[music playing]
WIL WILLIS: David, Jordan, congratulations.
You've made it into the third round of this competition.
Good job.
If you thought the last six hours was tough,
it's nothing compared to the next five days
because we're sending you back to your home forges
to recreate an iconic weapon from history.
And that weapon is--
the Talwar pommel.
[music playing]
JORDAN: I could comfortably make a blade like this in a week.
And I can uncomfortably make one in five days.
WIL WILLIS: After five days, you will return
and present your finished Talwars
to our panel of expert judges.
Only after they've put them through a series
of brutal tests will they declare one of you
the "Forged in Fire" champion who also walks away
with that check for 10 grand.
Good luck, bladesmiths.
We'll see you in five days.
[music playing]
DAVID: It's day one.
We're at my home forge in Kalkaska, Michigan.
Hopefully, today I can get my blade rough forged.
That-- that's the plan anyway.
[music playing]
I've never done a sword of this magnitude, of difficulty.
So we'll see how it turns out.
I just got to make it perfect because my competitor is
really good.
[music playing]
So day one, I'd like to be a little further, of course.
But all in all, it's been a good day.
[music playing]
JORDAN: It's day two.
I'm trying to get this blade a little
longer to fit the parameters.
I'm getting a little worried.
This fuller is buckled right here.
When the fuller starts to buckle,
it means that the-- the wall on either side is really thin,
and it's starting to move around.
And there's a danger of grinding through when
you go to the grinder.
So I'm gonna start this blade over.
[music playing]
Back to working on the fuller.
I'm a little behind where I hoped I'd be.
And I'm exhausted.
Finally.
If you want to call that good.
DAVID: All right, day four.
The blade is done.
Now, it's time for the handle.
I've never made an entirely metal handle.
A handle is a tricky piece of forge work.
So I'm a little nervous.
This is as hard as I expected.
[music playing]
It's cracking like crazy.
I'm seeing all these cracks in my handle.
And I don't have any way to fix them.
I'm starting over.
Restarting the handle puts me about five hours behind.
It's going to be crunch time.
I'm ready to be done with this handle.
I was determined not to screw it up.
And here I am, screwing it up again.
[music playing]
JORDAN: Day five, I had this crazy idea
of doing a Damascus handle.
But the Damascus that I made was too hard.
So we're going with plan B, which is the hollow form pipe.
I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner.
[music playing]
The advantage of this was no drilling.
It's pretty much ready to go.
And so now, we're actually going to get the blade polished,
get the handle welded up, get it epoxied to the blade.
I'm feeling relieved.
And then chop some stuff.
[music playing]
There we go.
[music playing]
That makes me happy.
Nice.
J NEILSON: All right, gentlemen.
This is the sharpness test.
Now, the Talwar was a blade respected throughout India.
So to test the sharpness of your blade,
I'll be cutting into the sugarcanes.
David, you're up.
You ready?
Absolutely.
J NEILSON: All right.
[music playing]
DAVID: I-- I know my weapon is sharp.
But there's always that little bit of doubt.
[music playing]
J NEILSON: Looks like the sugarcane speaks for itself.
There's a lot of weight in this.
But it's not bad.
It's balanced very well.
So the design of your knuckle bow
being inside where this-- this pommel
is, if my hand slips back there, I'm kind of whacking into that.
But it's sharp.
Nicely done.
Thank you.
All right, Jordan.
You ready?
I'm ready.
OK, let's do this.
[music playing]
I just love sabers.
This is a cutter.
It's fast.
It's light.
But the profile of your handle could be a little bit larger
for my hand.
But all in all, the cuts speak for themselves.
It just passed through with no resistance whatsoever.
Nicely done.
DAVID: Our blades, they're performing almost identical.
This is going to be tight.
The Talwar, a battle-tested weapon.
But what kind of lethal damage does this weapon do?
To find that out, I will take your weapon
and deliver killing blows on this ballistics dummy.
David, you're up first.
You ready?
Oh, yeah.
Let's do this.
DAVID: Doug and the ballistics dummy, this
is the test that I wanted to see.
I'm just, like, super excited.
[music playing]
DOUG MARCAIDA: Your edge of your blade
is sharp enough to cut and lacerate
the whole torso here, cutting deep and cutting into bone.
Same thing with the clavicle over here and into the ribs.
Your handle construction is a little bit on the wider side.
But it's wieldable.
Overall, your weapon will kill.
Good job.
Thank you.
Jordan, you're next.
You ready?
I'm ready.
DOUG MARCAIDA: Let's do this.
[music playing]
All right, Jordan.
Let's talk about your blade.
Your edge geometry here definitely lends itself
to be a very good thruster.
It's sliced in easily.
Your edge is razor sharp.
But I'm able to lacerate into the dummy and break some bones.
Your handle, it's a little bit on the skinny side.
But I'm still able to index and hold onto it.
Your weapon will kill.
JORDAN: After this round, it feels like 2-2.
Dave and I still feel really even.
All right, gentlemen, this is the strength test.
The Talwar was a battle-tested weapon known to actually
take heads in combat.
To test the strength and durability of your blades,
I'll be chopping four times into these beef rib sides.
This is not about what your blade does to the beef,
but what these ribs do to your blades.
All right, David, you're up.
You ready?
Ready as I'll ever be.
A side of beef is extremely tough.
It can potentially break a blade, or chip a blade,
or bend a blade.
So I'm concerned.
[music playing]
Wow.
J NEILSON: OK, David, I've got a little bit
of chipping and rolling right where the impact is.
It's not deep.
But it is there.
All in all, it felt good.
All right, Jordan, you ready?
I guess so.
I'm pretty nervous.
You know, getting through the bone is going to be tricky.
And all I can think is, please don't chip.
Please don't chip.
[music playing]
Took a little shrapnel off that one.
I can run my fingernail along that edge
and not feel anything.
No bumps, no chips, still straight.
Everything's still tight.
Good job.
Thank you.
I'm breathing a huge sigh of relief.
But I know that also my handle is a little small.
And people have been sent home for handles before.
[music playing]
WIL WILLIS: David, Jordan, both of you
have made excellent blades.
And you've been fantastic competitors.
But in this arena of competition,
there can only be one "Forged in Fire" champion.
Before I announce who that is, the judges have
some feedback for both of you.
J NEILSON: Dave, you brought us a weapon
that was a pleasure to use.
It's a heavy weapon.
But you balanced it out beautifully.
Nice job.
Thank you.
WIL WILLIS: Doug?
Jordan, the artistry of your handle
is matched by the beauty, strength,
and sharpness of your blade.
Well done, sir.
WIL WILLIS: Gentlemen, when weapons
of this caliber come into this arena, these decisions
are never easy.
The "Forged in Fire" champion is Jordan.
Congratulations.
You are the "Forged in Fire" champion.
Congratulations.
J NEILSON: David, you created a beautiful weapon.
And it was a pleasure to use it.
And this decision came down to the finest details, basically
the positioning of that knuckle bow on the handle
and those chips that turned up in your blade
in the strength test.
For those two reasons, we're letting you go.
WIL WILLIS: David, please surrender your weapon.
[music playing]
DAVID: Absolutely no regrets.
I would have liked to have done better.
But I agree with the judge's decision.
I came here to prove that I could
hang with some of the best bladesmiths
in the United States.
And I think I proved that I can do that.
Jordan, congratulations.
You are the "Forged in Fire" champion
and will be receiving that check for $10,000.
How do you feel right now?
I feel great.
And I feel pretty accomplished.
Well, you should.
JORDAN: What a great way to jump start my career,
you know, making really high quality blades.
Well done.
JORDAN: This is what I really wanted for a long time.
That's why I came here.
Thank you.
I'm "Forged in Fire" champion.
[music playing]