Bladesmiths, welcome
to the strength test.
The moose antler chop--
remember, this test is all
about what the antler does
to your bowies and not
what the Rough Rider bowies
do to these moose antlers.
Dan, you're up first.
You ready?
Yes, sir.
[pounding]
Edge held up perfectly.
There's no splinting,
rolling, chipping.
One small issue--
there's a little piece
of the handle that comes up
right here, and it's sharp.
In general, really well done.
Thank you.
John, you're up.
You ready?
Yes, sir.
[pounding]
Your guard is quite loose.
In the testing, your edge took
a roll that you can hear here.
In all, I mean, it's one knife
instead of two, which is great.
And it's got a great
look to it, so well done.
Thanks, sir.
Josh, you're up.
You ready?
Does it matter?
No.
[music playing]
[pounding]
[sighs]
Good job, man.
Thanks.
There's some serious
gaps on both sides
between the handle
material and the guard.
Aside from those issues,
the blade held up perfectly.
Well done.
Thank you.
Bladesmiths, welcome to the
sharpest test, the fish slice.
To find out if there's any
edge left to your weapon,
I want to take your
Rough Rider bowies
and try to get some salmon
steaks out of this fish.
Dan, you're up first.
You ready?
Yes, sir.
Let's do this.
[pounding]
Well, we got four
steaks out of it--
beautiful job.
It is sharp.
There was a spot
here in the guard.
It could have been
smoothened out.
But it did not affect
the use of your blade.
The balance of
your blade is good.
And most importantly,
it will cut.
Good job, sir.
Thank you.
John, you ready?
Yes, sir.
[pounding]
On the first cut, did
cut all the way through.
I just ran out of blade.
But under subsequent
cuts, it is sharp.
And overall, sir, your blade--
it will cut.
Thanks, sir.
All right, Josh.
Your turn.
You ready?
- Go to it.
Let's do it.
[slicing]
Good job.
Thanks, man.
All right, Josh, let's
talk about your blade here.
First up is the handle.
It feels like it should be held
this way because it's off-line.
And in one of the
cuts, it did affect
the way I was indexing my
hip with the guard and then
into the blade.
But this is a sharp
blade, and it will cut.
That's awesome.
That's all I wanted to hear.
Bladesmiths, we asked you
to make Rough Rider bowies
to honor President Theodore
Roosevelt. The judges'
deliberation is complete.
They've made a final decision.
Only two of you can move
forward into the finale.
One of you bladesmiths
has to leave the forge.
And that bladesmith is John.
Your blade didn't make the cut.
David Baker's going
to tell you why.
John, this decision came down
to the strength test in which
your blade picked up a rolled
edge and a loose guard,
making it the only blade
that took any damage.
John, please
surrender your bowie.
My only real regret is that
the handle just didn't hold up.
The guard didn't hold up.
I would have worked
better on the handle.
I came here to prove
to myself that I
am working down the right
path of my craftsmanship.
And I believe I've
proved that to myself
under these conditions.
