Forged in Fire (2015) s01e04 Episode Script
Katar
Since the dawn
of human civilization,
mankind has made weapons.
- Whoa!
Bladesmiths have honed
and perfected their craft
over thousands of years.
And now,
for the first time ever,
these men will go head-to-head
and put their skills
to the ultimate test.
Welcome to the forge.
It starts with a lump
of raw steel
and a ticking clock,
and by the end of three rounds,
the bladesmiths must deliver
handmade weapons
that are works of art
as well as deadly instruments
of war.
These weapons must survive
explosive tests
as well as the scrutiny
of an expert panel judges.
In the end, only one bladesmith
will take home $10,000
and be crowned
a Forged in Firechampion.
My name is Arnon.
The first time I ever
made a blade I was 20 years old,
standing guard
in the Israeli Army.
I'm Jaime Vining,
and I'm 28 years old.
Not having trained under
a master bladesmith,
everything I know is from online
research and reading in books.
I'm David Goldberg.
I was born and raised
in Philadelphia.
My Japanese name is "Kinzan"--
means "gold mountain."
I'm Jimmy.
I've been making blades,
I'd say, since the sixth grade.
I get
a deep personal satisfaction
out of every knife I make.
Gentlemen, welcome.
There are three challenges
designed to see
how well you can
work that forge
and use tools
as time ticks down
and the pressure goes up.
After each round you will hand
your work off to our judges.
They will decide who stays
and who has to
surrender their weapon
and leave the forge.
Now it's time to meet
our judges.
American Bladesmith Society
master smith, J. Neilson.
World-renowned
rare weapons
recreation specialist
David Baker.
And last, martial artist
and edged weapons expert
Doug Marcaida.
They will decide who stays,
and who has
to surrender their weapon
and leave the forge.
In front of you,
on your anvils, is a cloth.
Go ahead and lift that up.
That is a stack of six bars
of high-carbon steel.
Your challenge is to forge,
from those bars of metal,
a fully functioning weapon.
You will have ten minutes
to work on your design.
And this week,
because the challenge
is so technically demanding,
you will have four hours
to forge your blades.
We have to harden it,
shape it, forge it--
all this in four hours.
Are you kidding me?
The blades themselves
must fall
within the following
size parameters.
The length of the blade,
not including the tang,
must be at least 11 inches,
but not more than 15 inches.
And just to test
your skills even further,
you must also use
a hata technique.
A hata technique involves
forging multiple layers of steel
into one billet,
from which you make your blade.
Your hata must include
at least 12 layers of steel.
Remember, gentlemen,
after this first round,
one of you will be dismissed
from the forge.
Good luck, bladesmiths.
Your time starts now.
Hata means grain.
It means there is layers.
I have an idea of how
I want to approach this.
I decided
that I was gonna go
right to a very formidable
hunting and fighting knife.
It's a Japanese style, but I
have a wide range of skills,
so I believe that my training
both in Japanese and
contemporary knife making
will help me stand out.
I would describe my
bladesmithing style
as pretty rustic.
So that's what I'm going with,
a nice kukri small machete.
It fits the parameters.
I'd love to win this competition
for my fiancé.
We're getting married
in a few months,
and I would love to take her
on a great honeymoon.
My style is a mixture
of the East and the West.
Obviously I'm a westerner,
but I spent 12 years in Japan
and studied
blacksmithing there.
But it's a substantial chunk
of steel,
and it will be
a fairly long blade,
so I'm thinking well, maybe
I'll make a really big dagger,
something I've seen
in my childhood,
with a all-steel handle.
You know,
I grew up in Texas.
I was always hearing about
Jim Bowie and the Alamo,
so I love the Bowie knife.
It just appeals to me.
Only problem is, my signature
blade is 5 inches long.
This had to be
between 11 and 15,
so it was out of
my comfort zone.
Bladesmiths, your ten-minute
design period is up.
You may now start
forging your blades
Now.
I live a pretty traditional
Japanese lifestyle
in an American setting.
Gonna weld!
When I do my sword making,
I have a Zen mind,
so the style of life lends
to the Asian way.
The challenge is to have
at least 12 layers
in the hata
when we're finished.
However, I can get 21 layers
as quickly
as I can get 12 layers.
I have some ideas about
not using all six pieces.
I'm gonna use five,
draw it out,
cut it up,
stack four stacks of five,
and then the single
in the middle.
So I'll have 21 layers
when I'm done.
It's going to make
such a strong blade.
It's gonna really
be good-looking too.
And odd numbers are for me.
I don't do even.
How Dave is using the machines,
that long stance.
He's got that martial arts,
Zen thing working for him.
Unfettered mind is the samurai.
We've given these guys
four hours instead of three
because forge welding adds
that extra wrinkle
in the competition.
They have such a process
to go through
to get everything to bind.
Giving them the extra hour
gives the opportunity
to do that correctly.
For me, if these welds don't
stick, there's no coming back.
The challenge is too tight.
I saved up for 13 years
to open up my shop.
Two weeks into the process,
unfortunately,
I was burglarized.
Got a lot of my equipment
and a lot of
my custom knives stolen.
If I win $10,000, it will
certainly take a lot of pain
out of the $20,000 loss I took
when I first started up
the shop.
I need to make sure
my welds stick,
'cause if I don't create
a solid weld here,
it's all over.
So right now I'm working
part time as a farrier
for a friend of mine,
and I'm working part-time
as a bladesmith for myself.
And my end goal would be
to be a bladesmith full-time.
I know that I have to fuse
these pieces of steel together,
and I have to take
every possible precaution
to make that happen.
You can screw up while making
a blade in many different ways.
Maybe when I pull it out,
it's warped like corkscrew.
Or maybe it bend like a spoon.
Those welds aren't set.
The other thing
that we could see happen
is they get everything
ground beautifully,
and then we test it,
and then the welds fail
as we're testing.
Cannot be too short.
It cannot be too long.
I have to fit
with a narrow parameters,
because as you forge the steel,
it elongates and stretches,
and you can't always predict
exactly how far it will stretch.
When my daughter
was very young,
she asked me for her birthday
present--she was seven,
so I made her a dagger
with a 7-inch blade.
If I win the prize, I'll take
my daughter and wife to Japan,
where I studied my craft.
One hour has elapsed!
So I put my billet
in the forge,
and I'm waiting for it
to heat up,
and I'm rotating it, making sure
it's heating up evenly.
- Oh, you lost it.
- Oh, it fell off.
And my rod breaks off.
And I'm like, "Ugh, how am I
gonna get around this?"
So I re-strategize.
I go over to the rack of tongs,
and I get back to work.
More than anything,
I think he's forced himself
into a much slower pace
by working with the tongs
and not going over
and re-welding that stick.
When I'm going over to the press
or power hammer,
I have less of a billet to use,
so when I get it stretched out
to my desired length,
I'm losing more and more metal
just because I don't have
the full disposal of the rod.
I'm checking out
the other bladesmiths,
seeing how far along they are,
how far behind I am.
I am so screwed.
I'm so far behind.
I really got to get going.
- We got a fire on the floor.
- Broken stick.
As I took the billet
off the hammer,
the weld I made didn't stick,
and it fell on the ground.
Come on.
That's such a rookie mistake.
It's catching the floor on fire,
and I'm just like,
"Oh, my God.
What am I gonna do?"
ack up.
Like a dog picking up a Frisbee.
I'm just so off my game now.
It messed me up so much.
It changed my mentality.
Now I got to rush everything.
Now I'm no longer calm.
Poor Jimmy's got the whole
Deputy Dog glove smear going on.
From here, it looks like
he grew a mustache.
I'm just telling myself,
"Hey, calm down.
You got plenty of time.
You can do this."
I immediately go over there,
and I weld a new handle on there
out of a thicker piece of steel.
I need every second I can
to get caught back up.
Two hours gone!
This is the halfway point.
The plan is now
to bend the steel over
and forge weld it again.
To do that I heat up
the first forge-welded billet,
and I make an incision
with a hot chisel.
After that, I can reheat the
billet, and bend it onto itself.
I have to keep heating up
and keep hammering
and stretching it
until I get the desired shape.
It's a lot of elbow grease.
I'm cruising along pretty well.
I'm finished grinding,
getting the grit
to where I want it
Mother--
Phew!
So I know that
I can make a hamon
and make the sword strong.
It ain't over till
the fat lady sings.
So I used a Japanese technique.
I resist portions of the blade
with clay.
You're really seeing
some craftsmanship
out of David
at this point.
He's putting some detail
into that blade.
It's nice to see these guys
doing the extra stuff
that we keep expecting to see.
All the choices
that I'm making
are a little
above and beyond,
but it's what I do best.
So it gets hot,
I quench it.
Success.
Holy cow. I've got so much more
forging to do.
So I've got to hurry up,
forge it to shape,
then get straight
to the grinder.
Jimmy looks like he's in a
little bit of a daze over there.
I mean, look at him
right now.
He could be doing
something else.
I agree.
I'm just so off my game.
I start making
stupid little mistakes
that I normally wouldn't make.
Okay, brother.
I can't believe
how thick this knife is.
I've got a lot
of grinding to do.
There's 20 minutes left.
I'm hot. I'm tired.
I'm sweaty. I'm dirty.
This is my
make-it-or-break-it moment.
I don't know
how I'm going to do this,
but I'm not giving up.
Never had to forge a blade
so quick.
There's about ten minutes left
on the clock.
As I plunge the blade
into the oil,
and as I pull it out,
I look at the blade.
I might be patting myself
on my own shoulder here,
but this is
one hell of a dagger.
I don't have anything else
to do.
I put it on the anvil, and
I go sit down and stare at it.
Feel pretty good.
Ten, nine,
eight, seven,
six, five,
four, three,
two,
one.
Your time is up!
Bladesmiths, your time is up!
I am devastated that
I just didn't do a better job.
But at the same time, I'm
relieved that it's finally over.
Gentlemen, that was
an epic round of competition.
Now it's time to see
what the judges have to say.
So, Jimmy, please present
your blade to the judges.
Well, Jimmy,
I like the big Bowie profile.
You looked like you here having
a little bit of trouble
with your
hata technique.
When the handle fell off,
it really threw me off my game.
And then I was
just trying to catch up,
and, you know, it just messed me
up mentally, so.
But you got
your 12 layers.
Yes, sir.
Was a requirement.
And everything looks clean.
Nicely done.
Thank you.
David, please present
your blade to the judges.
While you were working,
we saw some interesting stuff
going on
with your hata technique.
Wanna tell me about it?
I wanted to make four bars,
five layers each.
Then I took the extra bar
and stuck it in the center,
so I had 21 layers.
So I chose
this cut-and-stack method.
I like the shape.
Good job.
Jaime, please present
your blade to the judges.
Congratulations,
being the rookie of the group
and finishing through
with a nice blade.
Thank you.
Tell us about your hata.
I got the 12 layers.
A little bit of a struggle
for me
because I don't forge weld
that often,
so I was just happy to see
it took.
Very good. Thank you.
Arnon, please present
your weapon to the judges.
First of all, I'm a huge fan
of the dagger design.
It was nice also to see you
doing a more traditional route
with your hata technique,
folding, as opposed
to cut-and-stack.
Yes, I'm very familiar
with that technique.
And you got your 12 layers
in quickly.
Yes.
Nicely done.
Thank you.
You did an excellent job
of making this
a very difficult decision
for our judges.
But they need some time
to decide
who's going through
to the next round
and who's leaving
the forge.
Thank you.
- Well, here we go.
- Yeah.
Let's go ahead
and start with Jimmy's blade.
It's really heavy.
The tang is just massive.
Very thick, yes.
He's got a lot
of grinding to do
to get this blade
to a finished point.
It's a good shape
for a chopping cast.
Let's move on
to David's blade.
- Boy, is it heavy.
- Yeah.
There is so much material
in that blade.
Then I like what he did
with 21 layers in his hata.
That was nice, yeah.
You got some, you know, cojones
there, making all these layers.
But he's going to wind up
grinding 50% of that out.
But it's got a good
slashing feel to it,
and it's got a good belly
for the chop.
We asked for the best
that they could do.
I think he went
above and beyond with that.
Let's move on to Jaime's blade.
I like the design, because
it's got that straight back,
which is gonna be
a good chopper.
Don't like the handle.
It's a little bit big.
Which, once again,
how's he going to design that
so that it could feel
comfortable.
Let's move on to Arnon's blade.
I mean, I enjoyed watching him.
All his hammer work and doing
a traditional fold on it,
and I'm a big fan
of the daggers but,
I mean, there's a lot there.
It's going to be
a lot to swing.
The blade itself had to be
between 11 and 15 inches.
There's no way
that that's 15 inches.
- I think it's a bit long.
- It's longer.
It's a full, what, 16 1/4?
- I mean, this isn't 1/8 over.
- No.
This isn't 1/4.
This is over an inch.
That's a consideration,
but is it
a disqualifying consideration?
I'm looking around
at my competitors,
and honestly, I don't think
anybody did worse than me.
I think I'm going home.
Bladesmiths
The time has come for one of you
to leave the forge.
Arnon, you did not make the cut.
Arnon, the rules were laid down
for a size,
and you wound up
an inch over that length.
Don't know what else
I can tell you.
I understand.
Arnon, please surrender
your weapon.
I do feel a bit
of a disappointment
about being eliminated.
It would have been nice
to continue.
In the end, that one extra inch
of blade is what defeated me.
I'm just awful with numbers.
So that's a very obvious thing
to get axed for.
Gentlemen, congratulations.
You've made it to round two
of our competition.
Your second challenge
is to make
a working fit
and finished weapon
worthy of your name
and reputation.
You will have three hours
for this challenge.
You can use that time to address
any problems or issues
that you had
with your blade in round one.
But you must also
use that time
to design and fabricate
a handle for your blades
out of the range of material
provided for you.
At the end of this challenge,
your blade's
strength and durability
will be tested in a wood chop
as well as its ability
to hold an edge
in a specially designed
sharpness test.
At the end of this round,
one of you will have to go home.
You have three hours on the
clock. Your time starts
Now.
I definitely wish
I would have forged the blade
a lot thinner in round one.
Because now the first thing
I've got to do
is move a ton of metal.
He's got a lot to do
in three hours.
His blade has gone
into a SlimFast program.
It has.
In only one hour, your blade,
too, can lose four pounds.
I have so far to go.
Doing a two-piece handle here,
with a bolster of black,
and I don't really know
what this is, but it looks nice,
so I'm going to go with that.
Cutting down
the scales to length.
About to drill
a hole through 'em.
Jaime must not like
his thumbs very much.
The trickiest part
of building my handle
is if I don't align
the scales properly,
I'm going to have to start
all over with a new handle.
Crank it down,
it goes right through,
and everything
lines up perfectly.
Uh-oh.
Checking to make sure
nothing separated.
I inspect it.
Phew! And it's fine.
One of the criticisms
that the judges gave me
was that my blade was too heavy.
I'm going to have to change my
strategy, lighten up the blade.
So I'm going to go
right to the grinder.
Things are going well.
And then I need to have
a platen instead of a wheel.
So I go to the other side.
So, Wil, Dave's got a great
system working here.
He's just running from
one machine to the other.
Now he's going back
to the first grinder.
I was offered the whole space,
and I was offered
to use any tool.
So this is a big blade;
there's a lot to do--
making a handle, drilling holes,
putting a guard together.
I need--I'll be lucky
to get my blade done in time.
If the other fellas
wanted to use the grinders,
they could too.
It wasn't like I was pushing
them off the grinder.
One hour, gentlemen!
You have one hour remaining!
I know it's getting close.
I still have an hour
to do the handle.
Extremely tight,
but it's doable.
I really wish he had picked
a piece of bone or antler
instead of having
a block of wood.
Now Jimmy has to shape
that whole piece.
The first hole I drilled,
it went pretty smoothly.
As I'm drilling the second hole,
it bores into the first hole.
Ugh.
Jimmy's looking
a little frustrated
at the drill press
over here.
I realize
it's not going to work.
Crap.
He seems to be
way behind everybody else.
He's still got a raw block
of wood that he's dealing with.
It's frustrating to me.
I'm like,
"Hey, the safest and fastest way
to get this done
is to go ahead
and just burn the handle on."
It looks like Jimmy's bringing
the torch over to his table.
So he's going to burn
that tang through the handle.
I'm going to heat up the tang,
get it pretty hot,
and slowly work the handle on.
You can't control
that burn, can you?
That's just it.
It's fine when you've got
a lot of time.
45 minutes left on the clock.
This isn't going
to be pretty.
I have to make this work,
or it's over with.
Aw, come on.
I couldn't think
of any other way
that I could possibly
do another handle in time.
I'm going to heat up the tang,
get it pretty hot
and slowly work the handle on,
and it will burn itself a hole.
I know it's very traditional,
but--
The traditional method
is called that
because hardly anybody
does it anymore.
There's a reason for it.
We found a better way
to do it.
There are some divots
and imperfections in my blade.
And I'm thinking
I really only have two choices
with the time I have.
I can go back
to the belt sander,
and I can grind away
at the side of this
until hopefully
the imperfections are gone,
or I can start texturing it.
I've never put this particular
pattern on a blade this long,
so not quite sure
how it will turn out.
So Jaime might
be actually fashioning
a design into the blade.
Either that or, like Dave just
said, maybe he's chasing a flaw.
It gives it a weird mirror
reflective image,
so it draws your attention away
from the actual blade itself.
I'm going for a traditional
Japanese handle shape
for a hunting knife.
I saw a really nice piece of
wood that was yellow and black,
impregnated with plastic
so that it'll hold together.
Stabilized wood, they call it.
So it's time
to go to the drill press,
and I start to drill,
and it grabbed the wood
and flung it around
And slammed my finger
in between the vice.
I need a Band-Aid.
We've got blood in the forge.
Blood in the forge.
You're not bleeding,
you're not working hard enough.
Tell me about it.
Okay. Take your time.
Relax, Dave. Breathe.
I will finish this knife,
come hell or high water.
I have a lot left to do.
I'm going to work down
to the last minute.
I'm sure of it.
I'm not worried. I'm focused.
At this point, things are
starting to flow smoothly.
I believe I've done everything
the judges have asked for.
I'm confident with my blade.
I know it's going
to chop like a mother.
Pretty sharp.
Right now Jimmy's got the
"What the hell was I thinking?"
going on in his mind.
Forge heavy, grind thin.
This is a case where he could
have drilled heavy, glued lots.
- Yeah.
- At this point it'd be quicker.
The tang's burning slowly
because there's
just too much wood.
All they had was
really hard woods,
which is a really difficult
material to burn a handle on.
We got less than five minutes.
He's got a block of wood.
Why he doesn't
grab something
that's already got natural shape
to it, I have no idea.
When I see that my plan's not
going the way it's supposed to,
I kind of panic.
This is just desperation.
Time is so short,
and if I can get this to fit,
I can still possibly
make this work.
I take it back to the vice.
I'm hammering it on.
So maybe, maybe, maybe
Just split it.
Time's up, gentlemen.
Time's up.
Good job, man.
I have failed everybody
who was rooting for me.
I let myself down.
There was so many other
directions I could have gone.
But, no, I had to do it
the way I've always done it,
and that was
the wrong way to do it.
Gentlemen, your challenge
was to forge
a fully functioning weapon
of your own design.
Jaime, there are
a couple of visible flaws,
but your creativity,
the handling, the look--
really enjoyed it.
Thank you.
Dave, you've got 21 layers
put in there.
The handle construction--.
It's a beautiful weapon.
Jimmy, if you'd put any kind
of rudimentary handle on this,
I think this would have been
a great blade to test.
I'm very disappointed.
Jimmy, you did not complete
your weapon in round two.
Your weapon cannot compete
in these challenges.
Therefore,
you didn't make the cut.
Doug?
Jimmy,
we saw your meltdown.
But if you stayed in the fight
and you put a handle in,
even if it's just
to make it functional,
I believe you would
probably go through.
But I hope
this experience
will only strengthen
your will to forge on.
Thank you, sir.
Jimmy, please surrender
your blade.
The rules are pretty clear.
You had to put a handle on it
to advance to the next stage.
I made the wrong decision,
and I dug in my heels,
instead of stopping and going,
"Hey, just figure
something else out."
I thought the message
that Doug gave me was very deep,
and I absolutely
intend to follow it.
David, Jaime,
congratulations.
You guys have made it
to the Forged in Firefinal
and are one step closer
to $10,000.
When you showed up to the forge,
we asked you to create a weapon
of your own design
using our tools and equipment.
For this next round,
we're sending you back
to your home forges,
and you're going to create
a weapon of our choosing.
It's time to reveal what that
mystery weapon will be.
The katar.
The katar is a
punching and thrusting weapon
originating from southeast Asia.
It was the special weapon
of the fearsome Rajput warriors
from India,
who were said to hunt tigers
with a pair of katars
to prove their skill, bravery,
and nobility as warriors.
It has a distinctive
H-shaped handle
which places the large
triangular blade, or blades,
directly over
the wearer's clenched fist.
The experienced warrior
would use the katar
like an extension of their arm,
allowing for fluid,
fast, and agile attacks
in much the same way
as the famous
Marvel superhero Wolverine
uses his deadly claws.
Your challenge is to forge
an authentic,
fully functional version
of that iconic weapon.
I've seen a katar before.
I've seen 'em in movies.
But I've never made one
so it should be pretty fun.
I've never made a katar before.
But I'm going
to knock it out of the park.
In five days,
you will return
to present your finished katar
to our judges,
who will put your katars
through a series of dynamic
and grueling tests.
Once those tests are completed
they will determine
who will be crowned
the Forged in Firechampion
and receive
a check for $10,000.
I'm gonna do everything I can
to beat David.
I'm gonna make sure my weapon
can pierce, slice,
whatever's possible.
Going home to my home forge,
I understand the tooling.
I know how to use
all my machines.
The cards are in my favor.
The stars are aligned.
This challenge is mine to win.
- Good luck.
- Okay, man.
I'm back at my forge.
I'm very excited
to start my project.
I decided to sketch
something myself.
I am going with
a two-bladed katar.
It's a little more unique
than your standard single piece,
so I'm really hoping
that impresses the judges.
Going up against David is going
to be a real challenge for me.
I'm really going to have
to pull out all the stops,
but I really think I can do it.
I'm pumped to make this blade.
I have five days.
I want to make this thing solid.
I'm going to make
a seven-layer bar--
one bar for every budovirtue.
I always make a seven-layer bar
for the center of my swords
because I represent budo.
I'm a warrior.
Five days is not enough
to make a masterpiece
if you're working
at normal pace.
So I ramped it up.
I'm running
from forge to grinder,
back to the hammer,
to the press.
I'm going crazy.
Yesterday, I was able to get
most of the shape of my blade
done.
Today, I'm going
to finish the handle.
This is actually the first time
I've ever done
a handle and blade combination
like this,
so we'll see how it goes.
There's really not much metal
there to secure it,
so everything needs to line up
perfectly to work out.
Everything's lining up nice.
Blade will be up here.
My biggest concern for today
is hardening my blades.
I don't exactly know what the
tempering process should be.
I don't know
if it'll crack or warp.
Success.
Now onto the next step.
My plan today is to bring
the steel from the blade
down into the handle armatures,
and I've never done it.
Shaping any metal takes
a lot of care and precision.
It's a make-or-break-it day.
I notice a crack
on the side of the blade.
While I was shaping my sword,
I noticed a crack
on the side of the blade.
I'm not going back with
a blade that's sub-standard,
so I'm gonna forge
another sword.
I put on traditional
Japanese work uniform
in order to set myself up
mentally, physically,
and emotionally.
It's going to be tough.
I'm going to work every minute.
"Ichiban, number one,"
is what this says.
There can be only one.
Today's day four.
I need to attach
the blades to the handle,
sharpen the blade,
and do a lot of detail work.
Nothing's gonna stop me
from getting this $10,000.
Day five: gonna take
that knife out and finish it.
I got ten hours.
My katar is as solid
as it can be.
I'm happy with the way
it turned out.
That's a $10,000 knife
all day long.
I'm winning this thing.
Gentlemen,
welcome back to the forge.
Both had five days
to work on your katars.
You were asked to do
a historical recreation,
but with your signature stamp.
I hope that you've done
your very best work.
David, how did you put your
signature stamp on your blade?
Well, I used a piece of Damascus
for the blade.
I wanted something
that had an ancient feel to it,
so I left it gray and polished
it up just a little bit
so you could see the lines and
the veins running through it.
I call it
the bull's-eye pattern.
Great.
Jaime, how did you make
this blade your own?
In my research, I saw that the
katar normally had one blade.
I put two blades on it.
I wanted to give it
a little something extra.
And I really tried to make the
whole katar a weapon, you know,
from the side, from the piece
running down your forearm.
I really want it
to be a weapon.
Well, gentlemen,
both of your weapons
are beautiful and intricate.
But all that matters
in this competition
is how they hold up
during our tests.
Doug?
To test your katar's balance
and ability to slice and slash,
we have created this
multilayered strike zone.
It consists of different targets
at varying positions.
Jaime, you're first.
Are you ready?
Absolutely.
Nice.
Definitely's got
good swing to it,
cuts through the air.
As a slasher
That will cut.
- Good job.
- Thank you.
David, you're up.
Are you ready?
I'm ready.
It is a good slasher,
but I wish you didn't
extend this guard here.
It has some issues
turning my wrist around.
Good balance, though.
Thank you.
Both of our blades
performed really well.
It's anybody's game
until the fat lady sings.
To test your weapon's ability
to deliver a lethal strike,
I will take your weapons
to punch and thrust
into this ballistic gel dummy
that is wearing the kind
of Indo-Persian armor
that these weapons would face.
Dave, you're up.
Are you ready?
I'm ready.
I'm feeling
a little trepidatious.
I'm hopeful my blade will cut
through the chain mail.
Well, that went
and disemboweled him.
That punctured right through
the chain mail,
definitely went
right into the heart.
That, sir, is a killer.
Thank you.
All right, Jaime,
you're up next. You ready?
I'm ready.
I'm ready.
Disemboweled him there.
It didn't quite
go through the chain mail.
But because this splits apart,
it got in a little nick
right in there.
And on the final kill right
above there, it got through.
Jaime, it will kill.
Thank you.
Two kill shots,
I was pretty happy with that.
I think anybody
on the battlefield would be.
For the strength test,
your katar will be placed
in this
pneumatic arm thrusting device.
This device is calibrated
so that every thrust
is going to be the same
for each of your designs.
And just to make it
more interesting,
we've doubled the layers.
Your katar will have to go
through two sheets of metal.
Dave, are you ready?
I'm ready.
Three, two, one. Engage!
Very nice.
That went right through
both sheets.
This blade is strong.
Thank you.
My blade pierces
both sheets of iron.
Awesome.
Philly steel.
Okay, Jaime, we've loaded
your katar into the device.
Are you ready?
I'm ready.
In three, two, one. Engage!
Well, Jaime, it went through
the first sheet of metal.
It didn't go through
the second sheet of metal.
And your alignment on the tips
are now warped.
But it still went through
the first sheet.
Good job.
Thank you.
It's really disappointing
to see that my katar
didn't go through
both sheets of metal.
But as far as
design and performance,
I'd say
we're about neck and neck still.
Jaime, David,
in five days, we asked you
to forge a katar
and have your own personal stamp
on it.
You've both done that.
But there can only be
one winner of $10,000.
J.
Well, David, I love your
one-piece design setup.
You've built a lot of strength
into your blade that way.
It was a very nice design.
Thank you, J.
I like the fact
that you kind of
stayed with
a historical pattern.
It's very large for the handle
you put on it.
So it had the tendency
to want to
kind of roll out of your hand.
Overall,
a beautiful piece.
Thank you, David.
Comments for Jaime?
Jaime, you're creative.
You're imaginative.
And you can make it a reality.
But in this forge, we will hold
you to that reality.
And your split blade
didn't cut through the metal
as well as
we thought it would.
Jaime, it was a great
creative design you have there.
The imagination that
went in to it was really cool.
Big problem I have
is that one of your blades
ended up being loose
during the testing.
Actually, have one blade that's
flopping around a bit now.
You've both been
outstanding competitors.
However, there can only
be one Forged in Firechampion.
David, you are
the Forged in Firechampion.
Congratulations.
Jaime,
you did not make the cut.
The creativity that
went in to your blade--
all really, really good.
But I think historically,
there's a reason
that most bladed weapons
have a single blade.
And that second blade just winds
up slowing everything down.
And because it didn't pass the
tests as well as David's blade,
that's how we made our decision.
Thank you.
Jaime, please surrender
your weapon.
It's validating for me
to have made it this far.
Thank you.
Now I know
I can compete with guys
that have been doing this
for 20, 30 years.
- Thank you.
- All right, brother.
Congratulations, David. You are
the Forged in Firechampion.
You're gonna get a check
for $10,000.
How do you feel, man?
What a road.
Dave, you've never made
a katar before
and look what you came up with.
Your Japanese masters
would be so proud of your work.
Congratulations.
Thank you, Doug.
A 10 G purse? Phew.
It's coming at the perfect time.
Thank you very much.
Domo arigato gozaimashita.
of human civilization,
mankind has made weapons.
- Whoa!
Bladesmiths have honed
and perfected their craft
over thousands of years.
And now,
for the first time ever,
these men will go head-to-head
and put their skills
to the ultimate test.
Welcome to the forge.
It starts with a lump
of raw steel
and a ticking clock,
and by the end of three rounds,
the bladesmiths must deliver
handmade weapons
that are works of art
as well as deadly instruments
of war.
These weapons must survive
explosive tests
as well as the scrutiny
of an expert panel judges.
In the end, only one bladesmith
will take home $10,000
and be crowned
a Forged in Firechampion.
My name is Arnon.
The first time I ever
made a blade I was 20 years old,
standing guard
in the Israeli Army.
I'm Jaime Vining,
and I'm 28 years old.
Not having trained under
a master bladesmith,
everything I know is from online
research and reading in books.
I'm David Goldberg.
I was born and raised
in Philadelphia.
My Japanese name is "Kinzan"--
means "gold mountain."
I'm Jimmy.
I've been making blades,
I'd say, since the sixth grade.
I get
a deep personal satisfaction
out of every knife I make.
Gentlemen, welcome.
There are three challenges
designed to see
how well you can
work that forge
and use tools
as time ticks down
and the pressure goes up.
After each round you will hand
your work off to our judges.
They will decide who stays
and who has to
surrender their weapon
and leave the forge.
Now it's time to meet
our judges.
American Bladesmith Society
master smith, J. Neilson.
World-renowned
rare weapons
recreation specialist
David Baker.
And last, martial artist
and edged weapons expert
Doug Marcaida.
They will decide who stays,
and who has
to surrender their weapon
and leave the forge.
In front of you,
on your anvils, is a cloth.
Go ahead and lift that up.
That is a stack of six bars
of high-carbon steel.
Your challenge is to forge,
from those bars of metal,
a fully functioning weapon.
You will have ten minutes
to work on your design.
And this week,
because the challenge
is so technically demanding,
you will have four hours
to forge your blades.
We have to harden it,
shape it, forge it--
all this in four hours.
Are you kidding me?
The blades themselves
must fall
within the following
size parameters.
The length of the blade,
not including the tang,
must be at least 11 inches,
but not more than 15 inches.
And just to test
your skills even further,
you must also use
a hata technique.
A hata technique involves
forging multiple layers of steel
into one billet,
from which you make your blade.
Your hata must include
at least 12 layers of steel.
Remember, gentlemen,
after this first round,
one of you will be dismissed
from the forge.
Good luck, bladesmiths.
Your time starts now.
Hata means grain.
It means there is layers.
I have an idea of how
I want to approach this.
I decided
that I was gonna go
right to a very formidable
hunting and fighting knife.
It's a Japanese style, but I
have a wide range of skills,
so I believe that my training
both in Japanese and
contemporary knife making
will help me stand out.
I would describe my
bladesmithing style
as pretty rustic.
So that's what I'm going with,
a nice kukri small machete.
It fits the parameters.
I'd love to win this competition
for my fiancé.
We're getting married
in a few months,
and I would love to take her
on a great honeymoon.
My style is a mixture
of the East and the West.
Obviously I'm a westerner,
but I spent 12 years in Japan
and studied
blacksmithing there.
But it's a substantial chunk
of steel,
and it will be
a fairly long blade,
so I'm thinking well, maybe
I'll make a really big dagger,
something I've seen
in my childhood,
with a all-steel handle.
You know,
I grew up in Texas.
I was always hearing about
Jim Bowie and the Alamo,
so I love the Bowie knife.
It just appeals to me.
Only problem is, my signature
blade is 5 inches long.
This had to be
between 11 and 15,
so it was out of
my comfort zone.
Bladesmiths, your ten-minute
design period is up.
You may now start
forging your blades
Now.
I live a pretty traditional
Japanese lifestyle
in an American setting.
Gonna weld!
When I do my sword making,
I have a Zen mind,
so the style of life lends
to the Asian way.
The challenge is to have
at least 12 layers
in the hata
when we're finished.
However, I can get 21 layers
as quickly
as I can get 12 layers.
I have some ideas about
not using all six pieces.
I'm gonna use five,
draw it out,
cut it up,
stack four stacks of five,
and then the single
in the middle.
So I'll have 21 layers
when I'm done.
It's going to make
such a strong blade.
It's gonna really
be good-looking too.
And odd numbers are for me.
I don't do even.
How Dave is using the machines,
that long stance.
He's got that martial arts,
Zen thing working for him.
Unfettered mind is the samurai.
We've given these guys
four hours instead of three
because forge welding adds
that extra wrinkle
in the competition.
They have such a process
to go through
to get everything to bind.
Giving them the extra hour
gives the opportunity
to do that correctly.
For me, if these welds don't
stick, there's no coming back.
The challenge is too tight.
I saved up for 13 years
to open up my shop.
Two weeks into the process,
unfortunately,
I was burglarized.
Got a lot of my equipment
and a lot of
my custom knives stolen.
If I win $10,000, it will
certainly take a lot of pain
out of the $20,000 loss I took
when I first started up
the shop.
I need to make sure
my welds stick,
'cause if I don't create
a solid weld here,
it's all over.
So right now I'm working
part time as a farrier
for a friend of mine,
and I'm working part-time
as a bladesmith for myself.
And my end goal would be
to be a bladesmith full-time.
I know that I have to fuse
these pieces of steel together,
and I have to take
every possible precaution
to make that happen.
You can screw up while making
a blade in many different ways.
Maybe when I pull it out,
it's warped like corkscrew.
Or maybe it bend like a spoon.
Those welds aren't set.
The other thing
that we could see happen
is they get everything
ground beautifully,
and then we test it,
and then the welds fail
as we're testing.
Cannot be too short.
It cannot be too long.
I have to fit
with a narrow parameters,
because as you forge the steel,
it elongates and stretches,
and you can't always predict
exactly how far it will stretch.
When my daughter
was very young,
she asked me for her birthday
present--she was seven,
so I made her a dagger
with a 7-inch blade.
If I win the prize, I'll take
my daughter and wife to Japan,
where I studied my craft.
One hour has elapsed!
So I put my billet
in the forge,
and I'm waiting for it
to heat up,
and I'm rotating it, making sure
it's heating up evenly.
- Oh, you lost it.
- Oh, it fell off.
And my rod breaks off.
And I'm like, "Ugh, how am I
gonna get around this?"
So I re-strategize.
I go over to the rack of tongs,
and I get back to work.
More than anything,
I think he's forced himself
into a much slower pace
by working with the tongs
and not going over
and re-welding that stick.
When I'm going over to the press
or power hammer,
I have less of a billet to use,
so when I get it stretched out
to my desired length,
I'm losing more and more metal
just because I don't have
the full disposal of the rod.
I'm checking out
the other bladesmiths,
seeing how far along they are,
how far behind I am.
I am so screwed.
I'm so far behind.
I really got to get going.
- We got a fire on the floor.
- Broken stick.
As I took the billet
off the hammer,
the weld I made didn't stick,
and it fell on the ground.
Come on.
That's such a rookie mistake.
It's catching the floor on fire,
and I'm just like,
"Oh, my God.
What am I gonna do?"
ack up.
Like a dog picking up a Frisbee.
I'm just so off my game now.
It messed me up so much.
It changed my mentality.
Now I got to rush everything.
Now I'm no longer calm.
Poor Jimmy's got the whole
Deputy Dog glove smear going on.
From here, it looks like
he grew a mustache.
I'm just telling myself,
"Hey, calm down.
You got plenty of time.
You can do this."
I immediately go over there,
and I weld a new handle on there
out of a thicker piece of steel.
I need every second I can
to get caught back up.
Two hours gone!
This is the halfway point.
The plan is now
to bend the steel over
and forge weld it again.
To do that I heat up
the first forge-welded billet,
and I make an incision
with a hot chisel.
After that, I can reheat the
billet, and bend it onto itself.
I have to keep heating up
and keep hammering
and stretching it
until I get the desired shape.
It's a lot of elbow grease.
I'm cruising along pretty well.
I'm finished grinding,
getting the grit
to where I want it
Mother--
Phew!
So I know that
I can make a hamon
and make the sword strong.
It ain't over till
the fat lady sings.
So I used a Japanese technique.
I resist portions of the blade
with clay.
You're really seeing
some craftsmanship
out of David
at this point.
He's putting some detail
into that blade.
It's nice to see these guys
doing the extra stuff
that we keep expecting to see.
All the choices
that I'm making
are a little
above and beyond,
but it's what I do best.
So it gets hot,
I quench it.
Success.
Holy cow. I've got so much more
forging to do.
So I've got to hurry up,
forge it to shape,
then get straight
to the grinder.
Jimmy looks like he's in a
little bit of a daze over there.
I mean, look at him
right now.
He could be doing
something else.
I agree.
I'm just so off my game.
I start making
stupid little mistakes
that I normally wouldn't make.
Okay, brother.
I can't believe
how thick this knife is.
I've got a lot
of grinding to do.
There's 20 minutes left.
I'm hot. I'm tired.
I'm sweaty. I'm dirty.
This is my
make-it-or-break-it moment.
I don't know
how I'm going to do this,
but I'm not giving up.
Never had to forge a blade
so quick.
There's about ten minutes left
on the clock.
As I plunge the blade
into the oil,
and as I pull it out,
I look at the blade.
I might be patting myself
on my own shoulder here,
but this is
one hell of a dagger.
I don't have anything else
to do.
I put it on the anvil, and
I go sit down and stare at it.
Feel pretty good.
Ten, nine,
eight, seven,
six, five,
four, three,
two,
one.
Your time is up!
Bladesmiths, your time is up!
I am devastated that
I just didn't do a better job.
But at the same time, I'm
relieved that it's finally over.
Gentlemen, that was
an epic round of competition.
Now it's time to see
what the judges have to say.
So, Jimmy, please present
your blade to the judges.
Well, Jimmy,
I like the big Bowie profile.
You looked like you here having
a little bit of trouble
with your
hata technique.
When the handle fell off,
it really threw me off my game.
And then I was
just trying to catch up,
and, you know, it just messed me
up mentally, so.
But you got
your 12 layers.
Yes, sir.
Was a requirement.
And everything looks clean.
Nicely done.
Thank you.
David, please present
your blade to the judges.
While you were working,
we saw some interesting stuff
going on
with your hata technique.
Wanna tell me about it?
I wanted to make four bars,
five layers each.
Then I took the extra bar
and stuck it in the center,
so I had 21 layers.
So I chose
this cut-and-stack method.
I like the shape.
Good job.
Jaime, please present
your blade to the judges.
Congratulations,
being the rookie of the group
and finishing through
with a nice blade.
Thank you.
Tell us about your hata.
I got the 12 layers.
A little bit of a struggle
for me
because I don't forge weld
that often,
so I was just happy to see
it took.
Very good. Thank you.
Arnon, please present
your weapon to the judges.
First of all, I'm a huge fan
of the dagger design.
It was nice also to see you
doing a more traditional route
with your hata technique,
folding, as opposed
to cut-and-stack.
Yes, I'm very familiar
with that technique.
And you got your 12 layers
in quickly.
Yes.
Nicely done.
Thank you.
You did an excellent job
of making this
a very difficult decision
for our judges.
But they need some time
to decide
who's going through
to the next round
and who's leaving
the forge.
Thank you.
- Well, here we go.
- Yeah.
Let's go ahead
and start with Jimmy's blade.
It's really heavy.
The tang is just massive.
Very thick, yes.
He's got a lot
of grinding to do
to get this blade
to a finished point.
It's a good shape
for a chopping cast.
Let's move on
to David's blade.
- Boy, is it heavy.
- Yeah.
There is so much material
in that blade.
Then I like what he did
with 21 layers in his hata.
That was nice, yeah.
You got some, you know, cojones
there, making all these layers.
But he's going to wind up
grinding 50% of that out.
But it's got a good
slashing feel to it,
and it's got a good belly
for the chop.
We asked for the best
that they could do.
I think he went
above and beyond with that.
Let's move on to Jaime's blade.
I like the design, because
it's got that straight back,
which is gonna be
a good chopper.
Don't like the handle.
It's a little bit big.
Which, once again,
how's he going to design that
so that it could feel
comfortable.
Let's move on to Arnon's blade.
I mean, I enjoyed watching him.
All his hammer work and doing
a traditional fold on it,
and I'm a big fan
of the daggers but,
I mean, there's a lot there.
It's going to be
a lot to swing.
The blade itself had to be
between 11 and 15 inches.
There's no way
that that's 15 inches.
- I think it's a bit long.
- It's longer.
It's a full, what, 16 1/4?
- I mean, this isn't 1/8 over.
- No.
This isn't 1/4.
This is over an inch.
That's a consideration,
but is it
a disqualifying consideration?
I'm looking around
at my competitors,
and honestly, I don't think
anybody did worse than me.
I think I'm going home.
Bladesmiths
The time has come for one of you
to leave the forge.
Arnon, you did not make the cut.
Arnon, the rules were laid down
for a size,
and you wound up
an inch over that length.
Don't know what else
I can tell you.
I understand.
Arnon, please surrender
your weapon.
I do feel a bit
of a disappointment
about being eliminated.
It would have been nice
to continue.
In the end, that one extra inch
of blade is what defeated me.
I'm just awful with numbers.
So that's a very obvious thing
to get axed for.
Gentlemen, congratulations.
You've made it to round two
of our competition.
Your second challenge
is to make
a working fit
and finished weapon
worthy of your name
and reputation.
You will have three hours
for this challenge.
You can use that time to address
any problems or issues
that you had
with your blade in round one.
But you must also
use that time
to design and fabricate
a handle for your blades
out of the range of material
provided for you.
At the end of this challenge,
your blade's
strength and durability
will be tested in a wood chop
as well as its ability
to hold an edge
in a specially designed
sharpness test.
At the end of this round,
one of you will have to go home.
You have three hours on the
clock. Your time starts
Now.
I definitely wish
I would have forged the blade
a lot thinner in round one.
Because now the first thing
I've got to do
is move a ton of metal.
He's got a lot to do
in three hours.
His blade has gone
into a SlimFast program.
It has.
In only one hour, your blade,
too, can lose four pounds.
I have so far to go.
Doing a two-piece handle here,
with a bolster of black,
and I don't really know
what this is, but it looks nice,
so I'm going to go with that.
Cutting down
the scales to length.
About to drill
a hole through 'em.
Jaime must not like
his thumbs very much.
The trickiest part
of building my handle
is if I don't align
the scales properly,
I'm going to have to start
all over with a new handle.
Crank it down,
it goes right through,
and everything
lines up perfectly.
Uh-oh.
Checking to make sure
nothing separated.
I inspect it.
Phew! And it's fine.
One of the criticisms
that the judges gave me
was that my blade was too heavy.
I'm going to have to change my
strategy, lighten up the blade.
So I'm going to go
right to the grinder.
Things are going well.
And then I need to have
a platen instead of a wheel.
So I go to the other side.
So, Wil, Dave's got a great
system working here.
He's just running from
one machine to the other.
Now he's going back
to the first grinder.
I was offered the whole space,
and I was offered
to use any tool.
So this is a big blade;
there's a lot to do--
making a handle, drilling holes,
putting a guard together.
I need--I'll be lucky
to get my blade done in time.
If the other fellas
wanted to use the grinders,
they could too.
It wasn't like I was pushing
them off the grinder.
One hour, gentlemen!
You have one hour remaining!
I know it's getting close.
I still have an hour
to do the handle.
Extremely tight,
but it's doable.
I really wish he had picked
a piece of bone or antler
instead of having
a block of wood.
Now Jimmy has to shape
that whole piece.
The first hole I drilled,
it went pretty smoothly.
As I'm drilling the second hole,
it bores into the first hole.
Ugh.
Jimmy's looking
a little frustrated
at the drill press
over here.
I realize
it's not going to work.
Crap.
He seems to be
way behind everybody else.
He's still got a raw block
of wood that he's dealing with.
It's frustrating to me.
I'm like,
"Hey, the safest and fastest way
to get this done
is to go ahead
and just burn the handle on."
It looks like Jimmy's bringing
the torch over to his table.
So he's going to burn
that tang through the handle.
I'm going to heat up the tang,
get it pretty hot,
and slowly work the handle on.
You can't control
that burn, can you?
That's just it.
It's fine when you've got
a lot of time.
45 minutes left on the clock.
This isn't going
to be pretty.
I have to make this work,
or it's over with.
Aw, come on.
I couldn't think
of any other way
that I could possibly
do another handle in time.
I'm going to heat up the tang,
get it pretty hot
and slowly work the handle on,
and it will burn itself a hole.
I know it's very traditional,
but--
The traditional method
is called that
because hardly anybody
does it anymore.
There's a reason for it.
We found a better way
to do it.
There are some divots
and imperfections in my blade.
And I'm thinking
I really only have two choices
with the time I have.
I can go back
to the belt sander,
and I can grind away
at the side of this
until hopefully
the imperfections are gone,
or I can start texturing it.
I've never put this particular
pattern on a blade this long,
so not quite sure
how it will turn out.
So Jaime might
be actually fashioning
a design into the blade.
Either that or, like Dave just
said, maybe he's chasing a flaw.
It gives it a weird mirror
reflective image,
so it draws your attention away
from the actual blade itself.
I'm going for a traditional
Japanese handle shape
for a hunting knife.
I saw a really nice piece of
wood that was yellow and black,
impregnated with plastic
so that it'll hold together.
Stabilized wood, they call it.
So it's time
to go to the drill press,
and I start to drill,
and it grabbed the wood
and flung it around
And slammed my finger
in between the vice.
I need a Band-Aid.
We've got blood in the forge.
Blood in the forge.
You're not bleeding,
you're not working hard enough.
Tell me about it.
Okay. Take your time.
Relax, Dave. Breathe.
I will finish this knife,
come hell or high water.
I have a lot left to do.
I'm going to work down
to the last minute.
I'm sure of it.
I'm not worried. I'm focused.
At this point, things are
starting to flow smoothly.
I believe I've done everything
the judges have asked for.
I'm confident with my blade.
I know it's going
to chop like a mother.
Pretty sharp.
Right now Jimmy's got the
"What the hell was I thinking?"
going on in his mind.
Forge heavy, grind thin.
This is a case where he could
have drilled heavy, glued lots.
- Yeah.
- At this point it'd be quicker.
The tang's burning slowly
because there's
just too much wood.
All they had was
really hard woods,
which is a really difficult
material to burn a handle on.
We got less than five minutes.
He's got a block of wood.
Why he doesn't
grab something
that's already got natural shape
to it, I have no idea.
When I see that my plan's not
going the way it's supposed to,
I kind of panic.
This is just desperation.
Time is so short,
and if I can get this to fit,
I can still possibly
make this work.
I take it back to the vice.
I'm hammering it on.
So maybe, maybe, maybe
Just split it.
Time's up, gentlemen.
Time's up.
Good job, man.
I have failed everybody
who was rooting for me.
I let myself down.
There was so many other
directions I could have gone.
But, no, I had to do it
the way I've always done it,
and that was
the wrong way to do it.
Gentlemen, your challenge
was to forge
a fully functioning weapon
of your own design.
Jaime, there are
a couple of visible flaws,
but your creativity,
the handling, the look--
really enjoyed it.
Thank you.
Dave, you've got 21 layers
put in there.
The handle construction--.
It's a beautiful weapon.
Jimmy, if you'd put any kind
of rudimentary handle on this,
I think this would have been
a great blade to test.
I'm very disappointed.
Jimmy, you did not complete
your weapon in round two.
Your weapon cannot compete
in these challenges.
Therefore,
you didn't make the cut.
Doug?
Jimmy,
we saw your meltdown.
But if you stayed in the fight
and you put a handle in,
even if it's just
to make it functional,
I believe you would
probably go through.
But I hope
this experience
will only strengthen
your will to forge on.
Thank you, sir.
Jimmy, please surrender
your blade.
The rules are pretty clear.
You had to put a handle on it
to advance to the next stage.
I made the wrong decision,
and I dug in my heels,
instead of stopping and going,
"Hey, just figure
something else out."
I thought the message
that Doug gave me was very deep,
and I absolutely
intend to follow it.
David, Jaime,
congratulations.
You guys have made it
to the Forged in Firefinal
and are one step closer
to $10,000.
When you showed up to the forge,
we asked you to create a weapon
of your own design
using our tools and equipment.
For this next round,
we're sending you back
to your home forges,
and you're going to create
a weapon of our choosing.
It's time to reveal what that
mystery weapon will be.
The katar.
The katar is a
punching and thrusting weapon
originating from southeast Asia.
It was the special weapon
of the fearsome Rajput warriors
from India,
who were said to hunt tigers
with a pair of katars
to prove their skill, bravery,
and nobility as warriors.
It has a distinctive
H-shaped handle
which places the large
triangular blade, or blades,
directly over
the wearer's clenched fist.
The experienced warrior
would use the katar
like an extension of their arm,
allowing for fluid,
fast, and agile attacks
in much the same way
as the famous
Marvel superhero Wolverine
uses his deadly claws.
Your challenge is to forge
an authentic,
fully functional version
of that iconic weapon.
I've seen a katar before.
I've seen 'em in movies.
But I've never made one
so it should be pretty fun.
I've never made a katar before.
But I'm going
to knock it out of the park.
In five days,
you will return
to present your finished katar
to our judges,
who will put your katars
through a series of dynamic
and grueling tests.
Once those tests are completed
they will determine
who will be crowned
the Forged in Firechampion
and receive
a check for $10,000.
I'm gonna do everything I can
to beat David.
I'm gonna make sure my weapon
can pierce, slice,
whatever's possible.
Going home to my home forge,
I understand the tooling.
I know how to use
all my machines.
The cards are in my favor.
The stars are aligned.
This challenge is mine to win.
- Good luck.
- Okay, man.
I'm back at my forge.
I'm very excited
to start my project.
I decided to sketch
something myself.
I am going with
a two-bladed katar.
It's a little more unique
than your standard single piece,
so I'm really hoping
that impresses the judges.
Going up against David is going
to be a real challenge for me.
I'm really going to have
to pull out all the stops,
but I really think I can do it.
I'm pumped to make this blade.
I have five days.
I want to make this thing solid.
I'm going to make
a seven-layer bar--
one bar for every budovirtue.
I always make a seven-layer bar
for the center of my swords
because I represent budo.
I'm a warrior.
Five days is not enough
to make a masterpiece
if you're working
at normal pace.
So I ramped it up.
I'm running
from forge to grinder,
back to the hammer,
to the press.
I'm going crazy.
Yesterday, I was able to get
most of the shape of my blade
done.
Today, I'm going
to finish the handle.
This is actually the first time
I've ever done
a handle and blade combination
like this,
so we'll see how it goes.
There's really not much metal
there to secure it,
so everything needs to line up
perfectly to work out.
Everything's lining up nice.
Blade will be up here.
My biggest concern for today
is hardening my blades.
I don't exactly know what the
tempering process should be.
I don't know
if it'll crack or warp.
Success.
Now onto the next step.
My plan today is to bring
the steel from the blade
down into the handle armatures,
and I've never done it.
Shaping any metal takes
a lot of care and precision.
It's a make-or-break-it day.
I notice a crack
on the side of the blade.
While I was shaping my sword,
I noticed a crack
on the side of the blade.
I'm not going back with
a blade that's sub-standard,
so I'm gonna forge
another sword.
I put on traditional
Japanese work uniform
in order to set myself up
mentally, physically,
and emotionally.
It's going to be tough.
I'm going to work every minute.
"Ichiban, number one,"
is what this says.
There can be only one.
Today's day four.
I need to attach
the blades to the handle,
sharpen the blade,
and do a lot of detail work.
Nothing's gonna stop me
from getting this $10,000.
Day five: gonna take
that knife out and finish it.
I got ten hours.
My katar is as solid
as it can be.
I'm happy with the way
it turned out.
That's a $10,000 knife
all day long.
I'm winning this thing.
Gentlemen,
welcome back to the forge.
Both had five days
to work on your katars.
You were asked to do
a historical recreation,
but with your signature stamp.
I hope that you've done
your very best work.
David, how did you put your
signature stamp on your blade?
Well, I used a piece of Damascus
for the blade.
I wanted something
that had an ancient feel to it,
so I left it gray and polished
it up just a little bit
so you could see the lines and
the veins running through it.
I call it
the bull's-eye pattern.
Great.
Jaime, how did you make
this blade your own?
In my research, I saw that the
katar normally had one blade.
I put two blades on it.
I wanted to give it
a little something extra.
And I really tried to make the
whole katar a weapon, you know,
from the side, from the piece
running down your forearm.
I really want it
to be a weapon.
Well, gentlemen,
both of your weapons
are beautiful and intricate.
But all that matters
in this competition
is how they hold up
during our tests.
Doug?
To test your katar's balance
and ability to slice and slash,
we have created this
multilayered strike zone.
It consists of different targets
at varying positions.
Jaime, you're first.
Are you ready?
Absolutely.
Nice.
Definitely's got
good swing to it,
cuts through the air.
As a slasher
That will cut.
- Good job.
- Thank you.
David, you're up.
Are you ready?
I'm ready.
It is a good slasher,
but I wish you didn't
extend this guard here.
It has some issues
turning my wrist around.
Good balance, though.
Thank you.
Both of our blades
performed really well.
It's anybody's game
until the fat lady sings.
To test your weapon's ability
to deliver a lethal strike,
I will take your weapons
to punch and thrust
into this ballistic gel dummy
that is wearing the kind
of Indo-Persian armor
that these weapons would face.
Dave, you're up.
Are you ready?
I'm ready.
I'm feeling
a little trepidatious.
I'm hopeful my blade will cut
through the chain mail.
Well, that went
and disemboweled him.
That punctured right through
the chain mail,
definitely went
right into the heart.
That, sir, is a killer.
Thank you.
All right, Jaime,
you're up next. You ready?
I'm ready.
I'm ready.
Disemboweled him there.
It didn't quite
go through the chain mail.
But because this splits apart,
it got in a little nick
right in there.
And on the final kill right
above there, it got through.
Jaime, it will kill.
Thank you.
Two kill shots,
I was pretty happy with that.
I think anybody
on the battlefield would be.
For the strength test,
your katar will be placed
in this
pneumatic arm thrusting device.
This device is calibrated
so that every thrust
is going to be the same
for each of your designs.
And just to make it
more interesting,
we've doubled the layers.
Your katar will have to go
through two sheets of metal.
Dave, are you ready?
I'm ready.
Three, two, one. Engage!
Very nice.
That went right through
both sheets.
This blade is strong.
Thank you.
My blade pierces
both sheets of iron.
Awesome.
Philly steel.
Okay, Jaime, we've loaded
your katar into the device.
Are you ready?
I'm ready.
In three, two, one. Engage!
Well, Jaime, it went through
the first sheet of metal.
It didn't go through
the second sheet of metal.
And your alignment on the tips
are now warped.
But it still went through
the first sheet.
Good job.
Thank you.
It's really disappointing
to see that my katar
didn't go through
both sheets of metal.
But as far as
design and performance,
I'd say
we're about neck and neck still.
Jaime, David,
in five days, we asked you
to forge a katar
and have your own personal stamp
on it.
You've both done that.
But there can only be
one winner of $10,000.
J.
Well, David, I love your
one-piece design setup.
You've built a lot of strength
into your blade that way.
It was a very nice design.
Thank you, J.
I like the fact
that you kind of
stayed with
a historical pattern.
It's very large for the handle
you put on it.
So it had the tendency
to want to
kind of roll out of your hand.
Overall,
a beautiful piece.
Thank you, David.
Comments for Jaime?
Jaime, you're creative.
You're imaginative.
And you can make it a reality.
But in this forge, we will hold
you to that reality.
And your split blade
didn't cut through the metal
as well as
we thought it would.
Jaime, it was a great
creative design you have there.
The imagination that
went in to it was really cool.
Big problem I have
is that one of your blades
ended up being loose
during the testing.
Actually, have one blade that's
flopping around a bit now.
You've both been
outstanding competitors.
However, there can only
be one Forged in Firechampion.
David, you are
the Forged in Firechampion.
Congratulations.
Jaime,
you did not make the cut.
The creativity that
went in to your blade--
all really, really good.
But I think historically,
there's a reason
that most bladed weapons
have a single blade.
And that second blade just winds
up slowing everything down.
And because it didn't pass the
tests as well as David's blade,
that's how we made our decision.
Thank you.
Jaime, please surrender
your weapon.
It's validating for me
to have made it this far.
Thank you.
Now I know
I can compete with guys
that have been doing this
for 20, 30 years.
- Thank you.
- All right, brother.
Congratulations, David. You are
the Forged in Firechampion.
You're gonna get a check
for $10,000.
How do you feel, man?
What a road.
Dave, you've never made
a katar before
and look what you came up with.
Your Japanese masters
would be so proud of your work.
Congratulations.
Thank you, Doug.
A 10 G purse? Phew.
It's coming at the perfect time.
Thank you very much.
Domo arigato gozaimashita.