Original subtitles

- Tonight, America's top bladesmiths

martial artists, and knife experts

put their blade-wielding skills to the ultimate test.

Whoa! Total carnage!

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 just here to do something different.

You can never stop testing yourself.

Bring it on.

- I'm not gonna say that, like,

I'm gonna definitely win, but I'm really confident.

- Welcome to the most extreme, most challenging

knife competition ever created.

I see a lot of different blades out there

from a lot of different periods.

At the end of the day,

they're all gonna have one thing in common--

they all have to get through Knife Fight.

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

- Going through this course, I know it is going to be hard,

but that I'm gonna face that challenge head on

and give it all that I have.

- The two that make it the farthest the fastest,

move on to our second, even more grueling course challenge,

Dead Run,

and the winner earns a cash prize

and a spot in the grand champion showdown.

I'm honored to introduce to you US Army veteran

and Special Forces Green Beret, Tu Lam.

- Our very own blade guru

and two-time "Forged in Fire" champion,

Travis Wuertz, will give your blade one final look

to give you guys the green light to take on Knife Fight.

He finds anything wrong with your blade,

you could be eliminated.

- Course has already taken down a few competitors.

Let's hope you're not one of them.

Go get your blades ready.

- My name is Hal. I'm 46.

I live in Florence, Alabama. I used to be a police sniper.

I was retired off of SWAT about three years ago,

but I still continue in the SWAT community

with sniper instruction.

But, um, I'm pretty good with a blade.

- What do you got there? - This is an ESEE Junglas.

It's approximately 11 inches. I polished the blade.

Also put a wedge on the back of it,

extending the handle for more maneuverability.

And it stays sharp, and it's just tough.

- The only thing with a two-hand grip

on a blade this short,

I think of generating power in a short distance.

- Right. - And with that short distance,

there's not a whole lot of blade to take advantage.

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

and only does damage on the course.

Awesome.

It's a great cutting blade.

The only issues I have with it is

I'd like to see a longer blade for this competition.

- Sure. - Anyway, congratulations.

- Thank you. - Your knife makes the cut.

- Thank you.

I wanna do it. Don't stop no matter what.

Silent but violent.

- Okay, here he comes. Hal Howard.

Sniper instructor, holds blades in high regard,

as they can't run out of bullets.

- Today, Hal's coming in with 11 inch

of cutting edge on a Junglas blade.

I'm not really impressed with the geometry

just because it doesn't have a lot of mass

on the blade itself.

It doesn't have the hacking power that he's gonna need

to go through this course.

- First up, Decapitator.

Slice completely through each target at each station

with one swing.

Here he goes.

One penalty.

- That was beautiful.

- I like his horizontal cuts. - Great cuts.

- It's about blade management right now.

- Ah, did not hit the first part of the apple.

Two penalties so far.

Let's see how the blade performs at Slasher.

Cut each object in half before it makes it all the way down

and all the way back.

- Now, he's chasing here. - Yep.

He's gonna be chasing that thing all the way.

I don't think he's got the blade real estate.

- And that's what I was concerned about, Bill.

This thing has not enough mass on the blade,

so it doesn't give him that chopping power he needs.

- He's unable to get through any of the tubing whatsoever.

Now he moves on to the box. 0 for 2 at Slasher.

The lightness of that blade

definitely coming back to haunt him right here.

Unfortunately, not the best performance at Slasher,

but he's moving on to Timber.

Chop down the 2x4 and land it directly

in the target area.

Here we go. - So the strategy here, Bill,

is create that gap on the underbelly of that 2x4.

Chip away and let gravity take over.

This is one of the first competitors

and only competitors that have time,

done the proper notch in the front.

- Beautiful! - Yes!

- There's no question.

He ensured his success by being methodical.

Stepping up to Ice Pick.

You must cut completely through

a three-foot block of ice,

slicing through the plastic pipe

and releasing the red liquid in the center.

- He's gonna have a lot of issues here

with the real estate of this blade being 11 inches.

- Here he goes at Ice Pick.

- I do like his approach to it.

He's using his body mechanics.

- And he's moving around, going for different corners

to compromise the corners on the ice.

- Boom! He's done.

Okay, moving on to Lifeline,

a sudden-death obstacle.

You must fully slice through three hanging objects

with one swing each.

- And hopefully he still has enough edge on this blade.

- Let's see if that chicken can take him down,

or will he move on?

One slice, here we go.

Beautiful job, right through the chicken.

Moving on to the fish.

Let's see if he does the same thing.

Oh, no!

- He should've stepped up closer to that target

and used that blade real estate.

- You know, Hal... - Fish--

- One of the best parts about this course...

- Freaking fish. - Is that I can walk up

on your elimination

and still see a smile.

- Oh, yeah. A blast.

- Yeah. - It's freaking awesome.

- It was entertaining to watch your calculating procedure

and watch you adapt throughout it.

We're gonna have to wait to see

if you made it far enough, fast enough,

and put you outside in Dead Run.

Thank you. - Thank you, Travis.

- There you go.

The right angle,

the right speed, even if that blade

would had been longer, that would've helped me.

Freakin' fish.

- I'm Stephen Kenny.

I teach primitive skills and survival.

I'm a woodsman,

and a knife is the number one thing that

I grab before anything else.

- So, what's in the bag?

- What I brought was a modified kopis.

This one is two-handed. It has a recurve.

It's a 14-inch cutting edge.

- It's almost two different knives.

- Yes, sir. - Held up here,

you can do fine jobs, you can do whittling.

And then back here, now that extends,

and that's that much more power.

We have this fuller, also known as a blood groove,

that removes the weight in here,

which allows a little bit of weight here

to be more effective.

Let's go swing it.

If I could improve on this blade,

it would be to go ahead and combine the tapered tang

to make an already-light knife

have a little bit more power up front.

It's sharp, it's fast,

and I believe it'll also be powerful.

Congratulations. It makes the cut.

- Thank you, sir.

I am an A to B guy.

Starting line is A. The stump is B.

I'm starting at A. I'm going to B.

- We have Stephen Kenny, expert survivalist.

This guy's got 275 different knives.

- Look at that recurved blade.

This is 14 inches of cutting edge,

but that recurve is gonna give him that slashing

and hacking capability that he needs.

He utilizes his blade's geometry,

he should be okay. - Okay, here we go.

- I like how slow and methodical

he's going about this. - Slow and methodical,

but is it gonna be the right technique going through?

- Oh. - And it was not.

- He's not applying enough power and speed.

- He's got to cut all the way through all of the objects.

Good recovery. Next up, the apples.

Well, he's gotta lower his body.

That was a beautiful job there.

Tell you what, he didn't start off very strong,

but he ended strong as he steps up the Slasher.

- With the geometry of this blade,

he's gonna have a lot of power on impact.

- Remember, he's gotta cut each object in half

before it makes it all the way down and back.

Okay, he's on to the tubing.

- Bill, anytime your footing is closer

than shoulder-width apart, you're not having that power.

- Uh-oh. He got a penalty there.

Again, we see a competitor knocking the object off,

not actually cutting it in half.

He better make quick work of that box.

- He needs to stay lead of this target and not follow it.

- But that box gets all the way back to the track

before he can finish chopping. - It was too late for him.

He was trying to get aggressive towards the end.

He should've been aggressive in the beginning.

- Next, he steps up to Timber.

He has had a lot of time in the woods.

Let's see if he's got the right technique.

- You need to cut a small wedge

on the underside of that 2x4, and then come back forward.

- Okay, he's taken a wedge out right here,

doing a good job.

- Oh, beautiful! Good job! - Oh, nice!

He got lucky here.

He did create that gap in the back,

but he should've created that underbelly cut.

- Stephen Kenny moves up to Ice Pick.

We talked about the lightness of that blade.

Is it gonna be a detriment here?

- Two-handed swings.

He's extending those hips. Look how he's using his legs.

He's going around the ice. This is good technique.

The recurve on that handle is allowing that blade

to stay in his hands, to have good grip.

- And there he goes, right through.

- Nice!

- Ice fell off right through the canister,

and the red liquid exposed.

Stephen Kenny moves on to Lifeline.

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

Here he goes.

- He needs to swing through that target

at the proper angle.

- Oh!

That's a success right there for Mr. Kenny.

Look how he's studying the fish.

- He's going back towards the spine.

- Okay, he's still got a lot of sharpness on that blade.

And with a two-handed grip,

he's not having a problem at all at Lifeline.

Last one.

Beautiful! Right through the tubing.

Moves on to Kill Shot.

- What I like about him is he slows down.

He looks at the target, he looks at the proper angles,

and then he executes.

The question now is,

is he gonna use the right motion on here,

because this is more of a slashing,

not a impact.

- Stephen Kenny approaching Kill Shot.

Here he goes.

- The first strap took him down.

Time over for Mr. Kenny.

- Well, I mean, he had the proper blade.

He has the proper strength, the technique,

but I think he went about it wrong.

You need to almost pull that blade back towards you

to allow that lead edge to cut through the ratchet strap.

- Well, Stephen,

we're watching your calm demeanor,

taking time and aim is what makes this

such a surprising finish. - Yes, sir.

- Let's come take a little closer look at that strap.

Of course, you made a nice slash here.

- It felt like when I hit it, it just rolled.

- It's like it maybe slid and then caught.

At the end of the day, sometimes stuff just happens.

You know, you got a beautiful run.

It ends here at Kill Shot.

Here's your knife.

Good luck. - Thank you, sir.

I gave it all I had and what I had.

I just hope and pray that that was enough,

that it'll get me into Dead Run.

- My name is Avery Lee.

I am 25 and I'm from Snellville, Georgia.

I did Taekwondo for about ten years

and I'm a third degree black belt.

- So, you must be hardcore martial arts.

- Yeah. - So you, like, high kick?

- Yeah. - Yeah, okay.

- I also am a Georgia free sparring champ.

- You wrestle? - Yeah.

- You're a badass. - Against guys.

- You are all the way a badass.

- When it comes to competitions

and events and things like that,

I usually like to say I do pretty well in them.

- So what have you got there?

- This is a Chinese war sword.

I felt that with the obstacles on this course

that it would do the best job

cutting through all the objects.

- This is a nice blade, you know?

It has a very noticeable distal taper.

The steel tapers from thicker at the guard

to thinner at the tip,

and that helps for a performance blade, you know?

We still have the mass, but everything tapers,

and that taper allows things to slide through

and handle well.

- Got a slight, little wiggle to it.

- That's a lot of wiggle to it. - Yeah.

- How much stuff do you chop with it?

- A lot of tatami mats, things like that.

- Anything hard? - Not yet.

Not really particularly yet, no.

- That amount of wiggling here...

- Yeah.

- Isn't good.

I probably wouldn't be all that concerned

about swinging it at a tatami mat,

but our course is a lot more difficult than a tatami mat.

I'm gonna go ahead and take a few test swings...

- Okay.

- Because I'm still trying to get a feel

for the overall safety and structural integrity

of this piece. - Yeah.

- It cuts very well, but...

Can you hear that? - Yeah.

- Shouldn't do that.

I don't think I'd hit much--

anything harder than sugar cane with this

without my butt puckering.

There are too many safety concerns

and too much likelihood of it breaking that

I cannot let this on the course.

I'm sorry, but this blade does not make the cut.

- I didn't have any issues with the blade initially,

especially when I was doing practice cuts,

and so it is a bit surprising that it didn't go through,

but with safety concerns and with hitting harder objects,

if there is a chance it may break,

it's better to avoid that than possibly cause an injury.

- I'm Jonathan Ying. I'm 29.

I am from Orange County, California.

I've been training in HEMA--

historical European martial arts for about ten years.

A couple years ago,

they came out with a ranking system.

I was number five. I had, like, 54 wins.

I had a year, basically, where I went undefeated,

but I've definitely lost since then.

I do sword fighting and, like--

- So, you actually fight with swords?

- Yes, I fight with swords.

- How do you keep from dying doing that?

- You just don't get hit. - Don't get hit?

- So what you got there?

- So, today, I have a St. James messer.

It's a langes messer, which means long knife.

Traditionally used in the medieval era,

14th, 15th, 16th century.

- It handles nice. The weight and balance is good.

But the thing is,

the blade is not actually sharp.

- Oh, my goodness.

- But I'm gonna put my safety glasses on

and take a few swings on this sugar cane

and just see how it does cut.

Essentially, it's sharp enough to cut the sugar cane.

It could be sharper, but you know,

the overall feel, the weight, the balance,

and the power of this steel is nothing to scoff at.

And, you know, it could still do very well.

Congratulations. - Thank you.

- Your blade makes the cut. Good luck.

- Thank you.

What I'm worried about most is that

my messer might not be sharp enough,

but I definitely think that

my HEMA skills will carry me through.

- Jonathan Ying.

- He comes today with 24 inches

of cutting edge on a messer sword.

The messer sword was used by civilians in Germany

during the 14th to 16th century for protection.

- First up, it's Decapitator.

What are you looking for with Jonathan Ying

and his messer sword?

- The blade is dull, so I'm looking for accuracy.

That's what I'm looking for.

- And here we go.

Unfortunately, he wasn't accurate there.

- He rushed it.

Nice. - Okay, beautiful swing there.

- That is a perfect cut!

- Beauty in motion.

He stumbled on the first one,

and he absolutely dominated the other two.

One penalty there. Stepping up to Slasher.

You gotta cut completely through the target

before it returns to its original position.

Here he goes.

He's through the PVC, onto the tube.

- Look how he throws his whole body into it.

But he--I would double up on the blade.

- He took out both of the first two obstacles.

Now he's working on the box, the dreaded box.

Doubling up with the strike didn't matter whatsoever.

Didn't do anything to the box, and he's embedded in the box.

- And that was my main concern.

Travis said that this blade was dull.

You can see it play out here. It's not cutting through.

- Did not get it in time.

Another penalty. On to Timber.

Remember, he's gotta figure out the best way

to fell that 2x4 inside the barrier.

- But the thing about this is,

if the blade is dull, he's gonna smash it.

He's not really gonna cut it effectively.

- Here he goes.

- Very powerful swing. He's way too high.

- Competitor after competitor starting too high on that 2x4.

- It's just bad strategy.

- Not a chance for that thing to fall in the barrier.

- Aw, monkeys!

- Next up, Ice Pick.

The competitor must go all the way through

the 300-pound block of ice.

Here he goes.

- Look at that swing.

That's a lot of power being generated.

- He's standing on one corner. He needs to move.

There he goes.

There you go. He completes it. - Nice!

Like I said, this guy has powerful swings.

You see him releasing those hips.

That means he knows how to utilize

the geometry of his body.

- So here we go, Lifeline.

Remember, one chance to cut completely through the object.

We've seen the chicken take people down before.

Can he do it?

Oh, he didn't cut all the way through.

He just got a shoulder off of that chicken.

- Well, Jonathan,

you cut through a lot of chicken,

but there's still one wing.

There's not enough bird on the ground to let you continue.

So, your time on Knife Fight ends here at Lifeline.

- Cutting is fun. It's terrifying.

It's totally terrifying, but it's fun,

and I guess I just cut a little too low.

Wish I got to cut the fish. The fish would've been fun.

- My name's Jeffrey, 44 years old.

I've been dabbling in blacksmithing

for about 25 years.

Most of my stuff is decorative.

Hinges, I make out of horseshoes.

I've made a few blades along the way.

I'm very comfortable with the use of application of blades.

I spent a lot of time in the woods hunting and fishing.

And other than that, playing dad.

I wanna win for my kids.

My kids will be proud if I bring home a victory.

- So what do you got there?

- This is a hand-forged blade.

I brought a hand and a half bolo variant--

15 inches of blade, 9 inches of handle.

- Have you weighed this? - I have.

It's 3.4 pounds finished.

- The forging looks more like cosmetic hammer marks

instead of actually thinning a bevel.

This still looks like almost a complete flat piece of steel

that's just been sharpened at the edge.

Not saying it won't perform,

but I would like to see it developed more.

I would like to see more of a primary bevel.

That being said, we're gonna try it out.

- Very good.

- I tried to put enough effort to make things cut,

and this blade takes a lot more effort.

But ultimately, if this is a blade

that you love and is catered towards you,

then it could likely do very well.

Your knife makes the cut. - Thank you.

I forged this blade at home.

I feel very confident in this blade.

It's an excellent design, durable material.

- Next up, Jeffrey Robinson.

- I could definitely tell why

he brings the bolo knife to this course.

It was used in the Philippines for hundreds of years.

The military used it.

This thing has proven itself in war.

This knife is heavy. It's 3 1/2 pounds.

My concern is the deceleration

and the blade control on this course.

All right, here he goes.

- Jeffrey Robinson up to Decapitator.

- Not liking his technique.

He needs to level off that blade.

- He got through number two.

Missed that one.

1 for 3 at Decapitator.

Let's see how he does stepping up to Slasher.

- Now, this blade on Slasher-- my concern is the sharpness.

He needs to hit this thing with speed and violence.

- Oh, boom! Nice shot.

Up to the tube.

Uh-oh. He got a penalty there.

Knocking the object off,

not actually cutting it in half.

Getting hung up on the box.

- I don't like his footing.

He needs to generate power from the ground up.

- Yeah, he was following it. - He's behind.

He needs to be in the lead of it.

- Did not make it before it made it

all the way back on track.

Stepping up to Timber.

I guarantee you he's chopped trees down before.

It's about precision, and, most of all, technique.

- He's creating that wedge in the back.

As long as he moves to the front, which he--

- Oh, boom! Beautiful job!

He felled it right down the middle.

- That was perfect technique, Bill.

- Okay, Jeffrey steps up to Ice Pick.

We talk about blade sharpness, but that thing is a hammer--

a 3 1/2-pound hammer. - Wow, look at him go!

Look at his swing.

That is a lot of power going through here.

- Wow, beautiful job!

Went right through Ice Pick. He's moving on to Lifeline.

He needs to pull back on the power

and rely on the sharpness and angle of attack.

- This is my major concern right here because

the sharpness in his blade.

- Okay, this chicken could be a problem.

Here we go. Sliced right through!

Good job, Jeffrey! - Nice, good angle.

- Right through the fish. - Yeah!

Look at that power! - Moving on.

- Right through it. Beautiful job.

Completes Lifeline.

How about the technique on Kill Shot?

What does he have to do to make that big,

3 1/2-pound bolo knife go right through the strap?

- It's a slice. It's not a impact.

- Is he gonna rush through it and make a mistake?

Here he goes. He got a little breather.

Right through the first one.

- Nice! - Oh, back swing.

Oh, my--oh, and that's what happened.

He rushed right through. - Wow. He rushed it.

- Too overconfident. It's not all about the time.

It's about completing the course,

and one strap--

one strap held Jeffrey Robinson

from completing Knife Fight.

- Jeffrey, the best part about it is you came here

with a blade that I thought was a little underdeveloped.

- Thank you. - And you know what?

You wielded it like a beast! - Thank you.

- You did things with it that

I just didn't think were gonna happen.

- Thank you. - And it cut like an ax.

And while you didn't complete Knife Fight,

you definitely have a shot at Dead Run.

But we have to see if you made it far enough,

fast enough, for that to happen.

Great job. - Thank you.

- Here's your blade. Good luck.

- Thank you, sir.

I feel I performed well in Knife Fight.

I'm prepared to go dust off, cool down,

and hopefully prepare for round two.

- My name is Jeff. I'm 55 years old.

I was a deep sea diver, survival instructor,

and pilot rescue swimmer.

I'm an Ironman.

If you have a high degree of endurance and stamina,

I think it benefits you at the end.

My son is the blade guy that helped me out,

and I actually freaking broke his $2,000 katana

for the tryout for this show. - Oh.

- Aww, man. - Okay?

I 100% did not ask him if I could use it either.

Travis. - What you got there?

- A 33 1/2-inch

5160 bastard sword.

It's about 2.8 pounds.

- Now, what's your training with--in swords?

- So, edged weaponry--

of course, I've used a lot of it.

I was a deep sea diver for the navy, eight years.

- What's the heaviest thing you've chopped with it?

- A piece of square 2x2.

- So, a singular piece? - Yeah, a singular piece.

- This is a nice-feeling piece but the proof's in the pudding.

I'll be putting this blade through some sugar cane.

- All right, sir.

- This blade could be brought maybe a slight bit sharper,

but with this much length,

it should still be a good slicer.

This is gonna be a blade that should be able to build up

a lot of speed.

And you look like an athletic person

that's put a lot of practice time in.

- Yes, sir. - So, congratulations.

Your sword makes the cut. - Thank you, sir.

I'm worried about either making bad cuts

or in sudden death,

not cutting whatever objects have to be cut in one swat.

- Stepping up to Knife Fight, Jeff Albertson.

- This guy is intense.

He spent ten years in the navy,

including special operations.

- Hoo-yah!

- He has 33 1/2 inches of blade real estate.

Long as he applies the proper swing,

the angles of attack...

- He is the complete package coming up to this,

but what I'm worried about

is his lack of experience with a blade.

First up, Decapitator.

That blade is light,

but it's angle of attack we're talking about here.

- We got one penalty.

He needs to line up that blade.

He's a little low.

- Oh, he got it.

- He needs to drop his body. Stay level.

- He missed the last one.

- He's a tall guy.

You have to bend your knees to drop down to that level

to get that horizontal cut.

So, let's talk about Slasher.

As long as he stays lead of the target and

meet that force dead-on, he should be okay.

That's what I'm talking about. Meet that force head on.

- That's force right there. - Stay lead to the target.

- Tubing right through, but almost lost his footing.

But he's very athletic. He kept his feet.

- Wow. - There he is on the box.

- He needs to stay in the lead.

He needs to work his foot movements,

stay lead of the target.

- He's only got a matter of seconds

before it returns on its track.

We got one penalty right there.

What do you think about his chances

stepping up to Timber?

- He has training in the navy.

If he strategizes right, it should be good.

- He could just try to cut right through it.

- Nice. - Oh, there we go.

- That's what I'm looking for. - That is brilliant.

That's exactly the technique we talked about--

create a notch out and then slice on the rear.

- Yeah, baby! - Oh, here we go.

Here we go. - Let gravity take over.

- Oh! Just missed.

One too many strike there.

It knocked the 2x4 away from the barrier.

Another longsword stepping up to that big block of ice.

- And we have seen longswords break on ice blocks.

- Pow!

- He needs--he needs to chop his way around it.

- He's really high on the target.

Is he gonna hit the-- he cut through the top.

Completes Ice Pick. Moving on to Lifeline.

- Look at him, Bill. He's not even winded.

This guy is focused.

- He's a beast bringing a comparable blade,

but does he have the sharpness in the blade left

after taking out Ice Pick?

Here we go. One shot.

Hit right through the chicken, no problem whatsoever.

Right through the fish.

Right up to the tubing. - Wow!

- No issue whatsoever. - Look at that power!

- He's on to Kill Shot.

- He has definitely enough blade real estate.

- The problem here is angle of attack

and controlling that blade.

Here we go.

- He's through the first one.

He's through the second set. - Nice!

- Last one. Three straps, one swipe.

Can he do it?

Beautiful job! - Yes!

- He's defeated Knife Fight.

- Hoo-yah!

- That is the face of success.

He has conquered Knife Fight.

- Jeffrey. - Hoo-yah!

- Hoo-yah! Congratulations.

Your edge held up phenomenally.

It wasn't razor-shaving sharp, but you know what?

All it did is just pick up a little bit more aggressiveness

to match your demeanor as you plowed through Knife Fight.

- Yes, sir.

- And you did a great job. - I like it.

- We're gonna have to see later if you made it here

fast enough to put you outside.

- Hope it plays out. I want Dead Run.

- All right. - Thank you, sir.

- Thank you.

- I feel like Knife Fight just got me warmed up,

and I'm really primed and ready for Dead Run.

- Gentlemen, we saw a lot of skill,

and unfortunately,

a lot of mistakes today on Knife Fight.

Only one contestant was tactical enough

to complete the course.

Jeff Albertson, congratulations.

You and your longsword will be moving on to Dead Run.

Jeffrey and Stephen,

you both made it as far as Kill Shot.

Only one can move outside

and face Dead Run.

Stephen, you were knocked out by the first strap.

Unfortunately, it's time to take your blade and go.

Congratulations, Jeffrey.

You are moving on to Dead Run.

- Jeffrey-- the guy's an actual threat,

so I have nothing but respect for him.

But I super wanna beat him.

- Jeff and Jeffrey,

outside, Dead Run awaits.

Go prep your blades and your minds

'cause you're gonna need both.

While Knife Fight was the ultimate test of blades,

Dead Run is the ultimate test of speed, timing,

accuracy, and precision.

Honestly, Tu, I have absolutely

no idea who's gonna take this.

- Jeff comes in here wielding a war blade, the longsword.

- We've seen long blades perform well.

- We've seen this time and time again.

These blades break in these competitions

versus a bolo knife made for chopping.

It's a work horse.

Used right, it could hack and chop through things.

- You never know.

Dead Run creates a lot of surprises.

Jeffrey Robinson-- unfortunately,

not the best performance at Knife Fight.

We're stepping up to Dead Run.

And let's see if he can wield that heavy blade.

3 1/2 pounds of bolo beast in his hands.

- 3 1/2 pounds. This thing is heavy, Bill.

This blade may not have the reach.

- We're about to find out.

- Well, he got the first one.

- He didn't slice that. He pushed it.

But he put all of the obstacles within reach now,

'cause they're swinging--boom!

Beautiful slice.

There's another one. Beautiful shot right through.

Beautiful! - Oh, nice!

All right, it's all about target's opportunity.

- Boom, right in half.

Beautiful shot there!

Oh! He destroyed it.

There he goes.

He's gotta get that bottle in half so he can move on.

That was an amazing job that he did.

He definitely surprised me.

- Stepping up to Ball Buster.

- Slice nine rolling balls in half

before they hit the floor.

We know he's got the power, but does he have the length

with his arm and that blade?

1 for 1.

Missed. 1 for 2.

Okay, 2 for 3.

- He's not doing bad on this. - No, he's not doing bad.

They're all within reach.

- Nice.

- There we go.

- Ah, missed that one.

- That range-- that's the disadvantage.

- Another miss.

Okay, sliced that one.

Red ball, last one. Got it.

Gotta move on. Three penalties.

- I tell you, he did a lot better

than I thought he was gonna do on that.

- On to Extinguisher.

Cut the rope, then cut through a swinging object,

releasing its contents onto a lit candle.

And there, he gets a penalty by hitting the rope

and not the object itself.

Steps up to number two.

- He needs to hit it at that sweet spot.

Not water this time.

That bag is full of baking soda.

Another miss. Steps up to number three.

He needs to concentrate on the object.

- Oh! Another miss.

0 for 3. Moving on to the last one.

- He hit it too high, Bill.

- He is 0 for 4. Stepping up to Free Fall.

Cut each piece of fruit as it drops.

Any nick counts.

He's gotta make up some time.

Missed the first one.

- This is about situation awareness.

- Missed the second one.

Oh, he got one.

- He missed.

- He's not even setting up that blade.

- Nope. Got that one.

And another miss.

- All right. He got it.

- We got a miss there too.

Boom! Last one.

Missed that target. Six penalties.

Now he's moving on to Fire & Ice.

Cut completely through the 400-pound block of ice

to trigger the flame.

- It's a heavy blade.

If he uses body mechanics,

he should be able to get through this pretty fast.

He's all upper body right now.

- Whoa! Got through that ice really quick.

- Absolutely.

- Next up, Crash Landing.

Cut completely through the flying targets

as they zip past.

Release the contents of the crate

and the red ball to move on.

This is tough.

Beautiful.

- That's not all the way through.

That's a penalty.

- It's tough to concentrate on one object

and track it.

- That's another penalty.

- Okay, got it. We're moving on.

Two penalties so far. Okay, here he goes.

He's gotta release that red ball.

- I would not hit it on the top.

I would hit it on the corners, but it's working for him.

- It is working. He is just smashing that box.

There's the ball. Next up, Fire Storm.

He is gasping for air.

- Beautiful job!

Jeffrey Robinson finishes Dead Run.

- Just like the inside course, this blade performs better

than I thought it was gonna perform.

- Jeff Robinson had...

15 penalties.

How can a guy win with 15 penalties?

Well, we're just gonna have to see.

Jeff Albertson steps up. Talk about a cardio king.

Talk about a guy whose physical fitness

is right on point.

- Jeff is coming at it with a 2.8 pound blade.

33 1/2 inches of cutting power.

Double-edged, he knows how to use it.

Let's just see how he does with moving objects.

- I'm gonna try and be a little more patient.

I'm gonna try and take a little bit tighter swings.

Other than that, if it's "break stuff,"

I know how to do that.

- Jeff Albertson taking on Dead Run.

Here he goes.

- He better go.e goes.

- This guy's moving out with a purpose.

That blade may be dull from Knife Fight.

- That's not good.

Better put his body behind him.

- Ooh. - Not starting off good here.

Nope.

- It has to be completely chopped in half.

- Is it the blade?

- These are just wild swings, Bill.

One down.

- There's another one.

It's bouncing off the bottle.

- Jeff is putting some power into this thing.

It is not cutting. - You know what?

Maybe he needs to flip that thing around,

try the other edge.

- There's a lot going on in there.

- Yeah, there is a lot going on.

- Nice.

This blade is dull.

- It's dull and it's getting duller by the second.

- He's pushing the objects when he hits them.

- This Gauntlet is fighting him back.

- There he goes.

There he goes! Right through!

- Nice!

- Oh-ho, beautiful job right there.

Taking some aggression out on it.

Jeff Albertson's blade is acting like a baseball bat.

There you go, beautiful. - Nice.

Nice. - There you go.

Okay, he needs to be moving on quick.

Moving on to Ball Buster. Tell you what.

Jeff started the course at 55. Now he's 57.

Nine balls coming down.

Missed the first one.

Ah, you can't swing twice at the ball.

Still trying to hit the first one,

but he's missed the second.

- It's hard to control that long blade.

- Beautiful job. - Nice chop.

- Missed.

- The proper technique with a long blade is to chop.

- Just like that, got a little piece of it.

- Got it.

Little bit too slow.

- Got another one.

Good technique, but his timing is not.

Final ball missed.

Six penalties. Not too good.

He can make up time here at Extinguisher.

- Look how dull this blade is.

- This blade has seen better days.

Again, another competitor hits the rope.

- You know, he needs to track that target.

He did not hit it in the sweet spot.

- Okay, he's gotta get the right trajectory

for the water here.

But he did not extinguish the flame.

He's 0 for 3.

Finally. - Nice!

- Okay, 1 for 4.

Here he is with Free Fall.

Beautiful job. 1 for 1.

2 for 2.

- That blade is already in the path of the fall.

He cannot do that.

- In Free Fall, competitors are not allowed

to place the blade directly under the fruit.

That is goaltending.

Missed it.

He's gotta change his technique here.

He's didn't-- goaltending again.

- Swing through it! Nice.

Good one.

He's positioned the blade...

- Again, goaltending.

- He's doing it again. That's a penalty.

Look at where he's holding that.

- That is goaltending.

Last one.

Goaltending again. - Those are not gonna count.

- Seven penalties. That was disappointing.

Moves on to Fire & Ice.

Let's see if that blade can do the job.

- He has to leverage here.

He needs to just hit it with speed and violence.

- Get some more power in those swings.

- There he goes.

I've seen this time and time again.

These blades break on the ice block.

- There you go! He's off.

Crash Landing up next.

- My only concern here is a dull blade.

- It's getting duller by the second.

This could be a problem.

Oh, cut the rope.

- All right, we got one penalty.

- He did not cut all the way through.

- That's a second penalty.

- Okay, good shot.

Beautiful shot!

- He needs to destroy this box with speed and violence.

- Gotta release that red ball.

- He's hitting it with the spin.

He needs to stop that spin.

- No question.

- He's not making much of a difference.

- Stop that spin. - Okay.

Couple more smashes and I guarantee you,

that box will be done, and there it goes.

Got the red ball. - Nice.

- Good job. Fire Storm.

- Wow. - Can he cut the rope?

- That is a dull blade.

- Nice.

- Jeff Albertson finishes Dead Run.

- But will it be enough?

Jeff Albertson had...

17 penalties.

- Wow, you know, Bill,

some portions of the course, Jeff was fast,

and some portions of the course, Jeff was fast.

- Well, I think it's the opposite of that.

There were some parts of the course where Jeff was fast,

and most other parts of the course where Jeff was fast.

- You're confusing me.

- Okay, let's see the times.

Jeff Robinson's time with penalties is...

Nine minutes and two seconds.

- Wow.

- Jeff Albertson's time with penalties is...

Ten minutes and 20 seconds.

Congratulations, Jeff Robinson.

You won $2,000 and a chance to compete

in the grand champion showdown at the end of the season

for a chance at winning 20,000 bucks.

- Well, I'm obviously disappointed,

but I gave it what I had, and that's how it works.

- Congratulations, my friend. Way to go.

- Thank you, sir. - You took it.

You better do whatever you need to do

to come back and take that crown,

'cause we're pulling for you.

- My blade performed well. It could use a good honing.

- Congratulations.

- I'm pumped. I'm ready for the next go.