Good job, buddy.
You, too, brother.
Andy, Shane, congratulations.
You've made it into the final round.
When you arrived here, you used our tools
and equipment to forge signature blades of your own design.
Now we're sending you back to your home forges,
where you will recreate an iconic blade from history.
Butterfly swords.
Bad ass.
Butterfly sword, or [non-english],,
is a Chinese weapon developed in the mid 19th century.
Short and slim, two of these blades
could be carried in a single scabbard.
Their small profile also allowed them to be concealed
in a boot, or sleep of a robe.
The butterfly sword was forged with a wide belly, which made
it an ideal chopping weapon.
Chinese militiamen in the late 1830s
were outfitted with butterfly swords,
which allowed for deadly close quarters combat.
Due to its versatility, it became a common weapon
among many in China, including sailors, private guards,
and martial artists.
These weapons were also featured in one
of the most popular kung fu films of all time,
"The 36th Chamber of Shaolin."
Good luck.
We'll see you in five days.
Day two of the challenge.
I have a lot of goals today.
The d guard is the main focus this morning.
I think I'll still round it a little bit,
but that's the brass knuckle.
So we want that to be able to put
an opponent out of commission.
So after the d guards, we'll have to cut
some wood for the handles.
African blackwood is a very hard, dense wood.
It's hard to cut, it's hard to drill a hole in,
but it will take a nice finish.
I've got them dry assembled.
I want to test these blades.
I want to know they'll perform.
The blade's hard.
It was chipping a little bit, because I
had a pretty fine edge on it.
I'm going to have to change the edge geometry.
Still a lot of work left to do.
I need to make myself a quench tank.
It does not have to be pretty, it just needs to hold the oil.
This is for making horses poop.
It's good for quenching spring steel, too.
[music playing]
[bleep]
Gee, this is really safe next to a propane tank.
Come on!
Frickin' inferno here.
That heat treat went very well for me.
Success.
No cracks in those blades.
They're straight, they're true, and they are hard.
But I want to test the strength of this blade.
[chopping]
Made very short work of that.
It's time to quit fighting, and just get her done.
Day five.
I need to get the handles sanded out and finished.
I need to get the d guards sanded out and finished,
and I have to sharpen the blades and do a little more testing.
So now what I'm working on is the finial nut.
This will cinch everything up tight when we glue it up.
Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
It's a constant battle.
So that's the first time I've encountered that.
That was a mess.
I'm feeling a whole lot better now that they
are actually assembled.
I'm going to build the handles today.
I'm going to fit everything up.
I need to make a pair of nuts that I can use
to cap the ends of the handle.
It'll add a little bit of counterweight,
and it will also--
well, it'll just look cook.
Mother [bleep]!
Argh!
Holy [bleep].
I knew that I would cut myself on these blades
before I was done, and sure enough,
I cut my thumb pretty bad.
It's not a sword until it's drawn blood,
so right now, painter's tape and paper towels
will have to do the trick.
As you can see, my shop is very sanitary,
so I'm not worried about it.
Where are my nuts?
I can't have nuts that are too big,
and I can't have nuts that are too small.
My nuts need to be just the right size.
Could have just slapped the hardware store nut on there,
but decided to make my own.
Hopefully, this will be the difference between bad ass
and extra bad ass.
Man, it's time for a beer for me.
Bladesmiths, the butterfly swords
were designed to be short swords because they were supposed
to be maneuverable in close quarter combat,
and they were sharp.
To test the sharpness of your blade,
I will attempt to puncture, slash,
and cut this trifecta of sandbags, sugar cane, and rope.
Let's see how well your blades do.
Shane, you're up first.
Are you ready?
I am, sir.
[music playing]
Nice.
Shane, your blade moves nicely.
It can definitely slash and thrust through the sugar cane.
It's sharp enough to cut.
At the same time, on the rope, I can
shield and then cut the rope.
This, sir, will cut.
Good job.
Thank you.
Andy, you're up next.
You ready?
I'm ready.
Let's do this.
[music playing]
Great job.
Whoa.
Smoked 'em.
Well, Andy, definitely, you've got a nice point
to puncture and lacerate.
On the sugar canes, nice cut on my weaker side,
and to use the blade as a shield,
that feels good so I can deliver my power thrust.
And it's sharp.
This, sir, will cut.
Good job.
Thank you.
Bladesmiths, this is the kill test.
The butterfly sword, when sheathed,
appears as one sword--
but the minute you unsheath it, you have two swords.
To see how lethal your butterfly swords are,
I will deliver lethal blows on these ballistic dummies.
Let's see how much damage your weapons can do.
Shane, you're up first.
You ready?
I'm ready.
Let's do this.
[music playing]
Nice.
Well, Shane, the lacerations in here
will go deep into the bone and break it.
At the same time, when you thrust,
it goes deep into the bowels and cuts everything
inside on its way out.
This, sir, will kill.
Great job.
Thank you.
Andy, you're up next.
Ready?
Yes, sir.
[music playing]
Andy, the design of your blade lacerated
this ballistic dummy deeply, and that would puncture a lung.
And when I thrust the weapon, I completely
disemboweled this dummy.
This, sir, will kill.
Great job.
Thank you.
Gentlemen, your final test is the strength test.
The butterfly swords come from southern China.
Now, though they were used by the military,
primarily, they are a civilian weapon.
Now, to test the strength of your blades,
I'm going to take six chops into this ice block.
If they're strong enough, that edge should hold up.
Shane, you're up first. Are you ready?
- I'm ready. - All right.
Let's do this.
I've designed my blades so that they will cut,
they will chop bone--
I'm pretty confident in them.
All right, Shane, well, your edges held up beautifully.
The weapon still feels nice and tight, and well put together.
What I do like is the fact that I can
hold this weapon in one hand.
A question for you--
you only sharpened 2/3 of that blade.
Is there a reason?
The research that I did said that only
the bottom third of that blade would not be sharpened,
because of the monks--
didn't want to kill somebody.
They would want to thump them and not kill a person.
I learned the same thing, but it was when you reversed it,
that that-- so you don't put a finger on that edge
when you reverse that blade.
But nice design.
Well done, sir.
Thank you, sir.
Andy, you're up.
Yes, sir.
OK.
[music playing]
A little wet.
Your edges feel great.
Feel fine.
I really like what you did with the fullering.
Thank you.
A couple of things.
The back arms are just a little tight.
I can't quite get underneath that.
I like what you did, carrying them up there
and putting that detail on it, though.
But the biggest concern I have is I--
I can't-- I can't hold that as--
as one sword.
I wouldn't be able to draw that cleanly from the scabbard.
Generally, though-- I mean, they feel good in the hand.
It's a good job.
They held up well.
Thanks, Dave.
Nicely done.
Andy, Shane, the judges have pored
over the details of your weapons,
and they've made their final decision.
Andy, Shane, you've both done some outstanding work.
In this competition, there can only be one "Forged in Fire"
champion.
And that champion is--
Shane.
Congratulations.
You are the "Forged in Fire" champion.
Good job.
Thank you.
Congratulations, brother.
Well fought battle, bud.
Absolutely.
Of course I would rather be the one taking home $10,000,
but I absolutely believe the judges made the right decision.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Shane made a couple of excellent blades,
and he deserves it.
This is Andy [inaudible],, over and out.
Shane, congratulations, you are the "Forged in Fire"
champion, and will be receiving a check for $10,000.
Good job.
Thank you.
I'm feeling wonderful.
This is the moment I've been waiting for.
The journey is the fun part, you know?
I'm very happy.
So what are you gonna do with the money?
I have a family that's sacrificed a lot,
so we'll have a family council, and they will decide.
That's awesome.