Original subtitles

- Last season, America's top bladesmiths,

martial artists, and knife experts stepped up

to the grueling new competition

that put their blade-wielding skills to the ultimate test.

Whoa! Total carnage!

Now, a new batch of competitors,

with bigger and badder blades, are ready to take their shot.

But this time, we've turned up the heat.

Looks like medical is stepping in.

New challenges.

The blade broke in half!

Who will be skilled enough,

and which blades are sharp enough

to earn the $20,000 grand prize

and the title of "Knife or Death" champion?

- I'm extremely confident

that I'm going to destroy this course and win.

- I am here to win.

I'm here to prove that somebody my height

and my frame can do it.

- Blade wielders, welcome to the most extreme,

most challenging knife competition ever created.

Complete two punishing courses,

and the winner earns a cash prize

and a spot in the Grand Champion Showdown,

vying for $20,000

and the title of "Knife or Death" champion.

How many of you prepared by watching last season?

Well, I hope you didn't study too hard.

We've changed it up on you.

There's one thing that hasn't changed.

You cannot move on until you face Knife Fight.

The Knife Fight course is a true test of speed and power.

Today, first up, Trifecta.

Cut through each target at the three stations

to release the towers and extinguish the flames.

Box Cutter. Cut each moving crate

in half before advancing.

You must separate the bottom of the crate from the top.

Next up, Decapitator.

You must slice completely through

each row of targets at each station with one swing.

Failure to complete a station is a penalty.

On to Thrice.

Cut completely through all three ice blocks.

Once completed, it's on to Life Line.

A sudden death obstacle, you must fully slice through

three hanging objects with one swing each.

Fail to slice through the thickest part,

your run time ends.

Next up, another sudden death challenge, Kill Shot.

You must fully slice through

all six ratchet straps within three swings.

Failure to do so, and you're not allowed

to go any further in the course.

Your time ends when you

plunge your blade through the tree stump.

- My biggest fear?

Maybe I didn't bring enough blade.

- The two that make it the farthest the fastest

will move on to our second,

even more grueling course challenge, Dead Run.

I am honored to introduce to you

US Army veteran and Special Forces Green Beret, Tu Lam.

- Our very own blade expert

and two-time "Forged in Fire" champion Travis Wuertz

will give your blade one final look.

He finds anything wrong with your blade,

you could be eliminated.

- Go get your blades ready.

- I'm Dan Linton. I'm 43 years old,

and I'm from Orlando, Florida.

If I could spend every day making blades, I'd love it.

Training for this, I built a whole training facility.

I've been training outside for 45 minutes every day.

100 degrees, 100% humidity, fully training, hitting tires.

I came to win.

- So what you got in there? - This is my monster.

I named it Pale Horse.

It's a variation of an English billhook.

It was a multi-use weapon.

It was used for chopping, slicing, harvesting crops.

It was later adopted for warfare.

- What do you use for heat treating?

- Well, I have my forge, and then, my oven, actually.

- Oh, okay, yeah, I've tempered lots of blades in my home oven.

This is heavier than a lot of longswords.

It's not going to have the fine cutting capacity.

It may struggle. - Hopefully it's a monster.

- Let's give it a swing and make sure it's safe

and only does damage on the course.

- Awesome.

- All right, get back in here.

I think you made a very good workout blade,

but as far as competition,

I'd like to see it a little bit sharper.

Your knife makes the cut. - Thank you.

- This guy is walking in with a purpose,

with a blade that's reminiscent of his attitude.

He actually said that he feels sorry for his competition,

because he is going to destroy them.

- His blade is called an English billhook blade.

It's a modified chopper.

It's extremely heavy, weighing at 3 pounds.

- Now, let's see if it has what it takes

to take on Trifecta.

Remember, the competitor must cut three objects in half,

releasing the falling torches.

- He has to hit in angles.

There he goes. That's what I'm looking for.

You create the notch, whittle it down far enough,

and then hit it with power.

- Okay, if you hit it straight down and too hard,

you're gonna break the apparatus.

There he goes.

Okay, let's see.

- Going straight on. - Wrong technique.

And he broke it. That's a 30-second penalty.

There he goes against the rope.

- This is more of a slash versus an impact.

- Good job.

Okay, he made it through Trifecta.

I'll tell you, it took a lot of effort.

Breathing hard, but walking up to Box Cutter.

- He has to generate force.

He has to hit this thing with speed

and meet that force dead on.

- There he goes. Dan Linton versus Box Cutter.

Remember, you got to cut the wooden boxes in half.

There is no time limit on Box Cutter,

but you want to do it as fast as possible.

The guy who was feeling sorry for his competition.

If they could see his performance right now,

they'd be feeling sorry for him.

There he goes, he's all the way through the first one.

He needs to move on. - Yeah.

- Box number two. - He's breathing kind of hard.

- Oh, he's breathing really hard.

- Him constantly swinging this three pound hammer

is wearing him out, man.

He needs to hit this thing with force.

Make every strike worthwhile.

- Got you, there he goes, destroying the box.

He needs to move on right now and stop that clock.

- All right, he moves on. - Next up, Decapitator.

- This is a heavy blade. It's a thick spine, it's dull.

He may have some serious issues, Bill.

- He's got to do a perfectly horizontal cut

all the way through all of the objects.

Uh-oh, 30 second penalty. - He cut short.

- There he goes, on the second one.

Oh, another penalty. - He needs to drop his body.

Just stay level. - Here he goes.

Incomplete. That's disappointing.

Three penalties right there at Decapitator.

Okay, his objective in front of him is Thrice.

- This is a heavy blade.

He should not have any problems.

Let's see if he can generate the power

to punch through these ice blocks.

Nice. - Beautiful technique.

Three strikes, done.

On to number two. No issue whatsoever.

- We thought he was gassed, but no.

- There you go. Beautiful.

- That's what I like to see. Get aggressive.

- Great job. Moving on to Life Line.

Another sudden death challenge.

This time, one of Life Line's objects

is a two-inch rope.

He got through the chicken. On to the second object.

- He's studying that fish. Wow, perfect angle.

- Moving on, the rope.

- It's all about technique here.

It's all about coming in at a steep angle

to get the tension on the rope to let gravity take over,

and then speed and power.

- Oh! - He misjudged it.

- Dan Linton steps up to the rope,

and gets strangled by two inches.

- This blade is dull, it's heavy.

He wasn't able to generate the power

and slash through that rope.

- I didn't make it all the way through,

but I made a good show of myself.

But I'd love to go to the next round.

- I'm Jhoanna Trias. I'm 43 years old,

and I was born in the Philippines.

I got picked on a lot, so at 12,

I decided I was going to learn martial arts to defend myself.

I studied Filipino martial arts

because it's better for my frame.

- What you got there?

- I've got the Filipino ginunting sword.

- Awesome.

Well, you know, this is a light, fast blade.

- Because I'm so petite, and 95 pounds,

it's hard to find one that's small enough

and light enough for me to swing around.

- With proper technique, it doesn't take someone

huge in stature to generate a lot of velocity.

- Correct.

- It's going to be fun to swing.

This is a beautiful blade. It's light and fast.

Congratulations, because your blade definitely makes the cut.

- Yay.

I am so ready to shock the world.

- Jhoanna Trias, stepping up.

- Whoa, look at that side kick!

That's what I expect from a martial artist.

- You can see the focus in her eyes

as she steps up to the course.

- She's bringing the ginunting,

a Filipino war sword.

This is concerning to me, because this is

more a martial art blade.

It doesn't have a heavy mass.

It doesn't give her that chopping power that she needs.

- Will she be able to generate the power

through that little 90 pounds of body with that blade?

Stepping up to Trifecta right now.

First up, the 2x4.

- You cannot hit this thing dead on.

It's going to bounce back at her.

You have to hit at an angle to create that gap.

- Backside of the blade. It's sharp, but she can't

instantly add 50 pounds to herself.

- No, no, she's giving everything she has.

- She's about to go through the 2x4, there she goes.

- That is a lot of work. She spent a lot of time.

- Exactly.

- That's what she needs to do. - She needs to hit it

at an angle, not dead on.

It's going to bounce back at her.

There you go. This is not a chopping blade.

She has no quit. - There you go.

- Nice.

I mean, it's great to have a "no quit" mindset.

- Every single ounce of that 90 pounds into that swing,

but it is not enough.

- There she goes.

Finally completes it. She made it through Trifecta.

- Oh, look at her, she's winded.

She needs to dig deep.

She's going to feel it on Box Cutter.

- Hats off to her.

There is no give up in her whatsoever.

Jhoanna Trias steps up to Box Cutter.

Here we go. Whack!

- She's basically gassed.

- She might push herself all the way past exhaustion.

- She's getting sloppy.

- This might be getting dangerous.

- Ooh, ooh.

She almost took her leg out there.

She is not giving up.

- She is gasping for any air that she can find.

- I just don't want her to hurt herself.

- Uh-oh, looks like medical's gone in.

It doesn't look as if her legs are very stable.

Can she continue?

- Swings were coming a little close to your leg.

You had a few that were about to strike you in the knee.

So we got to pull you.

- Jhoanna Trias, a valiant effort,

but unfortunately, right now,

ladies and gentleman, she is done.

- Come with us to the cooling tent.

We're going to get you out of this gear.

- This course was--

A lot harder than I thought it would be.

I want to come back with a different sword.

- Hello, my name is James Clark.

I am 28 years old, and I am from Warrenton, Virginia.

I got into sword fighting when I was a kid.

Haven't stopped since.

I have practiced kunst de fechtens,

the German art of fighting, for 16 years.

The blade I brought today is an Iberian montante.

They're very beefy, very powerful swords.

- May I see it? - Absolutely.

- That's a lot of steel.

- My sword is 64 inches long, and it weighs 5.7 pounds.

- I'm sure that you're aware of this.

At about the last maybe 10 inch or foot,

you have a slight veer in this direction.

It is something that concerns me,

but the excitement of swinging a 64-inch montante

is getting the best of me.

This is a lot of weapon to wield.

This is something that takes a large area,

and a lot of caution, but your blade makes the cut.

- Awesome. Thank you very much.

- Look at that big, bad greatsword he's got.

- Throughout history, they have used longswords

like this to decapitate

horse's heads, legs on the battlefield.

It's heavy, it's long, and that's my main concern.

Because of the length of this blade,

it's going to have a lot of flex.

I just don't want the blade to bend on him.

- First up, Trifecta. He's got to cut through

each of the targets at each of the stations.

This is not the proper technique.

He's hitting too hard and too straight.

He broke the apparatus holding the 2x4.

- That's a penalty. - On to number two.

Whack!

He's not doing much damage to the wood itself.

- No, because he's going straight on.

- He broke another one.

Yeah, the goal is to cut through the objects,

not to bash them apart. On to the rope.

Uh-oh, he didn't go through any of the three objects.

- That's three penalties, Bill.

I mean, the thing is, he had to cut the object in half,

and he did not do that. He broke the chain.

- He steps up to Box Cutter.

He needs to actually cut the wooden boxes in half.

Beautiful job! He destroyed it.

On to box number two. - Wow!

- Very different technique we're seeing here.

We can see his skill.

Beautiful! Okay, there he goes.

He completed destroying the second box.

Next up, Decapitator.

You have to cut all the way through

all of the objects with one strike.

- With a long blade, it's hard to control.

- Missed the first.

- That was a beautiful job. Second one.

Third one, beautiful job. - Wow!

- One penalty. - That's a powerful swing.

He's way too high. - Moving on to Thrice.

He must cut through three blocks of ice.

Each block must have two separate pieces.

- My concern is the blade's going to flex.

- Here he goes. Up first.

- Wow, I've never seen that before.

- Very interesting way of going--

- Down! - Now there you go!

- That's what I'm talking about.

- So what he's doing is he's compromising

the integrity of the ice first.

Boom!

- See, the blade is starting to bend on him.

- That is an amazing technique.

It takes a little bit of time, but it sure does work.

- Wow. - That was beautiful.

Look at that bend. - It may break on him.

- Moving on to Life Line, sudden death challenge.

Remember, he must cut through all three objects.

One cut, or you're done.

He's up to the chicken. There he goes, right through.

Second one, fish.

- Nice. - Oh, right through the fish.

Here we go. Here's the big one right here.

Boom, did not work on the rope.

- Did you see his angle? His angle was off.

He came in at the 3:00, and down to 9:00,

it pushed that rope, and it almost

wrapped around that blade.

- James, may I see your sword again?

And this is just a beast of a blade.

- Thank you very much.

- Although your time on Knife Fight

ends here at Life Line-- - Mm-hmm.

- We don't know if you made it far enough fast enough

to put you in Dead Run.

It's the 2-inch rope that ends this run for you.

Thank you. - Thank you very much.

I did really well.

I know what I need to improve on.

I would to love to be able to go on to Dead Run

and see what kind of things they throw at us.

- I'm Justin Preston. I'm 36 years old,

and I live in Kearney, Missouri.

I got a wife and two kids back home,

hopefully rooting for me.

I'm here to win. I'm competitive.

But I want to show my kids

that if you want to go do something, just do it.

There ain't nobody holding you back but yourself.

- So what you got there? - It is a custom chopper

that I made. - Nice.

- It's a little longer than a competition chopper.

It is thinner. I wanted a little more speed.

- This almost looks like a burlap sack

that's been stabilized. - Yeah.

It's a--a coffee bag burlap. - Coffee bag.

- Yeah. - Okay, that awesome.

And you really can see the three dimension

of the fibers in the weave.

- Yeah, I like it. - And it has a nice grip.

- Nice feel to it.

- This should be a fun knife to swing.

12-inch blade, 3/16 stock.

Do you have any concerns about bringing

kind of a smaller stock?

- Yeah, well, a little bit, you know?

But it's not how big it is.

It's how you use it. - That's right.

This is a very nice knife that swings well.

A very sharp edge. Thank you for that.

- You bet. - Congratulations.

- Appreciate it. - Your knife makes the cut.

- Thanks, bud.

I'm ready.

I'm telling myself just to go for it.

Go hard, or go home.

I mean, just don't give up, and keep swinging.

- Justin Preston, making his entrance with some purpose.

- Oh, yes, he's armed with a modified chopper.

This thing is extremely sharp.

The only problem with this is the lack of blade.

It's only 12 inches of cutting edge.

- Now, he's stepping up. - Nice.

- Right through the rope. - That's a smart move.

Keep it sharp. - The first 2x4.

- He has to hit in angles.

There he goes. That's what I'm looking for.

The angles. He's creating that gap.

- Boom, he's passed the first 2x4.

He's on to the second. Last obstacle here at Trifecta.

Boom, got it, he's through.

Now, he's on to Box Cutter.

As he steps up, it looks like he's searching

for a little bit of air.

- He doesn't have enough blade real estate.

That's why he's working so hard right now.

The strategy to this is to meet that force head-on.

Force on force.

- He's doing nothing but chasing it.

Whack! Good job.

And that was one beautiful backswing there.

Made some damage. And there it is again.

He's almost through the first box.

- And he's figuring it out now.

- Okay, he is on to the second box.

I tell you what, he is gassed there.

There he goes.

Time is ticking away. - He's almost through.

Wow. - He's giving up.

He's moving on, no matter what.

- That box had to be completely cut in half.

He took that penalty, but look how gassed he is.

- Next up, Decapitator.

Oh, beautiful job there. - He used his body.

- Uh-oh, incomplete.

He's got to cut all the way through.

One penalty. On to the third.

Beautiful job! - Wow, beautiful.

- He stayed with it. He dropped his level.

But that blade dropped a little bit.

Justin Preston, stepping up to Thrice.

Remember, the competitor has got to cut through

all three blocks. - I like how he doubled up.

- Not nearly the power on that backswing,

but enough to get through the first block.

He's moving on to number two.

Oh, he's powered through number two.

On to number three.

Boom, done! Justin Preston destroys Thrice.

- All right, he's extremely tired.

He doesn't have enough blade sharpness for Life Line.

- Remember, sudden death.

If he does not cut through each one

with one fell swoop of that blade,

he will be done.

Boom, right through the chicken.

Great job.

Second one, fish. Boom, beautiful job!

On to the rope.

He's got to take his time.

Oh, great job! - Oh!

Way to go!

We worried about blade real estate,

but it didn't really come into play here.

We worried about his cardio,

but we saw him go through that rope like it was nothing.

Moving on to Kill Shot, a sudden death obstacle.

Three slices to get through six ratchet straps.

First one. Boom, he got it.

Second one, no problem.

Three straps left, one swing. This is tough.

Oh, beautiful job! - Nice!

- Justin Preston defeats Knife Fight.

- That's awesome.

That was an amazing last shot.

He opened up his body to allow that blade

to swing all through all three straps.

- Justin, that was a phenomenal run,

but we still got to see if you made it here fast enough

to put you outside in Dead Run.

- I don't have the biggest knife,

so it was-- it was a lot of work.

The challenges were just way harder than last season.

- I'm Sifu Mike DiMaggio.

I'm 51 years old, and I'm from Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

I'm teaching martial arts at night

at a studio I built in my home.

I got into kung fu because

I was crushed by a front end loader.

- Oh, man.

- I was told I was never going to walk again.

I went to a kung fu class, and the instructor told me

that if I did what he said, I would be fine.

I did it every day, and I'm still here.

My past injuries aren't going to hinder me at all.

And see, now, it's time to show everybody.

- So what do you got there? - I have a little knife

I brought here to win this competition with.

Today, I brought a machete-style blade.

- It's a light and fast blade.

It's an interesting knife because

we're at a very thin stock.

It's about inch and three quarters wide.

- Yes. - Well, this is definitely

going to be one of the lighter blades in today's competition.

- But I'll be one of the heavier guys.

- This is a very sharp blade, and it swings very nice.

I'd like to see a little bit bigger handle.

Congratulations. - Thank you, sir.

- Your knife makes the cut. - Thank you.

- Good luck. - Thank you.

- Mike DiMaggio steps up to Knife Fight.

- What I don't like about this blade is not enough mass.

This is more of a fighting blade

versus a chopping blade.

It's about speed and sharpness

versus having that mass that's going to hack through stuff

that's needed in this competition.

- Okay, here he goes, stepping up to Trifecta.

As a martial artist, will he calculate?

Will he take his time? - I like his angles.

He's coming in left side, right side.

So he's creating that gap that he needs

to cut through the 2x4.

- There he goes, right through the first one.

Here he's stepping up to the second 2x4.

- I like his technique,

how he's alternating to different angles.

He's creating that gap. He's hitting with power.

- Oh, there he goes through the second one.

On to the rope. Two out of three done.

- Have to hit it at an angle.

- Good job. He completes Trifecta.

Stepping up to Box Cutter.

- He needs to hit the obstacle head on.

Meet that force.

- He is taking your advice. He has stayed in front of it.

But the swings he is taking, they are not doing any damage.

He's chipping away. - As he moves on.

- Yep, he's going to incur a penalty there.

He's sucking some wind now.

- It's a light blade.

It doesn't have the mass to chop it in half.

- He's got to get through that second box.

And he has given up, taking the penalty.

He can move on to Decapitator. Here he goes, Sifu Mike.

Boom, right through them. - Nice!

- Slice! Great job.

Oh, he's got to cut all the way through.

One penalty. - He needs to drop the level.

- The most difficult one. Ah, another penalty.

Two penalties, his aim was off.

Sifu Mike moves on to Thrice.

The problem is, can he generate power

with his thin blade?

Okay, this thing is going to be rolling in his hand.

Boom, got it.

Moving on to the second.

Third and final ice block. - I like his power.

I like the drive, the follow-through.

- It is consistently rolling in his hand.

- But he is done. Moving on to Life Line.

- I like how accurate he was with every shot.

- Remember, he has to get through each object

with one swing.

It looks like he's composed. He's ready to go.

Stepping around and getting the proper angle.

Good job, he got through it.

- I like how he's studying the objective.

- Terrific follow-through. On to the rope.

Two out of three done.

Uh-oh, he rushed.

Another competitor-- - We always see that.

- Going right through the chicken,

right through the fish, thinking that the rope

is going to be no problem whatsoever.

But right when they get up to it,

they rush through, and boom. He's done.

- It's a 2-inch rope.

It has no weight at the end of the rope.

Anything that hits this rope

is going to start that movement.

- I took my best swing,

and I looked back, and it was still there.

It's just like kung fu. When you think

something's going to be easy, it ends up being hard.

Maybe I was a little gassed, I don't know.

But the fish was cut nice.

- My name is Hezekiah Menacho. Everybody calls me Zeke.

I'm 43 years old, and I'm from Long Beach, California.

We grew up on the east side of San Jose, California,

which was a tough neighborhood,

and instead of having something

to sleep with to comfort me, my dad ended up

giving me a Bowie knife and a sheath,

and it made me feel comfortable and safe.

That's my hooligan cleaver, the knife that I designed.

- And you gave it that name? - Yeah.

The blade has 14 inches on it.

It's two-handed to help get you through

those extra swings and stuff.

That's the hooligan right there, man.

I feel on a scale of one to ten,

I'm definitely at a 10 level for this.

- So what do you got there? - I got a hooligan cleaver.

- Let me check that sucker out. - Here you go, sir.

- We have a tough course, and this three-V steel

I think it's about as tough a steel

as any I've really seen. - Yeah.

- And it looks like you might have hit something hard,

and then re-sharpened. - Yes, I practiced with it.

- So you've put this knife through the paces?

- It's went through its paces. - So what did that?

- Uh, that was going through a 2x6,

but that was my fault, because it wasn't anchored correctly.

- It does balance very easy.

It's really not as blade-heavy as one would think.

- Right.

- Congratulations. - Thank you.

- Your knife makes the cut. - Thank you.

- Next up, Zeke Menacho, 42 years old,

Calls the cleavers he designs urban destruction tools.

- He comes today with 14 inches of cutting edge

on a modified chopper. It's heavy-ended.

That's going to allow it to chop.

It's going to work more like an axe.

- He is a gnarly competitor.

Let's see him go up to Trifecta.

How about his technique? - I like it.

- That's what you've been calling for.

- That's right, you need to come down at an angle

and create that gap. - Beautiful.

Didn't look like there was much of an issue at all.

Up to the second one.

Right now, Zeke Menacho is moving right along.

Boom, right through the second one.

- He's able to get the proper angles.

- Boom, right through the rope! - Wow.

- He is moving on. - His blade is extremely sharp.

- It's extremely sharp. He knows how to wield it.

- That was definitely perfect technique.

- As he steps up to Box Cutter, let's see what he's got.

- That's a lot of power.

- A lot of power, a lot of force.

He's got a lot of the contents out of that first box,

but he needs to completely demolish it

before he moves on to the second.

- Wow.

- Oh, there goes the bottom half.

- Nice. - Good job.

Box number two. - He's a little bit winded.

- Yep, you see him sucking for air right here.

- He's slowing down now.

- He is definitely slowing down.

- Once you get tired, you lose clarity.

- Yep. Needs all the force he can get.

- Nice, look at that power.

One more swing, he should be done.

- There he goes! Moving on to Decapitator.

- This thing's extremely sharp.

As long as he gets the angles of attack,

he should be okay.

- Hey, he's sucking right now. Sucking air, that is.

Zeke Menacho, stepping up to Decapitator.

First one.

Missed that one. - That's a penalty.

He needs to drive the blade

straight through all the fruits.

- Uh-oh, did not drop at his level at all.

Second one penalty. Third one.

Oh, missed that one. Three for three, penalty-wise.

- He is so gassed right now.

He should have studied that first cut,

and then adapted to the situation as needed.

- Moving on to Thrice.

But does he have the cardio

to get through these ice blocks?

- Well, he definitely has some power.

He has the blade.

- Three, right through! - Look how he's throwing

his weight into it.

- Beautiful, one strike right through the second block.

- Nice! - Oh, one strike

right through the third. Moving on.

Thrice is demolished by Zeke Menacho.

We thought he was gassed, but no.

Stepping up now to Life Line.

One strike through each object, or you're done.

Boom, right through the chicken.

- I like how he's examining the target.

- Beautiful cut. - Wow.

- And here's the rope.

- Wow! - Beautiful strike!

- And that's the perfect angle and speed

that you have to cut through these ropes.

This guy is ready to get it on. He's here to do business.

- Moving on to Kill Shot.

Three slices to get through six ratchet straps.

- This is more of a slash versus an impact.

- You know, and it calls for a lot of creativity,

and a sharp blade.

Oh, left one!

Now he's got to get through four straps.

- Open up the swing.

- Good job, he got through it.

But now he needs to take his time.

Three straps, here we go. Here's the big one, right here.

- Oh! - Nice!

- Beautiful recovery!

Zeke made it through Knife Fight.

- Wow. - That is one lethal blade.

We saw both Zeke and his hooligan cleaver

do a number on Knife Fight.

- I didn't think I was going to have such a hard time

getting through that course. It was a tough deal.

But I got to the end. I touched the great oak.

I'm good.

- Zeke and Justin.

Knife Fight took its toll on all the competitors.

The two of you made it all the way through.

Congratulations, you're moving on to Dead Run.

Are you ready?

- Hell yeah. - I'm ready.

- You're about to go to war, gentleman.

I suggest you put your game face on,

get your damn blades ready, and let's do this.

- Yeah. - Let's go.

- It's going to be tough. It's going to be a dog fight.

- This is everything that I've trained for.

I'm going to be a "Knife or Death" champion.

- While Knife Fight was the ultimate test of blades,

Dead Run is the ultimate test of speed, timing,

accuracy, and precision.

The course is bigger, longer,

and twice the difficulty of last season.

First up, Chopper.

From inside the circular platform,

you must cut each of the rotating targets in half.

You must complete each target before moving on to the next.

Ball Buster.

Slice nine rolling balls in half

before they hit the floor.

Flying Target.

Cut the rope, release the meat,

cut the meat on the downswing,

and land it on the metal grate.

Miss the grate or it bounces off,

it's a penalty.

Free Fall.

You cut each piece of fruit as it drops.

Fire and Ice.

Cut completely through

the 400-pound block of ice to trigger the flame.

Next, Crash Landing.

Cut completely through the flying targets

as they zip past you.

Then, a giant crate descends to block your path.

Destroy it, release the contents, and move on.

And finally, Fire Storm.

Cut two ropes to release the platform,

ascend the stairs, and stop the clock with one final chop.

Remember, in Dead Run, the clock never stops.

For every challenge not completed,

a 20-second penalty will be added.

Now, let's talk about these two blades

and how they stack up against each other.

- They're pretty similar, Bill.

I mean, you talk about a 12-inch blade

versus a 14-inch blade.

Both of them are competition choppers.

These guys are almost equally skilled.

It's going to be a tight one.

- First up, the Missouri patriot.

36-year-old Justin Preston. Kicked Knife Fight's butt.

- I feel great. I'm just happy that

my blade was good enough to hold up.

I'm going to be telling myself

just to focus, and keep swinging.

- Looking at that blade, that thing is tiny.

Can Justin post a time good enough to win

and move to the Grand Champion Showdown?

Whack! - I like his angles.

He's trying to create that gap.

He needs to move as this thing moves.

The 2x4 is moving way too much.

You have to hit it dead on so it doesn't swing.

- Boom, right through the first one.

On to number two.

I was waiting for that double hand strike there.

Boom, right through the second one.

- He needs to blow through it with speed and violence.

- Boom, right through the third 2x4.

- Nice! - He's on to the mat.

- Look at his swing. His swing changed.

Now he's dropping his angle. He's dropping that level

to try to get more power. - Okay.

One more strike and he'll be through.

Boom, he's done. - Nice!

- Moving on, Ball Buster up next.

Competitor must slice through nine balls

as they roll down the slide.

Strike one.

Strike two.

And strike three.

Okay, got one. - This is hard.

Those balls are coming fast. - Missed that one.

He is one for five.

Got that one.

Okay, got one right there. - He got that one.

Changed up his method. - Oh, missed that one, strike.

Last ball. He got it.

He's accrued five penalties.

Moving on to Flying Target.

Remember, the competitor must cut three ropes

that each release a swinging piece of meat.

The meat must be cut so that one half lands on the grill.

This is tough. - He is extremely tired.

- Okay, missed on the first one.

- So he cut too less of meat, that's a penalty.

- Missed on the second one, penalty.

Okay, number three. Lands over it.

0 for 3 at Flying Target.

Next up, Free Fall.

What do you think about his technique here?

- He needs to move, and set up. - He missed that one.

- That's the problem that we have.

- Got that one. - They're not moving

fast enough to set. - Okay, bad strike there.

Missed it.

Got that one. - He needs to move, set up.

- Got that one. - He needs to find

a good position. - Oh, he got it.

Another one down.

He got that one.

- Nice! - Beautiful job.

Only two penalties.

Now he's moving on to Fire and Ice.

- He is extremely tired.

He needs to create power by using body mechanics.

- Not much body mechanics right now.

- No, he needs to drop his level.

He's all upper body right now.

- He's making a wedge in it though.

Good strategy. - I like it, I like it.

He's taking way too much time on this.

- A couple more strikes, and that ice will be--

There you go! - Nice!

- He's moving on through Fire and Ice.

Next up, Crash Landing.

Remember, competitors must cut each object in half.

Justin Preston steps up. Boom.

- This is all about hand and eye coordination.

- Missed that one. - That's a penalty.

- He did not cut all the way through.

Oh, he gets it, nice shot. - Nice!

- Good job. - Bill, he is gassed.

- For sure, he is accurate, but is he powerful

and does he have the cardio to get through this box,

and release the red ball to move on?

Okay, he is struggling here.

- Right, it's all about destroying

the structure of that box.

You can start seeing the fatigue setting in.

- Boom, got it. - Nice.

- Okay, the contents are out. There's the ball.

Next up, Fire Storm.

One final cut, and the clock stops.

And that is one exhausted competitor.

- Nice.

- Whoo! - Overall, not a bad run.

I mean, this was a short blade. He made it work for him.

He did spend a lot of time on Chopper.

He did miss a lot of the balls on Ball Buster.

- Justin had...

11 penalties.

That is unbelievable. - Wow, that's going to hurt.

- That's going to hurt him,

and I don't know if he can overcome that.

Zeke Menacho stepping up to Dead Run.

- With his hooligan cleaver. This thing is amazing.

It's 14 inches of cutting power,

but that heavy mass is going to give him

that hacking power he needs.

- I have some concerns about everything

that's going to be moving at the same time

and trying to swing through that.

I'm going to have to figure that out on the fly.

- Designed this blade himself.

Let's see what he and his creation can do.

Boom. - Look at that power.

- He winds up. - Wow.

He almost cut through that with one chop.

Wow, look at that power! - Destroyed it!

- Second one.

- Nice! - Boom, right through.

He's got to get through that mattress.

Boom, he's through. Beautiful technique.

Oh, speed and violence.

That's exactly what you called for,

and that's exactly what Zeke gave you.

Moving on to Ball Buster.

- This thing is maneuverable, one hand.

Hopefully, his targeting is on.

- Oh, missed the first.

- This is a very hard obstacle.

- Got it.

Misses. - His timing is completely off.

- He misses.

Got that one.

Ooh, missed another one.

Oh, another penalty.

Oh, nice, he got that one.

Last one's going down.

Oh-ho, he misses.

Six penalties here. Moving on to Flying Target.

Remember, the meat must be cut

so that one half lands on the grill behind the competitor.

Here we go.

Got the cut.

He's got to get the right trajectory here.

- That meat's just gonna fly over that grate.

- He's going to incur a penalty there.

- He needs to find that sweet spot.

- Oh, no sweet spot there.

He whiffed on that one. - Cut too early.

Number three, here we go.

Got the cut.

Fell too short. - Too early.

- Okay, he's getting a lot of penalties here.

Next up, Free Fall. - They're going to drop, Bill.

- Oh, he got it. - He needs to set up.

- Missed the second. - He needs to set up.

- The third. Quick, quick, quick.

- Move! - There you go.

Get on it. Uh-oh.

Oh, another penalty.

He got a little piece of it. - Got it.

- Misses. - He needs to move, set up.

- Got that one.

He misses. That's disappointing.

Six penalties. - He's not finding his rhythm.

- Moving on to Fire and Ice here.

Zeke needs to make up some time.

He needs to go penalty-free

through the rest of the course.

- He's breathing hard, Bill.

- Well, that's gonna hurt him.

Here he goes!

The 400-pound block of ice.

Beautiful! Three strikes right through.

- Wow, three strikes! - He's got a second wind now.

He's still in the game.

- This is all about timing and accuracy.

He needs to get the timing of the object

coming towards him, and then slice completely through it.

- Beautiful!

Got the first object. - The first one.

- He's out here, got the second one.

- 2 for 2. - He needs to move up.

Here comes number three.

Boom, right there. - That's 3 for 3.

- 4 for 4! - Perfect on Crash Landing.

Release that ball, and then, move on to Fire Storm.

- Wow, look at that power. - Good job.

That edge is still sharp.

Hey, you need some urgency here.

He needs to get up there and make that one final cut.

- He is gassed, Bill.

He needs to get up there. He is so gassed right now.

- Nice!

- That was an impressive run,

but let's see how many penalties Zeke got.

15 penalties!

- That goes to show you, Bill.

That this competition is bigger and badder than last season.

- Both of these competitors

took their time going through the course.

- And they accumulated a lot of penalties.

- I didn't think I was going to have

such a hard time getting through that course,

and it was a tough deal.

- Let's see the times.

Justin's time, with penalties, was...

9 minute and 26 seconds.

- Wow, that is one of the worst times we've seen.

- The anticipation.

- Zeke's time with penalties was...

8 minutes and 9 seconds.

Zeke takes home the prize.

He's won $2,000 and a chance to compete

in our Grand Champion Showdown.

- Whoo!

- Hey, great job, man. - Good run, Zeke.

- Way to represent today.

- Your attitude, your blade, man.

Great combination. But here's the deal.

You're going to be going against the champions.

20 grand up for grabs. - Mm.

- You'd better go home and talk to that blade.

- Believe me, I'm going to be whispering to that thing.

That knife I have no doubt will make it all the way through.

That knife is a beast.