How do you store your stock materials?

ron_m80

ron_m80

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Mar 1, 2009
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8,155
2013 and the years prior to, were years of wasteful years. I do not store my stock with the kind of respect that it deserves. The knives I want to make will not come from scratched up brass liner stock, or bent pin stock.

I will most likely store my pins in a PVC tube rack at some point soon. Maybe I will have to order more to make that happen. Though I am curious about what others experience in this have taught them about storage conditions and such.

Since I am still very very new to this trade would you please share how do you store your plate steel? Your flat stock, and your odd and ends that you have found vital to your work.

thank you for your time and consideration.

-Ron
 
all the little stuff is in a 27 drawer cobalt tool chest i have a 2nd chest for honing stones HT stuffs and etching supplys big stuff is on a shelf and all steel is properly marked
 
Aldos steel comes in great cardboard tubes. They are sturdy and I keep my steel in that. Cardboard absorbs liquid though so one needs to be careful. I keep the tube in my house.

Pin stock, handle materials and other goodies get the top drawer in my tool chest in the garage.

Blade blanks sit on my workbench, waiting.

Sharpening equipment, chemicals, strops, etc reside in a big plastic kitty litter container with a snap on lid. That stays put away in my bedroom since I access it very frequently.
 
Steel is marked and leaning against the walls of the shop. Loveless bolts, corbys, etc are stored in sectioned plastic trays. Handle materials are in Tupperware tubs under the workbench. I have an old card catalog cabinet with 20 drawers that I got from a library and I keep all guard materials, rods and pin materials in here as well as other small items. A portable plastic file box holds sheets of brass, copper, nickel silver, stainless steel, titanium, micarta and G-10 for liners and spacers.
 
I put some big nails into the studs on my wall and lay bar stock across the nails. I have different sets of nails for different steels, and I typically stack wider bars on bottom.
 
My steel stock is stored in the rafters in the garage off the ground out of the way of things that could bend or scratch it. It is vulnerable to moisture but there is good air flow. In all the time I've stored it there I haven't found rust to be a problem at all. Even if it does develop a little surface rust I'm not concerned. In the process of making a knife the steel will be cut, straightened and surface ground anyway (or forged). Long rods, tubes and bar stock for guards lanyard tubes and pins get stored overhead in the joists in my basement in the house. Again, out of the way of things that will damage it. Sheet stock, handle materials and other small things find a home on shelves or in drawers around the shop.
 
all around the house is a good way to store handle material.
That way you can see it all the time :)
 
LucyCustomKnives said:
Wherever it lands...


Come on... someone had to be the first honest one.. :)






J/k
Click to expand...

That is what led on to this question. :D I don't sweep the shop too much right now, far too many components on the floor in pieces right now.

Hengelo_77 said:
all around the house is a good way to store handle material.
That way you can see it all the time :)
Click to expand...

I have claimed the hallway closet.

I have always wanted to snag one of the geology sample storage cabinets, I know someone that owns some. But buying them new is insane. I guess I need to do some carpentry work this year and make one.

samples%20cabinet.jpeg


Any idea is a good one, compared to leaning against the drywall in the shop, that didn't work so well for me.

Thank you for sharing.
ron
 
I have a mild case of OCD (self diagnosed), so I like to sort things. I keep my handle material sorted by size and type in marked boxes on the shelving above my work bench. The steel is laying on a different set of shelving on the side of the garage, and each bar is marked in several places so no matter how many blades I cut from the bar it is still marked as to steel type. My other supplies (ivory, brass, liners, etc) I keep in a special box near the handle materials. Each type of material in that box is in a separate bag. Mammoth ivory is kept separate from walrus ivory. Scraps are kept separate from whole pieces.

Order! It's important. :)
 
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btw also those fishing lure trays are great for small parts and also if doing batch work so there are no mixed up parts
 
I alow myself two places in the house to display handle material. Usualy there's about three pieces there that I change every now and then.
Just love the stuff, puts a smile on my face and it inspires.
 
I store my steel in pcv pipe pipe that is cemented together and holds the steel vertically.



It keeps different steels separated by type and length. Works for me. Teddy
 
ron_m80 said:
That is what led on to this question. :D I don't sweep the shop too much right now, far too many components on the floor in pieces right now.



I have claimed the hallway closet.

I have always wanted to snag one of the geology sample storage cabinets, I know someone that owns some. But buying them new is insane. I guess I need to do some carpentry work this year and make one.

samples%20cabinet.jpeg


Any idea is a good one, compared to leaning against the drywall in the shop, that didn't work so well for me.

Thank you for sharing.
ron
Click to expand...

I actually have one of these blueprint drawer cabinets. I keep all may handle material in it.
Jim
 
Ron- All of my cutlery and structural steel shorts are stored vertically, in racks that look kind of like the ones you see All-Thread and angle iron displayed in at old hardware stores. I have one for knife steel and one for structural stuff. Also, a paint marker is worth 100 times its actual cost when it comes to clearly marking blade steel. I mark them in 2-3 places per side... it's amazing how easy it is to cut/grind/scuff off the end you marked, if you only mark one end. ;)

The long stuff (6-20') is on a heavy horizontal rack I built.

Most of my handle material is stored in plastic "shoe" boxes. They're like $7-8 at Home Depot, WalMart, etc.

All my pin and guard stock is all in "heavy" ball bearing drawers in a tool cabinet.

If I ever buy a lottery ticket and win big--- I'll outfit the entire shop with either Lista or Stanley Vidmar tool cabinets. With a 36X48 shop, just outlining the walls could easily add up to a couple hundred grand. :eek: :eek: :eek:
 
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