Mark, Scott, congratulations.
You guys have made it to the third and final round
of this competition.
Now we're asking you to go back to your home forges
and recreate this iconic weapon from history.
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The Dussage.
Ooh.
Yes.
Good luck, bladesmiths.
We'll see you in four days.
Good luck, buddy.
You're the man.
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Here we are.
Ready to kill it.
I want to have this blade shaped and ready for heat treat.
If I could heat treat on the end of day one
I'll be really good in line.
Right now I am going to start trying
to grind a little bit of paper in this blade
and make sure that fuller sets in as deep as I can get it.
Kind of thinned it out a little bit.
I didn't want to grind too much before heat treat.
That looks rad.
I like that a lot.
Once I got this thing rubbed to shape
and got the bend in with my little whacking method,
it was time to just heat treat it.
All right, boys and girls.
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Yeah, she's nice and straight.
Oh, yeah.
It's a hard blade, so I can't stress how happy
I am actually inside right now.
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It's day one.
I'm back in Emporia, Kansas, and I'm making a Dussage.
The plan for day one is to get the blade
forged out, thermal cycled, and then hardened.
There's a lot put into the handle work.
So I'm wanting to get my forging done as quick as possible.
I always like to forge thick, grind thin,
not have to worry about warps.
One of the hardest parts is done, getting your tang done.
Now just put a point on it, hammer the bevels in.
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At this point I got the blade forged out.
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I get it down into the oil.
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Oh yeah, baby, that's a good sign right there.
No warp, it's nice and straight.
This is a huge relief.
It's like when you have to poop and then you finally get to go,
it's just one of the best feelings ever.
Beginning of day three.
I'm feeling spunky, ready to get going.
Let's get to work.
Today is going to be making that clamshell guard,
so I have chunks of lead that I use for casting.
And so I'm going to use that lead.
I think it'll absorb that steel a little bit better.
The first thing to do is make myself a die with rounded edges
and round nose.
I'm just going to smash into it.
That's going to turn out pretty nice.
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I was hitting it with the ball-peen hammer
and realized that I actually like
the hammer look into this lead block a lot better,
so I just ran with it.
Dude, that thing's fitting awesome.
End of day three, got a lot more done than I anticipated.
So things are cruising along pretty good.
Start out on day four and the last part of the guard I have
to make's the clamshell guard.
So I just laid it out on a piece of sheet metal,
cut it out, and started working it from there.
Once I get the lines put in the clamshell,
I stick it in the forge, and I actually start curving
it to the shape of my fist.
Woo!
Damn, that's hot.
It's really important you get it snug enough to actually work
properly and protect your fist but also
it's not so tight that it's just digging into your hand.
Guard done.
Final assembly, that's what I'm going to be working on now.
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It is the end of day four and I'm feeling great
because I finished my sword and it looks good.
Beginning of day four.
All I got to do is make sure this thing's sharp.
Let's slice some fruit up and let's see this thing work.
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This thing is razor-sharp.
The sword feels great for me, so I'm
hoping it's the same for somebody
who knows how to use one.
It tastes good, too.
All right, bladesmiths.
Welcome to the kill test.
To find out what kind of lethal damage
your weapon will do, I'll take your weapon
and I'm going to put some slashes and thrusts
on this pig carcass.
Scott, you're first.
You ready for this?
Oh, yeah.
Let's do this.
I am super excited to see Doug chop up a pig with my blade.
I run my mouth all the time like, I
can do that, I can do that.
So now's the time to see if I can really walk the walk,
because I know I can talk the talk.
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Ooh.
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All right, Scott.
First up, it is light.
The balance really allows for velocity and recovery
with this blade.
And most importantly, it will kill.
Yeah.
All right, Mark. Your turn, sir.
Are you ready?
Heck yeah.
Let's do this.
I'm ready to see my sword destroy, cut, slice.
But I want to see the insides of that pig.
Oh.
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It's just hanging there like chewing gum.
All right, Mark.
Let's talk about your blade here.
It's beautiful in its creation.
The edge is sharp.
I was quite amazed with the cuts.
I was surprised that it cut that deeply.
The one thing, though, is that that guard right
there, that rubs on my knuckle.
Not bad, but it does rub on the knuckle.
Despite that, it will kill.
Yes.
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Hoo.
All right, gentlemen.
Welcome to the strength test.
The whiskey barrel chop.
Yeah.
Now, to test of the strength and overall construction
of your swords, I will be swinging
into these whiskey barrels.
So Scott, you're up first.
You're ready for this?
Oh yeah.
All right.
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Oh.
First off, Scott, this thing is
still a razor blade on its entire length
except for right there.
You did take a bit of a roll there and a very small chip.
But beautiful craftsmanship, super light,
fast blade, very strong.
Nicely done.
Thank you.
Mark you're up next.
You're ready for this?
Smash them.
OK.
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Here she goes.
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All right, Mark.
Got an edge all the way across this thing.
Yes.
You didn't lose a bit.
The only issue I have with this weapon at all, as Doug said,
my knuckle rides right there on the inside of the guard.
It's not chewing my hand up, but there
is contact right there where I don't necessarily want it.
It's a beautiful weapon.
It's strong.
Nicely done.
Thank you.
[music playing]
All right, bladesmiths.
This is the sharpness test.
The four pillar slice.
These pillars are wrapped in different materials-- foam,
leather, canvas, and silk.
Scott, you're up first.
Ready for this?
Oh yeah.
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All right.
Scott, let's talk about your weapon here.
It is light.
Every cut it cuts nicely.
Overall, sir, it will cut.
Thank you.
All right, Mark, onto your shiny sword.
You ready for this?
Slice and dice.
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All right, Mark, let's talk about your blade here.
That's a cutter right there.
You can feel the weight and the power with your slashes
with this.
On the leather it did cut.
It's just because the thicker kind of blade
that you have here it didn't cut all the way through.
But overall sir, it will cut.
Nice.
Mark, Scott, both of you guys turned in incredibly
competitive blades.
However, the judges have completed their deliberation,
they've made their final decision.
Our new "Forged in Fire" champion is Scott.
Congratulations.
Mark, unfortunately the judges have decided that your blade
doesn't make the cut.
Mark, when we have a competition with two blades
that perform as amazingly as your two blades do,
it comes down to judging the craftsmanship of the blade.
Your blade rubbed our knuckles.
For that small reason, we're letting you go.
Understand.
Mark, please surrender your blade.
I'm bummed that I lost, but I'm very proud of myself
and what I've accomplished.
That was a fine piece, man.
Going home because my guard was rubbing the judge's
knuckles just a slight bit, that little teeny tiny detail,
you live and you learn.
Mark is an amazing bladesmith.
If it wasn't for Mark telling me I could do this, I got this.
Good job, buddy.
I'd be the one going home.
I really hope I make my kids proud with this.
And the world gets to see what Cool Beans Knives gets to do.
[music playing]
Well, Scott, in one of our tightest
competitions to date you've become the "Forged in Fire"
champion, and that's a title that
comes with a check for $10,000.
Good job.
Thank you.
Ah!
I won, baby!
Yes!
This ranks up there with getting married, having children.
Oh, yeah, I'm a Forged in Fire champion, too, by the way.
What's next for me?
Get my 10 grand in ones so I can roll around in it.
You know, normal stuff.
You know, what normal champions do.
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