[music playing]
WIL WILLIS: All right,
gentlemen, it's time
to see if you young
bucks' crossbows can
hold up in our weapons test.
Up first, Doug,
with the kill test.
DOUG MARCAIDA:
Bladesmiths, to find out
how lethal your
crossbows are I'm
going to go hunting
against these deer decoys.
I'll have two chances to
sink one bolt inside the kill
zone marked in red.
JD, you're up first.
You ready?
Do it.
[music intensifies]
[music playing]
DOUG MARCAIDA: All right, JD.
It was easy to load.
And as you can
see, with the aim,
it was easy to fire and
get right into the heart.
Overall, sir, your
weapon will kill.
Good job.
Thank you.
DOUG MARCAIDA: John
Francis, you're up next.
You ready?
- I'm ready.
DOUG MARCAIDA: All
right, John Francis,
that's outside the kill zone.
But I've got another one ready.
Well, John Francis,
you have a curve
at the end of your
flight deck that doesn't
allow the bolts to lie flat.
When you see it
loaded in here, it's
already sticking out there.
When you compensate for that,
I'm not able to truly aim
for the center.
It looks like today the
deer just get to live.
DAVID BAKER: All right,
gentlemen, it's time
for the strength test.
Now to test the
strength of your bows
as well as the
strength of your bolts,
I'll be firing through these
two sheets of tempered glass
at that X on the back wall.
This test is all
about what the glass
does to the tips of
your bolts and not
what your bolts do the glass.
JD up.
You ready?
Yep.
[music intensifies]
All right, JD, you
are one bolt down
and two pieces of
glass still standing.
Well, it draws well.
It fires nicely.
It would have been nice
to see that tip, you know,
be a little bit harder.
But you did a good
job building this.
Thank you.
John Francis, you're up.
Are you ready?
I guess so.
It broke glass.
John Francis, see that tip?
It's still there.
That sharp tip hitting
the glass blew through it.
As far as the construction
of your bow itself,
it's very nice.
It's very solid.
I like that a lot.
You've got that drop deck to it.
But that should
probably happen in front
of where the string is.
Because as that string comes to
the end, it's kind of a loading
the back of that arrow and
maybe lifting it up somewhat.
That might be why there's a
lot of odd trajectory going on.
But I think you did a fantastic
job and definitely strong.
Good job.
Thank you.
DOUG MARCAIDA: All
right, bladesmiths,
now it's the sharpness test,
the bubble bladder bust.
Let's see if there's any
sharpness left with your bolts.
JD, you're up first.
You ready?
Yep.
[music intensifies]
DOUG MARCAIDA: All right, JD.
Your crossbow gave enough
velocity for your sharp bolt
to go through the bladders
and into the wall.
It will cut.
Thanks.
John Francis, you're up.
Ready?
I'm ready.
DOUG MARCAIDA: Let's do this.
[music intensifies]
All right, John Francis, your
bolt went straight all the way
through and into the wall.
So for this test, sir,
your weapon will cut.
Good job.
Thank you very much.
WIL WILLIS: JD, John
Francis, only one
of you can be the "Forged
in Fire" champion.
And that champion is JD.
Congratulations.
You're the "Forged
in Fire" champion.
And that is a title that comes
with a check for $10,000.
How you feelin'?
Pretty good.
[laughter]
Man of few words.
Please present your
weapon to the judges.
I didn't expect to win,
but I definitely proved
what I came here to prove.
I'm the new "Forged
in Fire" champion.
And I hate crossbows.
I hate 'em.
