Julien, JW, it's come down to France and the United States
in our first ever international competition.
Now we're sending you back to your home forges
to recreate an iconic weapon from history.
Are you ready to see what it is?
Not ready.
Well, that weapon is--
the spadroon.
All right, bladesmiths.
Good luck.
We'll see you in five days.
[music playing]
JULIEN: I'm happy to be home in France.
Look at the nice view behind us.
It's magnificent.
So I start to make my tip, but I have to be really fast.
Because more you hit your blade, less carbon you have.
[clanking]
it's like music.
[french] music.
I love to do some music with my hammer.
(SINGING) Dum, dum, pick it up.
Dum, dum, pick it up.
It just gets you some rhythm.
It's just more fun.
Today I did it all--
turned the tip, the blade.
All I have left is to grind it a little bit.
And it's going very well.
Boom!
JW: Well, I'm excited to get started this morning.
Fixing to start profiling everything,
so I'm going to spend a bunch of time at the grinder today.
With the length of this blade, I mean,
it's like grinding three 10-inch Bowie knives.
You've got a ton of work.
Just getting everything rough ground out.
We're just about ready to go to heat treat on it,
so right now would be time for a little prayer.
Now, the grinding process was slower than I would have liked
for it to be, so this is a short amount
of time left to heat treat.
[music playing]
[torch]
I notice this curve from the top down, and it just heart sinks.
I've got to do something to correct this.
I know I can't fix it cold, so we've got to go back in
and heat treat again.
I take it out of the oil and I got that same thing.
And I'm thinking I'm going have to regroup and start over.
JULIEN: So today, I'm going to work
to be ready for the quench.
The quench is important because if the quench is not good,
my blade's going to be like butter,
and she's going to bend at the first shot.
[music playing]
I think it bent.
Oh, [bleep].
I know that there's a weak point on my blade to make the curve,
so I have to do a second one.
[music playing]
[burning]
[whistle]
Boom.
Third quench.
This one goes down, I don't want to do another one.
[music playing]
[whistle]
We have to make another blade.
I have to restart everything.
[clanking]
I don't want to do another blade.
But I've got my country behind me,
so I have to show them that I respect
them, and give the best.
Yeah.
I thought about a lot, what happened yesterday.
I've got plenty to work with.
But I still got a slight curve in the spine,
so what I'm going to have to do is grind that away.
[music playing]
Going good.
As I'm grinding, I can tell that this thing is going to be OK.
What a huge relief that is.
And now that this plate issue is fixed,
I can focus on fit and finish.
What's challenging about it is hitting the sizing right on it.
Instead of having a round handle,
we're going to have an oval handle.
There's just nothing comfortable about a round
handle when you're striking something on an angle.
Done deal.
I've got real high expectations of it.
I really do.
I think it's going to do well.
Bladesmiths, to find out how lethal your weapons are,
I will deliver some slashes and thrusts on these big carcasses.
Julien, you're up first.
You ready?
I think so.
[laughing]
[music playing]
[slashing]
All right, Julien, let's talk about your sword here.
It's a bit on the heavier side.
Your edge easily lacerates into the big carcass.
On the thrust, it penetrates deep.
Your weapon definitely is sharp.
Your sword will kill.
Thank you.
JW, you're next.
You ready?
Think so.
[music playing]
[slashing]
OK, JW.
Let's talk about your spadroon, here.
The fact that you put a fuller all the way through up here
lightened your sword a lot.
It is so sharp, it almost cut all
the way through this carcass.
Overall, your weapon will kill.
Thank you, Doug.
Now, Donald McBane, who wrote the book on this weapon,
called it the shearing sword.
So to test the sharpness of your blades,
I'll be chopping through this rope,
and then attacking these sandbags as they fall.
Julien you're up. Are you ready?
Oui.
OK.
[slashing]
[music playing]
Whew!
I'll get him.
[slashing]
[music playing]
[sand spilling]
JULIEN: Yes.
It's good.
Good job.
It's breaking good.
Well, Julien, that's sharp.
It passed right through the ropes.
It passed right through the bags.
But the weight in this sword, and the shape of its handle,
just have a tendency to be very hard to stop.
A little thinner handle, possibly.
A little more indexed--
JULIEN: Yeah.
--would have helped.
But it's definitely a sharp sword.
Thank you very much.
Sir, you are next.
Are you ready?
Yes, sir.
[slashing]
[music playing]
[sand spilling]
Definitely sharp enough to cut through the ropes.
Your handle, would have been nice to see it taper
and swell a little bit more, but it's definitely a cutter.
Thank you.
DAVID BAKER: Nicely done.
All right, gentlemen.
Next up is the strength test.
Now, to test the strength and durability of your blades,
I'll be thrusting with the tip and cutting these hardwood
leather-wrapped shields.
JW, you ready for this?
Yes, sir.
[music playing]
[chopping]
Well, everything on the blade looks good.
Guard's still tight.
Handle hasn't moved.
I think you did a great job.
Thank you, Dave.
Julien, are you ready?
Good luck.
[chopping]
[music playing]
So, Julien, you've got a very stout edge profile.
Blade's still straight.
Well done.
Thank you so much.
Well, gentlemen.
The judges have made their decision.
Our very first "Forged in Fire" International Champion is JW.
Congratulations, you are our first "Forged In Fire"
International Champion.
Julien--
Oui?
Unfortunately, your blade did not make the cut.
J. Neilson will explain.
J. NEILSON: Julien, you brought us a beautiful piece.
But compared to your competitor, your blade was a lot heavier
in the front, balance-wise.
And with that round handle, it made it a lot
harder control in the testing.
That's why we're going to let you go.
Julien, say finis, mon ami.
Please surrender your weapon.
OK.
Thank you, guys.
I'm very proud of this blade, but JW's a god.
He's a god in the forge.
And this guy is my friend.
JW, the American, and our very first "Forged
in Fire" International Champion.
It's a title that also comes with a check for $10,000.
Congratulations.
Please present your weapon to the judges.
I put forth a lot of hard work, time, and effort
to reach this point.
So it's just been an incredible honor to be
asked to represent my country.
And not only that, but being able to meet guys
from different parts of the world, and the friendships
that we developed, was just a great experience.
And that's what it's all about.
[music playing]