used in close quarter.
We'll see how lethal your weapon is
when I deliver multiple strikes on this pig carcass.
Zack, you're up first. You ready?
Hell yeah.
DOUG MARCAIDA: Let's do this.
[ROCK MUSIC]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Well, Zack, that's a hog.
This is a hog.
It is heavy.
But it's powerful.
The curve you have in here digs deep into the chops.
Here it lacerated the spine easily.
Overall, your weapon will kill.
Frank-- Nehemiah-- your turn.
You ready? - Play on.
Play on.
DOUG MARCAIDA: Let's do this.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[ROCK MUSIC]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Frank-- Nehemiah-- it's light, so I can
go hog wild on this carcass.
When you dig in, it cuts into the spine
and into the ribs and lacerates quite well.
Your Nzappa zap will kill.
The pig that Zack's weapon had might have opened up
a little bit more, but the truth is the wounds
were just as deep and just as bad.
DAVID BAKER: Next up is the strength test.
Occasionally, the Nzappa zap was also thrown.
So to test the strength and durability of your weapons,
I'm going to throw them into this wooden target three times.
Zack, you're up.
You ready?
Be gentle.
[LAUGHS] I'm never gentle.
[THUD]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ZACK LEWIS: Yeah!
NEHEMIAH BROUSSEAU: Aw, huzzah!
[THUD]
Nice!
[DRAMATIC MUSICAL BUILD]
[THUD]
Yeah!
Ugh!
[MUSIC PLAYING]
All right, Zack-- it's still tight.
Nothing loosened up.
But right here, there's a section
of that blade that's just not as sharp as the rest of it.
There's a roll to that edge, and that's pretty much right
where it dug in to the wall.
Frank-- Nehemiah-- you're up next.
Play on.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Oof!
[THUD]
[DRAMATIC MUSICAL BUILD]
[THUD]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
You can see right here when the handle hit
the target in its rotation--
but nothing's wrong with this blade.
it held up.
Nicely done, guys.
Thank you.
And anybody who actually has thrown weapons--
you know that the handles are disposable.
But the metal?
No.
The metal's designed to not take the damage.
DAVID BAKER: Next up-- the sharpness test.
We're going to see how well those blade edges held up.
I'm to cut each one of these ropes.
The meat will drop.
I'm going to cut in each one of those pieces of meat.
Zack, you're up first.
Are you ready?
Yes, sir.
DAVID BAKER: OK.
I do you feel like me and Frank and Nehemiah
are all neck and neck.
It's definitely a tight race right now.
I've never known what weak in the knees means before,
but actually my knees almost hurt.
[ROCK MUSIC]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
DAVID BAKER: All right, Zack, though your blade
is sharp in most places, that roll you picked up--
I think that's what stopped it from going through the rope
immediately.
But the second cut--
I caught it down in here somewhere--
and it just went right through.
All in all, that's a cutter.
Thank you.
Frank-- Nehemiah--
Play on!
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[ROCK MUSIC]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
For cutting rope-- right off, this divot in the middle
here actually worked very well.
The handle where it broke on the throw--
didn't bother me at all.
It's below were my hand sits.
It's a cutter.
Nicely done.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
WIL WILLIS: Bladesmiths-- what started out
as a competition focused on masters and apprentices working
together turned into an apprentice going
against a master and his student.
You rolled with it, and here we are.
The judges have made their final decision,
and the Master and Apprentice "Forged in Fire" Champion title
goes to--
[DRAMATIC MUSICAL BUILD]
Frank and Nehemiah.
Congratulations, you are the "Forged in Fire" Master
and Apprentice Champions.
Good job.
Thank you.
WIL WILLIS: Zack, unfortunately, your blade
did not make the cut.
Zack, first let me commend you for just
pushing through this solo.
Thank you, sir.
DAVID BAKER: You gave us a lot of artistry
in the forging of your blade, and that's very
impressive for an apprentice.
But that roll you picked up in the strength test,
combined with that extreme weight of that piece,
made it very hard to wield.
And that's why we're letting you go.
ZACK LEWIS: Understandable.
Zack, you get the heart of a lion, brother.
Thank you.
WIL WILLIS: But at this time, I have to ask you to please
surrender your weapon.
ZACK LEWIS: Right now I'm pretty bummed,
but Jesse ought to be proud that I persevered
and stuck through this.
Hell, I made it this far, and I feel like I did pretty good.
I'm a winner in my own heart.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Frank-- Nehemiah-- congratulations.
You are the Master and Apprentice "Forged in Fire"
Champions.
Good job.
That title also comes with a check for $10,000.
All right, gentlemen, please present
your weapon to the judges.
[INAUDIBLE]
NEHEMIAH BROUSSEAU: We won! FRANK ALLEN WREN II: [LAUGHS]
NEHEMIAH BROUSSEAU: Yay!
We were the first Master and Apprentice Champions.
FRANK ALLEN WREN II: I am extremely proud of Nehemiah.
Him and I sharing this--
that's what I really do this for.
I think that the Nzappa zap that we--
Nzap-- I think that the Nzappa zap represents exactly us.
And that's why I'm very happy and very proud of it.
[MUSIC PLAYING]