All language subtitles for Forged.in.Fire.S09E22.WEB.x264-TORRENTGALAXY

[dramatic music]

- Here in the forge,
we are always raising the bar,

But now we are putting it
at an all-time high.

Everything
in this competition,

From the steel, the blades,
even the tests

Will be some of the biggest
we have ever seen

On the forge floor.

- That is a huge knife
michael's got.

- That thing is humongous.

Who will rise
to this massive challenge

And take home $10,000?

[laughing]
you guys look terrified.

This is "forged in fire
supersized."

[glass breaking]

[upbeat rock music]

- I'm mark howland.
I'm 28 years old.

I got into bladesmithing

By just finding
a bunch of guys

Sword fighting in a field
with armor on.

One of them happened to be
making swords at the time,

And he recruited me

In, like, kind of
apprentice-master program.

I had this vest custom-made
for the competition

Because I knew
david baker shouldn't be

The only one looking this good.

[laughter]

♪ ♪

- My name is john simons
from indianapolis.

I have three years
bladesmithing,

And most of that's
all self-taught.

I love doing this.

Some people want to go
to disney world.

I want to come here.

This is my vacation,

So I'm really looking forward
to it.

- My name is michael dillon.
54 years old.

Been forging for 30 years.

I started making knives for
props in the movie industry.

I'm pretty confident,
but I'm worrying

My pants may fall down.

That's why I have a belt
and suspenders.

Double up.
[laughs]

♪ ♪

- My name is matt cota.

I'm from live oak, texas.

I'm 30 years old,

Been bladesmithing
for five years.

I was in the air force,
and one of the happiest thins

I get to do as a bladesmith
is volunteering

With a san antonio nonprofit
called reforged,

Taking veterans
and first responders

And giving them
a free bladesmithing course.

We also get to use this
as a type of art therapy.

♪ ♪

- Bladesmiths,
welcome to the forge.

The four of you are about
to take part

In the biggest
bladesmith competition going.

Today we are starting the first
in a four-competition series

We're calling
"forged in fire supersized."

Now, at the end of each round,
you will present your work

To our panel of expert judges,

Who will make critiques
and eliminations.

Now, gentlemen, under this tarp
is not one but two

Of the largest pieces of steel

We have ever asked smiths
to salvage the materials from

To make a blade.

- I'm seeing this huge,
tarped monstrosity

In the center of the room,
and my best guess

Of what's under there is
things I'm not gonna like.

- Today, bladesmiths,
to make a knife,

You're gonna need this.

♪ ♪

What we have here is
7 feet of railroad.

This railroad is made
of hardenable steel.

This is exactly
what we want you to use

To make a signature blade
in your signature style

Measuring between 15
and 17 inches.

- We don't have to use
all of it, right?

- At the end
of the first round,

You'll present your work
to our judges,

And one of you will be leaving.

But then we'll move into the
second round of competition,

And for the three of you
who join us,

You'll add handles
to those blades,

Making them
fully functioning weapons.

When that round is complete,
you'll turn them over

To the judges again,
and they will check

For strength and durability

In a railroad tie chop,

And then check
your edge retention

In a leather stab-and-slice.

All right, gentlemen,
you have three hours

On the clock for
the first round, so good luck.

Your time starts now.

♪ ♪

- Here? There?

- Let's cut on this side.

- All right.
- Okay, you two take that side.

We'll take this side.

- Awesome, yeah.

- This is a big one

In a lot
of different ways, guys.

- You know, one of the things
about this is,

The hardest part
of this challenge

Is harvesting your steel,

Because right after that,
it's mono steel.

And there are so many ways
you can actually

Cut it to length already

So that it's just about
drawing it out.

- I've never worked
with railroad track

To build knives before.

Sculpture, but never knives.

Railroad track is
very difficult to work

Because of its shape
and its size

And being able to cut it.

- A part of the strategy
in this is thinking

About what piece
of this railroad track

You want to salvage
your metal from.

- You can cut
a big chunk quickly...

- Mm-hmm.

- And forge that,
spend more time forging,

Or you can cut out from
the thinner part of the body.

It's less forging.

I like the fact that michael
right away grabbed the...

- Yup.
- The hot wrench.

- That's the easiest
and fastest way.

- I've been using oxyacetylene
for over 30 years.

I'm looking to use the bottom
half of the railroad track

Just because gravity helps
with that cut.

♪ ♪

- It looks like he cut it
with tip already in.

- That's almost
a blade shape already.

- Just put an edge on it
and quench it.

- Yeah.

- I take it to the grinder,

Try and get
some of the slag off

So I can shape this blade
easily in the forge.

♪ ♪

- I'm going
for the cutting torch.

I do not have barely
any experience using it,

But it's gonna be
the fastest way

To get through this track.

- Look at john's flame.

It's way too large
to get a good cut.

- It starts out great,
but then liquid metal starts

Filling up the cut I just made.

And it's hardening up.

It's a big, hot mess.

- If you know the tools,
you could potentially

Get through this in a matter
of five minutes or so,

But if you have trouble

Setting up
the oxyacetylene torch for one,

This could take you
a really long time

To get that steel
to start working with.

- I'm not getting
a clean cut through this.

It's extremely frustrating,
so I'm gonna grab a hamme.

If it doesn't budge,
I gotta start

This nightmare all over again.

♪ ♪

Yeah!

Now I can start
getting to work.

♪ ♪

- Now--ah, ah.

Mark's made the decision
to go with the cutoff wheel.

- If you're going
to the cutoff wheel,

I would not go
near the top rail.

If you're good
with a cutting torch,

That's when I'd go
with the top rail.

- It's just not cutting through
like I need it to.

I know oxyacetylene's gonna e

The quickest way through this,
but I don't know how to run it.

So I'm sitting there trying
to get this thing moving,

And I just am looking
at the clock, dreading it.

♪ ♪

- Bottom rail,
just off to the side,

Should be wide enough,

Thick enough
to make the 17 to 15.

- Oh, yeah.

- The reason I'm going
with the middle of the I-beam

Is 'cause
it's actually the thinnest

And it's the flattest.

- When we're asking you
for supersized and big blades,

Get a big piece
and have sacrificial steel.

You can always remove metal.

You can't add metal.

Well, unless you start
forge welding.

- Cutting this is taking

Much longer
than I had anticipated.

I'm able to get the bottom
part of my rectangle

Cut off extremely easy.

Unfortunately, the top, flat
part of the railroad track

Is in the way of the top part
of the angle grinder,

So I don't feel comfortable
trying to cut

That piece off upside down.

So I'm just going to get

As close as I can,
the best that I can.

The longer it takes
for me to cut this,

That's gonna be less time
I'm gonna have

To be able to get
everything done that I need to

In this short amount of time.

♪ ♪

- After I get off the grinder,
I'm on to the forge

And get it under the hammer
as soon as possible.

♪ ♪

I'm gonna make
a large fighter knife.

It's a drop point,
nice, long, sleek, sexy.

Some of the blades
that I've made for props

Have been apocalyptic
in style.

I think it's somewhat similar.

- Look how long michael's
billet's already gotten.

- This blade's
looking fantastic.

♪ ♪

- Now that my steel's clean,
it's in the forge.

I decided to go
with almost a machete--

I think would be the easiest
style to go with for this,

And it'd be great
for chopping.

Now I have to get this
drawn out.

♪ ♪

- I finally get
a piece knocked off,

And I throw it in the forge
as quick as I can.

♪ ♪

- Matt got his steel finally.
- Whoo!

It feels so good to finally
get this stuck in the forge.

Even though I'm the last one,
I'm still feeling okay

Because of my rectangle.

I've already got something
that's roughly a billet shape

That I just gotta stretch out
and make

The right length and width.

- What would you guys do,
as far as your blade shape?

- I'd go with
the apple seed edge,

But I would make a wide blade

Just to get
that long, steep profile.

- I've decided that
the best overall weapon

That I can make in my own style
is gonna be a viking seax.

A viking seax is
gonna be fantastic

For the chopping test.

Because it's a straight edge,

I'm able to work that
a lot quicker.

♪ ♪

- I think I can get this done.

I'm confident.

I know what I need to do
and can't second-guess myself.

As I'm seeing that thing
come up to temp,

I see two huge fractures
just right on the end of it.

- Mark thinks he saw
a crack in there.

That is still way more steel
than he needs

For the blade we're asking for.

Draw it out.

If you think there's a crack,
cut it off

Or use it for the tang portion
of the blade.

- I'm exasperated.

Those stress fractures
are gonna be

Throughout the entire thing.

My options here are,
hope I can wind up

Getting past
those stress fractures,

Or just chuck it and run,
see if I can get another piece.

- I don't know.

Mark's just--
he's just standing there.

- Yeah.

- I was finally able to rip
off this railroad track,

But I'm looking at the time,

Making the decision
to grab another piece.

It's tough.
I don't know what to do.

[bleep].

- So, guys,
we're halfway through

Our supersized challenge,

And he's thinking about going
back to the 7-foot railrod

And starting over--

Not an easy task.

- I see two huge fractures.

My options here are,
hope I can wind up

Getting past
the stress fractures,

Or just chuck it and run.

- Mark's just gonna
change it up

And get a different piece
of steel.

You spent all that time
cutting that piece of steel,

Letting it heat up, and now
you're gonna start over?

- And I don't understand
why he didn't even attempt

To draw it out.

- I go for one
of the thinner sections.

I'm feeling, like,
really under the gun right now.

- Mark's got a second
piece of steel now,

Which is considerably smaller
than his first piece,

So we're going from one
extreme to the other.

- I'm thinking to myself,
this is gonna be tight,

But I have to go
with my guns here.

- Bladesmiths,
you have 90 minutes left.

[rock music]

- This blade, I'm loving it.

I hope everybody loves it
as much as I do.

So I'm gonna grab
a little piece of rebar.

I'm gonna shape it
in a little tiny heart

For my good friend j.

Hopefully he won't break
my heart.

- That man loves
what he's doing.

[laughter]

- Shame it's not
valentine's day.

- I'm feeling good
about my ability

To get this thing shaped
to what I want it to be,

But this is
a thick piece of metal

That I gotta get thinned down.

- And we've got
massive pieces of steel

For them to salvage
to make their blades,

But hoping we don't have

Boat anchors turned in
for you guys to test,

Because that could be
detrimental to your shoulders

And their ability
to get 10 grand.

- With that in mind,
I decide a fuller

Is the best course of action.

- So what's the point
of using the guillotine

To put the fullers in
and not just going to grinder

With a small wheel?

- If you're grinding it in,
you're really not changing

The shape of the blade at all.

But if you use the guillotine,
every time you hammer down,

You're widening the blade.

- And I'm able to get
a nice straight line.

♪ ♪

- I normally make large knives,
but the length requirement,

15 to 17 inches, is insane.

I'm drawing it out.

It's thicker on one side
than the other,

So it's starting
to banana on me.

Ugh.

It's a bit frustrating.

I'm always having
to go flatten it out

Before I can stretch it again.

Once I get the profile
forged out,

I look at the clock.

It's about time
to get grinding.

♪ ♪

- This is definitely throwing
a wrench in my work.

It's time to get
this thing shaped up.

The final shape is based
on a georgian satevari.

It looks like it's two-edged,
but it's not.

It's a single edge
running all the way up.

I can have long bevels,

And I'm gonna have
a thick spine

For a railroad tie chop.

- I was worried about mark,
but he's really catching up.

- I'm a little on the fringes.

A lot of the stuff I make
is fantasy-based

With historical thrown in,

But I'm feeling pretty good
about myself.

- Bladesmiths, you have
45 minutes remaining.

♪ ♪

- What I like about
michael's blade

Is that all it is
is a play on scale.

It's just sort of that
musso bowie shape.

He's just blown it up.

- A lot.
- By 4 inches.

- [laughing] it's huge.

♪ ♪

- All right.
- There you go.

He had a nice color
going on with that.

- It looks pretty straight.

All I got left to do now
is grind away.

♪ ♪

- Since I turned my forge on
the first time,

I just fell in love with it.

Making knives is
a form of art.

Making something out of nothing
is what I like most about it.

The color looks good.

♪ ♪

- John in the quench.

- It looks extremely straight.

I'm relieved, but I have
to get back to the grinder,

Clean this up the best I can.

- Gentlemen, you have
ten minutes left on the clock.

♪ ♪

Mark just quenched
at a screaming hot temperature.

- I'm worried about his blade.
It could be really brittle.

- I'm feeling pretty good
about being able

To catch up this quick.

I can spend
the rest of this time

Getting this blade dialed in.

♪ ♪

- I'm wrapping up
the grinding cure,

And I decide, before I quench,

I want to give a little bit
of extra razzle-dazzle.

So I use the top
of the contact wheel

Just to add in some little
divots along the spine.

- Matt doesn't have
much time left.

Instead of adding work
to his blade,

He should be refining
what he's got.

- I'm finally ready
to quench this blade.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- Five, four, three, two, one.

Bladesmiths,
turn off your machines.

First round of this
competition is over.

- I'm feeling really good
about how it looks overall,

And I'm really praying
that I'm not wrong.

♪ ♪

- All right, gentlemen,
in the past three hours,

You sourced your materials
from a railroad track

And turned them into
mono steel signature blades.

The time has come
for the judges to decide

Which one of you
will not be joining us

In the second round
of competition

And which three of you
are moving forward.

Mark, you are up first.
Please present your work.

♪ ♪

- All right, so, mark,
right off,

A really bold choice to go
with this handle shape.

We haven't seen it
in competition before,

And I really like it.

This is a great-looking
short sword,

But you really need to get
onto these grinds.

You've got some fairly deep
hammer marks here

That I would love to see
more refined,

But anyway, good job.

- Thank you.

- John, you're up next.

Please present your work.

♪ ♪

- All right, john,
I like the design

That you came up with
for a nice chopper.

The handle fits
my hand perfectly,

But it seems a little bit small
when you have a heavy blade.

So when you pick up,
it wants to go forward,

And when you look at
that spine, it is very thick.

So if you move forward,
I'd really like to see you

Lighten this blade
because if you don't,

It might be hard to handle
or make it uncomfortable.

But overall, I like the look.

- Michael,
please present your work.

♪ ♪

- Michael, first off, you did
a really nice job on this.

If I ever get my wish

And get to be
in a horror movie,

I want to take this with me
'cause this would be perfect.

You not only gave us
enough height--

So if you bring that grind up,

You're gonna have fantastic
edge geometry for both tests--

But it's also not really heavy.

You got some deep hammer marks
that you need to clean up,

But overall, good job.

- Thank you.
- Matt, you're up now.

Please present your work.

♪ ♪

- All right, matt, right off,
when I pick this up,

What I feel is a lot of mass

Towards the front
of this blade.

Your handle right now is
a little on the long side,

In that my hand fits
behind that finger well.

Other than that,
I'd love to see all this work

You've done up here finished.

Finish those fullers out.

The sort of knapping
you did on that spine,

Get that finished out.

There's a light warp
up here at the tip.

If you move forward,
it's refinement

That this blade needs
more than anything,

But solid design.

Nicely done.

- Thank you.

- All right, gentlemen,

The first round
of this competition

Was a massive challenge,
and all four of you

Rose to the occasion
and turned in supersized blades

That meet parameters.

But as you know,
only three of you

Can join us in the second round
of this competition.

The bladesmith
leaving the forge is...

♪ ♪

Matt.

Unfortunately, your blade
did not make the cut,

And doug's gonna tell you why.

- Matt, you presented us
with a good blade,

But with the warp you had

And in comparison
to your competitors,

It is the least refined.

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

- Well, matt, we gave you
a difficult challenge,

And you definitely
stood up to it.

But unfortunately,
it just wasn't quite enough.

At this point in time,
I'm gonna have to ask you

To please surrender your work
and step off the forge floor.

- Yes, sir.

Being that this was
the supersized competition,

I'm overall very happy
with the way I tackled it.

- Good fight, bud.

- I can't wait to get
back home and figure out

What my next big project's
gonna be.

♪ ♪

- Well, gentlemen,
congratulations.

The three of you have made it
past the first round

And are moving
into the second round

Of this supersized competition,

Where you guys are gonna add
handles to your blades,

Turning them
into fully functioning weapons,

As well as fixing any issues
that our judges

Brought up to you
in your critiques.

Now, as far as
handle material goes,

You guys have to use wood.

Well, you probably notice,
the pantry

Is kind of looking
a little empty here.

So for handle materials
in this round,

You guys are gonna need this.

Gentlemen.

- Oh, no.
[chuckles]

♪ ♪

Oh.

♪ ♪

[laughter]

- When they bring that huge
6x6 out, I can't believe it.

This thing's enormous.

It's gonna be a real struggle.

- Gentlemen, what you see here
is a 6x6 beam of wood

That you all must use
to make your handles.

The second round of this
competition only comprised

Of two hours
to complete your blades,

Getting them fully assembled
and ready for testing.

Good luck,
because that time starts no.

♪ ♪

- What do you say we cut
three 10-inch pieces?

- Well, that is
one large piece of wood.

- You're gonna
have to work together.

There's no way to lift
that thing up,

Take it to the band saw,
and cut it

Without somebody holding
the other end.

- I'll grab it from the back.

This thing is massive.

Obviously we're going
to have to figure out

Some way to divvy it up,
because there's no way

I'm gonna handle that myself.

We come up with a plan
to get that thing

Over through the band saw.

- Well, they're all
working together,

And this should go
through like butter.

♪ ♪

- We might be competing
against each other,

But we're all trying
to help each other succeed.

Teamwork makes the dream work.

All right.

♪ ♪

- After we get the wood cut,
I go straight to grinding.

I just want to get
the final form shape down.

I want to lighten
this blade up.

- Michael's being
very vigilant,

Trying to get all those
hammer marks out of the blade.

He had a couple
pretty deep strikes,

But it looks like
he's making progress.

- Yeah.

♪ ♪

- I could probably make
20 handles

With the amount of wood
I'm starting with.

- John's blade, though it needs
to lose some weight,

Already has
some beautiful grinds on it.

In my opinion, it'd be
a really smart idea

For john to put that handle on
right now

Because by putting
the handle on now,

He can shape it
whenever he wants.

- There's two other guys
gonna need this drill press.

I don't want to wait for it.

I want to get my handle scales
on the machine

And ready to go
and get that done first.

- Looks like john might be
taking your idea to heart

And doing a handle first.

- Perfect.

- Good to go.

- Mark's still got some pretty
deep hammer marks in his blade.

I hope that he can get them
out of there without an issue.

- I hope mark can do it without
making his blade too light.

- Ah, there you go.

- We got a very aggressive test
in the railroad tie chop.

- I came up with an idea
to get my fuller in.

Fuller's gonna take up
some of the surface area,

Get out some
of those hammer marks.

It's gonna give it
a nice light feeling,

So it's gonna be
nice and nimble.

Happy with that.

♪ ♪

- Michael's gonna
break down that block

And start getting his
handle material figured out.

- I'm gonna go ahead
and take it over to the saw,

Get it close-cut
to the profile that I want

So I don't have to spend
a lot of time

Shaping it on the grinder.

- All right,
michael's doing good work.

I like that.

- I'm gonna want
to go ahead and get

This thing ready to glue up.

- Bladesmiths, you have
60 minutes remaining.

♪ ♪

- After the scales look done,
I set them aside.

Now I gotta address
the weight.

- You can see
some really heavy,

Even sparks coming out of john,

So he's definitely grinding
to lighten up that blade.

- He's talented
on the grinder, for sure.

♪ ♪

- That is a huge knife
michael's got.

- That thing is humongous.

[laughter]
I love it.

- Once the epoxy dries,
I gotta shape that handle.

- Michael's over there
doing some heavy contouring

On that handle.

- I kind of like the flair
he's got towards the front

Of the blade and the back,
just to kind of

Lock your hand right in there.

- Oh!

I do have a problem
with these belts gumming up.

Come on!

This is getting
a little frustrating.

I can't believe
I'm at this spot

And I can't get this handle
material to come off.

This is the end of the road.

♪ ♪

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

♪ ♪

In the supersized challenge,

And michael's running
into trouble

With the grinder over here.

- Come on!

I do have a problem
with these belts gumming up.

[groans]

- Michael just needs
to switch out that belt.

After five hours of competing,

Things just kind of slip
your mind.

- I switch belts.

- There you go.

- Now this handle's
coming along.

I think it'll be okay.

- It's time to finish
this handle up.

♪ ♪

If your handle
doesn't feel good,

It could definitely be
the difference

Between moving on
and getting sent home,

So I'm making sure
this handle is comfortable.

- John's handle looks
pretty small,

But he's got good contouring.

It's gonna be interesting
to see

How that feels
in your guys' hands.

- Pine is a really boring,
light-colored wood.

I want to make it stand out.

- John's got
the mapp gas there.

You think he's gonna
put some texture

Or charring on his handle?
- Yeah.

- Yeah, I like that.

- Next, put some oil on it
to really get this grain

To stand out and look great.

- Gentlemen, you have
15 minutes left.

♪ ♪

- I need to get this handle
trimmed and shaped.

The handle shape is
pretty unique on this one.

On all four sides, it has to
be pretty much symmetrical.

I have to really contour
that center handle grip

For a nice, comfortable swing.

- I really love the handle
style he's got on there.

It's nothing like
we've ever seen.

- Mark's design reminds me
a ton of the blade

I carried
when I was in the service.

That's got that squid handle.

- After I get
this thing shaped,

I'm gonna get
this thing sharp.

- Five, four, three, two, one.

Bladesmiths,
turn off your machines!

This round is over.

♪ ♪

- My blade isn't the biggest.

It doesn't have the most mas.

But it's still gonna chop.
It's still gonna cut.

♪ ♪

- Bladesmiths, welcome
to our strength test.

Today we'll be doing
the railroad tie chop.

♪ ♪

Michael, you're gonna go first.

You ready?
- Don't break my heart.

- I won't break your heart.
Maybe your knife, though.

- [laughs]

♪ ♪

I'm not too concerned
about my blade,

But I'm not really sure

About the handle material
staying on.

This soft wood seems
rather absurd

For a big knife like this.

♪ ♪

- [grunting]

♪ ♪

[laughter]

- That was fun.
Can I do more?

[laughter]

♪ ♪

- Michael, great job.

The handle,
the way you contoured it

On the top and the bottom,
my hand never moved.

And the fact that you've got
such a big blade

And it doesn't weigh a ton--

You can have a big blade
without it being a boat ancho,

And this is a good example.

Nice job.
- Thank you.

- All right, john,
you ready to go?

- I am.
- All right, let's do it.

♪ ♪

- I'm definitely worried
j. Is gonna break this.

J. Has a great reputation
of not holding back.

Got me a little nervous.

- [grunting]

♪ ♪

- All right, john,
I'm starting to think

We're making this testing
too easy.

Razor edge--
this is like a razor blade,

And it's still just as sharp.

Didn't do any damage
to the edge at all.

Otherwise, great job.
- Thank you, sir.

- How you feeling, mark?

- Uh, pretty good.
- Good? Okay.

Don't bust any buttons
on me, all right?

- Keep them to my chest.

- [laughs]

♪ ♪

- The fact that I got
to testing is one thing.

Now I have to see j.
Wailing with my knife

Onto a piece of railroad tie?

I'm gonna be biting
my teeth the whole way.

♪ ♪

[gasps]

- Now I have to see j.
Wailing with my knife

I'm gonna be biting
my teeth the whole way.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[gasps]

♪ ♪

- All right, mark,
a bit of a problem here.

When you quenched your blade,
you quenched it pretty hot.

If you look
at your grain structure,

It's basically silver sand,

And if you look right here,
on this spot right on the edge,

You got that dark mark.

It means you had
a stress fracture

That was already there.

And on the second piece,

You had another one
up at the spine,

So those are
your two break points.

Definitely a heat treat issue.

- [sighs]

♪ ♪

- Well, mark, you turned in
a beautiful blade

With an extremely unique
handle.

Wish it would have made it
all the way through testing,

But unfortunately, because
it broke into three pieces,

We consider that
a catastrophic failure

The forge floor.

Thank you.
- Good job, mark.

- Appreciate the work, man.

- My blade shattered
on first strike.

If I could've done
anything differently today,

It would've been to slow down

And just make sure
my temps were right.

I came here to have fun,
and that's what I did.

I'm still absolutely proud
of the work that I put in.

♪ ♪

- John, michael,
gentlemen, congratulations.

The two of you have made it
through the first two rounds

Of our competition
and are moving forward

Into the final round,
where you're heading back

To your home forges to build
an iconic weapon from history.

This is
the supersized competition,

So I'm sure you didn't expect
to come into this final round

And build something small.

Behind this curtain
is not only a blade

Too large to be
standing next to me,

This is the largest blade
we have ever asked

Bladesmiths to make
in the final round.

Gentlemen, in four days,
you will have to build this.

♪ ♪

- [exhales sharply]

- The grutte pier sword.

- During the 16th century,
a larger-than-life warrir

In the netherlands,
known to the locals

As grutte pier,
or the giant pier,

Wielded this massive sword
in battle.

Pier's size made him

The subject of folklore
and legend,

But the physical size of his
sword speaks for itself.

The 15-pound,
nearly 7-foot-tall sword

Is the largest european sword
ever to be used in combat.

As a mercenary and pirate,
grutte pier is believed

To have wielded
this weapon with ease,

Delivering devastating blows

To any enemy
that got in his way,

And it can be seen today

At the fries museum
in the netherlands.

- This massive sword measures
in at nearly 7 feet tall.

[laughing]
hey, you guys look terrifie.

[laughter]

- That's a beast.

This is gonna be
taller than me.

- Now, bladesmiths,
your blade length,

Measured from tip
to where the cutting edge ends

In a straight line,
needs to be between

59 and 61 inches.

It needs to be double-edged
with a medial ridge.

The cross guard and handle
both need to be

Between 18 and 20 inches long,

And it needs to have
a disk pommel

With a diameter
of at least 3 inches.

And our own dave baker
made this one,

So it can be done.

Now, guys, good luck.

You have four days to complete
your massive swords.

We will see you then.

♪ ♪

- It's day one.

We've got to build
a grutte pier sword.

My main focus is to turn
a 50-inch piece of 5160 steel,

Stretch that as long
as I possibly can,

And getting that
length parameter met.

This blade is so long,
I can only heat up

About 8 inches at a time
and press it,

And by that time,
it cools off too much.

So back to the forge again.

Just a very repetitive process.

As the steel's getting thinner,
it's drooping down.

Gravity is bending this.

♪ ♪

Now I just gotta hold it
till cools off enough,

'cause I'm scared
to even move it right now.

End of day one, I've got
the blade length to size.

Plan for tomorrow,
get it refined and quenched.

That was a struggle.

♪ ♪

- I think this challenge
will be difficult

Because of the size
of this blade.

But the tools that I have
are industrial-sized,

So I'm hoping this gives me
quite an advantage.

I'm gonna use
the 500-pound hammer

To draw the shape
and thin out the blade.

♪ ♪

I'm used to building
big stuff.

Some of my sculptures weigh
up to 6,500 pounds,

So this is in the realm
of what I'm used to working on.

My quench tank's buried
6 feet in the earth.

Here we go up this ladder.

This thing is huge.

♪ ♪

I think today went really well.

I'm ready to go have a beer.

♪ ♪

- Today I have
to get it quenched.

Prepping for this quench is
gonna take a little time.

I have three forges.

I can get nearly all that sword
in the forges at once.

This is a supersized
quench tank.

I've never used it yet.

We're gonna test it out today.

Quenching this,
I've never had to climb

Five rungs of a ladder.

Everything needs to go right

Because there's
not enough time

To do it all over again.

Hope for the best.

♪ ♪

- Quenching this,
everything needs to go right.

[dramatic music]

I didn't feel anything abnormal
when it quenched.

It is hard,
and most importantly,

It is straight.

I'm at the halfway mark.

I'm getting there.

♪ ♪

- Day three.

I got a lot
accomplished yesterday.

Guard, done. Pommel, done.

The plan for the day is
to grind a pound and a half

Off this blade.

When you grind,
that tends to warp the blad.

So I was back and forth
to straighten the blade.

Grinding, grinding,
and straightening, grinding.

That's what I got.

- It is the morning
of day four.

All the components are made.

Dry fit-up looked good.

Today's agenda,
some fine-tuning,

Glue up, and put an edge on it.

I like to epoxy
and clamp my handle on.

As far as this goes,
I want to do it vertical.

Being 6'3", apparently
that's not tall enough.

Let's put john on a ladder.

I got the pommel on.

All the components are there.

They just need
some finishing touches

And put an edge on it.

The blade, it is 100% complete.

I'm exhausted, but inside,
it feels wonderful.

The mother of all swords.

- Today I'm gonna get
going on this handle.

♪ ♪

Everything's coming out,
nice shape,

And I'm gonna start
the finish of the blade

And the guard and the pommel.

This includes a patina
to blacken the steel

To give it an aged look.

Everything's gonna look
like it's been used.

I just feel like,
being a pirate,

I mean, I don't think
he would have nice stuff.

I'm really happy with it.

I really got to hit
something with this.

I just can't let it pass.

♪ ♪

Nasty.

♪ ♪

- Well, john, michael,
gentlemen,

Welcome back to the forge.

You've spent the past
four days working

On the grutte pier giant sword.

And it just shows
how large they are--

We have to use four anvils
to display these blades.

Now, before we get
into testing,

We want to hear
about your blades.

So john, how'd it go for you?

- Ah, it went great.

The blade is 5160.

It's got a forged
cross guard, walnut handle,

And mild steel pommel.

- Awesome.
Michael, how about you?

How'd it go?
- It went excellent, thank you.

♪ ♪

8670 for the blade,
some 1045 for the guard,

And a forged bronze pommel
in 655.

- All right, gentlemen, keeping
in the supersized theme,

We're gonna put your blades
through a series

Of supersized tests,
and up first,

The keal test with doug.

♪ ♪

- Bladesmiths,
welcome to the keal test.

John, you are up first.

Are you ready?
- You know I'm ready.

- All right, let's do this.

♪ ♪

- It's so big.

- I recall probably three
swords shorter than this

Breaking on a pig,

And now we get to go
through two of them,

So hopefully nothing
terrible happens

To the blade, just the pigs.

♪ ♪

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

What I like is that you used
a nice, hefty counterbalanc,

Because despite being
a heavy sword like this,

It's wieldable.

The edges are sharp.

It cut deeply.

I like that the guard also
is not so massive

That it gets in the way,
and overall, it will keal.

- Awesome.
- All right, michael.

Your turn. You ready, sir?
- Yes, sir.

- Let's do this.

- I feel a little nervous
going into testing.

Worst-case scenario is,
it's gonna break.

♪ ♪

- I feel a little nervous
going into testing.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- All right, michael,
that's a beast,

But that's a beautiful beast.

Now, your edge is sharp.

That really cuts deep
into the pig carcass.

It is a nice, heavy weight,
but controllable,

And more importantly,
it will keal.

- Thank you, sir.

♪ ♪

- Gentlemen, it's time
for our strength test,

The sheet metal chop.

Now, there are three layers
of 20-gauge sheet metal

In each one of these things,
and, john, you're up first.

Are you ready for this?
- I am.

- Okay.

♪ ♪

- [grunting]

♪ ♪

All right, john,
very nice job on this sword.

It's got a good weight to it.

The blade itself,
there are some slight rolls,

But it's still plenty sharp.

One comment I might have is
that the blade's lean enough

That it's very flexible.

When I pick it up,
that tip kind of drops,

Maybe 3 inches of flex.

You start to swing that blade,

You don't know
where that tip's gonna g.

It's flopping around,
but it did its job.

Well done.
- Thank you.

- All right, michael,
you ready for this?

- Give it hell.
- Oh, good,

'cause this is so much fun.

[laughs]

♪ ♪

[grunting]

♪ ♪

All right, michael,
balance point,

Right where I freaking want it.

It's a little bit more
of a firm blade.

It doesn't quite wiggle
as much.

As far as damage,
just the very edge has rolled,

But I would not drag my finger
down that edge.

It would still open me up.

You knocked it out of the park.
Well done.

- Thank you.

♪ ♪

- All right, bladesmiths,
this is the sharpness test,

The watermelon
and water jug slice.

♪ ♪

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

- I am.
- All right, let's do thi.

♪ ♪

All right, john, let's talk
about your blade here.

The edge,
it cut the first watermeln

Cleanly, and then just wobble--

So much wobble in this.

As dave said, there's just
so much flex in this blade,

You don't know
where the tip is gonna go,

And that's what happened
in the watermelon slice.

On the water jugs, clean cut.

Even the tops are still there
wondering what happened.

Overall, your grutte pier,
it'll cut.

- Thank you.
- Michael, your turn, sir.

You ready?
- You bet.

- All right, let's do this.

♪ ♪

All right, michael, let's talk
about your blade here.

First up,
on the watermelon slice,

Much easier.

Not much flex
on the blade here,

So it's easy to just keep it
and just let it drop

And let it do its work,
and it cut all the way through.

On the water jug slice,
it did cut.

Overall, your sword,
it will cut.

- Thank you.

- That was pretty rad.

♪ ♪

All right, gentlemen,
in this supersized competition,

We gave you a task on a scale

Unlike anything we've ever seen
before in this forge.

And the blades you brought
back here impressed all of us.

But as you know,
only one of you can take home

The title
of "forged in fire" champion

And get that check
for 10 grand.

And the judges did make
a final decision.

Today's "forged in fire"
champion is...

♪ ♪

Michael. Congratulations.

But john, you gave us
an unbelievable blade,

But it missed
by just this much,

And dave's gonna tell you why.

- John, this decision
really came down

To the extreme flexibility
of your blade.

That's why
we're letting you go.

- John, you are
an unbelievable smith,

But unfortunately your time
in this competition has ended.

I'm gonna have to ask you
to please step off

The forge floor.
- I had a blast.

Thank you, guys.
- Thank you, john.

- I'm happy it made it
through all the tests.

This being
the supersized challenge,

I didn't want to make
an ordinary sword,

And this obviously blows
ordinary swords

Out of the water,

So it was fun to get
the opportunity to make thi.

♪ ♪

- Well, michael, that makes you
the "forged in fire" champion.

You're taking home
a check for $10,000.

Well done, man.
- Whoo!

I'm "forged in fire" champion!

This is the first blade
I've ever forged of this size.

I'm very proud
of my performance.

It's very important to me
to share the craft

And to educate people
and make some badass swords.

[laughs]

♪ ♪