About Us

At SOUL BUILT, we're passionate about quality and hold up all our products we make to impossibly high standards. My mission with Soul Built is to make people think about the products they own as more than mere objects. Soul Built is more than a luxury brand. It's a reminder to take a moment to appreciate all the hard work and crafts[wo]manship that has gone into the product you are holding in your hands. We are a small design & build workshop that places the highest value on perfection for our customers appreciation.

Meaning Behind the Soul Built Logo

I already had a vision for the logo based on the essence of Soul Built described above, but I needed a graphic designers touch to bring it to life. I reached out to the Kickstarter backer community, and 1 came up to bat swinging with pages of logo idea sketches upon his first introduction to me. Check out his work here, he's a true artist and designer to the core. I liked the ideas he had and we continued to refine it to the current design. The wrench and hammer flow together to form a heart. I also see a knife blade in the white space, and an infinity symbol at the top. It's all very symbolic or our mission statement. I appreciate the work that Arvid did to achieve this. He also worked on the packaging design for the Marksmith gift box. I will definitely get him involved in future graphic design and packaging projects.

The Story Behind MARKSMITH

Marksmith came about out of necessity. We use permanent markers on a daily basis at the shop, and I usually carry one all the time because I use it at home a lot. I don't enjoy having to remove the cap every time I use it. The existing plastic retractable markers have many issues, the worst being that they often extend while clipped onto (they are also terrible at staying clipped on) a pocket, and then will leak and stain everything. I've ruined many a pair of pants like that.

The Story Behind KRVR Knives

KRVR Chef Knives saga began years ago when I started developing a full size, no compromises, folding chef knife for travel. During that journey, I discovered the art of custom chef knives, and got particularly interested in the creative things that could be done with resin handles. So I began making fixed blade chef knives with beautiful blades and creative handles.

The [Ongoing] Story Behind Folding Chef Knife

I love kitchen knives, but even more so I love traveling and cooking with friends and family. We want to fully enjoy the precious moments with loved ones while cooking and dining. We want you to always have the pleasure of slicing food with a high quality, sharp chef's knife no matter where your wunderlust takes you! Don't let a cheap, dull knife ruin your travel experiences again.

The KRVR Chef's Knife is the culmination of years of searching for the perfect travel knife for cooking. My name is Daniel Bauen. I'm a mechanical engineer, food aficionado, world traveler, outdoor adventurer, and friends and family man. I love experiencing the authentic, local cuisine of places near and far, but I also like to get involved in the kitchen wherever I am. This could be as close by as a friend or family's kitchen, or as far away as a hostel kitchen in Thailand, or a vacation rental in Mexico.

I discovered that the common frustration of cooking away from home was not having access to my well kept, sharp kitchen knives. There's nothing worse than tearing through food with dull, chipped, and usually woefully undersized knives that you find in other peoples kitchens. This set me on a search for a large (6 to 8 inch blade) chef's style knife that was designed for travel, and didn't need any accessories (sheath) to protect the blade.

What's wrong with a blade sheath? I did not want to rely on a (usually plastic) sheath, because although they do a good job of protecting the blade, these are easily misplaced, and then I was stuck with a knife that can't be safely stowed away. "Where's that damn knife sheath?" then becomes a reality game show that I and others have played one too many times as we're rushing to pack our luggage. If I couldn't find the sheath, then a quick decision had to be made, leave the knife behind, or wrap the blade in a towel and risk cutting stuff in my bag. A sheath is still nice to have for storage, but it couldn't be the primary blade protection that I was dependent on. A sheath also makes the knife larger and more bulky, and I wanted something more compact.

The ideal travel chef's knife must have an integrated blade guard. Something that can't be misplaced or lost. 

• No compromises 
• Same ergonomics as a regular chef's knife
• Comfortable handle for extended use
• Full height blade for scooping up, and pushing food from a cutting board
• Well balanced
• 6-8 inch blade
• Integrated blade guard

The Soul Built Family

Daniel Bauen

Helton da Silva

Kwadjo Danso

Tatiane Pontes

You

The Extended Soul Built Family

Thanks to all friends, family, and business associates who have inspired, worked with us and helped us along the way:

Jennifer Cannon

David Amis

Diego Kirsch

Mark McJunkin

Mike Navitsky (Bastion Gear)

Jacob Snowden

Brian Ellis

Dino Mantri

Bret Barkelew

Adam Young

Rose Lynn Hembree

Walter Bauen

Andree Bauen

Zachary Coffin

Arvid Al Chalabi

Gaston Liang

Corbett Griffith

Dave Chameleon

Who Is Engineerable?

Engineerable is the parent company of Soul Built & KRVR Knives. Engineerable was established by Daniel Bauen in 2005 for mechanical engineering design consulting and in 2011 started to create our own designs. We now own several successful product brands invented by Daniel and team, Soul Built, MARKSMITH, KRVR Chef Knives, ScopeMonkey, FocusShifter, LensShifter, and TimeDock.