01x05 - The Instrument of Legends

[bunniefuu]

Look at the bridge.

Are you gonna fight here, Papa?

You'll have to ask the director.

- You know Papa's doing the script.
- Hiya.

For two decades now

I've been a storyteller.

This journey has led me to meet

incredible artists and craftsmen
all over the world.

Every character is an opportunity
and a privilege

to build a story alongside
these artists.

I'm going to venture out to some of
my favorite artists and craftsmen

to discover what inspires them

and I'm going to enlist them to build
custom one-of-a-kind pieces

for stories I'm telling.

Growing up, I used to always be
introduced as "Ricky's son"

and it used to drive me nuts.

And I told my dad when I was little

"One day nobody will know
you except for 'Neil's dad.'"

I just always had
that weird, like, drive.

My great-grandfather,
he was the first blacksmith

that was shipping
his cane knives to other islands

to the pineapple plantations,
to many different places

and he ended up opening
a blacksmith shop in Hilo.

It was there from, like,


and he was the last living
blacksmith in Hawaii.

And when I was born

they named me Neil Teiji Kamimura

which after the blacksmith

and so, I've always kinda
carried that weight.

And this is... that is a replica sign

of my great-grandfather's
original sign in Hilo.

So, my buddy had made it for me

off of a photo
that was in a newspaper article.

Made for the first season
and second season

made my... finale swords.

We turn them into rubbers

and then I go and do
all the damage that I do, right?

You make snakeskin ones, uncle?

- Yeah.
- That's so cool.

That's my prized possession.

I can make real knives.
I can't make this.

Right? I can't make...

- I saw a flimsy one.
- No, I can't make that.

I can't make that.

Jason DM'd me through Instagram

and asked me if I could make a sword
in 48 hours

and bring it up on Mauna Kea

and I did it.

I... I needed something very quick

and I put it out there to him

it was, like, the total Hail Mary.

Like, "I need this knife now.

It needs to look like this.
Can you pull it off?"

And this guy just, like, you know...
I don't know, 48 hours

bangs this thing out,
shows up on Mauna Kea with it.

I'm like, "It's perfect."
And it's what I use in...

in See for the finale.

It was a beautiful thing,
and then through that

I just kinda like
tried to have friends.

Each... each character I play

I just move to another artist,
and we build stuff together.

When we start a movie, you know

you'll have the wardrobe department,
the props department

and you get to see these...

the best of the best.

I love that.
That's my favorite department.

That and props, I love.

Finding these unique pieces
helps me form a character

and I love that process.

But it's even more meaningful

to have them handcrafted
by some of my closest friends.

Neil and I both have
multi-generational roots in Hawaii

and that definitely influences
our eye and the way we look at art.

Being born in Hawaii
and raised in Iowa

I definitely, most of my life,
wanted to get back to Hawaii

even though
I have a solid foundation in Iowa.

I feel like if you're rooted into

like, craftsmanship
in the first place

your grandparents, you know,
your grandpa and your uncles

and they're... they're all, like,
work with their hands.

You know, my mother is so heavy
into antiques and photography

and all my uncles
and my grandfather are musicians.

The things that I ended up liking
kind of got me out on my own path.

Climbing and skateboarding,
all these things

kinda gave birth to, you know,
me always constantly leaving

and wanting to get out
and journey to different places

so... hence the name On The Roam.

- How's it going dude?
- Hi, welcome to Texas.

All right.

- My man!
- How many f*cking years

does it take to get to see you again?

sh*t, man.

Along my journey

to build these custom pieces

I went to Texas to see
my friend Richard Baggett

an extremely skilled knife
and jewelry maker.

Yeah.

I wanna soak in as much
as I can from him

about his process
and where he finds his inspiration.

Oh, and the sun is just gonna set
right here, bro?

- Yeah.
- It sets right here, doesn't it?

- Yeah.
- Wow, man, it's beautiful.

And this is all inspired
by Navajo jewelry

but I'm not a Navajo

and nor would I ever claim
that my jewelry is Navajo.

- Yeah.
- I just try to put the Old West

sort of mountain-man feel
on everything.

Right, that's beautiful.

This is important,
the MOLLE tomahawks on the back

and these are from friends,
pieces I've collected.

I... I'm trying to remember.
How was it that I contacted you?

That was from Chopper Supply Co...

Yeah.

...and I guess you met Kenny
and you met Justin.

- Yeah.
- And somebody said my name

and I get a telephone call.

It was like, "Hey, dude."

Like, "Holy sh*t. What's up, man?"

"I want you
to make something for me."

I was like, "Okay."

There's a lot of those phone calls

and there's probably
a lot of stories about me

where you get a phone call going

"Hey. Jason Momoa.
I really love your stuff.

Could you do this...
but I need it in six hours?"

Ever since that first call
with Richard

we've had a creative partnership

and a bond between us
that's still going strong.

These are ones that I've made

- over the past two years.
- Yup.

I've got... That's my first year
for being sober.

Yup.

I made this
for my two-year anniversary..

Oh, bro. That's a hammer, man.

I have so much to learn from him.

He has this incredible wealth
of knowledge

and he's so enthusiastic
about sharing it.

She fought alongside Geronimo.

She could feel it in her hands
where the enemy was.

- Really?
- So she was known as, like

a medicine woman too.

- She'd feel it in her hands when...
- Yeah.

- I'mma use that.
- You could.

I love all that,
'cause I love taking that

and putting it
in the characters, man.

I still... I still make knives
and everything.

- Yeah.
- But I'm trying to learn

some new things

and this is my...

Oh, man.

This is my silver studio.

Richard and I share that eye
for the imperfect.

We just see things the same way

and we're drawn to the same style.

I try to keep a real personal

very personal relationship
with the clients

I mean, as much
as you can being over the Internet

but... so they feel like

they're really investing in something
that I really cared about

and I had them in mind
while I was making it

and I can't tell ya how much
that means to somebody.

Just watching him slowly form a stone
or scrap of metal

into some beautiful piece
that only he could have made.

Here you go.

My mom really, really collects
a lot of old antiques

and she used to take me antiquing

and I would be like,
"Oh, it's annoying."

But then I started seeing, like,
these old vintage bowl jars

and I'd see these old vintage spoon

and I just... like, it's been so read
into me to see these things

and see the patina
and what it's been through

and its... you know, nature's effects
on man-made things.

It was very instilled into me
at a young age.

Oh, that black, hopefully
it'll weather in really nice.

It just looks like
it's been around for...

Right?

I get a kick outta that.

It's beautiful. Look at that...

And you know what?
To be honest with you

being involved with you
and doing stuff

it has affected my art

because I didn't realize

that I liked the way
you like things that were beat up

and I didn't realize that...
that that's okay.

That everything that I thought
was cool and rustic

and is... is loved by other people

which gives me even more

you know, fuel
to keep doing things the way I do.

I... I discovered wabi-sabi.

It's a Japanese philosophy
of, like, imperfection, perfection

and what is
the definition of perfection.

Is it, you know, spring and its...
and its blossoming?

Is it the perfect,
you know, flower in summer?

And so when I look
at something that's...

a worn, old pair of pants,
or something, they...

There's just this style
that you just go

"Man, I don't know I just had it."

As long as I keep my eyes open

and look at all
the overlooked details of life

I just see so many gorgeous things,
and it makes me happy.

I think it's really... I give
a lot of credit to my mother

and how she saw the world.

I kind of now have become this...

You know, appreciate all these things
and then can use it to make my art.

There are artists
that you've worked with

and then we all
get to know each other.

- Yeah.
- You know, we kinda build this...

a bond and a support system
with each other

and we're always there
and it makes...

it makes this so enjoyable

to know that there's a...
there's a community.

The things that I do,
whether it's painting

like, a set of jewelry,
or metal, or whatever

is I try to bring my own art,
my own style to it.

So when you look at it, you say,
"Okay, that's Richard Baggett."

- That's true. Yeah.
- You know what I mean?

And it may not be the best
or the most beautiful

but by God, it's something I made
with everything that's in me

at the best of my ability

- at the time you got it from me.
- Yeah.

And it... So every piece
is a piece of my journey.

Richard and I have
collaborated on weapons

for previous shows and movies

but I really wanted to task him
with building something unique

for Baba Voss on my series See.

So... made tons of weapons
on Frontier

so right now I'm making ones for...

So, these Wolverine claws on See,
it kinda went out...

But that looks so rad

and he had a big bundle
of elk tines and deer tines.

So I'm making some right now.
Look at that.

Put a bit knife right there...
like that...

So I'm just gonna...

You scared... you scared
the sh*t outta me with that.

This one.

Gonna hold it right there.

Hooked in.

- Nice, huh?
- Yeah.

You know what I'm saying?

One incredible thing
that I've noticed

is that I will... I have
the natural ability to feel it

without calculating it.

This is how it starts.

I usually have a flash vision of it.

It comes in my mind like a flash.

Like, if somebody puts a photo
and... remove it.

So I see it, and I'm, like...

And I try to hang on to that vision.

His art is like nothing
I've ever seen before.

I don't know.
When I'm doing something

like, I don't have
that sense of perfection.

His is perfect and meticulous.

As an actor, it's my job

to study different, you know,
behaviors and how people are.

I think Judicael is a...

he's a very,
very interesting character.

He's a visionary.

I... don't have that kind of artistry
in my... in my DNA.

It's just such a fine...
He's, like, a fine painter.

He's working with, like,
the most precious stones and jewels.

You know, if he... if he makes one...

That imperfection,
it's gonna crack and fall apart.

The gemstone is like
the cherry on the cake.

It's like, "This is
what's gonna make it," you know?

And there's some frequency
and energies.

Sometimes it's the smell,
it's the texture, the color.

I am such a fan of Judicael's art.

I wanted to collaborate with him

on some jewelry ideas I have
for a character I'm developing.

- Jason.
- Judicael.

- Good to meet you, buddy.
- Oh, look at that.

Yeah, welcome to my den.

When Jason got in touch with me

I guess that was when
he was filming Justice League

and he's representing Aquaman

which is the king of Atlantis, right?

And which is very interesting,
because those skulls I was making

and the skull that he got actually

was the name
of an ancient king of Atlantis.

And so, without knowing

it all made sense.

I think there's a big inspiration
when I first saw one of those pieces

and it was a very much...
an ode to Atlantean kings

and I was like, "Wow,
it would be really cool if it...

This is so beautiful. You make this?"

I wanted to make a...
a green stone, a pounamu

so we needed to get
the proper material, and so...

We then decided
to make it out of pounamu

which is jade that came
from down here

in Aotearoa.

It's a... it's really one-of-a-kind

to be able to have that.

And obviously, I brought these
to Aquaman

and kinda going like, "Oh, this would
be amazing for Aquaman, right?"

And the great thing is,
I get to build these characters...

build these characters and find
these different little things

for each different guy,
so it leads me to Fast X

- Yeah.
- where I'm a very flamboyant villain

who's extremely dangerous
and patient.

I wanted this character to be very...

He had everything
taken away from him.

He is definitely the... the devil

and we would just
spitball some ideas.

It would be nice
to have something that just...

'cause I'm planning
on having my shirt open...

- Yeah.
- Very much like a rosary in a way

but it ain't a rosary.
It's the opposite version.

So maybe if it's...
Maybe put the little bone.

I love it.
This is also why I love building

you know, it's like,
building this little character

I'm like, "Oh, this is gonna
help me with this

and this is gonna help me with that."

It's just such an honor
to be able to highlight your buddies

then to put it on another show

and play a character
using their stuff.

It's like... to me it's just...

I mean, that's the top of the top so.

I'm always... I wanna make them proud

and they're making me proud.

Sitting still for me is brutal.

You know, I'm not very...

I gotta be moving.

During this quest, I finally met
some new knife makers

that I've been admiring for a while

Terry Shanks and Jason Keen.

I wanna challenge them
with a custom knife idea

for my show, See.

Let me know when I can post it.

Okay, well, it's where...
It all happens, right here.

And this is an old shitty garage

but I turned it into a knife shop.

It's your knife shop.

How long you been here for?

I actually grew up in this house.

I inherited it after my folks passed.

- Oh, you grew up here.
- It's where... I got married here.

Yeah, and my wife and I have been
working on it ever since.

It was everything I wanted it to be.

What I thought Terry and Jason
would be like

and going to Texas
and building a knife.

At first, I think everyone
was just kinda like, "Who is this?"

I'm very excited to be there,
so they're all just going

"Hey, relax a little bit, you know.
We're from Texas."

And then, every... It's kind of

they get to know me

and then they just know it's me.

I'm just excited to be there
and hang out with them.

I don't think I've ever seen
another craftsman like Terry.

His work is immediately recognizable.

Every single piece that he creates
carries its own story

and you would never guess that
it came from a little, small garage

in the middle of Texas.

I play so many different
characters on shows

where I like to build different
things for my characters

and so, I came across you,
making brass knuckles

and I wanted to have that
for my character on See

'cause I wanted something
to come from different wars

and I wanted to have a trench knife.

He rode down from Wyoming

and he pulls out a trench knife idea
we were bouncing back and forth

and when that thing was finished

one of the first people I thought of,
and I told him

I was like, "You know
who's gonna want this thing?"

And he goes like,
"Jason f*cking Momoa.

He's gonna want that."

We got... we got... We were...
we were eating dinner

we had just sold it
to a preferred client

- all three of us shared or whatever.
- Yeah.

And I sh*t you not, I just said

"Sit back and watch right
when we sell this, dude.

I'm gonna get a message from him."
And I sh*t you not

- you sent a message
- Oh, my god.

I was like, "Why the hell
would you post this and not tell me?"

Because then I gotta get
all you artists together.

That was the cool thing.
But regardless, whoever got it

lucky you.

I'll find you.

No, I'm sorry.

It was like being in the furnace.

This is his childhood home

but his... all of his buddies
were there

and we're just sweating
over the forge.

It was very, very surreal.

Six years ago

I was dealing...

I've been taking care of my mom
my whole life

you know, since I was 18.

My mom had mental issues

and she kinda was losing it
a little bit

and I had to, like,
step away from her

'cause I was going through a divorce

and I had a nine-year-old son,
Maddox, at the time

and so, like,
it was a pretty difficult time

and she ended up...

she ended up taking her life.

She wrote me a letter.

She...

left me a voice mail, and she...

she was very unhappy with me.

That was like
a fork in the road for me

and at the same time, I...

My life was full of problems, like...

I had, by that point in my life

I probably tried to k*ll myself
ten times, you know?

It just so happened,
this buddy of mine gave me a forge

and gave me an anvil

and he told me

he's like, "Dude,
you ain't got sh*t in your life."

Like, you know, "You should 'forge'
your problems out."

So I literally
put in a piece of leaf spring

that I had from my '49 Cadillac,
and I forged a knife

and the first hit that I took

like, I knew that this is
what I was supposed to do

for the rest of my life.

Knife making and bladesmithing

just gave me an identity, a purpose.

Being recognized for it
allowed me to, like

actually love myself enough
to let good things happen to me.

- All right, let's make some knives.
- Okay.

We're gonna make our first ever
Momoa family knife

'cause I never got to make
a knife with you guys before.

And so we need... we're gonna need
to hammer this to a point

so that it's gonna look like this.

Okay.

Him being a family man,
me being a family man

and having our babies in Hawaii

and we're doing
Chief of w*r right now.

I get to bring my kids to a shop

and both of us hammer on this metal

and make our knife together, like,
something I will always treasure.

You wanna be able to pick it up

and you're gonna kinda
come straight up with it

and you're gonna swing as hard
as you know you can accurately hit it

because if you miss

it'll rebound, and it'll...
it will bounce

and it can hit you in the teeth,
it could...

whatever, you know what I mean?

Well what I tell people is

every knife that you get from me

is a problem that I've had in my mind
that I'm getting out, like...

Knife making takes
a throttling of pressures, right?

So at some point

you need the most a*usive force
you've ever seen.

Like, you need to actually
smash steel with a hammer.

To be able to make something together

that's what it's all about

and my son's very much into knives

but my daughter she's a...
she's a little toughie too

so it's... it's fun to watch her
just hammering away at it

and just put all our... our love
and... and strength in there.

To have our own family knife is
pretty amazing.

And we live in a world right now
is where you go

and if you need a kitchen knife

you buy the cheapest,
blue-colored handle

or it's, like, blue for pork,
green for vegetables.

You use it and when it gets dull,
it was ten bucks so you just lose it.

To buy a... a handcrafted thing

you have to love it
and take care of it

and you have
an emotional connection to it

and people sometimes
don't have their eyes open to it.

I'm a caveman.
I live like I'm in the '50s still.

Like, we still cook dinner
every night.

We still live off-grid,
like, you know

and I want people
to have a little piece of that.

I... I like things that have soul
within these pieces

that can be handed down to your...
to your kids and your grandkids

and I hope it inspires people

to buy things that, like... that
last a lifetime and... and further.

So this is from Richard Baggett

and we were there,
and we picked out...

Picked out the antlers that I wanted

picked out the style of knife
that I wanted

and finally it's here.

I'm gonna do it for See

and this'll be on the b*ttlefield.

Yeah.

Look at that.

I wanted to have an old butcher knife
that was just...

That's perfect.

Richard, I love you!

Bro.

Richard Baggett, look at that.

Oh, man.

Terry Shanks.

So the knife was Jason Keen,
Terry Shanks.

Man, this is amazing.

So he engraves these skulls
on his brass knuckles.

It's that ha...
I mean, just... craftsmanship.

I love it. Damn, Terry.

Look how beautiful that is.

Your friends come together and,
you know, do these collaborations

and then I get to be able
to put them on my show

and put another art form together,
my friends building fight scenes

and then, they'll make something
that everyone can be proud of

and unite
all these different art forms.

So, got a couple of ideas for this.

Oh, man, they feel so good!

Here we go.

The depths of my...

So this one's from Judicael

and I wanted to have,
like, the Dom's version...

Dom's version of the cross,
is the ram and the goat for me, so...

Taking Judicael's work, showing up

not knowing
if they're gonna love it and go

like, "What do you think of this?
I had this made, and this..."

And they're like,
"Where did you get this?

Oh, my god, it's amazing."

I get to support your friends
and it's all handmade artists.

- You dig it, man?
- I love it.

- Yeah. Have you ever met an actor...
- I love it.

...so obsessed with, like,
all these little bits?

There's not one out there.
You're the only one.

- I'm a freak. It's so weird.
- You're a freak.

Thank you. All right.

I love these artists.

I love that they're making it
out of their backyard

and I love showing the world
what you can do.

Being able to highlight it

not only just see it
in the final product

but also put it on a TV show

take it into battle

and then have them be stoked by that.

There it is, Jason Keen,
Terry Shanks.

I can make knives.

You know, I make knives
for the richest people in the world

and it's amazing,
and I'm so lucky and fortunate

but you are the only one
that's put it on the screen

and so...

that's forever.

It's the finale of my show
Chief of w*r

and my babies, what do you think?

It was amazing.

I get to have my babies here
with me, friends

pretty much all my friends are here

and... but while we were here

I had the opportunity
to make these beautiful knives

and now, Uncle finished our knives.

Our handmade Momoa ohana knives
that we all hammered and done.

- Quickly.
- Okay.

Oh, my god, bro.

- Wait, that's the one we made?
- Yeah.

- Is that the one we made?
- Yeah.

What?

Every one of these stripes,
I watched you make those stripes.

- This is so freaking cool.
- Look at that. Momoa.

Fifteen years I've been trying
to make Chief of w*r

directing it, like, on my weekend

when I'm not directing

I'm spending time with my kids,
we make a knife

and then when it's finished,
they bring it down to me

like, right when we wrap is emotional

'cause there's
so many things going on.

To be holding my babies
and see it together

it's there forever.

I think a lot of people would fold
under the pressure of

Jason Momoa asked you to make a
sword

in such a short amount of time.

A lot of people
will fold and not take it

'cause they don't wanna be rushed.

I take it because,
one, I love the pressure

and two, like, my sons are watching.

That's all I ever remember, every day

is that my sons are watching.

My relationship and my connection
to my mom now

is that, I try and think
about that she's watching me

and that I don't wanna have it
in vain.

And so that's why I always
have this picture on my desk

because when I hit the wall
and I can't work anymore

and everything is going wrong

I push through, and I won't leave.

I'll stay here till two o'clock
in the morning

to fix what I f*cked up.

Now I know that even though
things are good

my sons are healthy, I love them

we're as one unit,
everything is going good

I know that I still need
to be on guard

still need to be pushing,
still need to be driven

and never be complacent in life

or with raising them,
or in my career.

I think just through life

all the things that kinda guide us
to who we are

obviously has an affect
on what we do with our lives.

Some people sink, some people swim.

What Neil has done with his life
and how much it's changed him

he's used it,
something that's very tragic

and used it in a positive way to...

to then inspire his...
not only his kids but someone like me

and push forward,
and you really see it in his work.

Give me some love.

- I love you.
- Love you.

I had a buddy...

And this is why it really, like,
solidified everything for me.

You know, when...
when the coronavirus hit

a buddy didn't have any work
and just...

he made knives out of his house

and we go ride

So then, he was, like,
"Bro, I'm, like

I'm losing my house.
I'm losing my family."

- I've been there.
- Yeah.

And I'm like, "Bro, make me a knife

I'll... I'll post it.
Let's get it out there.

I made one for my kids.
I'd love to buy it."

And so he made 'em,
and I was... just did a little thing.

He's, like, the homie
that I just ride with

and he's just my buddy

and I'm like...
you know, he came to me

and just, like... Well, I cried.

He's like, "I had 52 orders."

It's been a really cool trip and...
and I have to publicly

you know I've thanked you many times

but, you know,
for someone in your position

to spotlight people like myself

- you know, musicians, artists
- Yeah.

that whole thing, is a big deal

because we go...
we go our whole lives

you know, not... some of us
way more so than others

but you... you wanna have
that feeling of...

"Okay, I've... I've reached people."

- Right.
- You know what I mean?

And it is great... it's great
that anybody loves your work

if it's just one person,
it's beautiful.

But to be able to reach more people

especially in this day and age,
you can

but thank you for

- you know for promoting my work.
- Oh, thank you.

I think everyone has passions

and things that
they've always wanted to do

and they didn't do them

well, there's people out there
that can teach you

probably in your hometown

and you could go
and... try something new.

I hope that inspires people

because I just think having
these family heirlooms are important.

I had a picture of Johnny Cash
on my wall

and everybody thought
it was super weird

that some local kid had
a picture of Johnny Cash on his wall.

And so when I started making knives

I told myself that I wanna be
the Johnny Cash of knife making

and everybody's like...

Like, "That's ambitious."

But Johnny Cash, to me
what he represented was...

His songs are simple.

Anybody can pick it up and play it

but can they replicate it?

No.

You have to protect the joy
that you have in your skillset

and in your trade

and I tell people all the time

like, money can buy you
anything but time.

I hope it identifies
with something in your life

that you're gonna go like

"Yeah, I'm gonna pick this back up,"
or "I'm gonna go do that"

or "I'm gonna do that thing
I've always wanted to do."

'Cause there's too many
things I wanna do in this life

and I'm probably
not gonna learn them all

but I sure as hell can celebrate
everyone else that does it.

Look at that. Dream come true.

Every one of these knives
were made by my friends.

This is from Hawaii.

This is from Texas.

And these are from Texas.

Pretty amazing.

And action.