All language subtitles for Forged.In.Fire.S10E12.BTU-A.Cutlass.Above.480p.Eng

- Here in The Forge,

we put hundreds of smiths
to the test.

- It's hot in here.

- But only a select few
have proven themselves

time and time again,
remaining undefeated.

Now three of our most
decorated champions

will put their perfect records
on the line

and go head-to-head against

previous "Forged in Fire"
winners

in some of the most heated
battles yet.

- This is a living nightmare!

- Everything's
right now,

if you know what I'm saying.

- Will anyone have what it
takes to finally...

all: Oh!

Beat the unbeaten?

- My name is Chris Moss.

I'm a champion from Season 8.

And I made
a Darb Sri Gun Chai.

I really didn't expect to win
the first competition,

but my wife already had plans
for the money

before I even left,
so it was nice

to be able to
not let her down.

And now, I'm here trying to
beat someone who's unbeaten.

- My name is Steve Koster.

I won in Season 6 for
the Javanese kris.

In the first competition,
I was a journeyman smith.

I really set my sights on

finishing
my master smith testing.

So I'm back here again to
really challenge myself

and to try and beat
an undefeated smith.

- Bladesmiths,
"Forged in Fire" champions,

welcome back to The Forge.

You guys are here for
a unique and intense

bladesmithing competition

that will test all of your
skills from start to finish,

one we call
"Beat the Unbeaten."

Now, to kick things off,
this first round

will just be the two of you
going head-to-head

in a five straight hour
bladesmithing round.

Now, when that round is
complete,

the judges will step in.

You are here to impress them,

because they're gonna test
your weapons

and decide which one of you is
moving forward

into the second round.

Now, your second round
competitor

will be one of
our titans of The Forge,

a bladesmith who has been
unbeaten in this competition

with multiple wins.

- It's incredibly
nerve-wracking knowing that

I've got to go up against
another champion.

Then, after that,
if I can manage to beat him,

I'm gonna have to go against
someone who's unbeaten.

It's a big challenge.

- This first round, we have
chosen to do a throwback

to one of our favorite
challenges

in all of
"Forged in Fire" history.

And that brings me to
the cloth on your anvils.

Now, guys, go ahead, do me
a favor and remove that cloth.

Now, what you're looking at
there are equal-sized

pieces of bar stock.

Now, this first round is
one we like to call

the Forge of Mystery.

The good news is,
three of those bars

are good high carbon steel.

The other three bars are
mild steel.

It's up to you guys to find out

which of that steel is best
for making your knife's edge

and make us a San Mai billet
in your signature style.

You guys feeling good
about everything?

- Yeah.
- Yep.

- All right, champions, we've
got five hours on the clock

for the first round
of competition.

So good luck,
because that time starts now.

All right,
the most important thing

these guys need to do
right now,

they've got to figure out
what the high carbon is

and what the mild steel is.

'Cause they could go
two hours in

and then have to completely
restart

if their stack was wrong.

- I think the quickest and
easiest, try the spark test.

Mild steel won't throw
any sparks or very, very few.

High carbon will throw
something.

- Look for three overachieving
sparks coming out.

- Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, the bright sparks.

- As soon as the clock starts,
it's like, this is real again.

I'm grinding, but the results
are inconclusive.

I have a rough idea
of which is which,

but I have to be able to
be certain and I'm not certain.

- It's a gamble, man.
You better be sure.

- Yeah, right?
I think I'd be doing

every possible test I could.

Because if it goes wrong,
it's reversed

or they've got
double high carbon

and then a mild steel,
that doesn't count,

and they have to restart.
- Yeah.

- To be able to get
a better spark stream,

I use my angle grinder,

which has a much smaller
contact area.

I'm pretty certain I have
the right combination of steel.

But in order to hedge my bets,
I make one billet of each.

Welding!

And if I'm wrong,

then I'll be able to use
the other billet.

I have seen Steve's episode
when he made the Javanese kris.

And it's incredibly
nerve-wracking

knowing I'm going against
a master smith.

He's gonna be a really tough
competitor to beat.

- My plan of attack is to
basically spark-test

each piece of steel,

figure out which ones are
the high carbon steel,

and start stacking them
together.

I'm pretty confident
I got everything correct.

Welding!

That billet, I used all of
the steel available.

I stacked three pieces of
carbon steel

to double up my core

and one piece of mild steel
on each side

so I can prevent warpage
when I heat treat and quench.

- So having the ratio of core
to cladding, like Steve has,

that's a huge benefit
in this build.

- Yep.

- As soon as my billet is
up to temperature,

I give it
a couple gentle squeezes

to be able to set that weld.

- Those welds look like
they're holding beautifully.

- Because of my decision to
split my steel in half,

I've got to be
very methodical.

I only have one shot at this.

So I want to get
a nice, even press.

- How much of this
do you think is

realistically able to
be sacrificial?

- Not much.

- So he's got to be
really careful

not to have any of that
separation or lipping.

- Because it's a long,
thin piece,

the likelihood that you
could split your layers

is pretty high.

But after
the first couple passes,

everything seems solid.

I can move on to shaping.

- That billet,
it's a lot of steel.

So I want to make
a nice, uniform heat

all the way around
to set the welds.

- He's not being
super aggressive,

but are you guys thinking that
temperature's a little low?

- It looks a little low to me.

I mean, if there's another pass
at a higher temperature,

that would be good, I think.

- All right. Here we go.
Much better.

- I make a couple passes.

I want to make sure
that thing is welded up good.

- While the steel is
heating up,

I'm gonna try and draw out
my design.

When I was here last time,

they had us make
a 200-layer kukri.

My profile didn't turn out
the way that I wanted it to.

And I just have
the opportunity

to do it again
and do it better.

- So Chris brought
what looks like a beveling jig.

And he's using it over here
on Big Blu.

- That's smart.
- This takes off a lot of time.

- I want to be able to draw
my bevels out consistently.

So I have a tool that I made.

I use it both as a form tool
as well as a beveling tool

to be able to forge it thinner
exactly where you need to be.

I'm happy with how it looks.

But I've got a lot of things
to do.

I've gotta use
every second I have.

- I was pretty confident in
my weld.

I drew it out and
left it real thick.

So I reheat it and
then just start

forging the shape of the blade.

- Yeah, these guys are going
into testing

not knowing what the strength
and sharpness tests are.

So it would be smart for them
to have a blade

that can do everything.

- In my thinking,
something stout enough

to baton through,
you know, a log,

but at the same time,
something light enough

to do a slice and stab.

- So I'm choosing to do
a dagger,

a large kind of
Roman double-edged dagger.

You know, I've done them
before.

And I actually did a practice
blade a while back

in five, six hours,

so it shouldn't be a problem.

- I thought Steve was going
with the Bowie design,

but it seems like it's more of
a medieval dagger type.

- Two sharpened edges?

Going with a dagger
just created

another layer of complexity
in the grind.

But if he gets it pulled off,
man, that'd be pretty trick.

- I got the blade pretty much
finished forged.

I just got a straighten
the tang out

and I'll be good to go.

How you doing, Chris?

- I'm doing good. Yourself?
- Good.

- I see you--
you decided to go ambitious.

- Yeah.

- And make me look bad.

- Chris, Steve, you guys,
you've got three hours left.

- At this point, I've forged
my blade out final profile.

- It's getting close to
a quench here.

It's hot in here,

but not nearly as hot as it is
in North Carolina.

- Ooh, it's warm.

- San Mai loves to split

when quenched at
a high temperature.

- It's a hot quench.
- There is a lateral crack

going down the middle
of my spine.

- Oh!
- Woah.

- That's just a testament to
how hot that must have been

when it went in.

- I see two big cracks

all along the spine of
the blade.

- I don't see any warps,
delams; it looks good.

Now I've got to
get to my handle.

- I don't want to be way high
on the quench temperature.

That's where you get
the extra grain growth.

I didn't have a magnet,
so I really

had to just judge it by eye.

- Steve is at the ideal
temperature right now.

- Awesome. First time.

After the quench,
I go back to the grinder.

And I really want to get down
to good finished grind.

It'll be a convex edge because

I really don't know
what the test is gonna be.

It's thin and sharp enough
for a good slicing.

It should really perform.

- I'm feeling
pretty confident.

I am working on the bevels.

But then, as I'm cleaning up
the spine...

.

I see a crack.

- Uh, uh-oh.

It looks like Chris
has found a crack

down the spine of his blade.

- Oh, boy.
The San Mai curse again?

- When I saw that crack,
my stomach dropped.

If it's gonna grow,
it could be a real problem.

But I've got to do something
about it.

- I mean, the obvious risk is
that it just keeps opening up

and you end up with
two parts of this knife.

- I don't know
what I'm gonna do.

- We're getting really close
to only having

an hour left in
this competition

and I don't know if Chris has
enough time to get this done.

It looks like Chris has found
a crack

down the spine of his blade.

- I can't make a new blade

because I don't have the time,

and I don't have the steel.

- I think
the best thing is just,

open it up a little bit, get
some MIG as deep in there

as you can, and call it done.

- I'll Dremel it out.
I'll weld it.

And I'll clean up the spine.

It's definitely
a kick in the pants.

But if you never
had a failure,

you're not a knife-maker,
and you got to make it work.

- What I like about
what Chris is doing is that

he's going through
and he's tack-welding.

All of that heat in that spot
allows things ahead of it

to start warping.

It's good to see that
Chris is being cautious.

- When I finish the last weld,

I make sure that I've gone past
where the crack is,

and it looks like it's clean.

I leave the blade to cool and
I jump right on my handle.

- All right.
Don't hate me, guys,

but you only have an hour left.

- The handle's real important.

The guard and the handle adds
so much strength to the knife.

If that juncture is loose,

that's where it's gonna move
under stress.

- So it looks like
Steve has grabbed

that spare piece of mild steel

and he's gonna utilize that
for his guard.

- To do a dagger like that
in five hours,

that's a heroic effort.
- Yeah.

- I want everything to
compress up tight

so there's not any looseness
at all.

I don't want that handle
material getting thin.

You know, I want to be able to
grip that thing

and have it stay in your hand.

- I'm loving seeing
what Steve is doing.

He's been able to put the guard
on, which looks great.

The handle right now,
that form fits nicely in there,

so he's in a good spot.

- Pretty close.

- I gotta say,
after that crack developed,

it looks like Chris has got
a little bit rejuvenated

and there's a whole lot more
pep in his step.

- 30 minutes ago, I wasn't
sure if I was gonna be able

to finish the round.

I feel, at this point,
like I have a chance.

I've still got to finish
grinding my blade.

I have to grind
an entire handle.

But it's possible.

I really want to make
something that's comfortable.

- I like what Chris has got
going on with his handle.

With that big chopper blade
he's got,

got a lot of swell and
a lot of retention,

especially at the back there.
That's a real plus.

- I run over to mix my glue,
slide my handle on.

Overall, I'm happy with
how it looks.

- Guys, you got five minutes.

- I have to utilize
every second that I have

because I still need to present
a functional weapon

that is sharp and able to
be tested.

- I really want to work
right down to the last minute,

try and do as many little
detail things as I can.

- Steve's already got
the tap and die set out.

He's already gonna set
himself up probably with

a pommel cap or a pommel nut.

- I fit the handle on,
screw the pommel on,

and it doesn't want to screw
down all the way tight.

So I find that piece of G10
so it won't slide off.

- When you got a disk pommel,
right,

you start cranking it down,

it might not be in line with
your handle or anything else.

So what you wind up having to
either put spacers in

to get it, so when you're under
pressure, you're lined up.

- OK.

- OK, that's what
I'm looking for.

I feel really confident
about my blade.

I know it was a little more
technical;

hidden tang,
double-edged dagger.

I'm very happy with it
the way it turned out.

Oh, man. It's sharp.

- Steve got himself
a little boo-boo.

It's already drawn blood.

- Five, four, three, two, one.

Champions, turn off
your machines.

Put down your tools.
This round is over.

- Nicely done.

- I came in as a champion,

practiced, prepared,
ready to go.

Things just didn't go right,
but champions make it through.

- All right, Bladesmiths.
Welcome to the strength test.

Now, this is
the Forge of Mystery,

so the strength test will
remain a mystery

throughout this entire test.

Chris, you're up first.
You ready?

- I'm ready.
- All right.

- Going into testing,

I know the level of flaws
that are in my blade.

I'm most concerned that
my blade is

gonna catastrophically fail.

I feel like that would be
the worst way to lose.

Hoo!

- All right, Chris.
First things first,

your blade held up
relatively well.

The fix that you did
for your crack, it's fine.

I don't see any issue.

I don't see anything reopening
or anything like that.

But there are some deflections

that I can get
my fingernail under.

Other than some compaction,
the rest of it held up great.

The handle shape, it appears,

and it does have
a lot of retention.

But there is a ridge
that runs right here,

and it's uncomfortable
for my first two fingers.

Just a little bit more time
on this handle right here

would have made
all the difference.

But your blade held up
pretty well.

Well done.
- Thank you.

- All right, Steve.
You seen what we're up to.

You ready?
- Yep, I think we're ready.

- All right.

- I am nervous about
going into testing.

In the first competition,
the hardest part was

watching what they do
when they beat it up.

- Peekaboo.

- All right, Steve, well, I
guess, the mystery is revealed.

We've been bashing on these
Kaiser helmets,

because why not.

- First things first, your edge

took some minor compaction
right here.

It's no longer sharp here.

But the rest of the blade is
sharp all the way around.

The only issue I have with
this blade is that

the handle right here is
still pretty square.

It does give me good indexing,
it's just chunky.

But, that being said,
everything held up well.

Nice job.
- Thank you very much.

- Gentlemen,
now it's time to find out

how much edge you have left
on your blades.

This is the sharpness test.

I'm gonna take your weapon
and try to cut through

whatever is behind
this curtain.

Chris, you're up first.
You ready for this?

- I'm ready.
- Let's do this.

- I went through the testing
and nothing broke.

And they're still
theoretically a chance that

Steve's knife won't cut.

But the next problem for me
is Doug Marcaida.

- All right, Chris.

First up, I really like
the profile that you have here.

Your handle construction
gave me a lot of flair.

But I do see how this part
right here,

it can be uncomfortable with
constant impact.

Now, let's talk about
your edge.

The area that was tested on
here is dull.

I can actually put my hand
through right there.

I could feel it impact in there
and hit the dull edge.

And it just ran through it as
opposed to cut cleanly through.

But you did cut through
some tubes.

And, overall, it will cut.

- Thank you, sir.

- Steve, your turn.
Sir, you ready?

- I think so.
- Let's do this.

- Yeah.

- All right, Steve, let's
talk about your knife here.

I like the way your blade is
put together.

The edge here is sharp,

although there is
some dulling right here.

But it cut through
most of the tubes.

One particular tube, it didn't
cut all the way through.

One got slashed through.

I love the balance of
your weapon.

And, overall, it will cut.

- Great. Thank you.

- Now, gentleman,
in the past five hours,

we asked you guys to make
your signature blades

with San Mai.
You both made beautiful blades.

But at the end of the day,

this is the "Beat the Unbeaten"
competition.

Only one of you can join us
in the second round.

And the bladesmith leaving
this competition is...

Chris.

Unfortunately, your blade
did not make the cut,

and Ben's gonna tell you why.

- Well, Chris,
in five short hours,

you presented us with
an amazing-looking knife.

But your knife did
take more damage

in the strength test,

which affected its performance
in the sharpness test.

And that's the reason
you're not moving forward.

- I understand.

- Well, Chris, it's been
an absolute pleasure

seeing you work in
our forge again.

But, unfortunately,
you got beat out

by just about this much.

I do want to invite you forward
to shake our hands though.

Thank you very much, man.
It was good to see you again.

- Thank you, sir.

I'd love to be leaving
a two-time champion.

But it's been
a great opportunity.

- Everybody's hugging.

- Give me a hug.

- Here we go.

- Don't touch me.

- When I was on last time,

my kids really wanted me
to say hey.

And so, hey, Julie, hey, Jim.
Love you, honey.

Thanks for watching everything
while I'm gone

and making this happen.
Love you.

- Well, Steve,
a five-hour dagger.

Man, I got to tell you,

you had us worried
here at the table

with the choice of blade,
but you got the job done.

You came out on top
of the first round.

Welcome to round two

of this "Beat the Unbeaten"
competition.

Now, in order to take home

your second "Forged in Fire"
champion title

and get another check
for $10,000,

you're gonna have to beat one
of our titans of the forge,

someone who up till now has
an undefeated record.

It'll either be Gladiator of
The Forge, Jesse Hu,

Super Champ, Collin Sage,

or our very own judge,
Ben Abbott.

Ready to find out
who you're competing against?

- Yep, I'm ready.
- All right, Steve.

You are gonna have to beat
this guy.

- Since it's somebody
undefeated

that has competed
a number of times,

I'm expecting the worst.

- "Forged in Fire" Super Champ,
Collin Sage.

- What's up, Steve?
- Hey, Collin.

- Collin,
welcome back to The Forge.

- My name is Collin Sage.

So I am, in fact, a two-time
"Forged in Fire" champion.

The first time
I competed and won

was way back in Season 5.

Second time, I came back for
the Super Championship

and ended up beating
Dave Baker.

I love you, Dave.
No hard feelings.

- Gentlemen, you guys are
about to step into

an eight straight hour
weapons-building competition,

where you're both building
the same weapon.

And when that time is up,

the judges are gonna test
your weapons

and ultimately decide which
one of you has come out on top.

Now, let's address
the elephant in the room.

Right here we've got
the "Forged in Fire" Vault.

Now, Steve, because you came
out on top of round one,

you're gonna go into the Vault

and choose one of
the very many weapons

made from previous
"Forged in Fire" champions

that you want to build
against Collin here.

You will also have
the opportunity to choose

the technique
that you both must use

in making that weapon.

I'm gonna get this Vault open.

- Wow.

- Holy smokes.

- All right, Steve.
You ready?

- Yeah.
- Come on in.

- Take your pick.

- Hunga Munga, Steve.

- Do it.
- Ha!

- Oh, man. Holy smokes.

When I'm looking at
all these weapons,

I have to decide, do I want to
make something complicated?

If I choose something
that's easy,

that may give Collin
the advantage.

I think this one right here.

- Ooh.

- No, this is it, pretty
simple effective weapon.

I think I like it.
- All right.

Bring it on up.
- Right there.

- All right, Steve.

You chose
the M1917 Naval Cutlass.

The M1917 Naval Cutlass was
standard issue for the US Navy

at the beginning of
the 20th century.

Based on the Dutch Cutlass,

the sword features
over two feet of curved blade

with a clipped point,
perfect for cutting

and thrusting everything
from canvas and rope

to delivering lethal slices
through flesh and bone.

Once an essential component of
the Naval officer's kit,

the M1917 Naval Cutlass was
declared obsolete in 1949

with the rise of
modern warfare tactics.

This deadly sword of the sea
was previously featured

in Season 5
of "Forged in Fire"

when an oversized grip cost
one smith the competition.

Now listen closely,

because we've got some
parameters for this blade

that both of you
will have to follow

in order to have
your cutlasses tested.

The length of the blade
measured from the tip

to where the blade meets
the guard along the spine

must be between
23 and 25 inches.

It needs to be single-edged,
very slightly curved,

and have a clipped point.

You will also have to include
fullers

on both sides of this blade.

Now, it needs to include
a ricasso, and you have to

have a right-handed bell guard
attached.

Now, Steve, you also have
one more decision to make.

Not only do you get to choose
the weapon,

but you also get to choose
the technique

that you and your competitor
here have to use.

- Steve picked the sword,

Steve gets to pick
the technique,

and then there'll be eight
hours up against

an ABS Master Smith.

Cool. I love it.

It's fine. This is fine.

- Now, Steve, not only do
you get to choose the weapon,

but you also get to
choose the technique

that you and your competitor
here have to use.

So what are you thinking?

- I love making Damascus.

I know I have a lot of
experience in making Damascus.

So I think I have
an edge on him.

I'm thinking
a ladder pattern Damascus.

- Ladder pattern Damascus.
All right.

Collin, you good with that?
- Sounds good.

- All right, guys.
Without further ado,

gentlemen, good luck,

because your eight hours
starts now.

- All right. Let's do it.

- Here we go, off to the races.

We got Steve and Collin
battling to build the M1917.

This competition has built
its own family.

We've got people like Collin
coming in.

You know, you could win
a competition, call it good,

and never come back,
never risk it.

Years later, he's got
another opportunity to

put his title on the line
and fight again,

and he did it.
- Yeah.

- I don't know Collin,
but I know he did win

a couple of competitions
earlier.

He made a statement
when he competed before.

- Collin and I did
the original Super Champs.

I mean, he can pull
some stuff off.

- You wanted
a couple Super Champions?

Well, here we are.
- Oh, yeah, baby!

- I do have to compete against
somebody that's capable.

- Steve has decided to
beeline for the MIG welder.

He's already stacking up.

- I'm shooting for 240 layers.

OK.
- Steve's off the welder.

He's got a stack of 20 layers
of alternating steel.

- In the forge we go.

- One of the advantages
Steve has is that

he just came up from
a five-hour challenge

in our forge. Collin hasn't.

- So coming back for a third
time, it's not any easier.

It's not
any less nerve-wracking

because the more I learn

and the more I've grown
over the years,

the more that I understand that

there's tons of stuff
I still don't know.

And so I'm still
super nervous.

I still want to vomit.

But I want to see
how far I've come.

- The thing we have to
remember is,

this is not
Collin's first sword.

- No.
- He's made a lot of swords.

He made a lot of swords before

and a lot of swords
in practice for this.

- The Cutlass,
it's kind of a simple sword.

And with a simpler build,

it's gonna be harder
to stand out.

So you know what I'm gonna do?

1,000-layer billet.
Here we go.

I'm starting with
a 25-layer billet.

So my plan is to
forge weld it,

bring it down, draw it out,

cut it up into six
or seven pieces,

restack, forge it out,

cut it up into six
or seven pieces.

I'm not really sure
on the math,

but I'll get about
1,000 layers in that.

Is that clear?
Does that make sense?

Are we following at home?

- Steve out of the forge, onto
the press for his forge weld.

- Looking like
a good temperature.

- Oh, yeah.

- The first press is
really important.

I don't want to pinch it
in the middle

and have it pop open
on the end.

I want to just kind of
bump it together.

I really can't get
too aggressive with it

until I know I've got
a good solid weld

that's gonna stay together.

- You know what we haven't
seen in a very long time

is a Damascus billet
just coming apart.

And I don't think we're gonna
see it again today

and, honestly,
that's a good thing.

Yeah, yeah.

I'm not trying to put
any bad juju on these guys.

I'm just saying, we haven't
seen it in a while. Relax!

- Shut your hole.

- I think
it's welded up solid.

It's a solid piece of steel.

So I'm totally happy with it.

- This billet's taking a long
time to heat up in this forge.

It's taking a lot longer
than I thought it would.

- I see Collin constantly
eyeballing Steve.

- Yep.

- I'm looking at
Steve's billet.

It's the same color as mine.

I figure, his is sticking,
mine will stick too.

Let's go for it.

- Whoa!

That was really aggressive
for a first press.

It looks like it has
an angle to it now.

- .

These first welds are
so important,

because it sets up
the rest of the billet.

If I don't do it right now,

it's gonna put flaws in
for later.

And then, there'll be no
going back at that point.

I'm starting to squeeze it out

and get
a little bit of length.

Oh, .

And then I see it:

a little hairpin line right
down the center of my billet.

And I know exactly
what that means.

My billet's splitting.

- So we're about two hours into

this "Beat the Unbeaten"
competition.

Thus far, it has been
an uphill battle for Collin.

- I want to make sure
this thing is solid.

I cannot start over.

And then I see it:

a little hairpin line right
down the center of my billet.

And I know exactly
what that means.

My billet's splitting.

- That's frustration
right there.

- "It's fine. Just go ahead
and have fun."

Well, guess what's not fun?

Not having a sword

and embarrassing yourself
in front of everybody.

Get that off there.

Are you having fun?
Am I having fun?

Is anybody having fun if that
happens? Not this guy.

Well, .
- Happens all the time.

- You know when it happens
most of the time

is when someone says
they haven't seen it happen

in a while.

- Jinx!
- I'm sorry!

- This is a living nightmare!

You know that cool little idea
of 1,000 layers? That's gone.

I don't have any time.

Well, it's kind of
a skinny blade, right?

- Is there enough steel in
this billet to get it done?

- Yeah.

- Don't get me wrong,
it's gonna be lean.

And I think we're gonna--
basically, we're gonna have

what is not going to be
much of a ladder.

It's gonna look like big ovals.

- It might not be
1,000 layers,

but it's gonna have to do.

- When I'm forging the blade,

I want that blade to be
between 3/8 and 7/16 thick

so I have room to grind
the grooves on each side.

You want a good groove
in there

so you can really upset
that metal

to really show the pattern.

- Don't forget the clip.

- The forging of the blade
is finished.

Now I know I have to
grind some grooves in it.

- Steve is going to
his vise right now,

working the final billet of 240
layers of alternating steel.

- The nice thing is,
with this many layers,

you don't have to
cut very deep.

To get a really cool ladder,

you want to cut just under
a third of the way through.

So what's left looks like this,
and then you flatten that down.

- I can see the pattern
showing up

while I'm grinding the blade.

This is looking
really bitchin'.

- I feel crushingly behind.
Steve is so far ahead.

I have to find a way
to catch up

'cause at this point,
I don't think

I'm even gonna have a sword
by the end of this.

So I forged my billet out
to about 18 inches.

These ladders are probably
gonna look like .

Bold layers,
they're in right now.

They're hot. It's fashionable.

Who wants a lot of layers?
1,000? Who cares!

Numbers? What is that,
you know what I'm saying?

You want those bold lines,
baby!

I cut these ladders in
as quick as I can.

And now it's time to
forge out this blade.

I got to get it back
in the fire

and get back in this game.

- Bladesmiths,
you are halfway through!

Looks like Steve is getting
pretty close to a quench.

- I do a file check on it

down the full length of
the blade.

Oh, man.
That sounds really good.

- I'm finally forging out
my billet into my sword.

And, essentially,
I've "caught up to Steve."

But "catching up to Steve" is
not really catching up to Steve

because he has a much more
impressive billet.

But if I can edge him out,

performance tops aesthetics
every time.

- Come hell or high water,
Collin is determined

to get this blade finished.

- I'm going a very thin blade

for the weight and
the maneuverability.

It's gonna help with
the performance

and that is the only edge
I have right now.

- Steve's throwing a lot of
sparks putting that fuller in.

- Grinding the fuller into
the blade is a struggle for me

because the blade is curved.

Looks like crap.

And I'm grinding and grinding,
and I'm looking.

All of a sudden, I see a spot.

Got a little bubble
right there, a little flaw.

- Oh, that's not good at all.

- Between one of those welds,

I either trapped some flux
or something there,

and it didn't weld.
It made a circle.

- Does that tell you
there might be

other issues within the steel?
- Could be.

And that's why it's so critical

to clean all those layers
before you reweld.

- I just want to weld
that circle up

and then try and regrind it,
clean it up so it looks good.

I don't really
have any concerns.

I'm gonna get it done.

- Technique-wise,
I like what Collin's doing.

- Mm-hmm.
- But that heat is so far above

where he needs to be.

- I'm ready for the quench.

And this is one of
the last big hurdles.

There is no time left
to start over.

If something goes wrong here,
I'm done.

- Collin is in the oil

at a screaming hot
quench temperature.

- Now, if all things
come out OK for Collin,

he's back in the game.
- Oh, heck yeah.

Yeah, he was never out of
the fight, you know?

He did have some issues,
he lost a lot of steel,

but he never gave up.

- Woo!

Straight as an arrow, baby!
Let's go!

I'm still in this.

- So Steve got those Corby
bolts into his handle slabs.

This should be
a really tight fit-up.

- So as I'm getting ready to
assemble this thing...

Hmm.

I notice the guard is loose
on the blade.

- If you've got movement there,
metal to metal,

you pinch your hand,
like, immediately.

- Steve, you doing all right?

- You don't hear me screaming
or yelling, do ya?

So I went and found
a piece of shim material

to fill that gap and
that pushes the guard up

and tightened everything up
good and solid.

- You guys have
one hour remaining.

- I feel pretty good.

I just really need to get
the handle pieces together.

But I feel like I have to
make up a lot of ground.

Now is the time to overcome,
baby.

I got to dig down deep to
every inspirational speech

I have ever heard in my life
and rise above!

- Oh, metal on the floor.

- Got to be like
a phoenix out here.

You know,
sometimes you get broken.

You don't want to be
in the ash.

You want to be a majestic bird.
So it's time to--

it's time to shake off
that ash.

It's time to be forged
in fire.

So after that pep talk,

I still don't know
what the I'm gonna do.

My handle feels great.

Last thing I got to do is
put an edge on this blade

as quick as I can.

There's still a chance.

Well, it works.

Just looks like dog .

- So our smiths are very close
to having

all of the main parameters met,

except Steve has done
a ton of sanding.

He has yet to grind

or cut that clipped point in.
- Huh.

- I know there's not
a lot of time left,

and I'm thinking,
what else do I need to do?

- You know,
Steve chose this weapon,

and it came with
very specific parameters,

and he's still missing
one of them.

- If he does notice,
this is a fix that can happen

under a minute.

The example is right there.
- Yeah.

- Now, what else can I do?
- Ten, nine--

- I gotta stop messing around
with it.

- Six, five, four,
three, two, one.

This round is over.

- Good. You did good.

That's nice.

I am excited to go into
testing.

I'm ready.
I went all out building.

I wanted to build a good,
high-quality blade

with a beautiful pattern
and that's what I got.

So I want to see
how it performs.

- Champions, welcome to
the dynamic KEAL test.

Collin, you're up first.
You ready for this?

- Yes, sir.
- Let's do this.

- I feel like
I'm the underdog for sure.

But I might have
a slight advantage

on weight and balance

because I really focused on
those things,

a light and supple blade.

At least I have
a functioning sword.

We'll see.

- I feel like my sword's
gonna cut really well.

It's gonna cut deeply and it's
gonna be really wieldable.

As long as it holds up
any kind of strength test,

I should be OK.

judges: Oh!

- !

- No way.
- Holy cow.

Oh, my gosh.

- All right, Collin.
First up,

we can tell that there was
a big issue right here

where your sword broke
in three pieces.

We did see that
your quench temperatures

were a little bit hot.

Could've been the reason
for that.

But this is the lightest blade
I've ever wielded before.

It cut nicely.

It felt like I was cutting with
a fillet knife on the sandbags.

And it definitely killed
the ballistics dummy.

It will KEAL,
but it's in three pieces.

Fair enough.

- Lay it on me.

- If you're gonna go down,
you go down big, right?

- Absolutely.

- Now, Collin, it's obvious
we can't continue

testing this blade.

However, Steve, we did notice
some things during the round

that the judges want to
take a closer look at.

So if you please give us
a second.

So...

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- So there is no clip.

- And then, 23 to 25 inches,
measurement.

- Wow. Oh, my gosh.

- 1/8 over.

- Yep.
- Yeah.

- Not testing?
- No.

- You guys all on
the same page?

- Yes, sir.
- Yeah.

- All right.

So, Steve, this is about
the worst part of my job.

From the beginning of
"Forged in Fire,"

in the competitions
we've been holding,

we've used parameters
for a few reasons.

One, to make sure we can
test the blades fairly.

And two, so we can judge them
fairly.

One of the features of
the 1917 Naval Cutlass

that we asked for was
a clipped point.

And the judges have
determined that

what you have at
the tip of your blade

is a false edge
and not a clipped point.

On top of that, we had
the bracketed length parameters

of 23 to 25 inches.

And after a closer examination,

you're an 1/8 of an inch over.

The judges have determined
that this blade does not fit

the criteria that it needs to
in order to be tested.

I'm gonna say thank you
for coming out

and fighting so hard,

- Wow.

- Rules are rules, man.
I'm sorry.

- It's an absolute shame.

- I thought I measured
that thing, like,

three, four, six times.

- It's very close,
but yeah, that--

- 1/8 of an inch?
- Yeah, 1/8 of an inch.

- 23 to 25 inches measured

from the guard to the tip
in a straight line.

- So the diagram in the room
is cutting edge.

- It's not.

It's tip to guard
in a straight line.

- The length of to the blade
measured from the tip

to where the blade meets
the guard at the spine

must be no less than 23 inches

and no more than 25 inches.

If you guys look in
these folders,

it shows you
how we measure them.

We're gonna measure in
a straight line from the tip

to where the spine meets
the guard.

Before we move on, do you guys
have any questions about

the blade and what you're
making, the parameters?

No? All good?

Cool.

- And so he's gonna win with
a broken blade like that?

- Yes, sir.

- The way it goes is, if you
don't meet the parameters,

you don't even get tested.
That's--that's the rule.

It's ridiculous.

- I'm sorry, Steve.
- I'm sorry.

- That's bull.

- Ay-yi-yi.

- That's bull.
No, I don't want any water.

I don't want anything,

other than to win.

I will not have any good words
to say

about "Forged in Fire"
from now on out.

- Sucks, right?
- Yeah.

- Well, Collin,

I know it's not the way
you wanted to go down

but, at the end of the day,
the rules are the rules,

and the parameters must stick.

So you presented a weapon
that met all the parameters

and was able to get tested.

Now, although it is in
three pieces,

you are the champion, man.
Congratulations.

Brutally honest,
winning like this is--

it feels worse than losing.

Not the way I wanted to go.
- Yeah, yeah.

Light, fast, and deadly
all the same.

I don't want to get
eaten alive out there.

But it is what it is.
Rules are rules.

If anything,
this shows me that

I still have so far to go
and so much to learn.

My blade broke.
I feel like I should've lost.

End of story.

And everything else,
it's just--

it's up to the judges.
What can I do?