Bladesmiths, congratulations.
You fellas have made it into the final round
of this competition.
Now we're sending you back to your home forges
to recreate this iconic weapon from history,
General George Washington's lion-headed
cuttoe Good luck, bladesmiths.
We'll see you in four days.
TYLER: So my billet's going to be made out of 1084 and 15N20.
Really good contrasting steels for Damascus.
The last time I did my sabre build for the army episode,
I went with the Damascus.
The Damascus, it is a risk because there's
multiple things that could go wrong, from cold shots
to stress fractures.
But as long as my blade does perform as I expect it to,
my Damascus is going to be that thing
that puts me over the top.
GENE: Here we are again back in Springfield, Virginia,
at my home forge.
The plan for today is to cut out a billet for the sword.
Well, this wood anvil, as they call it, or the log [inaudible]
method to put a gentle arc in the blade.
That's the same log that I used for the Mameluke sword
for the Marine competition.
It worked before.
If it's not broken, don't fix it.
TYLER: Day two.
I got to get this blade quenched today,
and I'm going to make some changes
to the way I do it in my forge.
I'm going to try using the tube method.
The main goal is to take this tube
and just turn it into a nice long, hot oven.
Had a little bit of issues getting even heat last time.
So I think with that tube it should give me a nice,
more even, controlled heat.
I don't hear any cracks, pings, or anything like that.
I nailed it.
It's exactly what I need it to be.
[banjo]
Anyway.
Day four finally here.
I'm feeling ready.
I have a plan, and I have some hurdles to get over.
The biggest one [inaudible] is that lion-head pommel.
First thing this morning, I'm going
to put that thing in plaster of Paris and let it set.
Wonder if I should do it with pewter?
You don't have to get pewter nearly as hot.
It will be shiny and look just like silver.
It looks like garbage.
I think I'm going to go with the silver one just because
of the look of the silver.
Right now I need to finish the lion head,
polish everything, and sharpen the blade,
try to take some weight off anywhere that I possibly can,
and then put it all together.
Woo!
Done.
It's done.
Dave four, final day.
I've never carved a pommel before,
so I don't know how long it's going to take,
and I'm going to have to put some time into it.
So I'm just profiling from one way right now
the shape of the lion's head to kind of refine it to what
my final shape is going to be.
And then I start removing some more material, a little fine
tuning with my rotary tool.
It pretty much looks like a lion to me.
All right, veterans, welcome to the kill test.
To find out what kind of lethal damage your weapon will do,
I will take your weapon and deliver killing
blows to this pig carcass.
Tyler, you're up first.
Ready?
[laughter]
I'm ready.
[music playing]
All right, Tyler, your handle construction, just right.
Your edge is very sharp.
Overall, sir, this sabre will kill.
Perfect.
All right, Gene, your turn, sir.
Are you ready?
Let's do this, Doug.
[music playing]
All right, Gene, this is a heavy sword
and very forward heavy.
But when you have a forward heavy blade that you're hitting
that meets resistance, a cylindrical, almost
circular handle makes it twist in my hand.
So probably there's a reason why the chain came off.
But your blade is sharp.
It will kill.
All right, gentlemen, December 25, 1776, George Washington
leads the Continental Army across a frozen Delaware River
to attack the Hessians at Trenton, New Jersey.
And he probably didn't chip his way through the ice,
but that's not going to keep us from our strength
test, the ice-block chop.
Tyler, you're up first.
Are you ready? - Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Let's do it.
[music playing]
All right, so Tyler, your chain fell off,
but there's no damage on your edge.
Your handle's comfortable.
Other than the chain, you nailed it.
Thanks.
Good job.
All right, Gene.
Do it.
[laughter]
[music playing]
All right, Gene, your blade's edge
is still there and still sharp.
The issue is the rest of your chain fell off,
and it's picked up a bend.
I have less issue with that and more issue
with this polished handle.
It's just hard to hold on to.
But it is strong, and it does have an edge, so good job.
Oorah.
All right, veterans, our sharpness test today
is the Hessian charge.
This is all about what your edge will do to these dummies.
Tyler, you're up first.
You ready for this?
Yep.
[music playing]
All right, Tyler, the weight of your weapon
does prevent me from going very fast,
but you have a very sharp edge all the way through.
Your weapon, sir, it will cut.
Thank you.
All right, Gene, it's your turn, sir.
Are you ready? - Let's do this, Doug.
[music playing]
All right, Gene, to be able to maintain a good grip on this,
more of the cuts I create are more
impact as opposed to a slash where
it cuts all the way through.
So you have some cuts here that are
more nicks, deep nicks, because you have a very sharp edge.
And for this test, sir, your weapon will cut.
Awesome.
Tyler, Gene, first of all, I want to thank
you both for your service.
You're both champions in my mind.
You've already won your branch divisions,
but there can only be one Battle of the Branches champion,
and you'll walk out of here with a check for $50,000.
And that champion is Tyler.
Congratulations.
You are the Battle of the Branches
"Forged in Fire" champion.
Gene, please surrender your blade.
There's a lot of Marines out there,
and there's a lot of great guys in the Marine Corps.
And so for me to stand here and represent
them is pretty humbling.
I learned too that it's not about just
the metal being forged in fire.
I feel like I've been forged in fire.
And it's how you handle the ups and downs, the wins and losses,
and it will determine real quick how you've been heat
treated throughout your life.
Tyler, congratulations.
You overcame every obstacle set in front of you.
You beat out all the other smiths,
and now you're the Battle of the Branches
"Forged in Fire" champion.
That's a title that comes with a check for $50,000 and, most
importantly, bragging rights.
Good job, my brother.
Please present your blade to the judges.
I'm super excited.
When this whole thing started, I had no idea how
it was all going to turn out.
It feels good to have represented the Army.
The fact that I just won $50,000 is starting to set in.
I'm Sergeant Tyler Hackbarth, and I'm the new Battle
of the Branches champion.