*** How Should You Package Knives for Shipping?

The "official" FedexKinkos packing procedure for similar items is 1"-2" of bubble wrap + another 2"-3" of peanuts. Place in box and "H" tape (seal all edges) with 3" wide pressure sensitive tape.
It's a good idea to pack your knife as if you will be throwing it off of a 4 story building (because alot of times...).

The above packing estimates are for "non fragile items" as determined by 9mo. of extensive drop testing, crush testing, vibration and temperature testing.
Fragile items get nearly twice the packing material + another 2"-3" of peanuts then an outer box.

N2
 
After I got out of high school, I got a job unloading the trucks at the local UPS depot. Whenever I saw a box marked FRAGILE, I was careful with it. At the end of my first day, the manager came over and told me I was paying too much attention to the packages. The next night, I helped a guy clean out his trailer, and we were throwing packages left and right. You wouldn't believe how many packages are lost outside of the truck and the loading dock, how many fall into the outside lot. After the thousandth crunch/break/shatter I heard, I stopped counting. If it's a real expensive knife, ship it overnight and package the hell out of it, and it might just get there in one piece!
 
How often do post offices run out of these boxes you guys like so much. I tried two offices in my area and niether had anything like what you are talking about?
 
Go to the usps site and order them...takes a bit of searching to get the right stuff.....they are free ( boxes,lables and tape) and they will deliver them to your door.
 
I have received knives from dealers in Europe and they have a neat way of packing.

They use cardboard tubes like those for mailing blue prints or large pictures.

They tape the plastic ends down very well so they can't pop off if the tube accidentally gets squished. Those plastic ends fit a good way into the tube and add support. I don't know what the "psi" of one of these tubes is before failure but I'm thinking it is pretty high and may beat many of USPS's boxes. They seem extremely strong. They still wrap the knife in bubble wrap and use peanuts for filler at each end.

They have an interesting way of wrapping the blade. Several came in with layers of what looked like Saran Wrap around the blade. Then they were placed in their sheath. The knife and sheath are then wrapped in bubble wrap and taped shut.
 
Some packing tips from someone who sometimes single-handedly ships over one hundred packages a week:

1. Be creative with packing material - plastic grocery bags, wadded phonebook pages, newspaper, strips of cardboard from old boxes, broken up styrofoam blocks, leftover X-mas wrapping paper, trash paper in general.

2. If the knife is boxed, put a few packing peanuts or some paper in with it. Remember, you're trying to protect the knife, not the box it came in.

3. If you ship USPS Priority, you can save tape by using Priority Mail stickers (free from the post office or USPS store) to seal your packages and affix postage. Make sure you get the corners where the box assembles - sometimes the glue unsticks and the last thing you want is the box your customer's $300 knife is shipping in popping open at the post office - or worse - on the letter carrier's truck.

4. Padded envelopes aren't for knives or anything of value for that matter. Ever.

5. Make sure the container you're shipping is waterproof. At least wrap the item in a plastic grocery bag before securing it in the box. No one can control the weather.


Hope that helps someone.

Shao
 
The easiest, fastest, cheapest way for me is to place the knife, in box, inside a big new trash bag, then start rolling it up. If the box is too big just place inside another new trash bag etc. Also you don't have to worry if it happens to get wet.
 
I apologize for typing in caps, but this is very important, so I am going to shout.

MAKE SURE THE ZIP CODE IS CORRECT!!!!!!!!

MAKE SURE THE SEND TO ADDRESS IS CLEARLY LABELED!!!!!

it will cut down on the number of times your package is inspected, handled, picked up, or dropped.

The fewer looks your package gets, the more likely it is to make it to you or the person you are sending it to.
 
Use Pilfer-Proof Tape

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Or, better yet, Tamper-Evident Tape

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www.uline.com is a great company.

The Tamper-Evident Tape at $40 per 60-yard roll seems very expensive for tape. But, sixty-yards of tape will tape all seams of a box typical of what is used to mail pocket knives thirty or fourty times over. So, it works out to being about a dollar a knife and that's cheap protection.
 
I always like receiving a package that has information on the inside, so that if it does get "busted" open, or the shipping label gets torn, that the contents can be repacked and shipped.

Same with checked baggage when you travel.
 
I always use old boxes. Cut them into a strip that will wrap around the knife 360 and then tape well! Then stick it in a USPS box! Seems to be a good and cheap method to do it!
 
i have worked at ups the last 9 years.i didnt read all the posts cause they're too many but here's mine.

generally most knives are pretty tough.especially fixed blades.their are three problems you can have.an actual broken knife,a scratched or dinged knife or a lost knife.

a lost knife is most likely.the key is this tape,tape,tape,tape.i see so many busted open boxes every day.shipping is not a gentle proses.you can put your 'THIS SIDE UP" and
"FRAGILE" signs on the bow all day....no will ever even look at it because they dont care.

your box is not handled by hand much and when it is it is being thrown,dropped,stepped on,kicked and burried.it spends most of its time being herded through a conveyor belt system that is jam packed,very powerfull and has a reputation for ripping boxes rite open and eating the contents.i know because im not a driver,i work in the warehouse where all the hell brakes loose.

from what i saw it looks like a lot of you guys use the post office and while i have mo idea how things work their i ave to guess that while they are probably a little gentaler they're also similar.

STEPS:

sheath the knife:that blade will eat its way through packing material and the box.once their is a hole in the box its gone forever.

bubble wrap the hell out of it.

do not let their be any room in the box.it needs to be packet tight and not ratteling around in their.if it is packed tight it is 1000 times less likely to tear and bust open when a 60 pounder is thrown on it.pack it tight and it will hold its own.i had a ranger rd-hawk shipped to me once and when i got it the handle had punched a whole in the box and the coating was all scratched up.i was just lucky to have gotten it.if it had to have traveled any further i would've lost it

use good boxes.not the one your that has the pic of your toaster on the front of it.

attach your return info to the knife so that if it does come out of the box it is not lost forever.we have people who's job it will be to track you down but we cant if all we have is the item.name,address and telephone number

make sure the shipping label on the out side is atached well.i even put tape over that to make it secure.if the label comes off all we have is a box.\ with no addresses on it.we open them up to see if we can find any info on the shipper which is why i said to atach extra set of return info to the knife itself.if we find nothing it goes to a warehouse in kentucky where after three years the goods are auctioned off.

tape,tape,tape,tape!!!!....even the best boxes cant stand up to the abuse of shipping.taping the hell out of it can tripple the strength of the box if done right.dont be lazy.tripple tape every single square inch.your box breaking open is your biggest risk.tape it to death.i know that when i ship to justin at ranger knives i tell him he's gonna need one of his 9 inch blades to get in it.

tape:what kind of tape you use is very important.DO NOT USE...masking tape,painters tape,that brown stuff that sucks....duct tape is the worst.

only use the clear appr. 2inch tape or the best is the tape with the little threads in it.that stuff is tough as hell and holds.

bottom line is this.when you ship something you give a rats ---pack as if it is going through the worst possible conditions known to man because it is and im not exagerating
2 weeks ago a guy shipped a motorcycle frame and it got bent and i've seen it before.
when people first get hired their they are shocked.are the other guys more gentle...maybe,but not by much if they are,we're all in the same buisiness and are competing.for every box that is damaged or lost tens of thousands make it and make it on time so ups dont care.its the fast pace that gets'em broke.their is no time to baby every box.it is mass production.their is a three foot wide belt system that literaly goes for miles and it is jam packed three feet high with up to 69 pound boxes that will crush the 2 pound boxes when their riding on top of them.if one gets stuck or jammed the power of the belt motors will just tear it to shreds.

i dont mean to be long winded and scare you guys.i want to be honest because i know how it must feel to lose a one of a kind beloved blade.if you do it all rite you will be o.k.
its the people who dont pack it rite that loose their stuff every time.

if it is a very valuable,irreplaceable item go next day air.those are handled a lot better cause thats where the moneys at.remember though that ups will not ship anything one of a kind because it cant be replaced.hopefully i stop someone from loosing a knife

good luck
 
I always take a piece of cardboard and fold it in half
I place the BLADE in that and tape it up
Then I package it like all the suggestions above
I started doing the cardboard "sleeve" after I got a knife that was poking out of the box :eek:

you can put your 'THIS SIDE UP" and
"FRAGILE" signs on the bow all day....no will ever even look at it because they dont care.
Click to expand...
I've always thought that!!
Great to hear from THE SOURCE
Thanks for posting an insiders view..............
 
A seasoned knife maker gave me the idea to ship them inside 4" PVC pipe. He said he always went USPS priority, because UPS always ignored his insurance claims and USPS had him paid out in a matter of days. The only time he did have a problem with USPS was before he started using PVC!
 
I try to pack things as I would like to see them arrive to me, where I work we get
in packages all the time with sheets of foam about 1 1/2" thick and two feet square
or so, they make an excellent way to protect what you are shipping.

G2
 
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Brian C said:
I generally use the USPS Priority Mail boxes. For folks who may not be aware of this, these boxes are available free from the PO & come in several sizes. They will also provide tape, labels, forms, etc. If you do a lot of selling, you can have the PO deliver the supplies to you at no cost whatsoever. See Shipping Supplies Online for details.
Click to expand...

:eek::eek::eek::eek:

I had no idea! All this time I've been paying for boxes and envelops. :mad:
 
I have received a lot of packages over the years and without a doubt I have been most impressed with the packaging of one of BF's very own 70chevelless , Greg did beyond a fantastic job to protect some Mint vintage knives that I recently purchased. He could teach all of us a thing or two.

Thanks
Greg
 
I always use the USPS boxes and ship Priority mail.

Wrap up the knife in paper etc and then pack the box solid with either paper or bubble wrap so nothing moves at all.

Make sure it's taped very well with good packing tape.

Insure it.
 
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