Eric Finch works at his home forge in his mother’s garage outside Harmony. Finch won the “Forged in Fire” competition aired on the History Channel Wednesday night. SUBMITTED PHOTO

Eric Finch, 20, a senior safety major at Slippery Rock University, won the “Forged in Fire” competition aired Wednesday night on the History Channel.

Finch, the son of Jeff and Rebecca Finch, won $10,000 and the title of "Forged in Fire Champion" after defeating fellow blademaster Greg McClure of Utah in creating a machete, in keeping with the episode’s Western theme.

Finch said competition in the Stamford, Conn., studios began with four contestants asked to make a Bowie knife.

After forging and finishing the Damascus steel, Finch said, “I put on a grip and an S-guard. Then we tested the blade’s sharpness with the leather bag chop and the whiskey barrel chop.”

After two contestants were eliminated, Finch and McClure were given the assignment to craft a 24- to 26-inch blade with a certain curvature to the blade with a stacked leather grip and eagle claw or horse head pommel. They then went back to their home forges and had four days to craft their weapons before traveling back to Connecticut for the final competition.

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