Story and photos by Shilo Urban
High in the hills above Kona, on the Big Island of Hawaii, the soft roar of a fiery forge floats among the mango and banana trees. This is coffee country, a jungled paradise planted with the world’s finest beans. Lunar-like lava fields and black volcanic beaches stretch out below. But up here, in a clearing near the top, lies the unassuming work shed of Neil Kamimura, a renowned master bladesmith — and a total badass.
Kamimura’s artistic, handcrafted blades are in high demand; his waiting list is epic. Swords sell for tens of thousands of dollars. Actor Jason Momoa, singer Zac Brown and MMA fighter ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone are all huge fans.
Kamimura, a third-generation Hawaiian, uses traditional techniques and modern materials to forge one-of-a-kind works of art. He shows me his handiwork: custom chef knives, hunting knives, Japanese-style tanto blades and one terrifying axe. It’s the chef’s knife you can make in a single day, an exclusive private lesson with Kamimura, right here at his off-the-grid farm.
“It’s a very family-style experience, very personal, very tailored,” says Kamimura, who only offers classes through Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, an idyllic five-star retreat on the beach below.
He walks each student through the entire process of creating a bespoke blade.
“We start with a chunk of steel,” he says, before heating it and hammering it, heating and hammering it, heating and hammering it into shape. It’s a slow and deliberate process.
Some students want to do each step themselves, while others hammer the metal a few times before handing their work over to Kamimura.
“And then the fun part,” he says. “They pick a handle.”
He has an exquisite collection of rare woods, from Hawaiian koa to cocobolo, and 3,000-year-old Scottish bog oak.
“I acquire the best in the world.”
He fits the handle and finishes the blade with stone sharpening and hand sanding.
Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Hualalai Resort
Back at the resort, guests take a knife-skills class with a gourmet chef.
A day spent with Kamimura at his home shows travelers a side of the islands they don’t often see.
“It allows people to informally experience the authentic culture of Hawaii,” he says.
Most guests at Four Seasons Hualalai never leave the resort — but in truth, it’s hard to blame them.
Fresh off a $100 million renovation, the spa-golf course-beach resort sprawls along the Kona Coast like a low-slung garden village. I try out all eight pools, each with a distinct personality, including a 1.8-million-gallon swimmable aquarium that’s full of tropical fish.
The beach here isn’t just special, it’s the face of God.
The swirling, murmuring, thundering waves are a palate-cleanser for the mind, evaporating all sense of time and to-dos. I listen to the waves as I sleep, opening the door to my room, a jasmine-scented sanctuary. Ginger flowers bloom in my outdoor shower.
The resort’s six restaurants, including Tyler Florence’s new steakhouse, make dinner a difficult decision each night, but so far, my favorite dish has been the imaginative omakase at NOIO, a parade of meticulous sushi masterpieces. I watch the chef slice the otoro — a silky bite of luxury — and his blade reminds me that, like sushi, the story of Kamimura begins in Japan.
Kamimura’s great-grandfather was a blacksmith who immigrated from Japan to Hawaii. Yet, through the generations, the art of smithing was lost, or perhaps just dormant, waiting for the anvil to awaken a new son. Kamimura was a busy father, working construction and rehabbing classic cars. Then everything changed.
“My mom committed suicide,” he says. “It was a really challenging time. I was just at a point where it was sink or swim.”
A crucible.
Then a strange object came into his life. A friend who owned a rubbish company gave him a broken, makeshift forge that someone had thrown away. Kamimura fixed the forge, then ignited it.
“It was very terrifying, because you think it’s going to blow up.”
It didn’t.
He started forging knives from old car parts, teaching himself via books and YouTube. He broke a lot of blades.
Kamimura loved the TV show, “Forged in Fire,” a blacksmith reality competition. When he ridiculed the contestants’ skills during one episode, his girlfriend called him out on his smack-talking, then went online and signed him up for the show. They called the next day.
Soon Kamimura was forging his first-ever sword on TV in a high-stakes tournament — and he won. It had been less than a year since he first picked up a hammer.
He returned to the show in two months for the “Champion of Champions” competition, taking second place.
A decade later, Kamimura is one of the most sought-after bladesmiths on the planet. His classes are extremely limited, making each experience very special for his students — and for him. He’s taught men, women, couples, brothers and a father with his 12-year-old son.
Many keep in touch.
“They text me all the time. I’m on their Bible group’s prayer list,” he says. “It becomes like a family.”
Kamimura creates more than knives; he forges connections. He hammers out meaning and tempers the emptiness of a disposable world. And here in the hills of Hawaii, he turns travelers into friends, sending them home with an extraordinary knife — and an even better story.