All language subtitles for Forged.in.Fire.S10E03.720p.WEB.h264-EDITH_Subtitles01

[dramatic music]

- Over the years,
we've seen hundreds of smiths

walk through our doors
to compete

for a chance of becoming
a Forged in Fire champion.

- Oh, yeah!

- But now, for the first time,

we're going to them.

♪

- We're scouring
the bladesmithing hotbeds

of America looking
for the country's best shops

and their top smiths.

Just like how barbecue
is different in St. Louis

than it is in Texas,
blacksmiths have

unique styles
and techniques that originate

from the shop they call home.

Each week, one of our judges

will travel to one
of the nation's top forges

to put their local style
to the test

and handpick
their top bladesmith

to come back
to our home forge,

where each forge's champion
will battle

for $20,000 for themselves
and $10,000

of forging equipment
for their shop.

- It's anyone's game.

- This is "Forged in Fire:
On the Road."

♪

[upbeat rock music]

Today, we've traveled
over 800 miles south

to one of the country's
most prolific

knife-making regions
with Ben Abbott.

- America is home to some
of the finest

blacksmith shops in the world.

But the forge I chose
combines two

of the things I love the most,
functionality and beauty.

Today, we're heading to the
Clay Spencer Blacksmith Shop

in Brasstown, North Carolina.

Located in the Appalachians,
knives and tools

have been relied on
for centuries in this region

for everything
from hunting game

to harvesting their thousands
of acres of crops

like cotton and tobacco.

And today, some of the
country's top metalworkers

call it home.

Now three of their top smiths
will compete to represent both

this shop and me
for a chance at becoming

a Forged in Fire champion.

♪

- My name is Jesse Bolding.

I'm 26 years old.

And I'm honored to be here.

My connection to this place is
I get to assist teaching here,

and I get to do armor classes

and basic blacksmithing
and stuff.

I just get to absorb
as much as I can here.

I want to compete
in "Forged in Fire"

and represent the shop,

and I just will give
my best effort.

♪

- I'm Cole Recchia.

I'm 28 years old.

Blacksmithing is my
full-time career.

I love my job, and I wouldn't
have it any other way.

About two years ago, the Clay
Spencer Blacksmith Shop

had a fellowship position open.

And I feel like my time here
has definitely

made me a better blacksmith.

And I'm excited to see
what that means here.

♪

- My name is Jason Bevans.

I am 51 years old.

I've been bladesmithing
since I was 12,

so I've been doing it for 30--

35--I'm 51, so 19--
no, no, 30--

39? 39?

I can't even do math.

[laughs]

It's a great honor to be here

at the Clay Spencer
Blacksmith Shop.

I've known Clay
for years through

the Appalachian Area
Chapter of Blacksmiths.

There's a long history
of bladesmithing

and blacksmithing
in the Appalachian area.

Yeah, we're definitely
people that take pride

in making good products.

- Well, bladesmiths,
blacksmiths, we are extremely

excited to be joining you here.

You three have been handpicked
as some of the best smiths

the region has to offer.

Today, we're being hosted
by someone who needs

no introduction to you,
an award-winning metal artist

and the coordinator here
at the metal shop,

Elizabeth Belz.

And judging this competition
is the person

you'll be representing
in the finals,

our extremely talented
blacksmith

and bladesmith Ben Abbott.

Now, Ben chose this forge
because it's known

for its ornate blacksmithing,

so make 'em proud.

♪

The three of you are here
to compete in

two rounds
of forging competition.

Now, there will be
an elimination at the end

of each one of those rounds,

including after the final round

of testing back
at our home forge.

But whichever one of you
comes out on top,

you will join us
back at our home forge

for the final leg
of this tournament.

Now, in that final round,
you will go up

against three other smiths
that we pick up

across America on our travels.

There are high stakes here.

If one of you three wins out
in this tournament,

you will take home
a personal check for $20,000.

To make the deal
a little bit sweeter,

this forge will also get up
to $10,000 worth

of forging equipment
and supplies.

- I want to give what this
place has given me back to it.

And with $10,000,
it would help them a lot.

Like, a hydraulic press.

Tons of things that could
just be really helpful here.

- Now we're gonna start off
with a five-hour forging round

where you're gonna build
a blade from start to finish.

Now, as you know, this shop
is all about passing down

historic blacksmithing
knowledge to keep

that ancient art alive,

and because of that,

we want you to build this.

♪

A traditional
blacksmith's knife,

a weapon that combines
both ornamental metalwork

and a functional blade.

- I have made lots
of blacksmith's knives,

but I'm kind of intimidated
making a blade

for these people
because they know

what to look for,
they know what's good.

So hopefully,
I don't let them down.

- Now, what makes this
a blacksmiths knife is

its integral construction,
meaning that

both the blade and the handle

are all forged from
a single piece of metal.

Your blade length will need
to be between 9 and 11 inches

from tip to where the cutting
edge ends in a straight line.

Now, blacksmiths,
because Belz is so well-known

for ornate metal work,

we want you
to incorporate artistry

into your blade handles.

To make this blade, you've
got one bar of W1 round stock,

so use it wisely.

Now, when the five hours is up,
we're gonna start off

by checking for strength
and durability

in a blacksmith's tong chop,
then check your edge retention

in a pumpkin slice.

You have five hours
on the clock.

So good luck, and stay sharp.

Your time starts now.

[rock music]

- Whoo!

- Belz, explain to me
this setup

you have here in the shop.

- Yeah.

So we have 12 separate coal
forges around the shop.

- I didn't think about
the fact that these guys

have to actually start
the coal forges.

- Some of my favorite parts
about this competition

are that the coal forge
is not gonna be

the detriment it often is.

We do a lot of
these competitions.

You reveal the coal forge, and
all the contestants are like...

[groaning]

Come on.

Another thing I love
about these forges

is they don't have those
little hand-crank blowers,

that they sit there
like an organ grinder.

- Little turbo engines.

- These all have one blower
outside that

feeds a lot of these forges
all at the same time.

- Nowhere near enough paper.

- Here, he gave me an extra.

- Thank you, sir.

- You've got people coming in

from all over the world, right?

- Yeah, even blacksmiths

who have been smithing
for years

come up here to take classes,
which is really great.

- It probably gets
pretty crazy in here

when you have a full team of
12 smiths and you're working.

- Yeah, and my office
is right above them.

- Oh.
- Oh, boy.

- Oh, no.

- I'm very confident
burning coal.

I've been using it
for years and years.

And I'm excited
to use it today.

- When we bring smiths
into our shop,

you always see them
running around confused

like their pants are on fire.

- I'm just running around like
one of my cartoon characters,

like a chicken without a head.

- I'm digging around
in everything.

I just can't seem
to find the all thread.

Is it right in
front of my face?

I feel so dumb right now.

- But now we've got
three smiths in front of us

who are very comfortable
in this space.

And it's really fun
to see them work.

- But to be fair, sometimes
their pants are on fire.

- Yeah.

- [laughs]

- Tool's on fire.

- Oh, my God.

♪

- Seems that Cole's coal forge
is the hottest right now.

- Cole's rolling.

- I'd be a lot more nervous
at the judge's forge

than I am here
in the Clay Spencer Shop.

And I think some
of my experience

in the shop here
in the past will help me

as we go into the challenge.

- So, Ben, why did you choose
this shop?

- I chose this forge
because of my own work.

I also take pride in making
things ornate and beautiful,

and this shop
exemplifies that.

I think whoever wins here
today will represent me well.

- It's surreal to see Grady,
to see Ben,

walking around
my old stomping grounds.

I've got butterflies
in my stomach.

I'm freaking out. I'm sweating.

I just want to represent

Clay Spencer Blacksmith Shop
well.

Oh, struggling getting
this fire started.

- With only five hours
to make a blacksmith blade,

not able to get past
that first hurdle

of getting your forge lit--

got to be frustrating.

- My students are mad at me.

I can hear them right now
because I yell at them

to get their forges
started right,

and I can't even get mine
started right, right now.

So stressing in my head
a little bit.

You got skills, Mr. Cole.

You're showing me up.

I see it.

- I gave him my extra paper.

- Lots of paper.

- I know.

I know.

- I want Jesse and Cole
to do well

because they're great guys.

But I want to do better.

[laughs]

- Why do blacksmiths prefer
sometimes the coal forge?

- I mean, if you think about
it, anything in history

that you saw made out
of iron or steel--

huge gates at Versailles
or whatever--

was done in a forge like this.

- I'm starting to sweat
and get hot.

That's why I got a do-rag.

I'm bald-headed,
so I got to have something

keeps sweat out of my eyes.

♪

- [bleep].

- Oh, no.

Did Jason's go out?

- Yep.

- Ugh.

Oh, crap.

Can't get my fire started.

[laughs]

I told my friends and family
I would do my best

to not embarrass myself
or them.

I normally don't have trouble
starting a fire.

It's kind of embarrassing.

Lots more.

Lots more.

So here I go, panicking.

I hope the coals start burning.

Burn.

There we go.

So I finally got my fire going.

Hopefully this is the only
embarrassment I will have.

If that's it, then I'm okay.

♪

- We're in the Appalachian
Mountains right now.

Do you think there's
anything about that

that affects
the style of the work

that comes out of the shop?
- Oh, yeah.

They made farming equipment,
like plow blades.

They made things they needed
to work in the fields.

It was all utilitarian stuff.

- A lot quieter in this forge.
- Shh.

- Typically,
you've got screaming.

- [laughs]

[machine pounding]

- Oh, [bleep].

That's scared the [bleep]
of me.

How the heck is Cole already
heated and on the hammer?

- Cole has probably
the most experience in coal.

- My first move is
to forge my round bar

into a rectangular billet

so I can more easily
hold on to it.

And then from there, I want
to forge my knife end first.

- What's with
the googly-eyed guy?

- [laughs]

- I mean, googly eyes just
make everything better.

- Tend to agree with that.

- Everything is going
pretty well so far,

but I'm definitely feeling
the pressure of the clock.

So I hope I can get it done
in time.

- Bladesmiths,
you've got four hours remaining

to finish your blades.

- [laughs]

- We call that
the bladesmith's finger.

- Yeah.

- Jesse's still struggling
to get the coal lit.

- Ugh.

Going insane.

It's been a whole hour of me

just wasting time at this fire.

And I can see that
Cole is already

going to the power hammer.

He's got plenty good heat.

And I look over and Jason
has got plenty of good stuff.

I'm stressing I'm gonna be
out of this competition,

and I haven't even put
my foot in the door.

I got to get it started.

- For the first time ever,
"Forged in Fire"

is hitting the road
to find the best

bladesmiths across America.

And today, we're in
Brasstown, North Carolina,

with Ben Abbott,
and the competition is fierce.

Jesse is still fighting
the coal.

The other two smiths are
back and forth

on the power hammer
getting to work.

- I really got
to get a move on.

I really got to get started.

I'm hoping and praying
for this to get started.

I'm stressing

I'm gonna be out
of this competition,

and I haven't even put
my foot in the door.

I gotta get it started.

- What's that lever
up on the top of it,

like the on/off switch?

- That controls
the amount of air

they're getting
from the blower.

It's the twear.

- Looks like he's using
that now, and it's working.

He's got a good flame going.

- Got a little bit, but I
just hope it doesn't go out.

- You just gotta believe.

- I got fire!

Hooray!

The fire gods blessed me.

I'm so happy.

- All right.

Jesse's fire's up
and running, finally.

- I'm just so glad
that it got started.

I hopefully am gonna keep
this fire too.

- I'm in the races now.

I don't feel like
I'm out of the game,

but I definitely have
a lot of catching up to do.

- Something I really love
about this shop is

that everywhere you look,

you've got things like
the entryway.

You've got the ends
of these beams up here.

Everything is not only
blacksmith themed,

but it seems like a lot of it
was made by the blacksmiths

in the shop itself.

- Yeah.

All of our signage is forged
in the shop,

the toilet paper holders,
the towel holders in the room.

- Toilet paper holders?
- Yeah.

- That'd be my luck.

Hey, I'm here to help.

Make a toilet paper holder.

- You're the plunger guy.

- But how?

- Power hammers are awesome.

Who wouldn't love to take
a piece of steel

and just smash
the crap out of it?

[laughs]

- Jason is starting
with the blade,

drawing back the length.

- The more mass you have after
finishing the blade, the more

options you have to make...
- I got it.

- The handle of your dreams.

- You don't want to work
yourself into a corner

where you have to do
a specific handle style.

- The tests are
we're going to chop some tongs

and slice some pumpkins.

Chopping into tongs
is absolutely scary

because it is metal on metal,

so it is going to do
some damage.

- The tong chop--
that's so mean, Ben.

They put this beautiful
blacksmith's knife together,

and I'm gonnna swing it
as hard as I can

into a pair of tongs.

- Better than a hammer,
I guess.

Or torpedo.

- Oh, [bleep].

- This here is what
you call a KSO--

Knife-Shaped Object.

[laughs]

- I'm a little behind
schedule, I think.

I'm trying to draw out
my knife.

And I'm gonna draw out
that tang.

- These guys don't just have to
stand out above the other two

competitors in this forge.

Whichever one of them comes
out on top of these two rounds

is gonna have to come back
to our forge

and battle three other smiths

that we picked up
around America.

- Yeah.

- There's a ton
on the line here.

- I'm doing a lot
of hand hammering because

I don't like to use
the power hammers.

So I'm in my lane.

I'm trying to flourish.

- This doesn't strike me
as a blade

that you can get away with
just drawing out a blank

and grinding a finish.

There is gonna be
a ton of hammer work.

- Yeah.

As a matter of fact,
when I did mine,

it was about 10 minutes
on the grinder.

- Really?

So hammer skills are
pretty important in getting

ahead of the game on this?

- My knife feels good.

I am not as worried now.

I feel like I have a chance.

[humming]

[rock music]

- My favorite part about this
competition is the handle.

The handle is a blank slate.

You can do anything you want.

And I want to see
something fun.

- Yeah.

- What would you do?

- Oh, I'd put a bug
on the end of it.

I know a scorpion isn't
technically a bug,

but a scorpion tail would
be a pretty sweet handle.

- It's an arachnid.

- Go home, Ben.

- [laughs]

- So generally, on a
blacksmith's knife's handle,

you would form a taper
and wrap it around.

But for my handle,

I want to do something
a little different,

and I want
to slot punch a hole

down the length of the handle

and then drift that out to form
a more ergonomic handle.

- One thing that I don't
like about what Cole is doing

is when you split
that handle in the middle,

it puts part of that handle
above the spine of the blade

and you end up with that
blade that's offset

to where the handle usually is.

- I think this is looking
kind of cool.

- Cole's knife looks like
a half a pair of scissors.

- Yeah. Yeah.
- It really does.

That's exactly what it is.

- I'm wondering if the handle
is decorated or not.

And maybe I'll change
my mind later

and twist it after
it's been heat treated.

But as of now, I'm gonna
leave this as it is.

Which might be a bad idea.

Who knows?

Time will tell.

- Bladesmiths, you have
half the time remaining.

Two and a half hours
till we're finished.

♪

It looks like he left
a little glob at the end.

- Yeah.

- Now that I've got
the blade drawn out,

I'm feeling pretty good.

For the artistic touch,
I'm going to try

to do a leaf on the end
and curl that around

and have the leaf come up
as a guard.

It's important to me
for it to be ornate.

For one, it hopefully shows
off some of my craftsmanship.

And I hope that it will set
me apart from the competition.

- So we got the answer
to the glob

at the end of Jason's handle.

It looks like he's turning it
into a leaf shape.

- Okay.

- So that's a very traditional
blacksmith thing to do.

- Yeah.

- Isn't it just lovely?

So I got my leaf made.

It looks great.

And then I start
folding it around.

Yeah, I got too much.

So now I'm starting
to sweat it.

It's like, man,
I put all this time and effort

into making this leaf.

I've lost that time.

But if I leave this leaf,
it's gonna be way too long.

- Jason is cutting that leaf

off the tail of his knife
right now.

- That's not good.

- The artistic add-on has to be
in the final product.

- Yeah.

- I put all this time and
effort into making this leaf,

and now I'm not gonna use it.

So I have to think
of something else

to have that
decorative element.

- Can you put
that leaf back on?

- I think he needs
to "leaf" it right there.

- Oh, come on.

- [laughs]

- I didn't know
Doug was on this episode.

- Yeah.
[laughter]

- So we got a farrier,
a jeweler, and a welder

walk into a bar.

- Was it a metal bar?

- Oh, wow.

Oh.

Check, please.

- Jesse's transitioning
from that blade section

to the handle,
and he's drawing it out.

- I'm going to make
a single twist

on the back of the spine,

and then I'm going
to wrap it around

decoratively to where
it'll curl up to kind of create

as a guard in itself.

Even though
it's not super flashy,

it's something that
fits parameters

that I know I can do.

- Wonderful,
wonderful, wonderful.

I really like the twist
in Jesse's handle.

It gives that artistic flair
we're looking for,

and he was able to execute it
relatively quickly.

- So it looks like Jason just
heated up a piece of metal,

and now he's heating up
the oil.

- It gets thinner
when you heat it,

and it cools things
more rapidly.

- Interesting.

So this is a smart move?
- Yeah.

- It starts to smell like
French fries in here now.

Somebody could have
bought some.

We could have us a French fry.

- Jason's making lunch
for everybody.

What are we eating today,
Jason?

- Oh, I got some
eyeball stew here.

- Great.

- Jason's famous chili.

- I'm full.

- It's quench time.

I'm getting ready
to harden my piece.

- A good quench and heat treat
is vital for this.

We chop tongs with
these things, you know?

You can't get away
with mediocre heat treat.

- Basically,
anything can go wrong.

And we've just got
to hope for the best.

- Here we go. All right.
Cole's in the oil.

- Yeah.

♪

- I think that's good.

After the quench,
I need to sharpen the blade.

It's a long process,
but it's got to be done,

and it's the most important.

- You know, Grady,
I really wish

Cole would focus more
on the artistry aspect

of this challenge--
it's pretty plain.

- At this point, just
making a blacksmith's knife

isn't enough.

All right, bladesmiths.

30 minutes remaining.

- So you have that
decorative element.

Plan B is forge out a finial.

- This is a smart move.

- Yeah.

Very purposeful hammer work.

- I can talk to you
for days about finials,

because I've made
a bunch of them.

I don't have time
to talk about that,

because I've got to get
mine quenched.

I just basically want
to use these hot coals.

And I'm just gonna ride it
back and forth in the coals.

Then it'll be go time.

I'm scared to death
it's gonna crack

or I'm gonna hear a tink
or something.

Hopefully, all those molecules
in the steel and the grain

in the steel will realign
itself and do its magic thing

and, poof, Bob's your uncle,
and there's your blade.

[laughs]

- Jason's quenched too, now.

- So far, I'm good.

Great.

- Jesse is the only smith
left to quench his blade.

♪

- Quenched that blade
way too hot.

When it's that hot
when you go for the quench,

you run a bigger risk
of cracking, warping,

- Whoo!

Now I got to make sure
that all these components

are just right.

♪

- I'm really impressed
with all these smiths today.

I feel really confident
that any one of them

will represent me
and this shop really well

and could win the whole thing.

- Trying to use what little
time I have to make it better.

And I've got, you know,

pretty good-sized
sausages here,

so kind of take a peek
over at Ben.

I don't know if my hands
are the same size,

but anyway, I think I'm okay
as far as how the fit

and finish and feel goes.

That'll do, donkey.

It's a great honor to be able
to compete and represent Ben

and the Appalachian region.

♪

- I can't unsee the scissors.

- [laughs]
- You've ruined it.

- You're welcome.

- It's done.

- Now we're just trying
to put some file marks

along this back side of
the handle to give it

kind of like an artistic flair.

- What do you guys think
of Cole's artistic addition

to his blade?

- Minimalist.

- Yeah.

- The art is in the eye
of the beholder, technically.

- Well, in this case,
it's in the eye of the judges.

- Yeah.

[scraping]

- It is a good way to get
ahead of your opponents,

to make that noise
over and over again.

- Not me.

- Like a mean cricket.

[rock music]

- 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Bladesmiths, turn off
your machines.

Put down your tools.
This round is over.

- I'm done.

And I'm satisfied.

I am not excited to get
to see this thing tested,

because no bladesmith
wants to see

their blade put through
destructive,

devastating torture.

And all I can do is hope that
it withstands Ben's cutting.

[laughs]

[dramatic music]

- Bladesmiths,
welcome to the dynamic

strength and sharpness test.

First, to test the strength
of your blades,

I'll be bashing them
into this pair of tongs.

And then to test
the edge retention

and the overall feel,

I'll be cutting
into these gourds.

Jesse, you're up first.
You ready?

- Yes, sir.

- All right.

♪

- I'm horribly nervous.

Knives are absolutely
not intended to be

pounded into tongs.

My heart's absolutely
beating out of my chest.

Is it gonna perform?

Is it gonna chip?

Is it gonna explode?

I'm just freaking out
right now.

♪

- My heart's absolutely
beating out of my chest.

I'm nervous.
I'm stressing.

I think the worst-case scenario
is, it's gonna explode.

The handle's gonna be
uncomfortable.

There's so many issues
that I'm just

kind of thinking about
over my head.

♪

♪

- [groans]

♪

All right, Jesse.

Starting off, it's got
a good look to it.

I mean, it's a classic
blacksmith-looking knife.

Main thing for me, though,
is that the edge,

in the testing,
took a lot of chipping.

It's possible
that the steel was

a little too hot
during the quench,

which can do some stuff.
But it held up.

It's just now
a serrated knife.

Moving back to your handle,
the soft twists and the curl--

it's cool.

It's really neat.

All in all, it's
all in one piece.

Still straight.

Nice job.

- Thank you.

- All right, Cole.
You're up next.

You ready?
- Yeah.

- All right.

- So I'm seeing
Jesse's knife chipped,

and my heart's
starting to beat.

I'm getting a little nervous
'cause I know

there's gonna be
some destruction

when they chop
into those tongs.

The edge could chip.
It could crack.

It could fold over.

The handle could break in half.

Really, anything
could go wrong.

♪

♪

- All right, Cole.

Well, first off,
looking at this knife,

it's not the most artistic
expression that I've seen.

I wish it had a bit more flair,
a bit more artistry.

Moving on to your blade,
the edge did

end up taking some chipping.

And then back here, there's
actually rolls that I can

get my fingernail underneath.

It did affect the cutting
in the cut test.

As I cut down to the gourds,

I could feel the resistance
pretty rapidly.

But at the end of the day,
nice job.

- Thanks.

- All right, Jason.
You're up next. You ready?

- I'm about to vomit,
but go ahead.

- All right.
This'll be fun, then.

♪

- After seeing Jesse
and Cole's knives

take the damage
that they took,

I'm very concerned
that mine will too.

My brain, I'm screaming,

"It's gonna break!
It's gonna break!

I'm sorry." [laughs]

♪

Here we go, fellers.

♪

♪

- All right, Jason.

That handle is
really cool looking.

I like the offset
square corners.

I like the way that the curl
matches into the front.

And it has the added benefit
of being

comfortable and easy to hold.

The edge--
it took some chipping.

None of these
have rolled in any way.

It's just chipped out.

You know, you put a real fine
edge on it, which is great.

But this is W1 steel going
against tong handles.

Maybe a more robust edge
would have been

the right choice here.

But it's all here.

It looks great.

Nice job.

- Thank you, sir.

♪

I think we all tested equally,

so it's anybody's game
at this moment.

But hopefully, overall,
my design of my handle

will stand out above the rest

and at least keep me
going forward.

♪

- All right, gentlemen.

I've got to say,
it's been an absolute joy

to join you here at the
Clay Spencer Blacksmith Shop

and watch you work.

You're all three
very talented smiths.

But this is a competition,

which means that we can only
take two of you on

to the next leg.

The bladesmith
leaving The Forge is...

♪

Cole.

Unfortunately, your blade
did not make the cut.

And Ben's gonna explain why.

- Well, Cole, watching
you work out there,

it's very obvious to me that
you're a very talented smith.

But all three of these blades
performed about equally

in the testing, so we had
to take a closer look

at the craftsmanship
and the artistry

that we asked for.

And yours fell just
a little short

of that of your opponents.

And that's why
we're letting you go.

- Well, Cole, it's been
an absolute pleasure.

But unfortunately, your time
in this competition has ended.

I'm gonna have to ask you
to please step

off the testing floor.

♪

- I'm proud of the work
I put out.

I think I, you know,
tried my best.

I did what I could.

And ultimately,
it just wasn't up to the cut.

The other competitors
are great blacksmiths.

They're great bladesmiths.

I think that these guys
have a good chance

of winning the whole thing.

I hope they do,
because it would be awesome

to give back $10,000

to the Clay Spencer
Blacksmith Shop.

♪

- Jesse, Jason.
Gentlemen, congratulations.

You guys are moving forward
in the second round

of this competition,
which means that one of you

has the potential
of going all the way

to the final round
of the tournament

and taking home
a check for $20,000.

And this shop right here
will get up

to $10,000 worth of forging
equipment and supplies.

Now, typically, at this point,

I'd be asking you to go home
for four days

to build an iconic weapon
from history.

But because you're blacksmiths,

I want you to build
an iconic tool.

Gentlemen, we want you
to build this.

♪

- I'm freaking out over here.

- Gentlemen, we want you
to build this.

♪

A four-tined pitchfork.

♪

The four-tined pitchfork
was first created

by European farmers
during the Middle Ages,

and remains
a popular agrarian tool

in the Appalachian region.

Featuring long, pointed tines
made for stabbing and pitching

piles of hay,
peasants also discovered

they were sharp enough
to inflict deadly stabs

and thrusts
against the upper classes

during uprisings and riots.

The pitchfork was instrumental
in the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion,

where farmers and distillers
in Western Pennsylvania

raised arms in protest
of a federal whiskey tax.

♪

The overall length will need
to be between 68 and 70 inches.

The width of your pitchfork
needs to be between 5 1/2

and 6 1/2 inches.

And each of those four tines
needs to be

between 11 and 13 inches long.

- Like, what in the world?
A pitchfork?

I am a bladesmith.

I am not a pitchfork-smith.

But now the gauntlet is
thrown down, I have to do it,

and I'll do it.

Here we go.

Let's go home
and make a pitchfork.

[laughs]

- Even though
you both represent

Clay Spencer Blacksmith Shop,

you will each go back
to your own home forges

to make this tool.

Now, guys, you're both
extremely talented smiths

and artists, so we
expect two pitchforks

that an angry villager
would be proud to wield.

Good luck, guys.

We'll see you back
at our forge in four days.

- All right, buddy.

♪

- I really like working at the
John C. Campbell Folk School.

It's kind of like
my second home.

But I feel pretty good
coming back to my home forge.

I really hope I represent
Ben Abbott

and the Appalachian area well.

And I hope that my home team

of the John C. Campbell
Blacksmith Shop--

I hope they're really looking
forward to see what I do.

♪

Right now, I'm forging
down in between the tines

and the socket
first, because I feel

like if I do that
and then cut the tines,

I could spend more time
on the tines

and they won't be in my way.

I'm gonna be doing it
out of 5160 spring steel

that we recycled from a car.

I don't know how much material
I'm gonna need,

so I'm gonna use just kind
of all this to start off with.

I definitely don't need
this much,

but I want to try to give me
a little bit room of error.

I don't know exactly if it's
getting to where it's

supposed to be,
but I'm definitely feeling good

about where I am in comparison
to where I started.

[laughs]

- It would be
an absolute honor to represent

the Appalachian area
and the Clay Spencer Shop.

So I've got to figure out
some way to make a pitchfork.

Today, the main goal is
to get the socket made.

I've got to get the seam
on the socket right,

'cause if you don't,
it can split open,

and it could basically come
out of the handle.

It'll look okay.

Whenever it's done, you
won't even be able to see it.

All these welds
will be ground away.

Now that I've got it welded,
next step:

I gotta get
these tines cut out.

So it'll be a while.

All right.
It's the end of the day.

I got my goal reached,
and I'm done, and I'm tired.

That's the end.

Ready for tomorrow, day two.

♪

- It's the morning of day two.

My plan for today is I'm going
to establish my pitchfork

to what it should be.

I got to make sure
this is right.

I really want to focus
on getting

the lines equal to each other.

If I have one tine bigger
than the other one,

it's gonna make it awkward,

and I'll have to do
a lot more forging on it.

I like it.

After I get
all of the lines equal,

I want to start chiseling
down and fullering,

spreading out those tines.

Starting.

Push those open just a little.

I don't want
to stretch them too much.

I don't know how far
it'll stretch.

So I want to keep just
doing that nice and slow.

I don't want to overheat it
or even work it too cold,

because I might put
in some stress crack

that I won't be able to see
or know about until later.

It's a slow process,
but I'm getting there.

Feel pretty good
about my progress.

I accomplished a lot, I think.

I feel pretty confident with
all of the things I did today.

Slowly but surely, it
looks like a pitchfork.

[scoffs]

♪

- Day three.

Yesterday, I quenched.

I'm really excited about that.

Yeah.

Today, I want to try to make
a snake

out of twisted Damascus.

In the forge we go.

And then I'll have
the snake coming up

and wrapped around the handle.

So that'll be a nice
little decorative touch.

♪

Clay Spencer Blacksmith Shop--
they're mostly known

for ornamental iron works.

Hopefully, I'll make
everybody proud.

And I hope that it will set me
apart from the competition.

Now, I don't like that.

So now that I've got
the shape overall,

it looks like a straight snake.

But I want the snake
to be curled up

and wrapped around the handle.

And it split.

It broke.

By this time,
I'm getting pretty mad.

♪

And it split.
It broke.

Yeah, I'm sitting there
looking at it,

and it looks like
a piece of hot garbage.

Can't do anything with it.

I need something that
can put me over the top

against my competition.

So I start looking at it.

And then I put some bluing
on the pitchfork.

And it makes it look
a little different,

a little better.

That set it off.

I think it looks
really cool now.

♪

- It's the morning of day four.

On day three,
I got the heat treat

and the quench really good.

It's looking okay so far.

Hooray!

I have to get the handle
done today.

Pitchfork has to be artistic,

so I want to do
a fractal burning

because I hope to represent
my home team

of the John C. Campbell
Folk School.

Fractal burning--it's
a little box

with a neon power supply

with essentially,
like, metal nails.

If done right,
it looks really cool.

It's a slow process.
You just turn on the power.

It does its thing.

Don't touch it.

Turn it off.

Move it.

Turn it back on.

I like the build.

Torch and pitchfork.

Hooray!

I really hope I didn't let
my family

at John C. Campbell down.

I know Belz will hit me
with a piece of steel.

I know it.

She's vicious, that Belz.

But I love her.

I need a person beside me
for the photo.

♪

- Day four.

I am just about done.

Everything's looking great.

So time to move on
to the handle.

Okay.
Here we go.

So this thing has
such a good fit,

it's really hard to get in.

Basically forcing
and forcing and forcing,

and it ain't going.

Are you kidding me?

All I can do is
just ram her home.

Just hope it don't break.

Because if it breaks,
man, I'm going

to be in a world of trouble.

And there's no way
I can start over at this point.

♪

It's there.

I got my handle together.

I'm basically done.

So now I gotta test
this thing out.

Enemy watermelon spotted.

Here we go.

Oh!

That took his head off.

[giggles] Yah!

I'm really excited to go back
to the Forged in Fire forge.

I feel pretty confident that
whatever they test it on,

it will survive.

[laughs]

♪

- Well, Jesse, Jason, Belz,
welcome to our forge.

After four days of you putting
together four-tine pitchforks,

I gotta say,
they look fantastic.

But we've got to find out
now which one of you

will be going forward into the
final leg of this tournament,

still in the fight for $20,000
to go into your pocket,

and an additional $10,000
worth of forging equipment

to go to Belz and the school.

But before we test your forks,
I want to hear about it.

So Jesse, tell us about yours.

♪

- It's made from 5160.

It's an ash handle with
a geometric bottom on it.

I burned it with doing
some fractal burning

on the bottom as well.

I hope it does well.

- All right.

Jason, how about you?

♪

- I forged mine from a piece
of leaf spring 5160 steel.

And I used hickory
for a handle.

I was gonna do some Damascus,

but that didn't go right.

So hopefully it'll hold up.

- The forks look great.

Belz, you ready
to see them tested?

- I'm ready.
- All right.

Gentlemen, I'm gonna hand you
over to Ben Abbott.

♪

- All right, bladesmiths.

Welcome to the strength
and functionality part

of this competition.

I'm gonna start
by taking your pitchforks

and checking the functionality
of them by doing what they do,

putting some hay into a barrow.

Afterwards, I'm gonna test
the angry villager side

of these things
by attacking the sandman.

And then lastly,
I'm gonna test their strength

by bashing them into the side
of this wheelbarrow.

Jesse, you're up first.

You ready?
- Yes, sir.

- Being in
the Forged in Fire forge

definitely feels daunting.

It's a lot.
And I'm, of course, nervous.

I haven't had anything
tested like this.

I don't know how
the heat treat will go.

I don't know
if it will explode.

And you never know.

♪

- I'm, of course, nervous.

I don't know how
the heat treat will go.

I don't know
if it will explode.

And you never know.

[rock music]

♪

[groans]
- Oh, no.

- [groans] I knew it.

Oh.

♪

- All right, Jesse.

Man, up until that last hit,
things were going great.

The grain looks great.

It's a nice and tight grain
in there,

so that wasn't any problem.

But I'm guessing on some

of the strikes
in the wheelbarrow,

just that one interface

where the socket goes
from being round

to being flat--
and it has a little bit

of an elbow underneath there--

I think that that was enough
of a stress riser

to cause this fracture.

- Well, thank you, sir.

♪

- Jesse, you survived
every one of the strikes

except for the last one.

But unfortunately, because
your pitchfork did break,

it's considered
a catastrophic failure.

And therefore, we cannot
continue testing it.

But you're not out
of this fight yet.

Jason, in order to move forward

into the final leg
of the tournament,

you are going
to have to survive

all nine strikes.

Are you ready?

- I am now.

- All right, Ben.
Take it away.

♪

- So watching Ben take that
pitchfork, I'm sweating it.

There was a spot
just past the socket.

I kind of ground it
thin right there.

And that might
possibly break right there,

especially seeing Jesse's
break in the same spot.

So kind of worried.

♪

- Nice.

♪

- Well, Jesse, unfortunately
for you, that means your time

in this competition has ended.

You will not be joining us
in the final round.

We want to say thank you for
coming out, fighting so hard.

But at this point
in time, I'm gonna have

to ask you to please step
off the Forge floor.

- Thank you
for letting me be here.

My pitchfork broke.

I didn't expect it to break
the way it did.

But stuff happens.

And I'm happy to be here.

I have learned a lot.

But also, it was
an extremely fun time.

And I'm rooting for Mr. Jason
in the final round,

because he has done
such amazing work.

I think he's got
a great position.

♪

- Jason, congratulations.

That means you are one step
closer to a $20,000 check

to go into your pocket,
and $10,000 in gear

and supplies to go to Belz

and the John C. Campbell
Folk School.

But you've got
a long road ahead of you,

'cause you've got to get
through three other smiths

that we picked up
across America.

Before we send you out,
I want to ask you

to come up here,
shake our hands,

and wish you good luck.

- I'm excited.

And I think I've said before,
I'm not a pitchfork-smith,

but I guess I am now because
I've made one, and it passed.

I'm excited to be the one
moving forward to represent

Ben and John C. Campbell.

Hopefully, I'll do them well,
and hopefully, I'll win,

and we'll all go home happy.

♪