Overall, sir, your weapon will--
Zane, Chris, congratulations.
You boys have made it into the final round
of this competition.
Now we're sending you back to your home forges
to recreate an iconic weapon from history.
That weapon is the Revolutionary War sergeant spontoone.
Mhmm.
Good luck.
We'll see you in four days.
[heavy metal music]
ZANE: We're back in Waxhaw, and I have
to make a Sergeant spontoone.
I decided to use 5160 for the blade steel
because it is relatively easy to heat treat
but also holds up very well when under duress.
My main goal is to elongate this piece of steel that
will eventually become the blade so
that it meets the requirements.
Yeah, it's a slow press, but it's OK.
CHRIS: I'm back in my home forge.
I'm ready to get started.
I'm excited.
I'm going to build a Damascus billet.
I'm going to try to get as many layers as I can.
I think it'll impress the judges and hopefully hold
up really well on the tests.
I got my main billet cleaned up.
I'm going to cut it and restack it, get it to the size I need,
and then I can hopefully start getting the point shaped out.
Day two, I'm going to be working on the socket,
getting that more fit and finished.
I've also going to grind and hopefully heat treat my blade.
For the heat treat, I'm going to be using this oven right here.
It works really well with temperature control.
I can keep my blade exactly the temperature
that I want it for how long I want it.
I'm nervous that my heat treat is not going to go well.
I could have the blade snap.
I could have it warp.
I could have it just not harden at all.
I don't hear any tinking sound, so that's good.
Tinks are usually cracks.
And it's hard, and I am so excited.
Woo!
That was scary.
CHRIS: Yesterday I got the crossguard and the spear
to shape.
The crossguard being a separate piece is a concern of mine.
I am going to have to forge weld that
for structural-integrity reasons.
Probably going to get into some welding with the MIG welder
just to reinforce everything and, hopefully, after that,
get it ready for a heat treat.
Day three is here.
I plan on finishing out my blade,
and then I am going to weld my tang and my guard to my socket.
That's pretty good.
CHRIS: It's day for on my spontoone build.
The first thing I got to do today is get the haft cut out
and the shape down.
I layered the wood up.
Hopefully the difference in grain structure
will help in strengthness and flexibility.
I left it sort of octagonal.
I think it will give a little better grip.
Now it's time to get my haft attached
to my spontoone spearhead.
It was a hell of a build.
I'm tired.
I'm sore.
I think it looks awesome.
I cut one.
I'm good.
All right, bladesmiths, welcome to the kill test.
And I will take your weapon, deliver
some thrusts and slashes on this wild-boar carcass.
Zane, you're up first.
You ready for this?
Ready as I'll ever be.
[suspenseful music]
[heavy metal music]
All right, Zane, let's talk about your weapon here.
First up, your tip is really made to thrust.
It punctures really deep when I'm thrusting with it,
but I can move with this weapon.
You have a good balance here.
The edge here is sharp.
As you can see, those are very, very deep, sharp cuts.
Overall, sir, your weapon will kill.
Thank you, Doug.
All right, Chris, it's your turn.
You ready?
Yes, sir.
[heavy metal music]
All right, Chris, let's talk about your weapon here.
What I love about this is when you're thrusting,
I can feel the weight in front and crunch ribs
as it's penetrating.
Overall, sir, your weapon will kill.
Thank you, sir.
All right, gentlemen, say hello to my little friend.
To test the strength and durability of your blade,
we're going to be firing out of our air cannon
here into that wooden wall.
All right, Zane, you're up first.
This thing is going to launch my spontoone, my baby,
at a wall of wood.
I'm an odd mixture between excited and nervous right now.
In, 3, 2, 1, fire.
All right, Zane, nothing came apart.
It still has the edge it started out with.
All in all, good job.
Thank you.
CHRIS: Nice job.
All right, Chris, you're up.
Firing in 3, 2, 1.
Fire.
CHRIS: Wow.
Good job, Chris.
OK, your weapon went right in between those boards,
so it actually took all the impact up here on these lugs.
Everything's still straight, still sharp.
I really like that pattern you got on there.
Nicely done.
Thank you.
That is nice.
[suspenseful music]
All right, bladesmiths, welcome to the sharpness test,
the redcoat stab and slice.
To test the sharpness of your edge, I will take your weapon
and slash stab across this redcoat.
Zane, you're up first.
Let's do it.
[heavy metal music]
All right, Zane, your edges are sharp.
On the swing of that, it does cut.
But what I do find here is a little bit
of a glinting at your tip.
It catches on my nails.
It rolled a little bit right there at your tip.
But otherwise, sir, it will cut.
Thank you.
All right, Chris, your turn.
Let's do this.
Things have actually been really even between Zane and I.
I just hope my spontoone, it's strong and sharp enough.
This is it.
[suspenseful music]
[heavy metal music]
All right, Chris, this is a very razor-sharp blade.
Every slash and thrust was a deep cut.
I do not see any damage to your edge.
Overall, sir, this weapon will cut.
Thank you.
Zane, Chris, you guys have done fantastic work
on these finale weapons, but there can only
be one "Forged in Fire" champion,
and the judges have made their final decision.
And that "Forged in Fire" champion is Chris.
Congratulations.
You are the new "Forged in Fire" champion.
Congratulations, man.
Zane, unfortunately your weapon
took some damage during the sharpness test which affected
the efficacy of your cuts.
For that reason, I'd like to invite you to shake my hand,
shake your judges' hands, and then please leave the forge.
Came on, my friend.
--to meet you guys.
Good job, brother.
I did not win, but that's OK.
It's a great weapon.
I came here to prove that I was
able to compete with some of the big dogs,
and I think I made my point.
I hope that I'll be able to keep improving upon my craft
and just get better and better.
Chris, you crafted a better weapon
that held up through the tests.
Congratulations.
You are the "Forged in Fire" champion,
and that's a title that comes with a check for $10,000.
Good job, brother.
Come over here and shake our heads.
Absolutely.
CHRIS: I just became "Forged in Fire" champion.
[laughs] That's crazy.
I'm, like, turning inside out right now.
I got the bragging rights, man.
I can just keep moving ahead, keep doing what I'm doing.
[heavy metal music]