Knife storage - under counter?

June Oshiro said:

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a good, reliable way to store knives. I used to use

a

Quoted message said:

magnet bar, but now I'm in this brand new, elegant kitchen, and that
crappy old magnet bar looks, well, crappy and old. I'd rather not

use

Quoted message said:

a counter top butcher block, was looking at under cabinet and wall
mounts. [snip]

I don't like the potential metal-to-metal contact of magnet bars. I
prefer the wooden holders both for their harmlessness and for a modest
moisture-absorbing ability.

June Oshiro said:

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a good, reliable way to store knives. I used to use

a

Quoted message said:

magnet bar, but now I'm in this brand new, elegant kitchen, and that
crappy old magnet bar looks, well, crappy and old. I'd rather not

use

Quoted message said:

a counter top butcher block, was looking at under cabinet and wall
mounts.

I would never consider magnetic knife bars... they will magnetize
knives causing small metal bits to cling (especially from steeling)
which will tranfer to food.

Here are some choices, especially the wall mount style (get two if you
need more storage) which I would only use with the safety cage:
http://www.chefdepot.net/kits2.htm

Sheldon

Sheldon said:

June Oshiro said:

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a good, reliable way to store knives. I used to use a
magnet bar, but now I'm in this brand new, elegant kitchen, and that
crappy old magnet bar looks, well, crappy and old. I'd rather not use
a counter top butcher block, was looking at under cabinet and wall
mounts.

I would never consider magnetic knife bars... they will magnetize
knives causing small metal bits to cling (especially from steeling)
which will tranfer to food.

A professional always wipes his knives after steeling. To get any
clinging metal bits off. Magnetized or not. Always a good idea to wipe
after steeling

Wanna see good ways to keep knives, look in Julia's kitchen. She knew
a little bit about them. Or look in restaurant supply catalogs:
<http://www.zesco.com/pGroups.cfm?SubCatid=275>

HTH

Pastorio

Quoted message said:

Here are some choices, especially the wall mount style (get two if you
need more storage) which I would only use with the safety cage:
http://www.chefdepot.net/kits2.htm

Sheldon

Thanks to everyone for your ideas - didn't think to look in the
"professional" arena! RFC comes through again. 🙂

Bob (this one) said:

Wanna see good ways to keep knives, look in Julia's kitchen. She knew

Quoted message said:

a little bit about them.

I went to the Smithsonian site because I remembered hearing on NPR that
her kitchen had been preserved there essentially in its entirety. From
the faq:

(http://americanhistory.si.edu/juliachild/jck/html/faqs.asp)

"When viewers of these programs visit the exhibition they will
recognize certain details-like the knives attached to wall-mounted
magnetic strips between the windows--but the center of the room will
seem very different."

So Julia used magnets!

June

Matt also pointed out this knife block for the more adventurous. I
would almost seriously consider it, except... it's a little too
morbid, even for me. (Plus, it just wouldn't look right if you stored
the blades edge up.)

http://151.197.213.51:81/wp/archives/2005/02/26/knifeholder/

June

June Oshiro said:

Wusthoff "swinger"
http://www.thegadgetsource.com/4002293800103.html

I'm partial to the swinger design, but it doesn't look like it has
slots for TWO chef knives. The knives I want to reach easily include a
small paring knife, a long/slim boning knife, and two chef knives (8"
and 10"😉. I'd also like the knives to be out of reach of small curious
children. (I have a brand-new nephew!)

Has anyone used one of the above storage systems? Other suggestions?

I've had the swinger for about nine years now. They may have changed it
since then, since I do note that I have mine mounted reverse of the one
pictured in your link. I have the swivel block mounted toward the back of
the block vs. the front. I don't know if I ignored the installation
instructions, or whether they changed the recommended mounting. The
advantage of how I have it mounted is when I swing it back, it is much
further out of the way than when mounted as shown in the link.

I suspect they changed the recommended mounting and the design since mine
was made for the following reason. There are small magnets just inside the
opening of each slot to keep the knives from sliding out as the block is
swung around quickly. There are no magnets at the opposite end of the slots,
which go all the way through the block. If you had a short knife in the
slot, there would be no magnet there to hold it if I reversed my
installation.

The slots do indeed go all the way through the block from one end to the
other. Good thing, because one of my knives is longer than the block.

I don't think you'll have any problem storing two chef's knives, as I have
three in mine. I have the following stored in the block (note that the slots
are going to be reversed on mine vs. the link picture):

Upper row
Slot widths: 7/8", 7/8", 1", 1-1/4", 1-3/8"
5 knives: 3-1/2" birds beak, 4" parer, 6" boning, 6" chefs, 10" bread

Lower row
Slot widths: 1-1/4", 1-5/8", 2-1/4", steel hole
4 knives: 6" flexible fillet, 8" chefs, 12" chefs, steel

All my knives are French carbon steel from Sabatier or Thiers Issard except
the birds beak and bread which are stainless from Lamsonsharp. I guess
there's a potential that all mine might not fit if they were of the deeper
German shape rather than the narrower French shape that I do have.

I'm very satisfied with this solution for these knives I most frequently
use. I have additional lesser used knives stored elsewhere in a drawer style
block.

Quoted message said:

June Oshiro said:

Wusthoff "swinger"
http://www.thegadgetsource.com/4002293800103.html

I'm partial to the swinger design, but it doesn't look like it has
slots for TWO chef knives. The knives I want to reach easily include a
small paring knife, a long/slim boning knife, and two chef knives (8"
and 10"😉. I'd also like the knives to be out of reach of small curious
children. (I have a brand-new nephew!)

Has anyone used one of the above storage systems? Other suggestions?

I've just posted pics to my website. My chef's knives are 6" and 8"
blades. The slot where I put the 8" could be a little roomier
("taller"😉 but it works. I believe this meets your criteria --
including keeping them away from small children. Sam (3) has never been
curious about this -- though she's been taught to be careful with some
things that might bite back. :-)
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> Sweet Potato Follies added 2/24/05.
"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and
say,'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner,
performance at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.