Jay, Stephan, congratulations. You're both in the final round. Now we're sending you
back to your home forges, where you're nice
and comfortable, to make an iconic
weapon from history-- the Zweihander. [MUSIC PLAYING] The Zweihander, which
means two-hander in German, was a massive sword wielded
by Swiss and German mercenary armies in the 16th century. Sometimes stretching to
over six feet in length, the Zweihander was a long sword
featuring an extended grip and broad guard. As European armies employed
more pikes and polearms on the battlefield,
the Zweihander emerged as a counter weapon. This enormous sword
was used to break up pike formations by cutting
spear-ends and opening up holes in enemy lines. Due to its size, the Zweihander
was only wielded by the biggest and most audacious soldiers. If these soldiers survived
charges into enemy spears, they would often be paid double
for their substantial risk. The Zweihander eventually
faded from the battlefield, but survives today in
games such as "Dark Souls." It must be an effective
working version of that weapon. JAY: I've never made
a Zweihander before. Of course, I've never made
a friction folder either, but that turned out OK, right? [LAUGHS NERVOUSLY] HOST: Your blade must have a
double edged flamberged blade, guard, ricasso,
pommel, and two lugs. You will have five
days at your home forge to complete
this challenge. At the end of those
five days, you will return and
present your weapons to our panel of expert judges. Only after they've
submitted them to a series of brutal tests
will they declare one of you the champion. Good luck, bladesmiths. We'll see you in five days. STEPHAN: Today, we're
going to forge the Damascus and get our rough
forged blank, hopefully. I'm looking for
about 200, maybe 250 layer ladder pattern Damascus. One thing I like to do when I
really want to just kind of get into it and [GROWLING]
rock it out, I'll eat a super spicy pepper. [GRUNT] Yeah! Let's go! JAY: So far, it's coming
together really good. My grind marks meet up right
here in the center really good. It's time to quench. When you have a
five-foot blade, that means you had to have almost
a five-foot quench tank, which means now to get the
blade in the quench tank, you're at 10 feet in the air. This can be pretty bad. If the quench doesn't
go good, we're gonna have to start all over. Sweet. It didn't break. That's what I was hoping for. Now I can start
working on the guard. The scallops look good. I got the handle glued
on and tightened down. So today we're gonna get
it sharp and test it. I'll see your watermelon
and raise you a bucket. [MUSIC PLAYING] This blade is a beast. It's gonna be able
take some punishment and deal some punishment. [CHUCKLES] It will cut. Now, the Zweihander was known
as a weapon of intimidation. To test the sharpness
of your edge, I'm going to cut into this
bundle of sugar cane twice-- once with either side. Jay, you're up first. Are you ready? Ready as I'm ever gonna be. I know my blade's sharp. I know it'll do good. I'm expecting
something epic, but until it's really put to the
test, you just never know. [MUSIC PLAYING] It's got a lot
of weight to it, but obviously it's plenty sharp. Nicely done. Thank you. DAVE: All right,
Stephan, you're up. Are you ready? Can't wait. Jay's weapon did
really well cutting through the sugar canes. I'm not nervous about
mine, but, you know, I don't know if it's
gonna cut better than his. His cut real strong. It's light. It's easy to wield. That guard-- it's almost
where it's into you when you're swinging it. You can see it cut
deep and clean. It looks like the blade held
up beautifully, so nice job. Thank you. Bladesmiths, the Zweihander
was a weapon of war. Big weapon, big damage. I will take your weapon
and deliver killing blows on this ballistic dummy. Let's see how much damage
your weapon can do. Jay, you're up first. You ready? Go for it. MAN: Let's do this. [MUSIC PLAYING] It is a heavy weight, and
it's harder to manipulate with multiple blows. But on the thrust, I was able to
go in one side and all the way on the opposite
side of the dummy. This, sir, will kill. Thank you. Stephan, you're up next. You ready? Absolutely. MAN: Let's do this. [MUSIC PLAYING] That was brutal. OK, Steve, the
edge of your sword is sharp enough to lacerate
all the way into the ribs, and on the power strike, that
would disembowel and ruin this person. That's the idea. This sword will kill. Good job. Thank you. DAVE: Gentlemen, this
is the strength test. Now, the Zweihander was often
used against pike formations, so I'm gonna take
yours Zweihanders and go against a rack
of pikes here five times with each of your blades, see
how far I can break through. Jay, you're up. Are you ready? Ready. [MUSIC PLAYING] Wow. When you start
swinging this thing, it moves things out of its way. I don't see any
damage to your edge. Nicely done. Thank you. All right, Steve, you're up. Do it. DAVE: OK. The third test
is probably the one I'm the most confident about. You know, I've-- I've beat
the heck out of this sword, and it's doing well. So now it's just how much
mayhem can Dave cause. [MUSIC PLAYING] Obviously, it's a good cutter. It actually bit into
that wood and split that right down the middle. Very easy to wield because
of its light weight, but I think we've bent
just a little bit. It's bent in two directions,
and there is a crack now developing in the handle. Gentlemen, we've
got a lot to discuss. We'll see you back at the forge. I'm concerned. I had a warp in my blade,
so I don't know who's gonna end up with the win. Bladesmiths, the judges have
made their final decision. It's time to declare one of you
the "Forged in Fire" champion. Jay, congratulations. Stephan, unfortunately your
sword did not make the cut. Dave will explain. Stephan, I think what
you did with your steel is visually stunning, but
what this came down to was the strength test. When your handle developed
a bend in two directions, that caused a stress
fracture in the handle, as well as a slight bend
right where the lugs are. And it's those reasons combined
that are sending you home. I understand. Stephan, please
surrender your weapon. STEPHAN: I'm disappointed. I really wanted to
win, but that's OK. I love being at the forge. It's hot. It's dirty. You'll smell funny,
but it is so rewarding. HOST: Jay, congratulations. You are the "Forged
in Fire" champion. Good job. [APPLAUSE] Thank you. HOST: How do you feel right now? I feel like my heart's about
to burst out of my chest. Well, it's the heaviest
weapon I've ever had to wield in this competition. Very well balanced and
a powerful weapon, too. Thank you. And the way you
built your handle-- that tells me a lot about
the way that you make things. The wood is fitted on and
then wrapped with leather with these reinforcing
pieces underneath. That's the proper
way to construct it. Thank you. Well, Jay, in exchange for
that sword and those socks-- [CHUCKLING] --you will be receiving
that check for $10,000. JAY: When they announced
that I was the winner, it felt really good. I've had people
tell me, you know, you're good at what
you do, but I always have this kind of self-doubt. To make it all the way to
the end and be the champion, I'm so happy.
how underclass do you need to be to mispronounce zwei