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- Oct 21, 2014
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The bottom drawer... Remington, KA-BAR, Syracuse, Kutmaster, Kent, Utica, Camco, Pal
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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
How do you store your traditional knives
- Thread starter Tyler.Bachman
- Start date
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- Apr 13, 2014
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- 396
The top drawer.... Tidioute, Robeson, KeenKutter, Camillus, Kutmaster, KA-BAR, Buck, Imperial, Western, Imperial
Western never heard of thst brand are they still around
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2014
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- 74
From Wikipedia: "The Western Knife Company was a manufacturer of hunting knives which began operations in Boulder, Colorado in 1896. The company is probably best known for its "Bowie" style hunting knives. The company was purchased by Coleman (the famous manufacturer of outdoor equipment) in 1984. Camillus Cutlery Company purchased Western in 1992. In February, 2007, Camillus closed as a result of bankruptcy due to the harsh competition from companies making cheaper knives in other countries. The Western brand and Camillus brand are now owned by the Acme-United group and manufactured in Asia."
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5K Qs
Gold Member
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My Dad gave me my first pocket knife 40+ years ago so I returned the favor on his 85th birthday by giving him this Gerstner Machinist's tool chest. I added a few knives to supplement his collection as well.
You're a good son, Notthisfalcon!! :thumbup: The tool chest is awesome, and the knife selection is even awesome!!
- GT
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- Apr 7, 2015
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- 1,375
We have had a old cylinder record player for years but found an actual cabinet for it last year. It has four drawers and only one drawer that stores the dozen or so cylinders we have,,,so I procured the other three for my knives, green felt lines them
then my wife recently has been cleaning up and found this drawer that was probably used for printing press letters, wanted to know if we should yard sale it...I said no! I still need to figure out a way to open up some of the compartments.
she also found a yellow Pelican 1150 case that I forgot I bought ( was to use for my watches) so I procured that also
then my wife recently has been cleaning up and found this drawer that was probably used for printing press letters, wanted to know if we should yard sale it...I said no! I still need to figure out a way to open up some of the compartments.
she also found a yellow Pelican 1150 case that I forgot I bought ( was to use for my watches) so I procured that also
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2012
- Messages
- 11,783
I store almost all of my traditional knives in a Gerstner International machinist's chest, GI-525, 20"w x 9"d x 11 1/8"h:
(Google GI-525 for more specs, professional pictures, etc.)
On its usual shelf, with the front panel opened up and slid underneath the lowest drawer:
When closed, the front panel is held in place with a spring-loaded pin that is pressed into a socket in the panel by pressure from the lid:
The Point: knife storage!
Wide lower drawer (both the long drawers are the same length; the lower one is slightly deeper):
#25s (3" knives) 5 deep in part of a larger drawer:
One of the six smaller drawers:
(A view of the main storage compartment, and notes on quality, below.)
A couple days ago, I added a Gerstner Mini-Me (official name: Mini-Max; mine is a GI-511):
10"w x 5"d x 7 3/4"h:
The drawers can be secured by a removable panel that fits in a cut-out in the base and is held in place via the same spring-pin mechanism as on the larger box:
[The Mini-Max comes in different configurations-- with and without the handle, with all long drawers, all short drawers, and/or the four small drawers, two long drawers mine has.]
Here's where it gets fun, and funny.
GEC #15s in a small drawer from the "real" box:
GEC #15s in a small drawer from the Mini-Me:
GEC #15s in a large drawer from the "real" chest:
GEC #15's in a large drawer from the Mini-Me:
(They'll also fit, also barely, in two columns of three.)
Small drawer comparision:
Yes, the drawers in the small chest are just 3" tall.
Wait-- 3"...?
The main compartment (top, under the lid) of the 525:
(You canstuff fit a LOT more into this space; I've cleaned it up for pictures.)
The main, under-lid compartment of the 511 Mini:
I like both of these boxes very much. I envision the smaller box as a desk organizer/travel box, depending on my needs. The larger box has already served me well, and hits the its intended spot-- accessible, attractive storage-- perfectly.
While not inexpensive, these boxes are not cheap. My first box was Harbor Freight's offering, and its combination of soft (green?) wood, cardboard-quality drawer bottoms that quickly sagged underneath my pocketknives, and non-aligning hardware were (are) off-putting. It looks the part, but was unsatisfying in use.
That said, the Gerstner International line does contain compromises to come in at a lower price point than their USA-made forebears (The Gerstner line, proper), as found in the drawer bottoms, some of the corner joints, etc. For my purposes (sitting on a shelf holding my knives), these are acceptable trade-offs given their price relative to the USA models, but it's something to be aware of.
525 drawer bottom:
(Thin, stapled wood with thin felt overlay)
Mini-Me:
(Screwed, not stapled-- nice!)
525, inside lid corner:
Plastic drawer rails:
(The Mini-Max's drawer rails are wooden.)
Also, this may have happened with a Gerstner USA model as well, but one of the first times I popped the lid on the big box, the front panel fell forward and sharply DOWN-- it was on the edge of shelf with no surface in front of it to 'catch' it...
... and the interior panel wood immediately cracked at the front holding pins. GAAAAAAAAH.
I was able to glue it up well enough that I can't remember or re-discover, now, which side was affected (I thought it was the right side shown above, but now I'm thinking it was the left side-- but can't tell, fortunately), but it was horrifying when it happened. Whether an issue of quality or user error, I hope anyone reading this will be spared.
-- On both boxes, the green felt lining is slicker than I'd like, allowing knives to easily slide when opening and closing the drawers. I've lined the drawers of the Big Box with non-slip toolbox liner, covered by scrap leather. I've since read that leather isn't a good idea (it can hold moisture, chemicals/acids can react with metal, etc.), but I haven't had any trouble yet.
I would like to find some sort of sectioned dividers, or widely "corrugated" material(?) I can customize for each drawer/how I like the knives arranged. Something along the lines of pen-collection inserts, maybe, but with slightly wider channels?
If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
~ P.
(Google GI-525 for more specs, professional pictures, etc.)
On its usual shelf, with the front panel opened up and slid underneath the lowest drawer:
When closed, the front panel is held in place with a spring-loaded pin that is pressed into a socket in the panel by pressure from the lid:
The Point: knife storage!
Wide lower drawer (both the long drawers are the same length; the lower one is slightly deeper):
#25s (3" knives) 5 deep in part of a larger drawer:
One of the six smaller drawers:
(A view of the main storage compartment, and notes on quality, below.)
A couple days ago, I added a Gerstner Mini-Me (official name: Mini-Max; mine is a GI-511):
10"w x 5"d x 7 3/4"h:
The drawers can be secured by a removable panel that fits in a cut-out in the base and is held in place via the same spring-pin mechanism as on the larger box:
[The Mini-Max comes in different configurations-- with and without the handle, with all long drawers, all short drawers, and/or the four small drawers, two long drawers mine has.]
Here's where it gets fun, and funny.
GEC #15s in a small drawer from the "real" box:
GEC #15s in a small drawer from the Mini-Me:
GEC #15s in a large drawer from the "real" chest:
GEC #15's in a large drawer from the Mini-Me:
(They'll also fit, also barely, in two columns of three.)
Small drawer comparision:
Yes, the drawers in the small chest are just 3" tall.
Wait-- 3"...?
The main compartment (top, under the lid) of the 525:
(You can
The main, under-lid compartment of the 511 Mini:
I like both of these boxes very much. I envision the smaller box as a desk organizer/travel box, depending on my needs. The larger box has already served me well, and hits the its intended spot-- accessible, attractive storage-- perfectly.
While not inexpensive, these boxes are not cheap. My first box was Harbor Freight's offering, and its combination of soft (green?) wood, cardboard-quality drawer bottoms that quickly sagged underneath my pocketknives, and non-aligning hardware were (are) off-putting. It looks the part, but was unsatisfying in use.
That said, the Gerstner International line does contain compromises to come in at a lower price point than their USA-made forebears (The Gerstner line, proper), as found in the drawer bottoms, some of the corner joints, etc. For my purposes (sitting on a shelf holding my knives), these are acceptable trade-offs given their price relative to the USA models, but it's something to be aware of.
525 drawer bottom:
(Thin, stapled wood with thin felt overlay)
Mini-Me:
(Screwed, not stapled-- nice!)
525, inside lid corner:
Plastic drawer rails:
(The Mini-Max's drawer rails are wooden.)
Also, this may have happened with a Gerstner USA model as well, but one of the first times I popped the lid on the big box, the front panel fell forward and sharply DOWN-- it was on the edge of shelf with no surface in front of it to 'catch' it...
... and the interior panel wood immediately cracked at the front holding pins. GAAAAAAAAH.
I was able to glue it up well enough that I can't remember or re-discover, now, which side was affected (I thought it was the right side shown above, but now I'm thinking it was the left side-- but can't tell, fortunately), but it was horrifying when it happened. Whether an issue of quality or user error, I hope anyone reading this will be spared.
-- On both boxes, the green felt lining is slicker than I'd like, allowing knives to easily slide when opening and closing the drawers. I've lined the drawers of the Big Box with non-slip toolbox liner, covered by scrap leather. I've since read that leather isn't a good idea (it can hold moisture, chemicals/acids can react with metal, etc.), but I haven't had any trouble yet.
I would like to find some sort of sectioned dividers, or widely "corrugated" material(?) I can customize for each drawer/how I like the knives arranged. Something along the lines of pen-collection inserts, maybe, but with slightly wider channels?
If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
~ P.
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2005
- Messages
- 69,923
Absolutely top-drawer P 
:thumbup:
:thumbup:
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2006
- Messages
- 43,084
(Thin, stapled wood with thin felt overlay)
If it makes you feel any better, that actually looks to me like felt, then structural wood, then a thin layer of veneer for the drawer bottom.
In any case, it is much nicer than the little set of plastic drawers I picked up at Target to use for my knife storage.
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2014
- Messages
- 7,462
(Google GI-525 for more specs, professional pictures, etc.)
A couple days ago, I added a Gerstner Mini-Me (official name: Mini-Max; mine is a GI-511):
~ P.
Sarah, looks like you've got a "really good handle" on your storage and transportation needs.
It appears to protectively hold quite a few knives and looks good doing it.
Real nice! I appreciate you sharing with us.
-James-
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2012
- Messages
- 11,783
It's funny, I've tried to see with my own eyeballs what is revealed in the above picture, and can't. It does look like the layers you describe. It's still thinner than I'd like, feel-wise, but sufficient for my needs.
... Kinda overkill for my "needs," but as this entire enterprise is about enjoyable functionality, I'm well-pleased to have these boxes.
~ P.
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2014
- Messages
- 396
I store most of mine in storage cases and displays.
I like that look pretty cool
I store most of mine in storage cases and displays.
I got knife storage envy.