- Here in The Forge,
we have put hundreds of smiths to the test,
but one fierce competitor has proven himself
time and time again... - Ben Abbott.
- An expert blacksmith and bladesmith,
a fan favorite turned judge,
Ben Abbott remains undefeated in this forge.
His current record is eight wins and zero losses.
But soon, all that could change.
Tonight, it comes down to the last two bladesmiths
that were hand-picked by Dave and Doug to beat the unbeaten.
Do they have what it takes to finally beat Ben Abbott?
The competition continues now.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- I'm Nicholas Cochiolo, I'm 53 years old,
I'm from Simi Valley, California.
Last time I was here,
I was brought on to represent the armorers
in the invitational tournament of champions.
I won that with a hooded katar and went on to the finale.
I ended up coming in second by just the smallest margin,
and that's really why I'm back.
I really love this competition,
and I was hand-selected by David Baker
because he thought I might have some small chance
of beating the unbeatable Ben Abbott.
♪ ♪
- My name is Zach Tarbell, I'm from Rochester, New York.
I'm a welding instructor and a part-time bladesmith.
The first time I was here, I helped out
one of my fellow competitors with a parameter.
You doing a hidden tang?
- No. - I think we have to.
Second round, I ended up missing a parameter.
I didn't get a head's up from anybody.
- Has Zach fluted anything? - No.
- Between being chosen by Dog
to come back and redeem myself,
combined with my personal desire to redeem myself,
it's a lot of pressure.
But I really want to prove I can go up against Ben,
hold my own, and possibly beat him.
♪ ♪
- Nicholas, Zach, welcome back to The Forge, gentlemen,
and welcome to the fifth and final competition,
in a series we're calling Beat the Unbeaten.
This is the judge's pick competition.
Nicholas, you were chosen by Dave.
Zach, you were chosen by Doug.
They decided they thought you both deserved a second chance
to the title of "Forged in Fire" champion
and a check for $10,000.
But not only that, they thought you each have what it takes
to potentially beat the unbeaten,
who's got a record of 8-0.
My question is
do you guys think you have what it takes to take on Ben Abbott?
- I'm going to try. - We're going to find out.
- [chuckles] We sure are.
Ben, you got anything to say to these guys?
- This is my fifth time
competing in one of these championships,
and there's no rust on my anvil.
I am ready to rock. Good luck to you.
- Nice.
[dramatic music]
- Now bladesmiths,
Ben is only going to be an observer
because one of you's going up against him.
In this very unique competition,
the two of you are going to go head-to-head
in a straight five-hour bladesmithing build
where you will need to make a blade from start to finis.
Now bladesmiths,
you know in this forge, we love a good salvage round,
and that is exactly what we've got set up for you today.
In five hours,
we want you to make signature blades using this.
Fish hook canister Damascus.
- I'm apprehensive, a little nervous.
I definitely don't want to see my blade break,
but with canister Damascus,
it's crazy, there's always a chance.
- When that time is up,
Dave and Doug are going to check your blades
for strength and durability in a tackle box chop,
and then check your edge retention
in a plastic tube slice.
Bladesmiths, good luck. Your time starts now.
♪ ♪
All right, so judge's choice.
Dave, why did you pick Nicholas?
- Oh, man, Nicholas did such a great job.
He was in one of our tournaments
representing the armorers, and he did the hooded katar.
He did a great job, but last time,
he did the nodachi, which is one
of the biggest weapons we've ever done in here.
He was the runner up. His weapon was beautiful.
There were some issues with the handle.
- During the testing, we all noticed
the protruding pegs from your handle,
and your blade did take damage during the strength test.
- I mean, it was so close.
This is a man who deserves a second chanc.
- Doug, what about you? Why did you pick Zach?
- We were both on Farmers Only dating site.
[laughter] No.
What really set him apart was the way he performed
when he was here the last time he was here competing.
- You doing a hidden tang? - No.
- I think we have to.
- He missed parameters on his blade, but he pointed out
the parameters of a competitor, who went on to win.
♪ ♪
- Last time I was here, I ran into a little bit of trouble
with the handle parameters, so I'm doing everything
that I can to make sure that doesn't happen again.
Make fish hook Damascus, they say.
So I have to be very, very careful
about what I'm doing to make sure
that I accomplish everything I need to
as well as meet all the parameters.
There's two options when you make canister Damascus.
You add Wite-Out and you can peel the can off.
If you don't add Wite-Out,
the can should just weld to the steel underneath.
I know that between forging and grinding,
I will be able to expose that core steel
without needing to take the jacket off.
Oh, yeah.
- One things that neat is that neither of the smiths
are using Wite-Out,
so they're all planning on keeping the can on.
♪ ♪
- The biggest difference between now and the last time
I was here is my skillset has improved greatly.
It's just been tons of swords. I've made so many swords.
And I have fanboys because of "Forged in Fire."
Yeah, I have fanboys. It's so weird.
♪ ♪
I like to take and reduce the size
of the top of the can so it fits inside the canister.
Welding!
- And what I'm seeing out here right now is some smart work.
By insetting,
you get to actually get some more compression
so they can get that outer steel to drop all the way in
and fill all the voids in that canister.
- Everything seems really tight,
everything seems right.
I'ma get it right in the forge
and wait for that sucker to turn yellow.
It sucks to take the time and wait,
but it's like baking a cake.
As long as you don't skip a part, it'll taste good.
♪ Get hot ♪
- All right steel, you gon' behave?
I like what I was seeing inside of the forge.
Want to start setting those welds.
- Interesting that he used
Big Blue to set the welds immediatel.
- Not something I would do when I've got a 25-ton press
sitting right next to me.
- I go to Big Blue for two big reasons.
I am comfortable with an air hammer,
and I have never once touched a hydraulic press.
This is not a good time to start experimenting.
- The nice thing about the squaring, guys,
is as it presses down,
it's pressing from all sides towards the center.
So as opposed to Big Blue, which is going to go this way.
- It's like trying to make a snowball by doing that.
- Right, and then turning it to the other way and dong this.
- That's where I screwed up.
[laughter] Oh, man.
♪ ♪
- So the squaring dies on the press give equal pressure
all the way around on the canister,
and for me, it is the easiest technique
to get a good, solid weld.
- Nicholas here with precision work.
That's the way he does stuff.
- Today isn't really about winning at all.
I just really, really want to fight with Ben.
He's one of the smartest people I have ever met.
A lot of people don't know this about Be.
That guy, with his team
discovered how to detect gravity
or something crazy like that.
So yeah, to beat Ben is definitely an achievement
I would like to unlock.
Everything's solid, everything's good.
♪ ♪
- What's that?
As I'm drawing this material out,
I start seeing what looks like a blister or bubble.
- Zach's method to set his welds in Big Blue
may have been a bad idea.
He just found a blister on his billet.
- Somewhere in there, there's a layer
that's got something that's keeping it from welding.
- I know that I could keep playing with this thing
and see if it closes up on me,
but I know that I have way more steel
than I actually need to make this knife.
Might as well just cut it off and get over it.
- The danger there is if you've got a blister
in one spot, it could be in other spots,
and he's not going to find that out until he starts grinding.
- I'm hoping that I don't find any more problems.
- Blacksmiths, you have four hours remaining.
- I'm going to pull that sucker out into a blade.
- Nicholas, too, is a working smith, so I expect him
to be moving a lot faster and a lot more efficiently.
- I expect Big Blue to work this time.
- Welding!
- Last time I was here, that power hammer broke on me.
What the [bleep]?
♪ ♪
Big Blue don't work. - Nick is pissed.
♪ ♪
But I think they cut up the Big Blue that I used
and made it into Damascus,
so I think it had a deserving end.
[chuckles]
- Big [bleep] piece of steel.
I'm thinking about making a recurve chopper knife
'cause I know that will perform well
on both a chop and a slice test.
♪ ♪
Come on, now.
I've got two big concerns right now.
Number one, I still don't actually know what's going on
inside of that can.
I'm also worried that I'm just going to forget something
along the way here.
I've got all my lists going,
but always in the back of my head
it's like, "Don't forget, don't forget, don't forget."
It's important that I prove to Doug who gave me the honor
of being picked to come back that I can do this.
♪ ♪
- So I'm making a competition chopper.
Great for slicing, great for chopping.
I'm going to make it probably a little heavier
than I normally would,
just because he's chopping into a metal box.
Whoo.
- Look at the height that Nicholas is getting
to hammer that one spot.
Reaching for the sky.
- I love to strike the anvil.
It's like a painter with his paint brush.
My wife calls it my love affair.
[chuckles]
- Blacksmiths, you have three hours left.
The time calls are not phasing the smith.
They're doing very well with time management.
- At this point, I'm happy with the shape of my blade,
but I know there's mild steel all the way around it,
so I need to get the canister material off of it,
expose to the core steel to the edge.
What's that? [bleep] is that?
[dramatic music]
Kind of looks like a crack,
it kind of looks like maybe a cold shut.
I'm not really sure what I'm looking at,
but if this goes all the way down my edge,
it could crack or break in testing.
- Watch what Zack's doing.
- That's a physical manifestation
of the question, "How bad is this?"
- This could be an absolute sink or swim moment for Zach.
- I know that this could be a problem.
I'm getting a little nervous,
I need to figure out what to do about it now.
[bleep] piece of steel.
- Is it surface?
Oh, [bleep], is it can?
I don't give a [bleep] about can.
I'm thinking that
this might just be jacket steel pulling away.
So I dip it in the acid and as I look at the surface,
I see around what is now a hole is white,
and I see black underneath.
And that tells me that I'm just looking
at a little delamination of the jacket steel.
So I'm not super concerned about it.
It's ugly, I don't like it,
but I think I'm going to leave it alone.
All right.
[dramatic music]
- Halfway through the competition,
I'm feeling pretty good, but the quench is next,
and that's where really things can go wrong.
Every time I've been here before,
I've always had to fix a warp. Every time.
Aw, [bleep].
[bleep]
So I'm going to take a little bit of time now
so I don't have to fix anything later.
Here it goes.
♪ ♪
- And Nicholas is quenched. That is fast.
- Ha!
I couldn't ask for it to be straighter.
Super happy with that.
Whoo-hoo! Knife is straight.
I'm super excited.
I really want to make Dave proud
and how him that he was right by picking me.
♪ ♪
- All right, steel, you gon' behave?
I'm feeling good about my temperatures.
I'm feeling good about my procedure,
but there is still that little spot on the blade
and when you quench this thing,
if that spot is going to be a big issue,
it's going to let you know now.
- Moment of truth. Zach's about to quench.
♪ ♪
- I don't hear anything, I don't feel anything.
I got that little spot, but it hasn't done anything bad.
Cool.
So I throw the blade in the tempering oven
and while that's chilling in there,
I start working on this handle.
♪ ♪
My blade is in the oven,
so I want to have a really nice mosaic pin
just to add a little more flair to my blade.
Got to do something pretty.
♪ ♪
Come up. Come on.
♪ ♪
Jesus.
[groans]
Can't get this epoxy to go inside the syringe.
- Nicholas is trying to suck the epoxy
up through the syringe
instead of just loading the syringe with the epoxy
and squeezing it down through.
- Everything I know has been self-taught.
That and watching "Forged in Fire."
So I'm not sure if I do things the way everybody else does.
You know what?
I ended up just scooping it up and dabbing it in
and squishing it into the pi.
I think I got enough in there, so I think it's okay.
Stupid syringe.
- All right bladesmiths,
you have one hour left to complete your blades.
Get after it.
- A little long.
- If I were Zach, I would have gone
with a hidden tang and fluted the handle.
[laughter]
- We asked you guys to give us a fluted handle,
but your knife does not have that.
♪ ♪
- I get the handle's basic geometry
to where I want it to be.
It tapers from the front to the rear.
I've got a little swell ground in there.
Kind of resembles a Coke bottle shape.
- I'm noticing a really large handle to Zach's blade.
Is that going to be comfortable?
- I mean, you can have a handle that's perfectly comfortable,
but if it's got that much more material
just sticking out of the back of it,
your hand try to adjust to the length of the handle
as opposed to just picking it up
and having that handle in the proper space.
♪ ♪
- Whoo! Everything's good.
Blades out of the temper, still straight,
but the blade is no good without a handle,
so that's really where I need to focus my attention.
So I'm making sure now that there's going to be
no hot spots and the handle is going to be comfortable.
So I think I'm in a good spot. I'm pretty happy.
- Running out of time, bladesmiths.
In five minutes, we'll be testing those blades.
- Whoo.
- Ben, you've done this enough times.
- Yeah, I've got to get out of here.
I'll leave it up to you guys. - Good luck, brother.
- See you, brother.
- And good luck. - See you, man. Thank you.
- I'm feeling pretty good,
my blade's in pretty good shape.
Think with the time that I have left,
everything's going to be all right.
Since Doug chose me to come back this go around,
I'm really looking forward to seeing my blade
in Doug's hand getting swung around and cut into things.
♪ ♪
Want some paper, bud?
- Oh, thanks. Sure. [laughter]
- Oh. It's sharp there.
- Five, four, three, two, one.
Bladesmiths, turn off your machines, put down your tools.
The first round of this
Beat the Unbeaten competition is over.
- Good work, bro. - Killing it, man. Nice.
- I'm happy with the blade itself,
but that little spot, that little delam
or whatever it was, it's still there.
I think it's going to be okay,
but this testing is going to prove that.
- All right, gentlemen, time for the strength test,
the tackle box chop.
Now, to test the strength
and overall construction of your blades,
I will be swinging them into these steel tackle boxes.
Now remember, this test is not about
what your blades do the boxes,
but what those boxes do to your blades.
Nicholas, you're up. Are you ready?
- I'm ready. Hit it hard.
♪ ♪
So I have no idea what's going to happen.
He's going to smash my blade into a metal box.
Metal on metal is never a good idea.
Don't do it, kids.
♪ ♪
- It's like a trash compactor.
[all chuckle]
- All right, Nicholas. Comfortable handle.
You took the time to round everything off on thi,
but there's good retention.
Nice touch with the pin on there.
Your edge, minimal damage.
There's a couple of small deflections,
but the blade maintained its edge, so nicely done.
- Thank you.
- All right, Zach, you're up. Ready?
- I'm ready. Let's do it. - Okay.
♪ ♪
- Banging a blade up against any piece of steel
is going to be really, really tough on the edge
and on the material.
I'm getting a little nervous.
I know that if that blister on the end of my blade
is going to present a problem, it's going to show up now.
I need my blade to come out of this test in one piece,
not two.
♪ ♪
- All right, Zach. Great-looking blade.
It's got a neat shape to it.
When I get to your handle,
I like a lot of retention on the handle, but man,
so wedged at the back there it pushed my hand way forward.
It would've been nice to have just a little bit more dept.
As far as your blade goes,
there's one small blemish on your blade.
And you've got this one section up here where I can still
get my finger in that blister you had on that.
Makes me worry about things underneath there,
but held up beautifully in the test.
It wasn't an issue at all. Good job.
- Thank you. - Nice, brother.
♪ ♪
- All right, bladesmiths, now it's time to find out
just how sharp your weapons are.
This is the sharpness test, the plastic tube slice.
Nicholas, you're up first. You ready for this?
- I am. - Let's do this.
♪ ♪
All right, Nicholas, let's talk about your weapon here.
Your edge did very well on the ballistic tubes.
It cut three tubes.
And on the rice filled tube, it cut two of them.
A little bit of resistance there
because it's a thicker grind on this,
but overall your weapon, it will cut.
- Nice.
- All right, Zach, your turn. So you ready?
- Yes, sir. - Let's do this.
♪ ♪
- [sighs softly]
- All right, Zach, let's talk about your weapon.
Your edge cut through two of the tubes
on the ballistics tube and two also of the rice-filled.
Overall sir, your weapon, it will cut.
- Thank you.
♪ ♪
- Well, bladesmiths, I'm going to say that I thik
Dave and Doug did a phenomenal job picking you.
We gave you a difficult task, and you both succeeded.
But as you know, only one of you can move forward
in the final round of this competition
and face Ben Abbott.
The bladesmith who's joining us
in the final round of this competition is...
♪ ♪
Nicholas. Congratulations.
Zach, man, you fought hard.
But unfortunately, your blade just didn't make the cut,
and Dave Baker's going to tell you why.
- Zach, first off, I think Doug made a great choice
in bringing you back here. You did a really good job.
- Thank you. - But this decision came down
to the overall construction of your blade.
The fact that that blister's still there
and that handle design,
that's why we're letting you go.
- Understood.
- Well, Zach, you're talented, man,
and I'm really glad we got
to finally watch one of your blades get tested.
But unfortunately, I'm going to have to ask you
to please step off The Forge floor.
- Good job, Zach.
- Thank you guys, appreciate it.
- Nicely done. - Good luck.
- Thank you, man. Thank you.
The experience to come back was great.
You know, I'm very honored that I was picked by Doug
to come back.
Really, really glad
I got to see my blade get tested finally,
but the blister on the side of my blade,
the decision that I made,
that stuck with me all the way through.
You know, I wish Nicholas the best,
and I think he's got a really good shot at maybe beating Ben.
♪ ♪
- Nicholas, this is it, man.
You are moving forward into the final round of this competition
where you're going to choose
what blade you're going to be building
as well as what technique you're going to be using
against the champion, who's got a record of 8-0.
Are you ready? - No.
[laughter]
- I guess honesty's nice.
- The first battle's won, but the war's not over.
Ben has been unbeaten, and I'm the last guy to try.
I'm going to have my work cut out for me,
but I think I can beat Ben.
We're going to find out.
- Nicholas, congratulations. You made it to the final round
of the Beat the Unbeaten competition.
Now up till now, Ben has faced multiple smiths
and he's knocked them all ou.
It's all up to you.
In order to take home the title,
you're going to have to go against
the unbeaten smith himself, Ben Abbott.
♪ ♪
- I've known Nicholas for years,
so seeing him standing there, I'm not surprised.
He's a very talented smith.
And I know that Dave was very impressed with Nicholas
when he made that hooded katar.
So he proved that he can win,
so I know this is going to be a tough competition,
it's all going to have to come down
to performance first,
and then the finer details if they perform equally.
- Ben, welcome. - Thank you, Grady.
- Are you ready? - Yes, sir.
- Well, guys, I've got to say I am extremely thrilled
to be standing here
for this final round of this competition.
Now in order to take home the title,
you're going to have to beat Ben Abbott
in a straight eight-hour bladesmithing competition
where you're both going to build a blade
from start to finish.
As I'm sure you've noticed,
both Dave and Doug will not be joining us for this round.
We want them to go into testing
not knowing whose blade is whose
so it's all completely fair.
Now Nicholas, because you are the challenger here,
you get to choose any weapon
you wanted from the "Forged in Fire" vault.
Ben, you ready to find out what that is?
You are both going to have to complete this.
The spatha.
♪ ♪
- The spatha sword dates back to third century Rome.
This cavalry weapon features
a straight, double-edged blade
that allows for deeper and deadlier cuts and thrusts
than the shorter gladius sword
previously used by the Roman soldiers.
First featured in season seven of "Forged in Fire,"
two smiths impress the judges
with their ornate versions of this blade.
However, once this failure to include one of the parameters,
a medial ridge, cost him the competition.
- When you're building your blades,
make sure they fall within these parameters.
The blade length measured from tip to the guard
needs to be between 26 and 28 inches.
Needs to be double-edged
and have a medial ridge running up both sides.
You guys need to have a wooden guard and a rounded pomme.
Now Nicholas, you also got to choose what technique
you wanted to use. You chose this.
♪ ♪
What we have here are bars
of 1095 and 15N20 high-carbon steel
for twist and stack Damascus billets.
That is two bars of opposing twists
welded together into one billet.
Now Nicholas, because you are returning to this forge,
we wanted to give Ben a chance to add his own little spi.
So Ben, have anything you want to add to it?
- Yeah, I'm going to add two twists.
Let's do four stacks.
- Doubling down. All right, guys.
So you need to make your spathas with four stacks
of opposing twist and stack Damascus.
♪ ♪
- I hate you. [laughter]
I can't believe this is happening.
The counter-twisted Damascus spatha with just two bars
is really quite difficult.
To do four bars just makes that challenge twice as hard,
and especially up against Ben, who is just incredible.
♪ ♪
- Now when that time is up,
Dave and Doug are going to join us again for testin.
Doug's going to start off with a dynamic kill test
on a pig carcass.
Then we move onto sharpness with a tatami mat slice.
When he's done with that, Dave's going to step in
and check your strength and sharpness
on a hanging pot chop and a fish slice.
♪ ♪
So good luck, your time starts now.
♪ ♪
This is it.
This is the final competition in a five-part series,
the Beat the Unbeaten, where we've had smiths come in
trying their hand at beating Ben Abbott.
His current record is 8-0
and he's going for that ninth win.
♪ ♪
- So I grab my steel,
20 pieces of 15N20, 20 pieces of 1095,
and I start cleaning up all my pieces.
Any of that forge scale
that comes on the steel inhibits a forge weld,
so you really want to clean all of that garbage off of it.
I'm going to pull two billets out,
twist one one way, twist one the other way,
cut them in half, stack them,
and weld them again,
and that'll give me the pattern that I'm looking for.
- If their heats are not high enough
and their welds are not tight enough,
everything could fall apart very far down this road.
- I really want to beat Ben. I'm working at it.
That guy's really good, but he hasn't faced me yet.
- Nicholas, he is a very talented smith.
He's very fast and he's very scientific,
and so I just know that it's time to get crackin'.
I'm making two billets.
So I cleaned the first billet, stack it up,
run it over to the welder, and throw it into the forg.
- Ben already has one billet in the fire.
While one billet is heating up,
he can be working on the other one.
- Multitasking for me is quite natural.
There's always something else you can be working on.
And luckily, I still have the stamina
to run around a forge like a monkey and get it all done.
♪ ♪
- All right, ready for my first weld.
- Nicholas' billet's looking pretty good.
Colors are looking even throughout.
- The most critical part of this build is right now.
If I don't get these forge welds right,
it's going to break.
My first forge weld went perfect.
Second one went great. I'm really happy.
These billets are looking really, really good.
♪ ♪
- I put two big blocks of steel
on the black dies on the press
so that I can get that weld all in one squeeze.
It makes for an even weld that almost never fails.
Once those welds are good and solid,
then it's just drawing out a piece of steel.
That's pretty easy.
♪ ♪
I feel a lot of pressure for this being my last on.
I really want to leave on a high note.
I know Nicholas is really good, so I really want to win,
but this is a rough one.
- All right, bladesmiths,
you're a quarter of the way through.
You have six hours remaining.
♪ ♪
- Both my billets are forge welded and pulled out
to a really nice dimension.
I'm really happy with them, and I'm ready to go twist.
- Nicholas is using the press as a vice
and getting his first twist going.
♪ ♪
- So when you're twisting Damascus,
you want to really be careful
not to twist too much too fast.
You can actually twist your piece into two pieces.
The second piece is ready,
and I start my twist to the left.
♪ ♪
I get about two turns in...
Oh, [bleep]!
And I realize I'm twisting it the same direction,
so I try to counter twist to get it straight...
Mother[bleep]!
And it starts to pull my billet apart.
[bleep]
I need to start this billet over!
After all the work that I had done so far,
there's no way I'm going out on a parameter.
- He's got to completely start over a billet.
- This is really frustrating.
I don't know if I can come back from this.
There's no saving that billet. The welds have opened.
All I can think of is, "How am I going to make up this time?"
I gotta start over.
- Ugh. Sorry, brother.
- So now I need a new game plan.
To make up this time,
I'm going to make two not as very many twisted billets.
So my pattern is going to be looser,
but I'm going to at least make the parameters
of the counter twist.
This is really heartbreaking.
♪ ♪
- Now's the time to start twisting this billet.
So I make sure with my first billet,
I twist counter clockwise,
'cause that way if I get lazy or I forget,
I'll accidentally turn the other one the right way.
♪ ♪
I just start twisting and twisting.
I want really tight bars,
because I think the pattern at the end
is going to look phenomenal.
♪ ♪
- Ben's back to twisting his billet a second time,
so he's going to have a really nice, tight twist.
♪ ♪
- Now I have my second billet out,
I start twisting it clockwise.
It's going to take one or two more heats
to get it just to where I want it,
but it's coming along great.
♪ ♪
- Nick's got his replacement billet in the fire now.
- It's the moment of truth.
All I can think, counter clockwise, counter clockwise.
♪ ♪
Everything goes perfect, I'm really happy.
[chuckles] How you doing, Ben?
- Good, good. - I'm catching up.
- Awesome, dude. Awesome. - [laughs]
♪ ♪
- Now, it's time to make a sword.
A spatha is sort of like a longer gladius
with a more curved tip,
so you have to make sure your blade is nice and thin
and isn't too forward-heavy.
- Diggin' it!
- This is my last competitio.
I do not want to leave this 8-1.
I really want to win this on,
and watching Nick run around just proves to me
that this is going to be a tough competition.
♪ ♪
- All right, guys,
we are half way through this competition.
You have four hours remaining.
We're getting very close
to Ben and Nicholas both being quenched.
♪ ♪
- The quench went well. I'm feeling pretty good.
I think I've managed my time well enough,
but I have a lot of grinding to do.
♪ ♪
- As I'm looking down, it looks good to me.
- Both of our smiths have their blades in the tempering ovens,
so they're spending all of their time
working on the handles now.
- I've got my coca bolla from my pommel,
my purple hardwood for my handle and guard,
and a little bit of brass for a plate.
♪ ♪
I've got my handle pieces pretty roughly shaped,
and I have to assemble.
- Nicholas has decided to do a burn through with his handle.
I've never seen that be a fast and efficient process,
but it does give you a tight fit.
- Burned through those brilliantly.
No problem at all.
♪ ♪
That handle's not going anywhere.
It's good and solid.
Oh, man.
- Nicholas, Ben, you guys have two hours left.
♪ ♪
- So historically,
the spatha had a rounded or a disc-shaped pommel,
and it looks like that's what Ben's working on right no.
- Just a round cap at the end would have been okay,
but this just adds a little piece of panache
at the top of this sword
that I think really looks amazing.
I think it's going to work really well
as a counterbalance, so I'm going to go above
and beyond and try to make this thing gorgeous.
- Yeah. [chuckles] You're ridiculous.
He made a fricking cricket ball.
♪ ♪
- I'm just doing a flat grind with an apple seed edge.
I find that this one,
for most of the tests, performs the best.
So I really wanted to turn in an acid-etched blade.
I wait for a few minutes.
When it comes out of the acid,
it's not quite as bold as I would've liked it to be.
It doesn't really show the counter-twisted pattern,
but it's one of the corners that I had to cut
when I had to start over.
So I'm going to focus on a functional sword
rather than a pretty one.
Looks are secondary.
- Ben, Nicholas, there are only 30 minutes remaining.
♪ ♪
- The first thing I want to fit up is the guard.
Next is the handle, and as I slide the pommel o,
I see the tang sticking out of the top
and I realize I think I have enough time
to do the cool, decorative pommel cap
that I was hoping to do.
- Ben's slow and steady pace this competition
is turning into a nail biter.
He's currently 8-0 in this competition.
If he loses one, he will no longer be the unbeaten.
- I grab a thin piece of brass, I just cut in four divots,
and I must admit,
I'm excited with the way this is coming out.
Like my brain says, "Don't worry dude, I got this,"
and then my hands are like, "We'll take it from here."
♪ ♪
- Start finishing up guys. You have five minutes left.
♪ ♪
- I'm trying to clean up this blade,
get some linseed oil on the handle
so at least I can have something presentable.
Today has been the hardest day forging
I think I have ever had.
It has been emotionally, mentally,
and absolutely physically draining,
but I am just happy
that I was able to finish something.
- Five, four, three, two, one.
Bladesmiths, put down your tools, turn off the machines.
This eight-hour round is over. Incredible job.
♪ ♪
- I'm apprehensive, a little nervous,
and really excited.
Ben is amazing.
This is what I came here to do, though.
I really want to see these things tested together.
♪ ♪
- Welcome back, guys.
Now this time, Nicholas decided
he wanted he and Ben to build spatha swords.
So what do you guys think about Blue?
♪ ♪
- Right off when I look at the pattern, it's a little muddy.
There's not a lot of twist in the twists.
- Doug, what about you?
- It's got a nice taper to the blade
all the way down there,
but then when you pick up the handle though, smooth,
and I like the way it feels in the hand.
It is forward-heavy.
You can tell there's no counter balance,
like it starts to tip forward.
Now when we talk about Green's blade...
♪ ♪
When you go to the handle,
there is a counter balance in there.
Must be the brass.
I can tell that it makes the blade
come all the way back.
Also, that Damascus pattern, it's impressive.
- I'm sure you guys are itching to get testing.
You ready? - Oh, yeah.
- All right, let's call them in.
♪ ♪
Nicholas, Ben, welcome to testing, guys.
I've gotta say
in eight hours, you built an extremely difficult blade.
They both look beautiful, they both look strong.
Now Nicholas, you're the only smith
standing between Ben and that unbeaten streak.
You're here for your second "Forged in Fire"
champion title, as well as a check for $10,000.
We're about to find out
which one of you is coming out on top.
We're going to start off with a dynamic kill test with Doug.
♪ ♪
- Bladesmiths, welcome to the dynamic kill test.
So I'm going to deliver some slashes and thrusts
on this pig carcass
and try to cut through these tatami mats.
The Blue anvil is up first.
- Pigs are tough. They have lots of bones.
They dull a blade really, really well.
This is my third time through this,
and it's just as nerve-racking as the first.
♪ ♪
- All right, gentlemen, first up.
When you're looking at this handle here,
because it's a forward weight on the sword,
there's no counter balance here
that every time I'm swinging this,
the blade wants to leave my hand.
But these cuts onto the pig carcass are very deep.
But overall, this weapon, it will KEAL.
♪ ♪
- Nicholas' sword performed really well on this test.
The cuts were deep.
The bar has been set really high.
I just hope mine can match it.
♪ ♪
- All right, gentlemen.
So the balance with this blade is back toward the handle,
so it's easier to control.
The edges took no damage.
On the pig carcass,
the weight distribution of slashing with this
actually cuts very deep.
Overall this weapon, it will KEAL.
♪ ♪
- All right, gentlemen,
it's time for our dynamic strength and sharpness test,
the clay pot smash and fish slice.
This is all about the edge retention of your blade,
how well they cut, how well they feel in my hand.
So gentlemen, it's time to start.
- Last time I was here, those clay pots did me in
and took my win away from me.
- Your blade did take damage during the strength test.
- It's like hitting a rock. I don't like this.
♪ ♪
They're just the worst on blades.
I don't like this.
♪ ♪
- All right, so it held its edge, which is great.
The weight's not an issue,
other than once you finish a swing,
the recovery's a little bit slower.
But it held up well. Good job.
♪ ♪
All right, so right off, when I pick up this sword,
what I feel more than anything is the balance.
You want that balance point right there.
The pattern is beautiful,
the edge held up really well and cut well.
And though I love the attempted historical accuracy
in this handle, it would've been nice to see
a little bit more finish work done on it.
Having said that, when I put it in my hand,
it fits really nicely.
It's nicely done.
♪ ♪
- Well, bladesmiths, it comes down to this final moment.
You both did a phenomenal job.
The judges agree both blades tested almost evenly,
so it came down to the very finest of details.
The stakes are really high.
Ben, if you win, you will remain undefeated,
and go to a record of nine wins and zero losse.
Our judges discussed your blade,
and they came out with a final conclusion.
And the winner of today's "Forged in Fire" competition
is...
♪ ♪
He has done it again. - [laughs]
- Ben Abbott, congratulations, buddy.
- Oh, my God, oh, my God. - Congratulations.
- Oh, my God. - Nicholas,
unfortunately your blade didn't come out on top today,
and Doug's going to tell you why.
- Nicholas, that was fantastic work that you presented u,
and as stated,
both blades pretty much performed equally on the test,
so it came down to pretty much the handle.
Not having that counter balance
made your blade a little bit forward-heav,
and that's why you're not going home with a win today.
- I absolutely understand. Thank you guys for having me.
- Nicholas, you smoked the competition,
you did a phenomenal job here,
but unfortunately, at this time I'm going to have to ask you
to please step off The Forge floor.
- Thank you guys very much. - Thank you so much.
- See you, Nick. Nice job, man.
- I did my best.
Ben came out on top. Totally deserves the win.
If you're going to come here, do your homework.
These guys are tough. Be ready.
♪ ♪
- Ben Abbott, we're running out of fingers to count on.
You are the champion again.
9-0, buddy. How do you feel?
- I feel amazing.
So much of me has gone into it blood wise,
but I'm just super jazzed that it paid out.
I just became a "Forged in Fire" champion again.
I'm just elated,
this is probably one of the best experiences of my life,
to go through five competitions
and win all five of them in a row.
- The blade I'd say right now that's the most stunning
pattern that you've presented.
- In each of these competitions,
I've learned a little bit of something.
You have to learn how to be fast,
you have to learn how to be good,
you have to learn how to be smart,
and I just feel like my skill
is getting better and better as I go.
- Where do you go from here?
- Dave, you ready to compete?
- [chuckles] Sign me up. - Oh, hell, yes.
- I'm currently 9-0. I'm unbeaten.
If you think you've got what it takes, bring it on. I'm ready.