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Best of the Judges
s11e08 · 2026-08-20
Running · US
Forged in Fire
History Reality Next s11e09 · 2026-09-17
What it is
Forged in Fire features world-class bladesmiths competing against each other to create some of the most iconic edged weapons from history. In each episode, four of the best bladesmiths in the country will come together to put both their skills and reputations on the line. Whether they are making a Japanese katana, a medieval broadsword, or an ancient throwing blade like the chakram, the weapons they forge will be fully functional and lethal works of art and war. The unique histories contained within each weapon will be creatively told during the forging process and the final weapons themselves will be assessed and ruthlessly tested by our panel of expert judges. These dynamic and explosive tests will be individually designed to push the weapons to their absolute limit. One by one, the bladesmiths will be eliminated until only one remains to be crowned the champion.
Episode highlights
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Instruments of Death: Masters of Destruction
s11e09 · 2026-09-17
Episode guide
8 this season · 277 totals01e01 Japanese Katana 2015-06-23 02:00
Japanese Katana
In this explosive new series, four bladesmiths will compete for $10,000 and the title of Forged in Fire champion. Across three grueling rounds, competitors design and forge deadly edged-weapons of war. Their work will be put to the test, and those that fail will be sent home. In the final round, the two remaining bladesmiths must forge one of the most iconic weapons from history; the Japanese Katana. Their swords will be pushed to the absolute limit… the final test will determine which is stronger; their Katanas or a speeding bullet?
s01e02 Chakram 2015-06-30 02:00
Chakram
Four bladesmiths must forge a weapon using only reclaimed metal. With the clock winding down, two of the competitors are dramatically forced to improvise, and one almost doesn't make it through the round at all. The finalists head to their home forges to make an ancient Indian Chakram, and they return with two very different interpretations of that deadly, circular throwing weapon. But only one stands up to the judges' dynamic battery of tests.
s01e03 Viking Battle Axe 2015-07-07 02:00
Viking Battle Axe
The bladesmiths must transform a steel 'train spring' into a weapon of their choosing. Only two competitors will move on and are given just five days to forge a legendary Viking Battle Axe. After a barbaric round of testing from the judges, only one man will be left standing.
s01e04 Katar 2015-07-14 02:00
Katar
For this week's challenge the competitors create their signature blade by using the Hada technique--a traditional process that involves forging multiple layers of steel together. The pressure mounts as one of the smiths is pushed to his absolute breaking point. In the final round, two competitors go head to head to create one of the series' most unusual weapons.
s01e05 Crusader Sword 2015-07-21 02:00
Crusader Sword
The forge heats up as our four bladesmiths struggle create a special Japanese hardening technique on their signature blades. After a difficult first round of testing, the remaining two bladesmiths head home with just five days to forge the legendary Crusader Sword. With their battle-ready weapons in hand, they're put through a brutal round of medieval testing; but only one can emerge victorious and be crown the Forged in Fire champion.
s01e06 The Elizabethan Rapier 2015-07-28 02:00
The Elizabethan Rapier
The forge heats up as the bladesmiths must use an age-old technique to create their signature weapons. But will their swords make the cut when the judges put them through a battery of tests? Two finalists head to their home forges to make one of history's most notorious weapons, the rapier, a sharply pointed sword that can kill with just one thrust.
s01e07 The Roman Gladius 2015-08-04 02:00
The Roman Gladius
After a hard round of tests that literally breaks a blade in two, the finalists get the chance to make one of the most important weapons from history, the Roman Gladius.
s01e08 The Moro Kris 2015-08-11 02:00
The Moro Kris
The bladesmiths must forge a signature weapon using everyday steel objects like ball bearings and shovels as their only source material. One contestant puts finishing his weapon before his own safety in a heated race to the finish. Only two competitors will move on and are given just five days to forge the mystical Moro Kris Sword--a distinctive blade that dates all the way back to 300 BC.