After Action Review: Forged in Fire Season 9 Episode 13

Warning: The following contains full spoilers for the Forged In Fire Season 9 episode “Gladiators of the Forge: Let the Battles Begin”, which aired on July 14 on History.

To coincide with the upcoming 8-part miniseries Colosseum, this week Forged in Fire kicked off an epic ten round bladesmithing competition fit for a Caesar. Each round pits two smiths against each other in a frantic 8-hour build of a historical gladiatorial weapon from start to finish. When time expires, one smith will emerge having earned a check for $5,000 and the choice to either end their journey or continue on in hopes of earning the grand price of $75,000.

WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN?

In round one, Alex won the coin toss and elected to choose the weapon. His choice: the falx, a devastating curved sword honed by the Dacian and Thracian peoples of the first century. Parameters for this weapon included a blade length of 23” to 25”, a depth of curve of at least 3”, a fuller on both sides of the blade, and a pommel. With Alex choosing the weapon, that left Kurt to select the forge welding technique. Basing his decision on his level of comfort, Kurt selected Twisted Damascus.

Round two saw the winner of our first battle return to the forge (BEWARE SPOILERS) in hopes of continuing on in the competition. Challenger Bryan entered round two ready to take on Kurt, fresh from his first round victory. After winning the coin toss, Kurt selected the Spatha, a long sword preferred by the Roman calvary, as his weapon of choice. Parameters included a double edged blade with a length of 26" to 28" with a medial ridge, as well as a wooden guard with metal plate, and a round pommel. Bryan selected Go Mai as the forging technique.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED?

ROUND ONE

MATERIAL: To build his falx, Alex elected to use 15n20 and 1095 with a low layer count (8 layers). Kurt also selected the same materials (15n20 and 1095), though he elected to go for a much higher layer count (40 layers).
TECHNIQUE: Alex achieved his pattern by twisting his billet one and a half turns. Kurt was able to get a full three turns in his billet.
HEAT TREAT: Alex’s first attempt at hardening his blade was unsuccessful, requiring a second quench. Kurt was able to get a hard blade after only one quench.
GRIND: While grinding, Kurt found several small delaminations. Upon further grinding, he was able to remove some, but not all of the delams.
HANDLE: Alex elected to create a two-piece wooden handle similar to the example falx, while Kurt went for a single-piece wooden composition. Both smiths included brass pommels.
STRENGTH TEST: Both blades were treated to a Roman armor chop. Alex’s blade was tested first. It survived with minor edge rolling and a bit of an offset at the tip. Notably, though, judge J. Nielsen noted a lack of visible twist pattern. Kurt’s blade also survived with minor dings and dulling. The delaminations were still visible, but did not open any further. Also, Kurt’s twist pattern was vibrant.
SHARPNESS TEST: When faced with the fish slice, both weapons did their job. Alex’s falx easily sliced the fish, but the offset of the tip was noticeable. Kurt’s weapon sliced easily with a wider blade, unhindered by the existing delaminations.
RESULTS: Both blades performed well. Kurt’s falx was aesthetically pleasing and took minor damage. Alex’s blade also took minor damage, but was not symmetrical and had no visible twist pattern. In the end, Kurt emerged victorious.

ROUND TWO

MATERIAL: To construct his Go Mai spatha, Kurt chose to use a 1095 core, flanked by nickel with mild steel on the sides. Coincidently, Bryan chose the exact same material for his weapon. To compensate for the medial ridge, Bryan added additional material to his core.
TECHNIQUE: During forging, the nickel in Bryan's billet failed to weld, probably due to his work on the press at a lower than ideal temperature. Rather than restart, Bryan scrapped the two outside layers and replaced them with 80crv2 and 15n20. Kurt's forge weld was successful and uneventful.
HEAT TREAT: Kurt was first in the oil. Despite having a thin blade, he was able to achieve hardness after one quench with no warping.
GRIND: Kurt was able to effectively grind in a medial ridge on both sides of his blade. Bryan ground the medial ridge in his blade, but did not have enough time to grind off the excess material.
HANDLE: Bryan made a two-piece wooden handle that unfortunately developed a significant gap against the pommel. As a last minute fix, he filled it with a wrap. Kurt's wooden handle construction was on point.
KILL TEST: The first test was a ballistics dummy kill test. Kurt's spatha was tested first, and was effective in it's duties. Not only was his weapon beautiful, but it also made short work of the dummy with no noticeable damage. Bryan's spatha was intially tested but, due to the excessive weight of the weapon, the test could not be completed safely and equally.
SHARPNESS TEST: With Bryan receiving a vote of no confidence, there was no sharpness test for this round.
RESULTS: Kurt emerged victorious as Bryan's blade could no longer be tested.

WHAT WENT WELL?

In round one, Kurt’s decision to go for a higher layer count**proved to be the primary difference between he and his competitor. Choosing to go with a larger initial stack, then cutting and forge welding that stack a second time** gave Kurt a layer count that was noticeable during judging.
Both round one smiths executed their forge welds well enough to prevent their blades from coming apart during the strength test. Similarly, both smiths were able to achieve hardness with their blades; Alex’s second quench did not hamper his blade’s performance.
In round two, Kurt was pretty much successful at every turn. By choosing the right amount of material to begin with, he was able to spend an ample amount of time perfecting his "fit and finish".
Despite an initial error at the press, Bryan promptly removed the damaged material and reforged an effective billet.

WHAT DIDN'T GO WELL?

Alex’s decision to go with a low layer count was a major mistake in round one. He incorrectly assumed that a low layer count coupled with a twist pattern would stand out.
Bryan's decision to use extra core material to compensate for the medial ridge made his weapon too heavy.
Similarly, Bryan's decision to begin pressing his billet at too low of a temperature resulted in wasted time spent during the forging process. That time was sorely missed late in the round, preventing him from being able to effectively grind off the excess weight or finish a pretty handle.

WHAT DID WE LEARN?

Patterns matter! Higher layer counts typically result in more vibrant patterns in the steel. Don’t be afraid to risk an additional forge weld to increase that layer count. All else being equal, if a specific pattern is part of the parameters, then the blade with the most vibrant pattern will come out on top.
Don't underestimate time management! When smiths run out of time, they are forced to make tough decisions. To grind or to make a pretty handle? There's no good answer. Mistakes made during the early stages undoubtedly come back to haunt you.

What did you think of this episode? Did we miss a major lesson or takeaway? Let us know in the comments below.

New episodes of Forged in Fire air Wednesday nights at 9/8c on History.

‘After Action Review’ is an ongoing series from Brute de Forge in which we dissect popular bladesmithing content, giving you actionable lessons you can apply to your craft today.

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Jordan Miller is the Editor-in-Chief of Brute de Forge and the founder of Millworx Studio. His latest book “A Needle in a Stack of Needles: How to Stand Out in the Crowded Bladesmithing Industry” is available for preorder now.

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