All language subtitles for Forged.in.Fire.S09E20.1080p.WEB.h264-KOGi

- Here in The Forge,
Damascus is one of the most

difficult forging techniques.

- Oh, crap.

Mother!

- But it also has a potential

to be the most impressive.

Tonight four smiths
must bring their A-game,

because it's time for us to see

who is the best in Damascus.

- I'm Ryan Searls.

I'm a 20-year-old
artist and bladesmith

from Thornton, Colorado.

I've always loved to craft and
build things with my hands.

And when I found out
I could play with fire

and hammer steel, I mean,

come on, what's not
cooler than that?

- My name is Jason Dingledine.

I am 44 years old.

I'm from Tacoma, Washington.

I've been bladesmithing
for about the last 25 years.

I served in the U.S. Army

with 2nd Ranger
Battalion Alpha Company

for just over six years.

I've wanted to do this
for several years,

and now I'm here.

- My name is Matt Roberts.

I'm 41 years old,
and I've been making knivs

for about 20 years now.

I've been practicing law now
for about 14 years.

My goal is to win
the competition

so I can have the
bragging rights

and frankly
be insufferable to my friends

more so than I am already.

- My name is Abram Perry.

I'm 20 years old.

I've been bladesmithing
for four years,

and I'm from
Salt Lake City, Utah.

In high school,
I had a little more free time

than I probably should have,
and I was always looking for

the next thing that I could do
to impress my friends

and impress girls.

And the more I hit steel,
the more I learned.

And it's something I love and
something I'm passionate about.

- Well, bladesmiths,
welcome to The Forge.

Gentlemen, the four of you
have been chosen

to take part in a very unique
bladesmithing competition,

which would test your skills
against each other

and against our clock.

Now, you will all have
your weapons critiqued

by our panel of expert judges,

and they will ultimately decide
which one of you be taking home

the title of "Forged in Fire"
champion

and receiving a check
for $10,000.

All right, bladesmiths,
let's talk steel.

To make your blades
you're going to be using this.

What we have here are bars
of pristine high-carbon steel

to make layered Damascus.

We've got 1095, 15N20, 80CrV2,

even throw in a little nickel
and copper in there.

And with that
we want you to make

a layered Damascus signature
blade in whatever technique

that you choose.

But make sure that
you are aiming high

and you pick something that
will impress the judges

with not only
your Damascus pattern

but the overall construction
and completion of your blade.

This is a competition we are
calling The Best in Damascus.

Now, this is where it
gets interesting, guys.

We won't have a
three-hour forging round

and a two-hour handle round.

We are lumping them together
in a five-straight-hour

bladesmithing competition.

Whichever one of you
impresses our judges

the most with your
five-hour build,

you will get to skip
testing and go

straight into the final round.

But not only that; you will
also have the opportunity

to choose what weapon from
the "Forged in Fire" vault

you and your
competitor will both be

building in the final round.

- This ups the game for sure.

One person goes
straight to the finale,

and the other three
get to watch J. Neilson

beat their blades
on something terrible.

Personally, I'd rather
skip it, you know?

- Now, for the remaining three,

you will immediately go
into the testing arena

and have your blades checked
for strength and sharpnes.

To check functionality
and strength

they will be used to chop
through a wooden 4x4

and then check edge retention
with a playing card slice.

All right, gentlemen,
this is your chance

to impress our judges.

You have five hours on the
clock to complete this.

And good luck,
because that time starts now.

About to find out who
impresses you guys the most.

As fans of Damascus, what
would you be hoping to see?

- Feather pattern.
- Feather.

- I'd love to see a feather.
- Ooh.

- I'd probably do a
pattern on pattern Go Mai.

- I just want to
see some patterns, obviously.

I mean, this is about

the best Damascus that
they can present.

- I grabbed my steel
and head over to the grinder.

I'm just trying to get this
done as fast as possible.

My goal for this competition
is to do a five-bar restack.

The middle bar is going to be

ladder pattern Damascus,
40 layers.

And then on each
side of that will be

two alternating twisted bars

forged together Turkish-twist
style.

- There's a lot of
different ways they can use

this material
to make their blades pop.

But the key is having
a Damascus pattern

that is, one, difficult, and
two, beautifully executed.

- At the end of the day if I
can knock it out of the park,

I think it's something the
judges will really like.

- I do not want to
take the easy way out.

I'm going to swing
for the fences.

I am alternating layers
with 1095, 80CrV2, and 15N20

in a repeating pattern.

And do a higher layer count

ladder pattern along the edge.

- What is
the minimum layer count

to see something, minimum?

- To see a pattern,

you've got to be
above 150 layers.

I mean, if you're
below 150 layers,

it's always going to be,
"Oh, that's kind of a ladder.

Oh,
that's kind of raindrops."

- Knowing that one person
will go straight to the final

if they can impress the judges
with the best Damascus,

man, I got to make something
crazy.

My thought is to try to make a
shark tooth Damascus pattern.

So I run over to the welder.

I stack 20 layers
on the first billet.

What I want to do is try to
make shark tooth Damascus

by grinding grooves
in the steel.

This will create patterns
that really kind of pop out.

Whoo!
- What is Ryan doing?

- Ryan's having fun.

He's doing a little happy dance.

- I don't feel confident
that I can make

a very elaborate pattern
in the five hours given to us.

So I'm going to play it
a little on the safe side.

But what I'm going to be
doing is a ladder pattern.

I'm starting with ten pieces,
because

I don't want to be fighting
extra material.

I'll also be adding material in

as I cut and stack the pieces.

And it'll make a very
bold ladder pattern.

- Ten layers
seems like a big risk.

- Yeah.

- I'm looking at all that steel
leftover on Matt's table.

If I have the option,
I'll start out with as tall

a billet as I can get
in my forge.

- After a couple passes
through the press,

I'm feeling very confident that
these welds are ready to go

and move on to my next step.

- Ryan's got that angle grinder

cutting diamonds
into his billet.

So when he draws that out,

what's that pattern
going to look like?

- Kind of like a ladder pattern,

where you got that chatoyancy.

But they'll be like this,
as opposed.

Just like if you were doing
chevrons...

- Yeah, yeah.
- All the way up or somethig

similar to that.

- Looks like
Abram's going for the twist.

- Nice.

- I really need
this twisting to go well.

If I create cold shuts or
shear the billets in half,

I really don't have
the time to restart.

- That has been the smoothest
we've seen so far

in all our competitions of
somebody twisting their billet.

- My first billet's twisted up.

Grab the second one,
and this one I'm twisting

in the opposite direction.

That's what's going to
give me my Turkish twist.

- By having those
counter twists on either side,

he'll have a star pattern.

- If he accomplishes it,
that's an impressive buil.

- Yeah, it is,
because you're manipulating

the layers in different ways.

And that's what stands out.

- I'm already impressed.

- This is very ambitious
from such a young smith.

- This is a bladesmith
that has a plan.

This is great.

- Now that I got all
four billets twisted up,

everything looks really solid.

Whoo!

Take them to the anvil
and re-square them.

- Now that I have the billet
welded, I moved to the press

and aggressively
move that material

to make sure I get the billet
drawn out twice its lengh

so I can fold it back on itself.

Then I'll have a
20-layer count billet.

- I'm not seeing
a lot of high-layer counts,

and dramatic patterns
come from high layers.

- So now I'm up to 20 layers.

Then I'm going to cut that
billet into four equal pieces

and then forge weld
that back together,

which will give me 80 layers.

- What kills me
with what Matt's doing is

he could have had those
layers from the start.

- Yeah.
- Quite a few more.

- We gave them probably
40 layers of steel each.

- Yeah.

- Once I'm complete
with the initial weld run,

I am trying to draw out
the billet and lengthen it

so that I can
prep for my next cut and fol.

- Uh-oh.

It looks like he
might have a split

at the front of his billet.

- Oh, yeah.
- Ooh, yeah, that's a big

split right down the guts.

- It doesn't surprise me.

He's working that billet
really aggressively

and not at a very high
temperature.

- I've eaten up an hour
and 15 minutes of my tim.

My billet ended up delaminating

right down the center, which is

the absolute last
thing that I want to happen.

And it would be devastating
to get sent home

without even getting
my blade tested.

- My options at this point are

to abandon this billet

or trying to repair it.

Oh, it's still not welding.

- Uh, guys,
Jason has put his billet

down on the ground over here.

- I hope he's restarting.

- At this point, my
best option is to start over

with a new billet.

With my original plan
going sideways,

I do not have time
to do the ladder pattern

that I had intended.

I am just moving forward
with a lower layer

raindrop pattern.

- With such a low layer count,

he's got to make a
12-to 14-inch knife,

and there's just not a lot
of metal there to work with.

- I had intended
to swing for the fences,

and now I am just
in recovery mode

trying to move forward
and turn in a finished piece.

- Guys,
Abram is setting that weld.

- Ooh, all right,
this is critical.

He's got a very complex
billet going on,

and he's got a really
difficult weld to set.

- This weld is
absolute make or break.

I don't have enough time left

in this competition
to start over,

so this has to work.

If the billet folds
over on itself,

it could end up shearing
the layers completely apart,

or I could create cold shuts.

And I really can't have that
this far into the competition.

- Those welds look like
they're holding beautifully.

Nice.

- I think it's solid.

I'm very happy with it.

It's time to really
turn this into a blade.

- All right, bladesmiths,

you guys are
impressing us so far,

but you only have
three hours remaining!

- So once I got this
shark tooth Damascus billet

drawn out how I like,

I'm just so excited.

I know I'm going to be
able to forge a knife.

Making something in
our signature style,

I know exactly what
I'm going to go with.

I'm going to do a recurve Bowie.

I mean, this thing will
impress the judges.

- It really looks like Ryan is
making great progress

forging out a blade.

- Forging goes really smoothly.

It's taking shape,

and I feel
really good at where I am.

- Now that I have the final
billet welded and drawn out,

I can move on.

I'm going to be making

a spear point Bowie knife.

It's probably going to
be what the judges want,

and it's something that
I'm confident I can make

in the time allotted.

The Bowie knife I'm
making is going to have

a modified ladder pattern.

- Matt has
gotten his blade to shape.

It's still very thick, so he's
cutting in his ladder pattern.

- Well, it's not really

going to be a ladder pattern.

When you think about it,

you might have ladder
on the very top,

but everything
else will probably be

ground away and hammered out.

- Bladesmiths,
you have two hours remainin!

Matt and Jason need to
speed themselves up.

- At this point, I have
20 layers, which is enough

to have some
of the pattern show through.

So I'm moving over
to the drill press

to create the dimples
needed for this pattern.

- Realizing that
his competition is doing

some pretty intense
billets, Jason decided

to throw some raindrop
in there and a 20-layer billet.

- Yeah, not enough.

- That's not
going to be very impressive.

- For this blade, I'm
going with a dagger-style

with an upswept
guard and pommel.

I think the bevels
on the dagger grind

will show the pattern off
really well,

and I think it'll
impress the judges

that I went for the extra
grinding

and the extra time there.

- It looks like a dagger.

- That's a small blade.

So hopefully,
if he's thinking about

impressing us and going
through without being tested,

he's really got to bring out
that pattern

and put a good handle.
- Oh, yeah.

- The steel is finally
starting to look like a blad.

I'm getting it
where I need to be.

But I'm not feeling great.

- Abram's starting to
show signs of fatigue.

His wrists are
cramping up on him.

- I've known that feeling.

- I'm sweating like crazy,

and I can feel myself
getting dehydrated.

So I'm trying to drink
as much as possible,

but it's not
treating me too well.

- No way.

- I've seen competitions before
where guys

had to get pulled out,

because they got too dehydrated,

and I just hope that
doesn't happen to me.

I really want to stay in this,

and I want to get
something finished.

- Okay, we have some
dehydration going on here.

- Well, I don't think
it's dehydration.

He's just chugging;
he might be overhydrating...

- Oh, okay.
- And filled himself up

so much,
and then running in circles.

- How are you feeling?
- I'm feeling good.

I was a little dehydrated;
I've been pounding the water,

and I just pounded it
a little too much, so...

I definitely feel better
having that over with.

- You got to take
little sips or else it's

going to come right back up.
- Yeah, that's on me, man.

- Thankfully, a medic came in,

cleared him,
and he's good to go.

- All right,
let's get back in there.

I'm still not feeling fantastic,

but I don't have time
to focus on that.

I've got a lot to get done in
a very short amount of time.

- Getting a good
quench is everything.

It's a make or
break for the blade.

- And we got a
quenched blade from Ryan.

- All right,
quenched blade number one.

- I see it's straight.

And oh, my gosh,
that is such a relief.

- There's two blades
that are quenched.

- It's straight.

Everything looks good.

I'm confident things went well.

- All right, Jason got quenched.

Hey, he was pretty far behind.

For him to have the quenched
blade is pretty good.

- It has a slight warp in it,

but it looks like I have enough
material left on the blade

to grind everything straight.

- Abram's in the oil.

Last man standing.

- I'm ecstatic to
have a straight blade.

So it's really time to start
focusing on the handle.

- Bladesmiths, you have 1 hour
and 30 minutes remaining!

- Ryan's in
the acid etch already.

- All righty.

- It's not exactly
what I expected.

It does kind of have
some cool aspects.

There are a lot of
wavy lines and whatnot.

But knowing that
the judges are going to e

looking at everything,
if I can just

add another component to make it

look more aesthetically
pleasing,

that's what I can do.

I decide to put a
fuller in the blade

hoping that it's going to pull
some of that deeper material

and create some crazy contrast
in between the layers.

- That might be a good idea

to get some of
those patterns to pop.

- As much as I like that idea,

time is running out quickly.

- The pressure is definitely on.

I need to drill into
the handle slabs.

I think if I scramble
fast enough

I have just enough time
to get this accomplished.

I chose red due to my
military background.

RED Fridays are Remember
Everyone Deployed.

So I chose a red
handle for the troops.

Now that the pins
in the scales are set in place

that gives me
just enough time to get

a comfortable grip ground.

- I was originally going
to go for an upswept guard

on both sides, symmetrical,

but I just don't have time
to do that.

This S-guard will be

everything that I need it to be

without adding
a bunch of extra work.

- Abram's got
some kind of weird S-guard.

- It's very thick,
and those Ss look small enough

that once you put a handle in it

I don't think you can
get a finger between

that curvature and the handle.

And remember, it's not
only the Damascus pattern

that's going to impress us.

Impress us with
the entire blade.

Impresses with the blade style
for the challenge.

Impress us with a
guard and a butt cap

that are also Damascus.

A lot of aspects.

- I've got to get the handle
shaped up and comfortable,

so if I do go into testing;
it's at least somewhat usable.

- Matt's blade
looks pretty nice.

- Yeah, I'm just worried about
the handle connection.

- The handle's
giving me a hard time,

and now I'm stuck trying
to cram a tang

into a slot that's
much smaller than the tang.

So I'm going back and forth
between the drill press

trying to rout out as much
material as I need,

going back to grinding the tang

trying to make sure
I get a tight fit.

But now I'm back in business,

but I'm worried that I've made
a number of small mistakes

that have consumed
a large quantity of my time.

- The clock is ticking down.

I've got to get
this all glued up,

and I have to get
this thing sharpened.

It's going to be tight,
but I think I can do this.

- He came
out of the gate running,

and he has not stopped.

- I glue up this thing,
run straight to the grinder.

It's a little bit
of a hassle moving around

with all those clamps on there,

but I managed to make it work.

Being able to skip testing
would be really cool,

but getting to pick
the finale weapon

would be a huge
advantage and be awesome.

But I'm not
necessarily expecting

to make it
straight to the final,

so I got to make sure
this thing is test-ready.

- Five, four, three, two, one!

Bladesmiths,
turn off your machines!

Put down your tools!

This round is over!

- This competition was really

all about impressing the judges.

I chose the Damascus pattern
that I did

and that Turkish twist,

because I thought
I could really show off

what I'm capable of.

And I'm hoping it takes me
right past testing.

- All right, guys, so the
smiths are off the floor.

Now it's time for you
to decide which one

of these blades impresses you
the most.

Remember, whoever impresses
you the most

gets a ticket straight to the
final round of competition

bypassing all the testing.

So, Doug, why don't you
start with Ryan's blade?

- First up,
it's got a nice shape.

The pattern he's got,
you can see the layers.

You can even see it
also on the spine.

The handle construction is a
little bit on the small sid,

but it is comfortable.

No sharp edges in that,
and overall,

it has a good feel to it,
and I think

that it would perform nicely.

- All right, so next we're
moving on to Jason.

Jason may have had bigger
plans for his blade,

but that restart kind of
shifted gears

and turned into
a survival blade.

- Whatever this
ended up turning out to be,

I appreciate all the work.

But if you come
into a competition

and we tell you to impress us,

20 layers is not going to do it.

- All right, let's move on.

Now we've got Matt's blade.

- Of the blades
we've looked at so far,

that is a really
nice blade shape.

So everything from right
here forward I really lik.

- All right.
- Man,

there is a gap at the shoulders,

and there's one pin here.

This is a recipe for disaster.

- All right.

Moving on to the final blade.

- Abram did a heck of
a job with all that Damascus,

but this is... this is light.

Oh, and yeah.

If you move your hand
just a little bit

your knuckle's really
rubbing on there.

The guard still has very,
very sharp corners.

And I think he realized, "Oh.

"I don't have enough time
for this.

Let me shift gears."

Not a problem with that.

It just didn't end up
where he wanted to go.

And that's a shame.

- All right, guys.

Tough decision,
but one has to be made.

J., you made your decision?
- Yes.

- Dave, how about you?
- Yeah.

- Doug?
- Yes, I have.

- All right, gentlemen,
we'll call them in.

All right, bladesmiths.

Well, in the last five hours

of this Best in Damascus
competition,

we asked you to build
your very best blade

and impress our judges with
not only your Damascus pattern

but the overall construction
and completion of your blade.

And the bladesmith with the
most impressive blade is...

Ryan, congratulations.

You turned in
the most impressive blade,

and Doug is going
to tell you why.

- Ryan, your blade has the
overall best construction,

design, and execution.

Your Damascus pattern shows
up well, and it looks goo.

Congratulations.
- Thank you.

- Well, Ryan, congratulations.

That means you are
bypassing testing

going straight into the final
round of this competition.

So head on out.

We will see you in
the final round.

- It feels so good just to go
straight to the final roud

and not have to
deal with my blade

potentially snapping in half.

- Bladesmiths,
welcome to our strength test,

our 4x4 post chop.

Now, what I'm going to do
is take your

signature Damascus blades
and deliver

strikes on these
heavy-duty posts.

Jason, you ready?
- Full send.

- Let's go.

- I didn't have time to
make it quite as elaborate

and as pretty as I'd intended,

but I do think that my blade
and my workmanship

will survive through the testing

All right, Jason, nice job.

I do have to say your lines
are a little funky.

But everything held
together just fine.

No rolling, no chipping,
nothing at all.

The biggest problem
I have is the handle.

It's not uncomfortable,

but some more flare on the back

would have helped
with retention.

But overall, nice job.

- Thank you.

- Matt, you ready to go?
- I'm ready.

- All right, let's do it.

- I put the handle together
in about 20 minutes.

I'm confident that
the blade will hold up.

I am not confident
the handle will hold up.

Let's see what shakes out.

Good job, Matt. It survived.

- Thanks.
- Beautiful blade.

The steel is good.

You've still got a
razor edge on here.

No damage at all.

Overall, nice job.

- Thank you.

- All right, Abram,
you ready to go?

- I'm not,
but let's do it anyways.

All I'm hoping for
going into testing

is that my blade
stays in one piece,

but I'm definitely nervous.

Two smiths are going to get
eliminated, one's moving on,

and we'll see what happens.

Ow.

Augh.

It's starting to tear skin.

All right, Abram.

First of all, I want to
commend you on all the work

you did with this Damascus
pattern.

It came out beautiful.

But the biggest problem I have
is the guard and handle.

When I'm swinging away,

my knuckle's banging
right into that guard,

because there's not
a space right here.

And you can see it's
tearing my knuckle open.

So that's why I had to stop.

- Thank you.

- Well, Abram, at the
beginning of all this,

I asked you guys to aim high
with your Damascus patterns,

and boy, did you ever.

But because of the unfinished
nature of your handle,

J. was unable to finish
the testing safely.

So unfortunately,
at this point in time,

I'm going to have
to ask you to please

step off The Forge floor.

- Thank you.

The guard was bent
in a little too much,

and it was uncomfortable.

J. wasn't able to
finish the test,

and I completely
agree with the judges.

Anybody who's thinking
of competing,

drink a lot of water before,

and don't drink water
too fast while you're here.

- Well, Jason, Matt,
guys, congratulations.

You made it through
a brutal strike test,

and your blades
are in one piece.

But we still have to
figure out which one of yu

is joining Ryan in the final
round of this competition.

In order to do that,
we're going to put them

through a sharpness test.

For that, I'm going
to give you to Doug.

- All right, bladesmiths.

This is the sharpness test,

the playing card slice.

Matt, you're going first.

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

- That's sharp.
- Yeah.

Wicked sharp.

- All right, Matt.

It cut very well.

You have a nice, sharp edge.

Your handle construction,
it's got a nice flare.

There's good retention
when I hold on to it.

Overall, sir, it will cut.

- Thank you very much.

- Jason, your turn, sir.
You ready?

- Rock and roll.

- All right, Jason, let's talk
about your weapon here.

Your edge,
it does meander a little bi.

Where here's a little wave
in there

when you're looking at that.

But during the test
it cut all the way through.

Overall, your weapon,
sir, it will cut.

- Thank you.

- All right, gentlemen,
you both ran through

the tests with flying colors.

But as you know,
only one of you can

join us in the final
round of this competition

and go up against Ryan.

The bladesmith
leaving The Forge is..

Jason.

Unfortunately, your blade
didn't make the cut,

and Dave Baker is
going to tell you why.

- Jason, both you and
your competitors' blades

did great in our tests,
so it came back to design.

And your unfinished lines
on your blade,

that low-layer count pattern
that just doesn't pop out,

and your handle construction,

those things added up
to send you home.

- Well, Jason, honestly,
you have a ton to be proud of.

But unfortunately, your time
in this competition has ended.

I'm gonna have to ask you

to please step off
The Forge floor.

- Thank you, everyone.
I had a blast.

- Thank you, Jason.
- Thank you.

- I was not surprised at all
when I heard Grady

call my name for being
eliminated.

The best piece actually won,
and I'm very happy for Matt.

The adventure of being
in this competition

has been everything
I expected it to be.

Good luck, Ryan.

Good luck, Matt.

Knock 'em dead.

- Well, Ryan, Matt,
gentlemen, congratulations.

The two of you have made it
past the first forging round

in our Best in Damascus
competition.

Which means that
the two of you are going back

to battle it out from
your home forges

for four days.

Now, Ryan, because you
impressed the judges most

in the first round
with your blade,

you get the choice of
one of these three blades

to build against
your competitor here.

Now, we've got the hook sword...

The kilij...

And finally, the panabas.

What are you thinking?

I for sure do not
want to put a crazy hook

into my blade whatsoever.

But I also don't
want to go basic.

Let's go with the kilij.

-The kilij, all right.

- The kilij traces its origins

back to the 15th-century
Ottoman Empire.

This lightweight, sharp,
curved blade was specifically

designed to be wielded
single-handedly

making it ideal for
warriors on horseback

to deliver deadly slashes
upon enemy attackers.

This formidable
weapon was previously

featured on season five
of "Forged in Fire,"

where both smiths overcame
complications

with the length of the blade

and the ornate langet.

But ultimately an extreme bend

taken during the strength test

cost one smith the competition.

- Your blade length
measured from tip

to where the cutting edge
ends in a straight line

needs to be between
28 and 30 inches.

Now, down to the hilt.

You need to have at least
seven inches of cross guard

and a forward-facing
and rear-facing langet

on both sides of that guard.

Now, one more
parameter, gentlemen.

Because this is the Best
in Damascus competition,

you both have to turn in blades

that are made
from Damascus billets.

So impress the judges again
with your final builds.

- It is absolutely
going to be a pain

making that much Damascus.

Bragging rights
are now overrated.

Everything I said earlier
can go out the window.

- Good luck.

We will see you in four days.

- Good luck.
- Hey, good luck, man.

- We're back home
in Thornton, Colorado.

I'm ready to get started.

I want to shoot for a
braided mosaic Damascus.

Whoo!

I'm going to stack up a
billet of about 28 layers,

forge it out, chop it into
tiles, and I'm able to create

a braided mosaic.

It's going to be a lot of
welding, a lot of cleanu.

But in the end it should
be worth it, I hope.

And it'd be something
really cool.

- It's great to be
back home in Blacksburg

in the mountains of
Southwest Virginia.

Today I'm shooting
for a 200-layer billet.

My goal is to have that billet
finished by this evening.

I'm forging a coarse ladder
pattern in this blade.

The hardest part of
this build is going to be

forging the
Damascus and making sure

I have a very solid billet.

I know this piece is

going to be subjected to some
pretty extreme testing.

All right, well,
I'm pretty happy with that.

- It's the beginning of day two.

I got this sword forged out
to where I want it to be,

and I'm ready to go
for the heat treat.

All righty.

I got to nail this heat treat.

Otherwise, if I don't
get this blade hard,

it's not going to perform well,
and I could be out on this.

Oh, yeah, we got warp..

There's was a slight
warp to the right,

so I know I've got to put it

between two 2x4s
and clamp it up.

Otherwise, if I can't
get that warp out now,

it's going to bite me
in the butt later.

Whoo, that's pretty straight.

- So it's the
morning of day three.

Goal for today is to get
the sword blade hardened.

This far into the process,
if the blade fails,

making another blade
in the time remaining

is frankly impossible.

Yeah.

We're good.

- Day four,
I want to fit the langets

and handle together.

It has to be inlaid

just so I can get
a very tight and nice fit up.

With only four days
to build a kilij,

I threw a lot into this build,
like trying to attempt to do

a cool mosaic.

So it's time to get
the blade into the acid

and see this pattern pop.

All right, moment of truth.

Whoo, look at that!

Whoo-hoo, yeah!

Man, that pattern pops.

I'm so happy.

It looks so cool.

So now all I need to do

is glue
this entire thing together.

We've got a kilij.

I brought my A-game.

Can't wait to see
what Matt does.

And can't wait to
hopefully get that 10K.

There we go.

- Day four.
I need to fit the guard

and finalize shaping the handle.

I want to have more
mass in the handle.

I also want to be
able to have a bigger,

more contoured handle
that will be

more comfortable to the user.

I have the handle rough-shaped.

There's probably
only about 30 minutes left

to have a completed handle.

Oh.

There's some gapping between

the handle and the guard.

Try to fill these
the best I can.

I don't think any of
the flaws are going

to affect its functionality.

They're just cosmetic,
and they're ugly.

I've got the handle done.

And that doesn't look half bad.

I think overall
it came out okay.

I'll be looking forward
to seeing the sword used.

I think that'll be fun.

- Well, Ryan, Matt, gentlemen,

welcome back to The Forge, guys.

So we gave you four
days at your home forges

to put together your very
best versions of a kilij.

Before we go into testing,

I want to hear
about these blades.

So, Ryan, how'd it go for you?

- It went really well.

I did a braided
mosaic of 1095 15N20

cladded onto a core of
80CrV2 Damascus cross guard

with bronze langets,

a framed handle
with box elder burl wood.

- It looks absolutely stunning.

Matt, tell us about yours.

- I forged to the blade from
235 layers

of 80CrV2 and 15N20.

The handle is vintage
Canvas Micarta.

- All right, gentlemen.

Well, both of your blades
look absolutely astounding.

But we've got to find out if
they're strong,

if they're sharp,
and if they're deadly.

To start things off, we've got
a dynamic KEAL test with Doug.

- Bladesmiths, welcome
to our dynamic KEAL test.

Ryan, you're up first;
you ready for this?

Let's... let's do it.

- All right, let's do it.

- I built it to look good.

Hopefully it can...

It can test good.

There is a pig
sitting right there.

Like, I'm hoping to chop
that thing right in half.

- All right, Ryan, let's talk
about your kilij sword here.

First up, I appreciate
the beauty of

the Damascus pattern
you have there.

Also, what I like about this

is that it's got
that classic kilij look,

where you got parallel lines,
and it slowly curve up.

That's what we like with a
historical piece like this.

Now, your handle construction.

Everything is smooth.

No sharp corners on that.

Your edge is sharp.

It almost cut
through all the way

on the pig carcass
and the tatami mats.

Overall, your weapon,
it will KEAL.

- Awesome.

Matt, your turn;
you ready?

- I'm ready.
- All right, let's do this.

- The first thing
that I see is a big pig.

I mean, there's a lot of
impact when Doug is taking

a full swing at the target.

It's very possible that
there will be a bend.

- All right, Matt,
let's talk about your kilij.

It's not quite the
historic accurate kilij,

because you don't have
those parallel lines.

It immediately
goes down into a curve.

Your handle construction

is also not
the typical kilij look,

but your edge is razor-sharp.

You've got a very nice
balance to wield this weapon,

and overall your kilij
will KEAL.

- Thank you very much.

- Bladesmiths,
welcome to our dynamic

strength and cutting test.

I'm going to attempt
to cut through these vines

and smash these skulls.

I'm not going to go easy.

I'm going to have
fun with these.

And, Ryan, you're up first;
you ready to go?

- Let's break some skulls.
- Let's do it.

- That's tough bone.

I just don't want my blade
to snap in half.

Knowing J. has a reputation
of doing that, here we go.

Nice job, Ryan.

- Your edge is still very,
very sharp.

- Sweet.
- No glinting or anything.

Cut beautifully
and overall tested very well.

Good job.
- Awesome, thank you.

- All right, Matt.

It's always more fun for
the second guy, right?

- I'm ready.
- Well, I'm ready too.

Let's go.

All right, Matt, nice job.

- Thank you.
- I like the blade.

I like the weight.

The Damascus
came out beautifully.

You have the slightest
bits of glinting.

I mean, it's very minimal.

Your handle,
a little unorthodox.

And right in this area,

I wish it had rounded off
a little bit more...

- Right.
- Because it's a little bit

sharp right where my thumb
sits on this part.

But nothing is loose.

Nice job.

- Thank you very much.

- This is close, huh?

All right, gentlemen,
outstanding work.

But the time has come
for the judges to decide

which one of you
has earned the title

of "Forged in Fire" champion
and is going to be

getting that check for $10,000.

So while they discuss, I'm
going to ask that you both

please step off The Forge floor.

All right, guys,
we got two great blades

but only one winner.

You have a decision to make.

J., what are you thinking?

- Overall fit and finish,

I think I'd have to give that
to Ryan.

Everything flows smoothly;
it looks traditional.

It's got the correct
kick in the blade

as opposed to a
symmetrical arc in it.

When we go over to Matt's blade,

it did get a little bit of
glinting on the edge.

And that handle and guard setup
are really on the rougher side.

- All right.

Doug, what are you thinking?

- When it comes to Ryan,
all the way through, I mean,

it's just very well done.

- Mm-hmm.
- When I look at Matt's blade,

that guard and handle

isn't the classic kilij
that I would be expecting.

- Good. Fair enough.

All right, gentlemen, well,
it sounds like

we got pros and cons
to both these blades,

but you guys do have
a decision to make.

Dave, you've made yours?
- I have.

- And Doug?
- Yes, I have.

- How about you, J.?
- Oh, yeah.

- All right, guys,
I'll call them in.

Well, gentlemen,
you gave us two swords

that performed outstanding
in our tests.

But at the end of the day
only one of you

can leave here
as a "Forged in Fire" champion

getting a check for $10,000.

After a discussion our judges
did make a final decision.

Today's "Forged in Fire"
champion is...

Ryan, congratulations.

Matt, you missed out
by just a little bit,

and J. is going
to tell you why.

- Matt, you brought us a great
sword and a great performer.

You should be very proud
of what you did.

But you did have a little
bit of glinting on the skulls

during the strength test.

And the handle,
it's got some hot spots,

and I could feel them
when I'm swinging it.

Big thing, though,
is the historical accuracy.

What you brought us
is a little bit off

from the traditional kilij,

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

- I understand.

- Well, Matt, you brought
us a beautiful blade

that did perform extremely well.

But unfortunately your time
in this competition has ended.

I'm going have to ask you

to please step off
The Forge floor.

- Congratulations, man.

Great job.
- Thanks, man.

- I agree with
the judges completely.

Ryan knocked it out of the park.

One thing I didn't consider
that the judges did bring up

was that it was more of a modern

interpretation of the kilij.

And yeah, I agree with that too.

And the whole thing, it was fun.

It was exciting;
it was challenging.

It was everything
I was looking for.

- Well, Ryan, congratulations.

That makes you
a "Forged in Fire" champion.

You'll be receiving a
check for $10,000, man.

Congratulations.

- Thank you.

"Forged in Fire" champion?

What?

Oh, man, it feels good.

I mean, Matt was a
insane competitor.

It feels good to make it
through all the tests.

And 10 grand, hey,
that's just a plus to me.