All language subtitles for Forged.in.Fire.Beat.the.Judges.S01E04.1080p.WEB.h264-TRUMP[eztv.io]_track3_[eng]

[dramatic music]

‐ We've seen the best
bladesmiths battle it out

to earn the title,
"Forged In Fire" champion.

[flames whooshing]

This time, you're entering
a different arena:

Our arena.

‐ You have to beat the judge.

‐ Level one, we're gonna test
your signature blades.

♪ ♪

Two of you will be selected
to move forward into level two

for a complex
home‐forge challenge.

After we've brutally tested
those blades

for the first time,

one of you will be selected
to go head‐to‐head

with one
of our expert judges...

♪ ♪

And if victorious,
win $10,000.

‐ Champions, we're gonna find
out if you have the drive,

the skill,
the determination...

[metal grinding]

To beat the judges.

♪ ♪

[flames whoosh]

♪ ♪

‐ My name's Tobin Nieto,

the season two
pirate cutlass champion.

Frickin' won!
Yeah! [laughs]

I wanted to come back

'cause when I found out I
could face one of the judges,

I though that'd be great
to really push my skill set

and see
if I have what it takes.

♪ ♪

‐ I'm David Goldberg.

I became a "Forged in Fire"
champion in season one

with the katar.

To take on a judge, it
feels like a great challenge.

I would like
to go up against Dave

because we're both
sword makers.

It would be very interesting

with the two of us going
against one another.

♪ ♪

‐ I'm Gene Hodges.

I was the Marine champion
in the Battle of the Branches

and I won with the Mameluke
sword that I put together.

[grunts]

The "Forged in Fire" journey,
I would say,

has opened up my eyes
to the realm of the possible.

I've actually sold some blades
for respectable money.

So the reason and motivation
to come back

is I want to prove myself,

and if I can beat a judge,
that's the crème de la crème.

♪ ♪

‐ Bladesmiths,
welcome back to The Forge.

We're gonna give
one of you guys

the chance
to compete against and beat

one of our expert judges.

‐ [chuckles]

‐ It could be ABS Master Smith
J. Neilson,

historic weapons re‐creation
specialist, David Baker,

or two‐time "Forged in Fire"
champion, Ben Abbott.

All right, gentlemen.

You've all brought
some unique weapons.

Let's talk about them
a little bit.

Tobin, we're gonna start
with your blade.

♪ ♪

It's a Persian‐inspired
recurve blade

made of 80CRV2
with a paracord wrap handle.

‐ All right, David,
what do you got?

‐ I did fantasy‐style
stout blade

with dished out sides
and a sharpened front end

so that it would piece well.

‐ Can't wait
to see it perform.

Gene, what do you got?

‐ Her name is Liberty.

She's got an 80CRV2 core
with Damascus on the outsides

and sambar stag
with two mosaic pins.

‐ Well, gentlemen,
it sounds like

you put a little bit
of yourselves into your blades.

Now it's time to see
who's moving on to level two.

We're gonna run your blades now
through our testing gauntlet.

Today, it's gonna be

a choose‐your‐own‐adventure
style competition.

And this is how it works.

In our strength test,
we have a railroad spike set up

and Doug will be batoning
your blades

into that railroad spike.

However, you get to choose

the hardness of the material
that's striking your blade.

We've got a hammer,
we've got our mallet,

and we've got a wooden baton
set up.

If you choose the hammer,
the hardest of the objects,

you only have to cut through
this thin burlap sheet.

If you choose the mallet,

then you move on to the box
of flux in your sharpness test.

If you choose the wooden baton,

which is by far
the softest of the materials,

you'll be up against
the toughest sharpness test:

These leather bags.

Tobin, you're up first.
Choose your striking object.

‐ Do I want to go heavy
on the strength test

and then light
on the sharpness,

or do I want
to go heavy on the sharp

and light on the strength?

It's like asking a painter,
"Pick which you want:

gasoline or kerosene
to burn your painting?

So I go with the hammer
because if I'm gonna fail,

I might as well fail big.

♪ ♪

‐ David, you're up next.

‐ I know that my sword
will prevail

and to use a heavy hammer
will give it a real test,

so I choose the hammer.

‐ Gene, you're up next.

‐ Everything inside of me is
saying don't pick the hammer,

but the Marine inside me says
you gotta pick the hammer.

[chuckles]
So I picked the hammer.

Go big or go home.

‐ Each of you has chosen
the hardest object

to strike your signature blades
in our strength test.

I hope that they all survive.

Doug, you're up.

♪ ♪

‐ Champions, welcome back.

Before you get a chance
to go toe‐to‐toe

with any of our judges
on this arena,

your weapons will have
to go toe‐to‐toe in my arena.

Tobin, you're up first.
You ready?

‐ [speaks foreign language]
‐ All right.

Let's get hammered.
[laughter]

‐ With Doug, it's always
about form and function.

You gotta make sure
that handle is comfortable,

gotta make sure that blade
is effective.

We'll see how it goes.

♪ ♪

‐ God bless.

♪ ♪

‐ [chuckles]

♪ ♪

[chuckles]

♪ ♪

All right, Tobin.

Let's talk about
your blade here.

First up,
your handle construction.

If you're gonna wrap it,
do a good job,

and that you did.

Everything here
is tight and right

and it feels good in the hand.

But, in that test right there,

you can see
that you took a little roll

and a little, tiny chip
on your edge.

But overall,
it is sharp, it feels good.

Great job.

‐ Thank you.
[chuckles]

‐ All right, David.

May I have the pleasure
of wielding your blade?

‐ Ready.

I don't really feel
too uncomfortable

because I know
I made a formidable blade.

I'm ready for this challenge.

♪ ♪

‐ All right, Dave,
let's talk about your weapon.

First up,
it is a unique‐looking weapon.

Hammering on this, your spine
here did take some damage,

but on your edge, zero.

In stabbing and cutting down
using all its own weight,

it cut easily.

When I cut into this,

there's a wideness
in the blade.

It hung up.

It is a strong blade
and it's unique.

‐ Thank you.

‐ All right, Gene.
[sighs]

Give me liberty, or...

‐ Give me death.
[laughter]

‐ Let's test your blade.

‐ Doug smiles with
that Doug Marcaida grin.

[chuckling]
He's gonna kill my blade.

And I just feel sick inside.

I can't watch.
I'm not gonna watch.

♪ ♪

[groans softly]

♪ ♪

[softly]
Dang it.

♪ ♪

[chuckles]

‐ All right, Gene.

Not only is this a metal break,
this is a heartbreak,

because this was
a gorgeous piece.

I commend you on the beautiful
Damascus that you presented.

Now, I'm looking at the
grade structure you have here.

It's actually not bad.

But I guess a test on this with
the fine edge that you have,

a thinner spine,
metal‐on‐metal, well,

That's the result right there.

‐ All right.
Thank you, Doug.

♪ ♪

‐ All right, Gene,

obviously, your blade has
suffered a catastrophic failure

and you won't be moving into
level two of this competition.

It may not be
a dangerous weapon, but I know

that you're one of the most
dangerous guys in this room

any given day.
[laughter]

So come on forward, guys.

‐ Oorah, Will.

‐ Good job.

‐ It's not normal to take
a blade and take a hammer to it

and bash it
into a railroad spike.

Who does that?

It's just the Marine instinct
in me.

You want to pick
the toughest thing.

May not have been the smartest
choice, so I'm not surprised.

If I'm given another chance,
I'm not gonna turn down.

I'm gonna come back
and face a judge.

♪ ♪

Tobin, David, congratulations.

You guys are in the second
level of this competition,

which means that
we're sending you guys back

for a complex
home forge challenge.

Now, we're not gonna give you

a specific, iconic weapon
from history to make.

Nah, we're just gonna tell you
we want a short sword

that falls within
the following parameters:

The length of your blade

must be between
14 and 16 inches in length

and you must have a handle
that includes a D‐guard

that encompasses
the entire hand.

‐ Yeah.

Short swords
are my favorite thing to make

and it's what I do
all the time.

I frickin' love short swords.

‐ And we're only gonna give you

three days at your home forges
to do it.

You didn't think we were
gonna be that easy on you.

‐ Nah, that sounds like fun.
‐ Right?

In addition
to making that short sword

within those parameters,

you must also use one
of these two techniques.

Option number one.

[dramatic music]

A foundry to cast your entire
handle and guard assembly.

Or option number two.

♪ ♪

You make your entire blade
using canister Damascus

from the materials that
you see here on this table.

‐ I hate foundries.

Liquid metal scares me because
I'm very accident‐prone.

But I'm also not
too great at canister.

My heart starts
pumping a little bit.

Now I'm a bit nervous.

‐ Gentlemen, you have
just a few moments to decide,

When I say "go," move forward
and collect your materials.

Go.

♪ ♪

‐ All right.

‐ I'm not a big fan
of canister Damascus,

but it's better than trying
to use a foundry.

‐ I'm dropping my balls, here.
‐ Yeah.

Let's just go
with the canister Damascus.

‐ So David,

I see you're grabbing some
of those race bearings, right?

‐ Grab some of those.

Making a short sword
is not a big deal.

I've never made
canister Damascus before,

but I want
to challenge myself,

so I choose canister Damascus.

After all, this is
the Olympics of knife making.

Grab some of these.

‐ Little bit of this,
little bit of that.

‐ Little bit of that.

‐ One canister
should be enough,

but I'm very glad we got two
other cans there, just in case.

Just‐‐you never know.

I'm gonna do my best
to beat Mr. Goldberg here

and then be on my way

to face one of the judges
in the next level.

‐ You got what you got.

Remember, three days, gents.

‐ Plenty of time.

♪ ♪

‐ I'm here in Berks County,
Pennsylvania.

I've never done
canister Damascus.

This is gonna be
very challenging.

I'm gonna do a three‐layer
piece, so I have enough steel.

♪ ♪

I'm gonna start squeezing
these cans.

♪ ♪

Everything is sticking.

I couldn't be happier.

Now it's time
to cut the cans off.

♪ ♪

The longer it takes,

the little bit
more nervous I get

because I know
I gotta cut three of these.

Lovely.
All welded perfectly.

♪ ♪

I've been studying making
swords and knives

for 30 years.

I've made my mistakes.

I'm not gonna make
any mistakes this time.

Awesome.

♪ ♪

‐ Day one is all just about

getting these three canisters
welded up.

The plan is
to save the third canister

in case something happens
to the two billets

I'm about to weld together,

so that way, I can make sure I
have extra steel if I need it.

♪ ♪

I'm looking to prove to myself

that being a bladesmith
is where I belong,

no matter what happens.

I'm just doing everything I can
to make sure that

everything inside that can
is stuck together

like a codependent,
toxic relationship.

♪ ♪

I think we're ready
to start cutting into it.

♪ ♪

[chuckles]
Got it.

Oh, that sounds solid.

It looks like metal poop,

but I can shine poop
with the best of 'em.

♪ ♪

‐ Today, my plan is take
the bars, straighten them out,

cut them, stack them,

forge‐weld them together
into a billet,

and forge out the blade.

Here's my sword.

My ultimate goal here
is to beat the judge.

That's why I'm in this race.

Not making Damascus
like this before

is not a problem for me.

I work from the seat
of my pants,

but I take on all challenges.

Looking pretty good.

My plan is to quench the sword
at the end of the day.

The only caveat is I need
to get holes in the tang

before I harden it.

♪ ♪

They're not
going through the tang at all.

This is not working.
It's quite hard.

I only have three days
to fabricate this sword.

I'm burning up daylight.

I have to hot punch these.

So I put the sword back
in the forge,

heat up the tang.

I start to punch
the hole through.

Looks like we're through.
Nice.

Now I have a blade that's
prepared for heat treat,

and no time left.

Happy about that.

♪ ♪

‐ I've got two chunks of steel

that look like they were
pooped out by a robot monster

that I need to forge weld
together to make a blade.

I would like
to go up against David Baker

'cause he's so dapper.

He looks like such a gentleman.

I'm the exact opposite
of that.

I think it would
be a nice dichotomy.

That's the start of my bevel.

Day three is gonna be
all about fit and finish

and making sure that it's
ready for final testing.

♪ ♪

‐ I have one day
to get everything done.

♪ ♪

I get the sword quenched.

Making the old guard here.

I'm working it, forging it.

[metal clicks]
Oh, my God.

The D‐guard broke.

♪ ♪

Today's the final day.

This is the last thing I need
right now.

so I run over and I weld it.

So I start on my handles.

I'm putting the pins
in the handle.

I'm running out of time,
so I didn't glue the handle.

There's no epoxy in it.

I finally
get them peened enough.

I wish I would've had
a little more time

to finish it
the way I envisioned it,

but it's done.

This sword will perform.

‐ So I woke up day three
and decided, "You know what?

I don't like what I did

and I'm gonna start
on the third,

final canister that I had.

So I had one canister left,
one shot

to make a brand‐new blade
in one day.

♪ ♪

Hey!
[chuckles]

Definitely more steel.
Definitely better.

♪ ♪

I forged in a handle,

so I'm just gonna stick with
making a full, integral handle.

And then now, I'm gonna make
an integral D‐guard.

Yes.

This looks like something
I would make. [chuckles]

♪ ♪

Close enough
for rock and roll.

So I get the handle wrap done.

Get it to the grinder
and start sharpening.

Everything done
at the very last second.

[exhales deeply]

Not bad for ten hours.

♪ ♪

‐ Tobin, David, welcome back
to the testing arena.

You guys have had three days
at your home forges

to make signature short swords.

Tobin, how did it go?

‐ [chuckles]

It was an adventure,
to be sure.

Went ahead and did

a, uh, proprietary Damascus
short sword

with a nice, little,
integral handle.

I call her the Anne Bonny.
‐ Nice.

David, how'd it go for you?

‐ Went really well.

♪ ♪

I did three bars
of 1095 powder

and the ball bearing steel.

I feel like
my blade's gonna be good.

‐ Well, gentlemen,
only one of you can advance

into the next level
of this competition,

and to figure out who that's
gonna be, our judges are gonna

put your weapons
through a couple of tests.

♪ ♪

There will be
a sharpness test,

but up first,
a strength test.

Now, the judge who is
performing the strength test

with your blades
will not be the judge

that you have
to compete against.

♪ ♪

And that judge is...

‐ So I don't want to see J.
walk through that door.

He is a madman when it comes
to swinging a blade.

‐ Ultimately, I wouldn't want
to go up against Ben Abbott,

so I'm hoping
he walks through the door.

♪ ♪

‐ Oh, man, oh, man.

You guys are in big trouble
now, it's J. Neilson.

‐ Remember me?

[grunting]

♪ ♪

‐ Bladesmiths,
welcome to our strength test,

the antler and post chop.

♪ ♪

I'm gonna take your blades

and with a very tiny amount
of mercy,

I'm gonna beat your blades
repeatedly

into both these materials.

Tobin, you're the first one up.
Ready to go?

‐ [chuckles]
No mercy. Let's go.

‐ I can do that.
‐ [chuckles]

I do antler chops and
wood post tests all the time

at my home forge.

I think my blade's
gonna handle it,

but will it handle J.
is the question.

♪ ♪

‐ [grunts]
‐ [chuckles]

♪ ♪

[chuckles]

♪ ♪

‐ Tobin, good job.

I like the piece.
It's nice and light.

The handle is a little
on the thin side,

but having those knots
on the end help make up for it.

Kind of locked my hand
in place.

The one thing
is the chipping right in here.

Antler loves to chip steel.

Whole rest of your knife
is sharp.

You survived, good job.
‐ Thank you.

‐ Hey, Dave.
You ready to go?

‐ Ready to go.
‐ All right, let's do it.

‐ This test can ruin a blade.

It can bend the blade.
It can break the blade.

It's a tough test,

but I'm thinking
my blade's gonna do okay

'cause I forged it right.

♪ ♪

[handle rattles]

♪ ♪

‐ All right, Dave,
good job.

Your blade survived just fine.

‐ Thanks.

‐ Edge stayed straight,
no chipping or anything.

The problem I have
is the handle.

Not having epoxy in here
is okay

if you've got the mechanical
connection correct,

but look at the bottom scale.

It's just dropping away.

It's actually off the pin,

so if I didn't have a glove on,
this would've hurt my hand.

I mean, it's still together.
[handle rattles]

Didn't break apart
and your blade held up.

Good job.
‐ All right.

Thank you, brother.

♪ ♪

‐ All right, champions.

This is the sharpness test,
the water tube slice.

♪ ♪

Now, to find out how sharp
your blades are,

I will take your weapon

and try to cut
through these water tubes.

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

‐ Let's do it.

♪ ♪

[chuckles]

♪ ♪

‐ All right, Tobin,

let's talk about
your blade here.

First up,
the handle construction.

It stays in my hand and
the dimensions you have there

actually is a perfect fit.

Now, your edge.

Despite taking some damage
on the strength test,

it is not an issue in cutting
these water tubes at all.

They're very clean cuts.

It is a sharp blade, sir,
and it will cut.

‐ Thank you.
[chuckles]

‐ All right, Dave.
Your turn, sir. Are you ready?

‐ I'm ready.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

‐ All right, Dave.

Let's talk about
your blade here.

First up, I like the design
and the shape you have.

You can see the Damascus
pattern and it cuts nicely.

Those are all very clean cuts.
‐ Nice.

‐ The one issue, though,
is your handle.

Literally, the scale,
I could pull it out.

‐ Yeah.
‐ It's already falling apart.

It's got a great edge.
It will cut.

‐ Thank you.

♪ ♪

‐ All right, gentlemen.

Only one of you
can move forward

to go head‐to‐head
with one of our judges.

The bladesmith moving forward
is...

♪ ♪

Tobin, congratulations.

♪ ♪

David, your blade did not make
the cut.

J. Neilson
is gonna tell you why.

‐ The big problem
is that handle.

It's not connected,

it's only pinned on the back
of the D‐guard

and every time we use it,

the handles are just
getting further and further off

and that's a problem
for the user,

so that's why
we're sending you home.

‐ I get it.

I agree with the judges.

When the end user
uses the sword,

have to have something to hold
on to that holds it together.

I'm in Tobin's corner.
He's a fellow smith.

We're up against the judges.
I'm there with him in spirit.

♪ ♪

‐ Tobin, congratulations.

You've made it
to the third and final level

of this competition where
you will face off against

one of our two
remaining judges.

You've done very well in this

choose your own path
to success competition.

And now,
we're gonna let you choose

which one
of our remaining judges

you're gonna compete against.

Either two‐time "Forged in
Fire" champion, Ben Abbott,

or historic weapons
re‐creation specialist,

David Baker.

Who's it gonna be?

‐ I wasn't prepared
to make all of these choices.

I just came here
to make a knife.

I have to choose either
Ben Abbott or David Baker.

That's a very intimidating
thing for me to do.

♪ ♪

‐ He's the Baker.

And he rocks a vest.

‐ Hey, buddy. How you doing?
[laughter]

Good to see you, Tobin.

‐ David Baker
is stiff competition.

I'm choosing David because

I know it's gonna
be a tough challenge.

‐ I'm competing for the Breast
Cancer Research Fund.

Breast cancer is something
that's touched my life

in a number of different ways.

I know how devastating
it can be,

so the more research
we can put towards this,

the better we're gonna be.

‐ In this third and final level
of competition,

we're gonna ask you guys to
use these to make your blades.

♪ ♪

Those are stacks
of 15N20 and 1095 steel.

You will have to use those
to make a layer Damascus billet

from which you will
forge your blades.

Now, we're not gonna stop
with the choices right there.

You also have the opportunity
to use those stacked billets

to make one of these.

♪ ♪

Your choice of either
a spadroon,

an ida, or a kora sword.

Tobin, you get to pick
your poison in this round.

This will be the blade that
both of you will have to make.

‐ The thing about
the kora sword is that

it is a very wide
and heavy sword

and I'm not gonna wrestle
a sword like that

without wasting time.

The spadroon has fittings

that I've seen David Baker
make before, so

I kind of want

to keep as much advantage
to myself as possible.

The thing about the ida is it
tapers towards the handle

instead
of tapering towards the tip,

and that's actually complex.

It's not an easy choice.

The ida.
‐ The ida.

‐ Mm‐hmm.

‐ Featured in season four
of "Forged in Fire,"

the ida is an ornate,

leaf‐shaped
West African sword.

Aiming to impress, both smiths
chose to focus on aesthetics

rather than ensuring
their functionality,

a decision that ultimately
cost one competitor the title

after a questionable
heat treat

caused the weapon
to chip during testing.

‐ Your idas must be between
22 and 24 inches in length.

It must be double‐edged,
have a medial ridge,

have an integral guard,

and a mechanically‐attached
handle.

‐ The ida's
a deceptive weapon.

It looks very simple.
It's not.

You have an integral guard,

you've got a blade
that has a large medial ridge.

That's a tough challenge.

‐ Gentlemen,
you have eight hours

to complete this weapon
in totality.

Good luck, gentlemen.
Your eight hours starts now.

♪ ♪

We've got Tobin versus David
Baker making an ida.

What do you think about

the complexity
of this challenge, J.?

‐ An ida is very, very, thin,

so you gotta be careful
you don't get warpage.

That's gonna be the big thing
during the heat treat.

And you have that
integral guard.

Smart thing in my mind would be

to leave that mostly
just oversized

and grind that in after
you get your bevels done.

‐ Tobin chose me
to go against,

which I'm very honored
that he, uh‐‐

well, I hope I'm honored.

I hope he's not picking me

'cause I thought
I was the worst of the bunch.

♪ ♪

We have both 15N20 and 1095.

I cut each one
into 4‐inch sections.

I used 18 pieces
in alternation.

My plan is to draw this out
and cut it into four pieces

and re‐stack
so I'm at 72 layers.

‐ Why is it important to have
so many layers in Damascus?

‐ 'Cause that makes the pattern
pop a lot more.

Soon as that
goes in the forge,

I grab handle material

and I start cutting my handle.

‐ So how is it being
on this side?

‐ You know, I love it.
I just love building [bleep].

Any chance I get to make stuff,
I'm there.

‐ Cut my bars of steel
at 4 inches,

so that way
I can stack them up.

You know, 1095, 15N20.

So I start with
the 21 stack billet.

♪ ♪

I chose David Baker
and I chose the ida sword.

I hope I made the right choice.

‐ I'm gonna do
a spiral cut handle,

so it'll basically be
two flutes running down.

Gives you a lot of control
and a good grip.

I'm definitely not gonna let
the judges kick me to the curb

because the handle wasn't good.

With that long handle,
it was just harder to control.

That handle, still‐‐ugh.

I had a bit of a problem
with the size of your handle.

For my design,
I'm going to use a pommel.

I figure, well,

I got these four extra pieces
of 15N20 and 1095,

so I make a four‐layer stack,
heat that up, forge weld that.

♪ ♪

‐ Smokin'.
‐ Smokin'!

‐ ♪ Smokin' ♪
‐ [laughs]

Just lost
a little arm hair there.

♪ ♪

‐ Took the steel out,

gave it a couple
of quick, little passes,

and everything
looks nice and welded.

I'm hoping I can stretch it
out, fold it,

stack 42,

The first time I came
on "Forged in Fire"

was just to have fun.

I didn't expect much.

‐ A cutlass.

‐ Ooh.
‐ [laughs]

[pirate accent]
Arr, me hearties.

We get to make a cutlass!

I'm very excited about that.

[normally]
If I'm able to win,

then it's gonna prove to myself

that I'm doing
the right thing right now.

I get distracted by Dave

because he's doing
such awesome work.

I'm like, "Ooh, I wanna watch."

But you know, I gotta focus
on doing my stuff.

[laughs]

‐ Bladesmiths,
two hours has already elapsed.

♪ ♪

Dave heads over to Big Blue.

He's forge welded
those four stacks together.

‐ Yup.

‐ And so he should have
a pretty high layer count.

‐ So I'm at 72 layers.

Next few steps are to isolate
what's going to be my guard

since we have
to have an integral guard.

And then I'll draw metal away
from that in both directions,

giving me a tang and a blade.

Tobin's
a very talented smith.

I want to see him succeed.

I want to see him do everything
but win.

[laughs]

In a nice way,
you know what I mean?

♪ ♪

‐ Two hours have gone,

and I'm so freaking tired.

This is entire competition
is gonna be based

on how I can do physically.

Let's be honest.

I am not in the greatest
physical shape, as you can see.

‐ Tobin,
how you doing out there?

‐ I'm good.

Sweating a little bit more
than I'm used to, but hey.

I know it's gonna be tough,

but I'm just gonna push my way
through it as best I can.

‐ The blade's got
a rough shape,

so it's grinder time.

First thing is to profile,

so I take away any of the extra
material along the edge.

So now, I've honed the medial
ridge with the contact wheel.

‐ And there's Dave
demonstrating

that diagonal grind.

‐ By going diagonally,

what you wind up with
is an angle that drops,

and then flattens out
towards the edge.

And that way, you get that
flattened cross section,

which supports
the edge very nicely,

but also has that strong
high medial ridge.

‐ Dave's medial ridge
looks fairly straight

and symmetrical as well.

And that's tough to get right,

especially in an eight‐hour
challenge.

‐ Oh, yeah.

♪ ♪

‐ The length of the blade
has to be

between 22 and 24 inches.

[bleep].
I think I [bleep] up.

I'm measuring
and I'm double‐checking

and I'm starting
to realize that

crap, I don't have
enough steel.

[sighs]

If I don't hit
those parameters,

there's no chance
of even beating Dave at all.

‐ Tobin's in trouble.

I don't think
Tobin's got enough steel.

He's gotta
come up with a plan.

‐ With my limited steel
that I have,

I'm gonna upset the steel,

which means I'm gonna
push it back on itself.

That'll allow me to stretch it
out a little bit wider,

so I can meet
my length parameter.

Hopefully,
I think it's gonna work out.

‐ Bladesmiths,
fours has elapsed.

That is half the time
in this level of competition.

‐ Super duper.

♪ ♪

‐ All right,
so Dave's in the quench.

And nice color to that.

‐ Yeah.
‐ Yeah, baby.

Now my blade's pretty good.

It looks really straight,

maybe just a small warp
towards the tang.

I put it in the vise,
straighten it.

That's what
we're talking about.

Not complaining about that.

‐ Sounds hard.

‐ I get to the grinder,
and I do some basic grinding,

just to clean up the surface.

I preheat my oven to 450
for the temper.

Normally, you do at least
two one‐hour cycles,

maybe three.

I don't have the time
to do multiple cycles,

so I put my blade in
for about an hour and a half.

Is it the way I would
heat‐treat a blade at home?

No, I would do
that second cycle,

but it should be good.

♪ ♪

‐ I'm getting
the bevels forged in,

and then at that moment,

my fingers in my left hand
are starting to go numb.

♪ ♪

‐ Oh, boy.
Tobin's in trouble.

Tobin's in trouble.

‐ My fingers in my left hand

are starting to go numb.

I think I need
the medic right now.

‐ Do you feel any pain
going anywhere else,

throughout your chest,
throughout your back?

‐ No,
it's literally right here.

‐ Just right here?

‐ Tobin is with the medic
right now.

‐ Yeah.
‐ Oh, boy.

‐ You ready?
Just take deep breaths for me.

Okay?

‐ The ridiculous part is,
this is a sword

that we've seen made in four,
five days at their home forges,

and here,
in this arena,

they have to do it
in eight hours.

‐ My blood pressure's up.
My heart rate's up.

Just trying to calm down.

I'm not even worried
about what David's doing.

I gotta take care of myself.

♪ ♪

‐ So I grab a piece
of mild steel.

What I'm making is mock tang.

That way, I can work
on the handle and pommel

while my blade
is in the tempering oven.

‐ Is he gonna weld
on the mock‐up tang‐‐

‐ I think he is, yeah.

‐ See,
that's even more brilliant

because it's already there.
It's already made.

‐ Exactly.

‐ I've already got
a tang that fits.

So I go weld on my mock tang.

My handle slips on,
fits beautifully.

Anybody who ever tells you
that building a sword

in eight hours is easy
needs to be slapped.

‐ Does your arm feel better?

‐ It's gone.
I mean, the tingling's gone‐‐

‐ Yeah?

Okay.
‐ How you doing, bro?

‐ I'm doing okay.
‐ Take this, and take‐‐

‐ Yeah.

‐ It got all quiet,
and I started worrying.

‐ [laughs]
Me, too.

‐ Can I get him some water?

‐ I'll see you back out there.
‐ All right.

Everything feels okay.
It's time to get back to work.

‐ You good?

[applause]

All right.
Come on.

‐ Nice.
‐ All right, bud.

‐ I'm not gonna quit.

I'm just gonna
keep doing what I can

with the time that I got,

and just go from there.

♪ ♪

I've got three hours
left on the clock.

I know that
my time has diminished,

and I'm getting
a little nervous.

I still have to heat‐treat.

I still have to get
my blade to shape.

I still have to get
my medial ridge.

I still have to get
my handle on.

I have a lot to do
in a little amount of time.

‐ Give Tobin credit, though,
he didn't quit.

‐ He looks like
he's hanging in there.

He's staying with it.

We know this is physically
exhausting for him.

He's already taken a break
off to the side,

but he's on the comeback.

‐ The best way
to get this thing done

is just to call upon
all the skills that I have,

and just keep going.

♪ ♪

I got my blade shaped out.

Time to work on my tang.

‐ So Tobin's tang
is stretching out pretty good.

‐ It's ready to go
into the oil.

♪ ♪

‐ That thing is so thin.

If it comes out
of the oil not warped,

I'd be very, very surprised.

‐ I've already set up
a couple of pieces

of angle iron in the vise.

That way,
I can use a straightening jig

to make sure
everything stays straight.

‐ Really good idea for
the thickness of that blade.

‐ I'm gonna leave it there

until it gets cool
to the touch

to make sure I get
no warpage whatsoever.

‐ Got two hours remaining
to finish your work.

♪ ♪

‐ My blade's looking good.

So now,
I'm going to work on pommel.

♪ ♪

I do this for a living,

so yeah,
I know how to make a sword

quicker than most people.

That all changes
when you're on the floor

and there's a clock there
and there's judges here.

It's a different arena.

‐ Man, that thing looks slick.

♪ ♪

‐ Dry faster, dry faster,
dry faster, dry...

[laughs]

♪ ♪

‐ Take out my blade
from the jig.

Everything looks good
and straight.

We're good.

How am I gonna temper
this blade?

I can temper it in the oven,
which will take too much time.

‐ Is there another way
that he can get away

without heat‐treating it
in an oven?

‐ Yeah, you can torch temper.

‐ Go over,
pick up a torch,

and then I just go to town
on the center of the blade,

trying to get my color
to the best I can.

This is not
the ideal way to temper,

but you do what you gotta.

‐ Torch tempering actually
can work really well,

but Tobin
has such a thin blade,

it's gonna be really hard
to control

where that heat goes.

‐ I got about
an hour and a half left.

I figure I can grind it out
in about 30 minutes,

and then use the last hour
to fix up my handle.

It's going to be intense.

‐ Tobin has a laundry list

of chores to accomplish
to get this blade up to par.

Meanwhile, Dave's got plenty
of time to refine his edge.

‐ My blade's assembled.
Everything looks good.

So it's time to sharpen.

I started out as a bladesmith
making swords.

I didn't start with knives.

I wanted swords.
I couldn't afford swords,

so I made swords,
and now here I am

as a judge on this show.

This whole experience,
it's just changed my life,

and it's been fantastic.

♪ ♪

‐ 15 minutes.

‐ Four hours
into this competition,

I wasn't sure that Tobin

was gonna walk
across the finish line.

You gotta give him
a huge amount of props

for being
where he is right now.

‐ I need to have
a mechanical lock,

so I drilled through the wood,
drilled for my tang.

I'm trying to get my pin in.
It doesn't want to go in.

Come on.

I finally get the pin in,
but now I need it to come out,

because I forgot
to put epoxy inside.

[grunts]
Really?

‐ It's jammed in there.
He can't get it out now.

‐ And then as I'm trying
to pull the pin out...

[loud snap]

‐ Uh‐oh.
‐ The pin just broke.

♪ ♪

‐ This is bad because
the only thing

holding my handle
to the blade right now

is half of a brass pin.

‐ Come on, kid.
Kick it into gear.

‐ I can punch this out later.
I gotta go grind.

I gotta get the handle shaped.

I'm gonna turn in something,
no matter what.

‐ Five, four, three, two, one.

Bladesmiths,
stop what you're doing.

This level
of competition is over.

‐ Hey.
‐ Come here, brother.

‐ [laughs]

[applause]

‐ Oh, man.
It's an ass‐kicker, isn't it?

‐ That was fun, though.
I mean‐‐

[both laughing]

Today, I feel like I did
really good for myself.

I didn't stop.

And I wasn't gonna stop
until I heard time's up.

[exhales]

♪ ♪

‐ All right, bladesmiths.

This is the KEAL test.

To find out what kind of lethal
damage your weapon will do,

I'm gonna take your weapon,
deliver some lethal slashes

and cuts on this
ballistics dummy.

Dave, you're up first.
You ready, sir?

‐ Oh, yeah.

‐ Let's do this.

‐ I'm a little worried.

I don't think
it matters who you are

when you're in competition.

You know, you can think
you nailed it,

then you're there standing
in front of your judges,

and you're like...
[inhales deeply]

[intense music]

♪ ♪

‐ [laughs]

♪ ♪

‐ See ya.

‐ [laughs]

‐ That's nasty.

‐ All right, Dave, let's talk
about your weapon here.

The pattern
you have here is beautiful.

Your handle construction
is clean.

I can wrap my hand around it,
and when you swing with this,

it's balanced enough to where
it's a chopper and a slicer.

Your edge is sharp.

It chops and cleans cleanly.

Overall, sir, it will KEAL.

‐ Thank you, Doug.

‐ Tobin, you're up next.
Ready?

‐ No.
[both laughing]

‐ We're gonna do it anyways.

‐ Okay. Sounds good.

[laughs]
‐ Good luck, brother.

♪ ♪

‐ I know by blade is light.

I know it's fast.

But I also know that
I made my handle very quickly,

and it's not my best work,

so it's in the judge's
hands now.

♪ ♪

Gentlemen,
take a look at this.

Hear all that movement?

And as I'm trying to do that,
I can swing it.

It wants to pop out.

‐ Yeah, the pin doesn't go
all the way through.

The pin's only going
through one side.

‐ I just see
the judges whispering

and holding the handle
shaking the blade.

Yeah, I don't think
it looks good right now.

‐ Do you have confidence
in this weapon to test it?

‐ No, I do not.

‐ Absolutely not.
‐ Not at all.

‐ All right,
let's let him know.

♪ ♪

Tobin,
you put in a lot of work,

but I think you know
what's coming down the pipe.

The judges have given your
weapon a vote of no confidence.

Doug Marcaida's
gonna tell you why.

‐ Tobin,
lot of props for you

for pushing
through eight hours,

going through the health issues
and everything else.

You did a good job
of finishing you blade.

But your handle
construction is loose.

Even just if I'm moving it
in the air,

I can feel it
already loosening up,

and you can hear some
slight cracking on the handle.

To swing that with impact,

definitely
it's gonna be a failure,

and safety is always first.

‐ Yep.

‐ Tobin, unfortunately,

your blade is unsafe to test.

That means that you cannot
win this competition,

and, Dave, you win.

You win the $10,000

that's going to the charity
of your choice.

And what charity is that,
my friend?

‐ That's the Breast Cancer
Research Fund.

‐ All right, man.
That sounds fantastic.

Come on forward, guys.

‐ I agree 100%
with the judges' decision.

And I'm not
disappointed at all.

‐ Lot of hard work.
‐ Thank you, sir.

I came here
because I had to test myself

to see if this is the right
way I'll be going.

And the fact
that I didn't quit,

that I persevered
and pushed on to the very end

tells me that
being a bladesmith

is what I want to do.

‐ You know,
Tobin is a great smith.

He had a bit
of a health issue.

But he came back from that,
and he kept fighting through.

I have a feeling
if he hadn't lost that time,

we would've been
testing two blades.

♪ ♪