[rock music]
♪ ♪
[adventurous music]
[whip cracks] [hooves pounding]
♪ ♪
[horse neighs]
♪ ♪
[cartoony gunshots fire]
- My name is Gregory McClure.
I am 50 years old.
I'm from Dacoma, Oklahoma.
Knife making has always been a deep-seated passion.
My grandfather pulled me in when I was 10 years old.
We found a piece of metal alongside the road,
and ever since then, I started making custom knives.
♪ ♪
- My name's Eric Finch. I'm 20 years old.
I'm from Harmony, Pennsylvania, and I've been bladesmithing
for almost three years.
When I first got into bladesmithing,
I didn't have a lot of money,
and my uncle Chuck,
he was super supportive.
He got me my first anvil.
He really had a lot of faith in me getting into this,
and so being here, it feels like its finally rewarding him
for what he's done for me.
- How are we doing today?
- Doin' good. Ready to do this.
- [chuckling] All right.
[rock music]
- My name is LJ Jarrett, 49 years old,
from the little town of Campbell, Missouri.
I was always a bigger guy.
Buddies call me "Knuckle-Dragger,"
"Mongo," "Kong."
It's kind of where the Silverback Blades came from,
my little business--
'cause I've always heard the gorilla jokes.
[adventurous music]
- My name is Nathan Payne.
I've been bladesmithing for about four years now,
and I'm from Sparta, Tennessee.
So I'm a full-time employee with the Department
of Mental Health and Substance Abuse.
Well, I'm in recovery, myself,
from active substance use
for a little over nine years now,
and when I found bladesmithing,
it just did something for me.
It was unlike any other coping mechanism that I found.
[whip cracks]
- Bladesmiths, welcome to The Forge.
Now, gentlemen, the four of you are here to test your resolve
and your skills in a bladesmithing competition
that consists of three rounds,
each of which will end in a critique and an elimination
by the judges sitting behind me.
They'll be making the critical decisions here today
as to who's leaving The Forge carrying a check for $10,000
and earning the title of "Forged in Fire Champion."
Now, gentlemen, as you can see,
we got a bit of a Western theme here in the competition today.
It's all about speed and accuracy.
This is a competition we are calling "The Fastest Blade
in the West." [cartoony gunshot fires]
Now, in order to complete this challenge,
you're gonna need this.
♪ ♪
You might be wondering to yourselves,
"Well, what in tarnations
could I be needing an empty sheath for?"
Hold your horses. We're gonna get there.
First, I want to show you the blade
that fits inside of that sheath.
♪ ♪
[gunshot]
The Mexican Bowie Knife.
- The Mexican Bowie Knife was the staple sidearm
of the vaqueros--the original cowboys of the Wild West.
Getting its shape from the Spanish navaja,
it traces its origins back to the 19th century.
This uniquely coated blade with a clip point
that is small enough to carry on the belt,
but also sharp enough to cut
through anything on the frontier,
from ropes to baling twine to the head of a rattlesnake.
Almost everything, from the clothes they made
that the cowboys wore and the knives they carried,
were influenced by the vaqueros.
- Now your test today is to recreate this blade
as closely as possible, but as quickly as possible.
Now, as far as steel goes, the saloon's pantry is open,
and you can use that steel in any technique you want
to make your blades.
Our clock will be moving forward,
and it's a race to the finish.
And today, gentlemen, your finish line
is to get your blade to fit inside this sheath.
The first smith who is able to recreate this blade
and sheath it: you will be rewarded with an extra
30 minutes in the second round of competition.
Now, the runner-up will get an extra 15 minutes,
and the last smith will have 15 minutes deducted
from their second round time.
- The first guy that gets his knife in the case
gets an extra 30 minutes for the handle.
I wanna be that first guy.
- Now, for those of you who do join us
in round two of the competition,
you will finish your blades by adding handles to them,
turning them into fully functioning weapons,
at which point, our judges will take over and test them
for strength and durability in a gunpowder barrel chop
and check your edge retention in a mailbag slice.
Gentlemen, you have three hours on the clock.
So good luck. Stay sharp.
Your time starts now. [gunshot]
And they're off to the races.
The smiths have the choice of any steel they want,
but they have to recreate the Bowie knife we have on display.
- What's great about this challenge is it's not just
about making a knife.
It's finding the material to make the quickest
and the best knife you can turn in.
So it's a lot about speed.
- So Eric's picked up steel.
He's got 1095, 15N20, so he's gonna make
some Damascus.
- That Western-style Bowie is a very wide knife,
so I know if I stack up enough steel,
I'll have plenty of steel to get the width of my blade.
♪ ♪
I feel good. I took way more steel
than what I needed.
I don't know if I'm gonna be the one to get to 30 minutes.
As long as I complete it, that's all I'm worried about.
- Nathan looks like he just grabbed a bar of W1.
- Yeah, those bars are about 5 inches, by one by one.
- Right. - It's enough steel.
- The parameters are probably what's gonna hang me up.
Let's not get flashy. Just keep it simple.
I'm not gonna go in worrying about gettin' it
sheathed first or anything. I'm in it to win it.
But I'm in it to, like, just get it done.
Yeehaw!
- I go to the pantry to pick out steel,
and I'm scared to death.
[laughs]
I think I'm gonna do a canister.
- If he is going for a canister,
he's gonna be taking some extra steps.
- I think there is no way in hell
I'm gonna be able to finish a canister Damascus
front to back in three hours.
- All right, he put the powder back
and got a piece of that W1.
- Anytime you go with a mono steel versus a Damascus,
you're always gonna sacrifice a little bit of beauty.
But speed is still a part of this challenge.
- Yeehaw! [cartoony gunshot fires]
- I go for layered Damascus, 15N20 and 1095.
I really feel like the Damascus
is gonna set me apart.
- Give it to the smiths for doing layered Damascus.
Steppin' up the game, that's great.
- Come on, baby.
The hardest part about the challenge,
I think, is the clock.
This is quick. This is intense.
- All right, guys, 30 minutes have elapsed
in this competition!
♪ ♪
- I like what Eric's doing, though.
He's taking small bites, but fast bites.
- Yep.
- I take a few heats, and my billet is solid.
- He's goin' fast, and he's flipping it
and hitting it for both sides.
♪ ♪
- I don't wanna think I'm gonna win the round
right out the gates like this.
Just 'cause you're being the fastest,
doesn't mean it's the best.
- So I got my steel up to heat,
and I'm just gonna get started
gettin' it drawn out a little bit.
- Looks like a good color.
But if Nathan doesn't start fullering that
in his next heat, he might be in trouble.
♪ ♪
He-- [laughs]
Was Nathan wearing a cowboy hat before?
- No, I think he just stole it off the wall.
- [laughs]
- I'm in a daze.
I'm just like, "I just need to move steel,"
and after my second pass,
I just started to notice that it's gettin' longer,
but it's not getting wider.
I'm trying to kind of spread it a little bit.
It's getting more thin than I'm comfortable with.
So I'm lookin' at the clock, and I'm just like,
"Oh crap, man." It's now or never
if you're gonna start over.
- Nathan's come back to the metal supply.
He's grabbed a new bar W1.
Total restart.
- Hopefully he learned from the first piece of steel,
"Wait, I need to do this instead."
- How you doin', LJ?
- Oh...gettin' a little...
- [laughs] - A little anxious.
- Just make your knife. - Yes, sir.
Just makin' a knife.
The round stock that I've got, I need to press it flat,
get it as wide into the parameters as I can.
So you gotta just beat the lights out of it.
[groans] I'm close, but no cigar.
It's a real test to get this thing where I need it to be.
This is a workout.
- I grabbed my Damascus, and I'm ready to go.
♪ ♪
It starts moving like putty,
and then...
[bleep]
The problem I'm seeing on my forge welds--
they're not sticking like I wanted them to.
- To me, it kind of looked like the back opened up.
♪ ♪
I've seen too many people beat a dead horse,
and so I decide it's time to start over,
and I go back to the pantry.
- Greg looks like he's completely startin' over
as well. - Right.
- They do realize they only have three hours, right?
- I grabbed a bar of 1095,
and I know that I can make the parameters with this steel.
♪ ♪
- Eric is coming up to the example to check it.
I think he's pretty damn close as it is.
- I got my blade forged to a good profile--
gotta move over to the grinder.
I look around and realize that
I'm the only smith profiling my knife.
I may be ahead right now,
but that's no reason to slow down.
- Bladesmiths, we are halfway through the competition!
[whip cracks]
- So I'm lookin' at the example blade,
and I'm like, "That's a San Mai."
- I've never done San Mai.
Like, why not do it for the first time?
What could go wrong?
[laughs]
- But even if he does San Mai,
he's still learning to draw it longer and not wider.
It's the same thing.
- Gotta add more steel.
It gives him a better chance
to stretch that out and fuller it.
- I get the W1.
I'm sandwiching it between the two pieces
of angle that I've cut,
and I take it over to the press.
I am just ecstatic that it doesn't just, like,
flop out on me.
I was like, "Holy [bleep]. It worked."
Now I know my welds are set.
Then I just start working on making something
that looks like a blade.
- With four forges going, I heard the saying
that no matter how hot you think it is, it's even hotter.
It is ridiculously hot in the shop.
- LJ's not looking good.
- He's looking very fatigued.
- Sorry to be the guy.
- What's going on? - I'm cramping up.
My body forces me to stop.
- Okay, why don't we take a step outside for a few minutes?
- Guys, LJ's stepping off The Forge floor with the medic.
- Never had anything like this before.
I absolutely do not wanna walk away from this.
I don't wanna stop.
But sometimes, you don't have a choice.
- What's going on? - I'm cramping up.
- Guys, LJ's not looking so hot.
He's got massive hand cramps.
He's stepping off The Forge floor
with the medic.
- It's the craziest thing.
I'm not going home till the judges send me home.
I'm gonna finish this one way or the other.
- LJ's back. - Always a good sign.
- That's a smith with zero quit.
- I just feel that I'm behind.
But I just refuse to quit.
♪ ♪
- Talk about Greg, he actually did really fast work
after that restart.
- Now I'm just worried about being first.
Heavenly Father, Lord, let this quench go good.
♪ ♪
- Greg just quenched. - Holy smoke!
Greg is the first one to quench.
- It's just a shy bit over.
So we're gonna take a little bit off.
- Bladesmiths, there's one hour left in this round!
- So I look over, and I see Greg quench.
But I'm not concerned of being the first one
in the sheath-- I just wanna make sure
I'm not the last.
I'm confident going into this quench.
But you never know what's gonna happen.
- There goes Eric.
- All right, here we go. Eric's into the oil.
He's got a blade that is very close to the example.
At this point, I'm feeling pretty confident.
All I have to do is get it cleaned up and etched.
♪ ♪
- Never quenched a San Mai billet.
I hope it doesn't blow apart on me.
- Holy--Nathan just quenched.
- I pull it out of the straightening jig,
and it's, like, straight.
I wanna shed, like, a tear. [laughs]
Holy crap. I did it.
- I feel that I'm behind.
But I actually want to forge
as much of this blade as I can.
Trying to make sure all the parameters
are as close as I can get it.
- LJ has his way longer than the example
and not nearly wide enough.
- I think I'm right there on the money.
- Boom! LJ quenched.
We got four quenched blades.
- No cracks. I heard no tinks in the oil.
So I'm just as tickled as I can be.
- It seems like we might have a sheath race going on.
Greg and Eric both have done a lot of work on their blades.
One of them is gonna be the first in the sheath
getting their 30 minutes in the second round.
[adventurous music]
It's rough. It's got some forge marks.
It's got some forge scale.
But I'm ready to give it a try.
- Here we go, and kablam!
First one. [applause]
- All right, Greg. You're the first one
in the sheath.
- I am the fastest blade in the west.
♪ ♪
- I wanna make sure I get my blade etched
'cause I put all the work to make it out of Damascus.
♪ ♪
I think my blade's ready for the sheath.
But I make sure to check my measurements.
- Eric's coming back to do another final check.
- Looking pretty good.
- Whoa...bam!
All right. There's two.
[rock music]
- Nathan's pulling up from behind.
You know I'm thinking, so,
"I've got to get to that sheath before he does."
- Being in sheath doesn't mean you're automatically going
in the next round.
LJ is on his way up to the sheath right now, guys.
Oh, this will be amazing.
LJ, you powered through. You got it done, man!
Well done! [applause]
- I'm ecstatic.
- Now Nathan can take his time to get it dialed in perfectly.
10 minutes left!
- I know I'm not the fastest blade in the West.
I'm not even the fastest blade
in the Hammered Billet Saloon. [laughs]
So I'm just gonna try to make it as good as I can
in the time I got left.
[adventurous music]
♪ ♪
- We've got four blades completed and sheathed!
Well done!
- I'm looking at the blade, and I'm thinking, like,
"Man, it doesn't matter if I lose 15 minutes.
Like, I could lose the whole next round.
♪ ♪
- Bladesmiths, congratulations.
You managed to take steels of your choice
and turn them into Mexican Bowies.
Greg, you were the first in the sheath.
Please present your work.
♪ ♪
- Good job on this, Greg.
Congratulations getting your blade in the sheath first.
The steel looks fine.
It's a very extreme taper
coming up through here.
But it's definitely something fixable.
Obviously, if you move into the next round,
you need to do something about that mass on this tang.
But your profile looks pretty close to our example.
It's a nice job. - Thank you.
- Eric, please present your work.
♪ ♪
- This is beautiful work right here.
You brought your sample right up to it,
and you made all the changes so it's almost exact.
Right now, the way it stands,
it's a good looking blade. - Thank you.
- LJ, please present your work, sir.
♪ ♪
- All right, LJ, good, solid job on the blade.
Your profile, though--
your tip's a bit on the high end.
I know you were having trouble moving that steel around
and getting that width.
If you move to the next round, I'd drop that tip down.
But you pulled through it, so good job.
- Yes, sir.
- Last but not least: Nathan. You ready?
- I'm your Huckleberry. - [laughs]
Please present your work.
♪ ♪
- All right, Nathan, first off,
really good choice to start over.
Your San Mai looks solid and welded up.
There's a lot of material here to work with.
Your blade's already dead straight.
If you move forward, compare it to the actual blade.
There's a lot of adjustments to do here.
But all in all, really nice job getting this done.
- Thank you, sir.
- Bladesmiths, as you know, only three of you can join us
in the second round of this competition.
The bladesmith leaving The Forge is...
[adventurous music]
♪ ♪
LJ.
Unfortunately, your blade didn't make the cut,
and Dave's gonna tell you why.
- LJ, first off, you got no quit in you.
It was great watching you work.
This comes down to that your blade is furthest away
from our finished shape than the other blades,
and that's the reason we're letting you go.
- LJ, you're a talented smith. You've got zero quit in you.
But unfortunately, at this point in time,
I'm gonna have to ask you to please surrender your blade
and step off The Forge floor.
- Thank you for not giving up. Good job.
- It always feels bad when you lose.
But I've had one of the best times of my life.
It's a learning and growing experience.
But I'll go home, I'll lick my wounds,
and I'll be stronger tomorrow.
[whip cracks]
- Bladesmiths, congratulations.
The three of you are joining us in the second round
of this competition, where you're gonna fix any issues
that you have from the first round, as well as add handles
to your blades, turning them into fully functioning
Mexican Bowie knives.
Now, we want a recreation of this blade.
So you'll be adding staghorn handles to your blades,
as well as a S-guard.
Now, Greg, you sheathed your blade first,
so you got yourself an extra 30 minutes for the second round
of competition.
Now, Eric, you have two hours and fifteen minutes.
Nathan, you only have an hour and 45 minutes to complete
your Mexican Bowie knife.
Now, after this round is complete, gentlemen,
you'll turn your blades over to the judges,
and they'll check for strength and durability
in a gun powder barrel chop,
and then check your edge retention in a mailbag slice.
Now, we're gonna do this in a staggered start.
So good luck. Greg, your time starts now.
[bull roars]
- It is wonderful to have first choice
at the pantry.
I mean, this is weird watching one competitor go at it
and two of them sitting down like we are.
Don't just sit around. That's our job.
Look pretty. [laughter]
- I knew that I was going to need that extra time.
I have got to put the tang on a weight loss program.
- All right, Eric-- coming up on two hours
and fifteen minutes.
Your time starts now.
- Still got it, bro.
I made sure the piece I choose is as close to the original
so I don't have to do as much shaping
and moving of material.
- All right, Eric just grabbed the guard stock.
He grabbed penstock, and he's already to the grinder.
- The first thing I do is take my knife
and start cleaning it up.
I know I still have a lot to do,
and I'm not gonna waste any time.
♪ ♪
[adventurous music]
[whip cracks]
- All right, Nathan. Time to wake up.
You got an hour and 45 minutes!
Good luck, man. Your time starts now!
- So as soon as the clock starts, I'm like,
"Dude, I gotta go see what's left."
- He's already way behind both the other smiths.
If you guys were Nathan, what would you be doing
right off the bat? - Get your stuff,
and start griding that blade.
- Going into this round, man,
I've got to get my tang kind of centered.
Then I'm gonna try and take some of the meat off of it.
I'm feeling pretty confident coming in.
But every second's gonna count.
- After the tang, it's the guard.
I heat the guard in a post vise,
twist it a half turn on both ends so that the bars
will be at a 90-degree angle from the blade.
That's more what I want.
I am pleased with my S shape.
With more time, I can make it
a lot more aesthetically pleasing,
but it fits the parameters.
- Bladesmiths, you have an hour and a half
left before testing.
- The guard is the most ornate part of this knife.
So making sure it matches as best that it can
is kind of my main concern.
First thing I need to do is rough cut out my shape.
- So Eric is doing the exact same thing
he did in the first round-- he came up to the example
and measured every single dimension of the guard.
So his is gonna be intricate.
- Oh, that'd be great.
- Next thing I need to do, twist my steel.
Two torches may be overkill,
but it's gonna make the process a lot faster.
[rock music]
It's looking rough, but the profile's there.
Now all I gotta do is refine it.
- So Nathan--although he came into the second round
seemingly way behind, he's catching up pretty quick.
- I've just got this flat piece
that's fitted and slotted.
I know I can bend this mild steel to make an S-shape.
I know it's not gonna be as pretty as my competitors,
but time is of the essence,
and I'm just hoping for the best.
- All right, bladesmiths, you guys are down
to the final hour!
- At this point, the clock is against me.
I have to get this together.
I've to drill the pinhole in the tang
to have a mechanical connection.
[bleep]
And it doesn't take.
[groans]
This is not a good time for this to be happening.
I can ruin 20 drill bits,
and it's not gonna go through that 1/2 inch tang
of hardened steel.
This is not ideal at all.
- Greg's got his blade clamped in the vise over here,
and he was trying to drill through the tang.
It wasn't going through, so now he's got the hot wrench--
gonna soften that tang up.
- There's no time for new bumps or anything.
It's time to act.
I slap another bit into the drill press.
Whoo-hoo!
It just beached through like butter,
and it's off to the races.
Everything's sliding down.
Works like a charm.
Time to get the thing sanded.
[rock music]
- Looking good.
Finally, I get the guard to fit the tang,
and now it's time to move on to the antler handle.
- So Eric's drilling in the tang hole in his staghorn.
♪ ♪
- Whoo!
I get everything glued together.
It all seems to be fitting nice and tight.
I need to get an edge on this knife.
- Nathan using a lot of epoxy.
- Epoxy's just going everywhere.
You wanna know where Nathan went,
just follow the epoxy.
I don't wanna glue up my beard.
- Bladesmiths, you have five minutes left!
- I'm, like, super frustrated, and I'm starting to flip.
[bleep]
All right, just...stay calm.
Obviously, there's a ton of finish and finer details
that could've been done on my blade.
But, you know, I'm just stoked that I didn't give up.
- Five, four,
three, two, one.
Bladesmiths, turn off your machines!
Put down your tools!
The second round of this competition is over!
[adventurous music]
- Don't stare at it too long, guys.
It'll blind you. - [laughs]
- I feel pretty solid about my edge.
But I'm just worried about J. Neilson having my blade.
He has very intimidating grunts
every time he chops something.
I'm scared.
[whip cracks] [wind blows]
- Bladesmiths, welcome to our strength test:
our gunpowder barrel stab and chop.
[gunshot]
Greg, you're up first. You ready to go?
- Oh, absolutely. - All right. Let's do it.
- The test is incredibly difficult.
Hitting a knife into metal and wood--
anything could happen to that blade.
If that heat treat wasn't perfect, it's gonna fail.
[rock music]
- [grunting]
♪ ♪
All right, Greg. Good job here.
Your edge is still fine.
Nothing bent.
But you lost some epoxy right in here
where you're trying to fill that out.
But everything's still tight. Good job.
- Thank you. - How you feeling, Eric?
It's always fun for the second guy.
- I'm ready. - All right, let's do it.
- I'm nervous to see J. beat my knife against a barrel.
I don't expect my knife to break.
But you never know what's gonna happen during testing.
♪ ♪
- [grunts]
♪ ♪
Nice job, Eric.
The edge is still sharp.
Nothing happened to that or the tip.
You got everything comfortable.
Your dimensions are just right for my hand.
This is probably the closest to a completed replica
of something we presented to date.
Nice job. - Thank you.
- What do you think, Nathan? - I--I'm your Huckleberry?
[laughter]
- You are for now. [laughter]
- If anything was to give on my blade,
it's gonna be the handle.
I know it's not winning a beauty contest.
But I hope that my handle sticks together.
We'll see how it goes.
♪ ♪
- If anything was to give on my blade,
it's gonna be the handle.
But I hope that my handle sticks together.
[suspenseful music]
- [grunting]
[rock music]
♪ ♪
Take a breath, Nathan. You survived.
- [laughs] - You got...
one small rolling in my nail on.
Now your handle... - [clears throat]
- Your blade's here, and your handle's
kind of drifting this way. - Mm-hmm.
- But the big problem I see is, now your guard is loose.
But it survived the test.
Great job. - Thanks, man.
- Howdy, bladesmiths.
Now it's time to find out just how sharp your weapons are.
This is the sharpness test: the mailbag stab and slice.
[whip cracks]
Now it's time to go postal.
Greg, you're up first. You ready for this?
- Yes, sir. Absolutely.
- [chuckling] All right, let's do it.
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
All right, Greg.
You have a very obtuse grind on your blade here,
and stabbing, you can feel the resistance.
But on the slashes, it cuts cleanly.
Overall, it'll cut. - Mm, thank you.
- All right, Eric. Your turn, sir.
You ready? - Absolutely.
- Giddy-up.
[adventurous music]
♪ ♪
All right, Eric. Your edge and even the bevels
that you have here for thrusting met no resistance.
It cuts nicely.
It's got a great bounce to this,
and overall, sir... it will cut.
- Thank you. - [chuckles]
All right, Nathan. Your turn, sir.
You ready? - Yeehaw.
- Let's do that.
[rock music]
♪ ♪
- Oh, [bleep]. [chuckles]
[suspenseful music]
- All right, Nathan, let's talk about your blade here.
It stabbed and cut easily on this mailbag.
But your handle is still loose.
Overall, sir...it will cut.
- Yeehaw.
- [in Southern drawl] Well... [chuckles]
Bladesmiths, you all came through with blades
that performed very well on our tests.
But as you know, only two of you can move forward,
staying in contention for a check for $10,000
and the title of "Forged in Fire Champion,"
moving on into the final round.
The bladesmith leaving The Forge is...
♪ ♪
Nathan.
Unfortunately, your blade didn't make the cut,
and J.'s gonna tell you why.
- All right, Nathan.
You did a great job,
especially with the amount of time you had,
and you obviously made something that could cut.
But during the strength test, you picked up a bit of a chip
on the edge, and your guard came loose.
That's why we're letting you go.
- I understand.
- Well, Nathan, you brought a lot of life into The Forge.
We want to say thank you for coming out here
and letting us watch you work.
But unfortunately, at this time,
I'm gonna have to ask you to please step off
The Forge floor.
- I really appreciate it, guys. This is super rad.
- Thank you. - Good work.
- I think I won in a competition
against that voice that tells you not to try,
and it tells you to give up.
I wish that my blade could've been more refined--
obviously, more pretty.
But I made my first San Mai blade weld stuck,
and it cut like a freaking razor,
and I would do it all again, for sure.
- But Greg, Eric, gentlemen, congratulations.
You're moving forward to the third and final round
of this competition.
You get four days at your home forges
to build another iconic weapon from the Wild West.
Gentlemen, we want you to build this.
♪ ♪
This is the vaquero machete.
♪ ♪
- The vaquero machete became wildly popular
with the original cowboys of the Southwest
during the 20th century.
Featuring a thin, slightly curved blade,
the weapon was much lighter and easier to carry
than the larger machetes previously used
by the cowboys, making it ideal to deliver
damaging slashes and chops on everything
from brush to enemies on the great frontier.
The rich history and culture of the cowboys
who carried this weapon can be found on display
at the Bullock Museum in Austin, Texas.
- Now, your blades need to be curved
and have a length between 24 and 26 inches.
They need to have a single edge.
Need to have an S guard, a stacked leather handle,
and an eagle head or a horse head pommel.
- I'm glad that it's not some sort of war hammer or axe.
But still, this thing's gonna be complicated to make.
- Gentlemen, we want to see your very best,
most beautiful blades come back, so good luck.
We will see you in four days.
♪ ♪
- I'm back here at my home forge
to make the vaquero machete.
[turkey gobbles]
I decided to go with a mono steel blade of 1080.
It's a tough, springy steel that's very forgiving.
♪ ♪
All right, she is cooking.
Whoo! Like a June bride.
Okay.
♪ ♪
Straight blade.
Everything's coming out nicely.
I'm going to start on the pommel
and the guard in the morning.
Just like it's supposed to.
♪ ♪
- Today is day one.
We're here in my home forge
in Harmony, Pennsylvania.
Gonna get the forge heating up.
My game plan is to start with Damascus.
We're using a combination of 1084 and 15N20.
My goal is get the blade forged out on day one.
We're gonna start out with 20 pieces.
Shooting for a 60- to 70-layer in the end.
So I got my billets loaded up and in the forge.
So today, I'll be able to forge a 60-layer Damascus blade.
Feel good about the progress I made.
Got to where I wanted to be.
So far, it's looking good.
- It's the morning of day two.
We're gonna start on the S guard
and the horse head pommel.
The gas foundry is what I'm gonna be making
the guard and the pommel out of.
♪ ♪
You carve the exact thing you want to cast out of foam.
This is what it will look like when we get done.
Then you pack it in green sand...
Here we go. You ready?
And as you pour the molten metal on it,
it evaporates the foam
and leaves you with the shape that you desired.
Nope. Nope.
100% failure.
Definitely not a successful pour.
There was too much moisture in the mold.
And it didn't cast all the way.
Back to the drawing board.
Oh.
- My biggest thing today is to get
my horse head pommel done.
Nope.
Definitely not a successful pour.
There was too much moisture in the mold.
And it didn't cast all the way.
Let's do this.
I'm gonna add more water to my sand
and give it a second shot.
That was good, guys.
That's exciting.
After a little bit of sanding, it'll look great.
- Today is day three.
So last night, got it quenched and in temper.
For today, thinking about starting work
on the pommel.
And I knew my dad and my brother were out hunting
with the hawks; I had them stop over so that
I could get a nice look at a 3-D bird.
My dad's been a falconer since before I was born,
so I've always had hawks my entire life.
It's very lucky that I'm able to incorporate this
'cause that way I can do a direct comparison.
I've made good progress today on my blade.
But still, you never know what's gonna happen.
[indistinct]
[metal clangs]
♪ ♪
That was purposeful. It was a test. Strength test.
♪ ♪
- It's the last day of the home forge.
Today we're gonna start off
by sculpting a horse head pommel,
and then we're gonna get to the fit and finish of the blade.
Clear out, birds. Come on. Everybody out.
[turkeys gobbling]
My turkeys came in to offer their two cents.
But turkey logic just isn't what it used to be.
♪ ♪
Okay.
We have at least one good cast.
I bet we can clean that one up to make it work.
The one thing you need to worry about
with this kind of handle
is not getting your pieces glued well enough.
If you don't have your handles glued well enough,
it's not gonna make a concentric handle.
Oh, this leather's really thick.
I am nervous going back into the forge.
My competition's gonna be good.
But at the end of the day, he's gonna bring his best.
I brought my best. We'll see what happens.
♪ ♪
Think that'll work.
♪ ♪
- Today's the beginning of day four.
I'm getting ready to go into gluing the handle.
We wanna make sure we get everything glued up
in one swift motion.
That way, we can get a clamp on this.
We can get everything compressed.
♪ ♪
Now the epoxy's all cured,
I'm gonna start shaping the handle.
♪ ♪
And then once I get all the cleanup finished,
pretty much all I have to do is add an edge,
and then we'll be done.
♪ ♪
And I'm really proud of how this looks.
[adventurous music]
♪ ♪
- Well, gentlemen, welcome back to The Forge.
It's good to see you.
We gave you four days to put together
your very best versions of the vaquero machete.
I gotta say, we are impressed.
But before we put them to the test
to find out which one of you is coming out on top
of this competition, we wanna hear about them.
Now, Greg, how'd it go for you?
- Oh, it went wonderful.
♪ ♪
The machete's built out of 1080 high-carbon steel.
The pommel and the guard are foam casted
with a leather stacked grip and turquoise accents.
- Outstanding. Eric, how about you?
- Everything went really well for me.
♪ ♪
I went with 70 layers of 1084 and 15N20
for the Damascus.
Did brass for the eagle head pommel
and the S guard.
And did some stacked leather for the handle.
- Sweet.
All right, gentlemen, in order to find out
which one of you is coming out on top of this competition,
getting that check
and the title of "Forge in Fire" champion,
we need to put your blades through a series of tests.
And for that, I'm gonna give you to Doug.
♪ ♪
[whip cracks]
♪ ♪
- Howdy, partners.
Welcome to the KEAL test.
Your vaquero machetes look beautiful.
But how lethal are they?
To find that out, I'm gonna take their machetes
and deliver some lethal blows on this pig carcass.
Greg, you feel lucky?
- Oh, very lucky. - All right, let's do this.
- I'm almost giddy with excitement
because there is a big pig.
My machete ought to be a wonderful pork slicer.
♪ ♪
- All right, Greg,
the leather wrapping that you have here is nice and smooth.
The handle is ovoid.
The one thing, though, that's just a lot of handle.
And because you have a smooth handle right here,
couple of times, my hand just slid down.
♪ ♪
But your edges are sharp.
Those are razor-sharp cuts.
Overall, sir, it will KEAL.
- Ooh, thank you, Doug.
- Eric, your turn. Are you ready?
- Let's do it. - Let's do this.
- I'm stressing out over what my blade's gonna do.
And after seeing what Greg's just did,
I'm even more nervous.
♪ ♪
- All right, Eric, let's talk about your vaquero machete here.
What I like about it is that it just my hand perfectly.
So it's locked in there.
Now your edge, that's a chevron right there
all the way up.
Those are very sharp, deep cuts,
even on thrusting.
Overall, sir, it will KEAL.
- Good to hear.
♪ ♪
- Hola, vaqueros. Welcome to our strength test.
The fence board and skull chop.
[bull bellows]
- All right, Greg, you're up first, you ready?
- Yes, sir.
I see that buffalo head, and I nearly pee.
Buffalo heads are thick. They are solid.
They use those things to hit each other all the time with.
I don't know about my little blade hitting it that hard.
♪ ♪
[dramatic music]
- I see that buffalo head, and I nearly pee.
Buffalo heads are thick. They are solid.
I don't know about my little blade hitting it that hard.
♪ ♪
- So Greg, right off, blade held up beautifully.
This thing is just as sharp as when I started.
Feels like a great fighter to me.
Only complaint I have is that long handle.
But other than that, the artistry is really well done.
That's a joy to use. Nicely done.
- Thank you.
- Eric, you ready? - Let's do it.
- All right.
♪ ♪
- Bleep.
- All right, so first off, Eric,
very different grind on this edge
with that secondary bevel.
But it's wicked sharp, and it's still sharp.
Held up fine. Didn't lose any blade at all.
No rolls, no chips, nothing.
It's still as straight as when I started.
Good job. - Awesome, thank you.
♪ ♪
- Bladesmiths, welcome to the sharpness test.
The gunslinger slice.
- Yeehaw.
- Greg, you're up first. You ready for this?
- Absolutely.
- All right, giddy up!
♪ ♪
All right, Greg.
Nicely done.
Those are very sharp, clean cuts
on, I'd say, at least three layers of clothing.
Your weapon, it will cut.
- Thank you.
- Eric, your turn, sir. Ready?
- Let's do it. - Let's do this.
♪ ♪
All right, Eric.
The edges are sharp enough to cut through all layers
and expose some of the blood.
Overall, sir, your weapon will cut.
- Thank you.
[whip cracks]
- All right, gentlemen.
Well, I gotta say, both of you impressed us
from the very beginning of this competition.
The first two rounds, you guys crushed it.
But this competition, as you know,
only one of you can leave here as a "Forged in Fire" champion
and receive that check for $10,000.
The "Forged in Fire" champion is...
♪ ♪
Eric. Congratulations, you did it.
Now, Greg, you have a ton to be proud of.
That is an unbelievably beautiful piece.
But you lost by just this much, and Dave's gonna tell you why.
- Greg, the artistry you brought to that blade
is fantastic. That pommel is beautiful.
This really came down to the scale of that handle.
And that's why we're sending you home.
- Thank you.
- Well, Greg, I hope you had as much fun working here
as we had watching you.
That is an unbelievably stunning piece.
But unfortunately, your time in the competition has ended.
I want to say thank you for coming.
But at this point in time, I'm gonna have to ask you
to please step off The Forge floor.
- Thank you.
Take care, man.
I have no shame coming in second to this young man.
The check would have been nice.
The title would have been nicer.
But remember, I'm still the fastest blade in the West.
[whip cracks]
- Well, Eric, you are the "Forged in Fire" champion,
and you're receiving a check for $10,000.
Congratulations. - Thank you.
♪ ♪
- How are you feeling? - Crazy.
Never thought I'd be here at this young.
I don't even know how to react. It feels surreal.
From start to finish,
it's been a crazy, crazy competition.
And my uncle, he was probably my biggest drive
to win it. Uncle Chuck, this is for you.
♪ ♪