James, David, gentlemen, congratulations.
You are now moving into the final round of
this super-sized competition.
But in this final round, gentlemen,
you'll be building the largest weapon
we have ever asked smiths to make in Forged in Fire history.
Bladesmiths, in the next four days,
you will be building this.
The nine foot long Friauler Speiss.
[laughter]
The Friauler Speiss dates back to 16th century northern Italy.
The massive pole arm features a 37 inch long central blade
with two curved side blades.
The shaft can measure up to six feet long, perfect
for delivering lethal thrusts and slashes upon enemy cavalry.
Over time, this enormous weapon took on a more ceremonial role,
and at its longest, spanned more than 10 feet.
Today, the Friauler Speiss can be
seen on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York City.
So good luck.
You're going to need it.
We will see you guys in four days.
My name is David Warner.
I'm 37 years old.
I'm from Kirkwood, Missouri.
I have twins, boy and a girl.
And I would say that raising twins has prepared me really
well for this competition, because I can
deal with stressful situations.
I'm kind of nervous about making something that's this size
and then to put a spear socket at the end of it.
That's also a challenge.
And then get it to attach to the socket.
It's going to be a pacing challenge.
I need to start shaping the handle.
I've made some spears before, but nothing quite like this.
So I need to make sure that the handle will
actually fit inside the socket.
I've got to make sure that there's a pretty precise fit.
So I think what I'm going to do is heat up this guy
and try and use that heat to press this in the post-Speiss
around there to get a nice seal on that shaft.
That's what I was going for.
Yesterday, I got the blades quenched.
I just need to assemble everything and sharpen it.
I think this blade has got a pretty good
shot of bringing home $10,000.
Who's hungry?
My name is James Dean--
like the actor.
I was a professional chef for 25 years.
The forge environment is much like the kitchen.
It is hot, it is angry, it is dirty.
But I get to create something beautiful.
You just don't eat it.
You can, it's just not nutritious
and you might break a teeth.
By the end of today, I hope to accomplish stacking
up 230 layers of Damascus.
I want to do something to kind of really elevate my build.
First thing I'm going to do is cut in my little Speiss.
Now that the pikes are shaped, you got to quench.
For something this big, there's chances it might warp.
Push!
It's got a little bit warped.
It did take a little bit of a warp,
but nothing that's not within grinder range.
The blade is hard.
I'm super pumped.
So I'm going to try grinding it out.
In the process of trying to straighten my blade,
I ended up shattering it.
This is day four.
I have no time left, but I'm starting over.
Being that I only have nine hours,
I have to try to make the build out of a model steel
just so I can get it done in time.
Since my time is short, I have to rush the heat treatment.
I really didn't get much of a warm.
I feel pretty good about this.
I had a huge comeback.
I'm the comeback kid.
Who builds the biggest weapon in "Forged
in Fire" history in nine hours on the last day?
I dare you.
Bladesmiths, welcome to the dynamic kill test.
But as massive as your weapons are,
it's not as massive as my disappointment
that I can't wield them today because of my injury here.
But I leave you in capable hands with a man of the plan
who'll be my hand, Dave Baker.
David, you're up first. Are you ready for this?
Yes I am.
All right, let's do this.
[music playing]
So David, when you're swinging a nine foot weapon,
it's pretty wild.
It went into the pig with no resistance whatsoever.
The blade, it's all still true, it's all still sharp.
Nicely done.
Doug, you got anything to add?
Your weapon will kill.
All right James, you ready?
Slice, dice, and bacon.
[music playing]
[grunting]
All right, James, right off, it
did what it's supposed to do.
But there are some spots that are dull.
Like I can literally rub my finger on it.
And we've picked up a significant bend in the blade.
But having said that, Doug--
Your weapon, sir, will kill.
Thank you.
Bladesmiths, welcome to the dynamic strength test.
To test the strength and overall construction of your weapons,
I will be pushing on these poles, snapping all 10 of them,
and then piercing these steel drums.
Dave, you're up first. You ready?
Yes I am.
All right.
[music playing]
All right, David.
Well, your blade held up great.
In piercing the drums, took some serious flex,
but came right back to true.
The side blades here, they penetrated that barrel,
and I don't even see any indication
that they were in there.
All in all, I think you did a great job,
and your weapon held up great.
Thank you.
All right, James. You're up, man.
You ready? - Pick it up, fire it up.
All right.
[music playing]
All right, James.
It looks like your tip held up fine.
But your blade took a pretty significant warp.
It's kind of doing an S-curve now.
But all in all, it held up pretty good.
Nice job.
Thank you.
Well, bladesmiths, this has been a hell of a competition
from the beginning.
But at the end of this competition, only one of you
can come out on top, earning the check for $10,000
and the title of Forged in Fire champion.
Today's Forged in Fire champion is David.
Congratulations.
Well, James, you're a talented smith.
You've been talented all the way through this competition.
We want to say thank you for coming out,
but your time here has ended.
I'm going to have to ask you to please
step off the forge floor. - Thanks for the opportunity.
Thank you.
Thank you, James.
I feel devastated after the test.
I really wanted to win.
But, I mean, I made the biggest blade in Forged
in Fire history in nine hours.
And I'm proud of it.
David, that makes you a Forged in Fire champion, man.
You're going to be getting a check for $10,000.
Very well done.
Thank you.
I'm still kind of just processing
that that just happened.
A big chunk of this $10,000 is going to go toward getting
my kids their education.
I'm just excited.
[music playing]