Steel to Sole

Neil Kamimura has spent the last decade focused on knifemaking, dedicating himself fully to his craft. His abilities brought him to the History Channel’s “Forged in Fire” in 2017 — and he won.

He makes other things, too: motorcycles, low-rider cars, and Hawaiian dishes, which he shares on social media. He owned businesses, worked in construction, and was an electrician. And over the last two years, he’s worked with footwear brand OluKai to design a limited-edition work boot.

“My dream was never to be a bladesmith, but I think everything kind of happens for a reason,” Kamimura explains. His dream didn’t include designing a shoe with OluKai either, but for two years, Kamimura worked with the footwear brand to create a durable leather work boot.

“What do I know about designing shoes? Nothing, but I wear them every day, and I know how to strip things down textually and visually to make it appealing,” says Kamimura, who was very particular about aspects of the design, like the resoleable sole.

The Pāhi work boot debuted on October 22, revealing the eagerly anticipated, hard-wearing, detail-driven work boot. Wrapped in waxes and oils, the dark, premium leather boots stay protected from the elements. The soles protect feet from strain and fatigue, and can be resoled time and again, just as Kamimura intended.

Bladesmithing is in Kamimura’s blood. His great-grandfather was a well-known bladesmith and business owner. This shared passion could be happenstance or destiny. Either way, it’s a legacy that Kamimura’s not concerned with.

“Do I carry his name? Yes. Is it in my blood? Yes. But it only matters whether it dies with me or not, so that’s more of my focus on legacies — not what happened in the past, but what’s going to happen in the future,” Kamimura says. “All I care about is what my children think.”

For Kamimura, the OluKai partnership and the product signify a “rising of the tide for art in general,” but especially for his community of blacksmiths and bladesmiths. “We take useless materials and turn them into things that people cherish for the rest of (their) lives.”

From knives to work boots and Hawaiian cuisine cooking reels, these things are infused with elegance, pride, and passion. Kamimura makes his own rules, uses social media purely as a business tool, and answers to no one. He lets his artistry speak for itself.