- Bladesmiths, this
To see how sharp
your weapons are,
I will attempt to cut open
these heavy-duty leather bags.
Alex, you're up first.
You ready?
No.
Let's do this anyway.
ALEX: I'm the first one to
have their blade tested,
so I'm also the first
one to freak out.
My heart is really pounding.
[music playing]
OK, Alex.
It has the edge that definitely
will cut through the bag.
You've got the mass that
definitely dug in to the apron.
Overall, I think
your blade will cut.
Good job.
Thank you.
Mike, let's do this.
Let's do it.
I'm quite nervous.
I didn't get a good edge on it.
I'm just afraid the blade
will bounce off the bag.
[sighs]
[music playing]
OK, Mike, you
have the right edge
geometry to slash into the bag.
My only issue is the way
the handle feels in my hand.
It's really comfortable to hold
a blade this way, not this way.
Otherwise, your blade will cut.
- Thank you.
Good job.
Andrew, ready?
- I'm ready.
- Let's do this.
[music playing]
Andrew, that's a
small handle, buddy.
ANDREW: It is.
It's hard to hold on to,
but it's got enough grip to be
able to cut through the bags.
Your blade will cut.
- Thank you.
Good job.
Bladesmiths, I'm
going to quite violently
stab downward into
this heavy-duty
steel drum's lid three times.
Alex, ready?
[music playing]
Alex, it's a little
bit tough to hold
on to between the thickness
back here and the tip
and handle being
off-centered from each other.
You do have some shine, you
do have some rolled spots.
But it's not the whole edge.
Everything's still tight.
Nicely done.
Thank you.
Mike, you're next.
How you feel?
A little nervous.
Being that this is stabbing a
steel blade into a steel drum,
and I really like my hands,
I'm going to add a blade stop.
Thank you.
But the blade stop's going
to be up above your handle,
so it can't give any
extra support, which
would be unfair to
the other contestants.
ALEX: I'm concerned with
the structural integrity
of my blade.
It's either going
to make or break.
[music playing]
- Mike, she held up.
- Wow.
You did pick up
a curve, though.
Overall, it'll stab.
Nice job.
Thank you.
Andrew, you ready but
the elf knife to the test?
I'm ready.
[music playing]
Penetrated very well.
Your edge-- we've lost pieces of
the edge going into that steel.
The handle wasn't
an issue, as far
as it would have been nice
to have a little more mass
to hold on to.
But it's loose now.
But all in all, good job.
All right, gents.
The judges have made
a final decision.
It's time for one of
you to leave the Forge.
The bladesmith
leaving the forge is--
[music playing]
Andrew.
Your blade did not make the cut.
Jay will explain.
JAY: Andrew you made
a heck of a comeback.
But at the end of the day,
there's pieces completely
missing from the edge.
And then you already
had a warp, but it's
actually bent even
further from the stress
of hitting that steel.
Probably a few more whacks
in the strength test,
we'd have had a folder,
just going the wrong way.
So that's why we're
going to let you go.
All right, Andrew.
Please surrender your weapon.
[music playing]
ANDREW: I'm a
little disappointed.
Thank you, Andrew.
ANDREW: I wanted
it bad, but just
got hung up in a few spots.
- Good fight, brother.
- Thanks.
Good fight.
ANDREW: But I feel like this
was a test of a lot of things--
character, skill,
problem solving.
First thing I do
when I get home,
I'm getting right
back to knife-making.
