*** How Should You Package Knives for Shipping?

[banana-clip]

I always wrap knife in bubble wrap or newspaper. Then I always put newspaper around the knife to make sure it doesn't move around in the box. I always ship in a flat rate shipping box with a lot of tape on the corners of the box.

 

[richard thurman]

tear up your old phone book. use the pages as stuffer. It is the best stuffer out there and it is free. tape up the box both ways so it cant come unglude.

 

[richard thurman]

use your old phone book for stuffing. I get the boxs from the post office and I tear out pages from my old phone book wad them up suff the bottom of the box then put your knives in the box then put more phone book pages around it. then tape up the box really good.

 

[Kevin Jones]

Always use Bubble Wrap (especially the larger bubble type) not only protects knives against shock but also offers an excellent insulation material against extreme temperature change which can be problematic to handle materials. You never know when a package is going to be left too close to a direct heat source and/or temperatures can drop drastically and very quickly in the cargo hull of large planes flying at high altitudes.

 

[peterinct]

Excuse me if this has already been mentioned, but in addition to packing materials, double boxing, etc., another precaution if an item can move freely inside, tape it to the side of the box.

I have heard of several instances where a little slice was made to the outer box and the valuable contents GONE without obvious tampering.

Peter

 

[Last Visible Canary]

method: overkill
(for larger blades)

cut one face of the end shorter than the otherside so you can bend it over, making a sealed end

folded reinforcement for the tip

leave enough room for the cardboard to taper when you roll/fold the longer side over

so that it wedges the handle downward. If the handle side gets slammed down, it has to shove the cardboard apart before it can get to the sealed end and break through.

final product. This way it's held in place within the sleeve by multiple points of pressure, and even if it does manage to slide up or down, it has extra room and reinforcements at both ends.

on a machete (with adittional handle stabilizer)

Because this machete doesn't have a lot of grip points for the rolled cardboard to keep it in place (from sliding up or down) I cut a window to help grip it into place. This way the handle gaurds will hit the cardboard here instead of having the tip fly through the package.

With this kind of sheathing overkill it's much less likely to puncture through the packaging box and less likely to get damaged as a result of it. With other types of products it's necessary to pad them and keep them from striking hard surfaces because it might damage the product. With knives this heavy, if the box is struck on a hard object or put through a lot of g-force on a curve, throw, spin or drop - you have an edge projectile that can and will cut anyone who grabs it without seeing it. My goal with packing knives is less about protecting the knife and more about protecting the people who handle it - as said before in this thread, who often handle it like a football.

 

[carvingknives]

I use old Box and put the knives into the box, i use old newspaper to cover knives before it take into the box, and the i cover the box with wrapping paper.
I've nice wrapping paper and make buyer happy..

 

[TLARbb]

I don't ship knives for a living, but I've shipped a few since being on this forum. I have settled on the USPS small flat rate Priority Mail box. I cut scrap cardboard up into sizes that fit into the box and in center of the package cut a recess that fits the knife or knife box being shipped. It's a bit of work, but I think it makes the packaging about as bullet proof as I can get it. I'll photo the next ones I ship out just for kicks.

Ed

 

[Teeo RT]

As a forum newbie (but experienced ebay/cl seller) I thought I'd
weigh in. I usually sell camera-related items such as vintage Nikon/Leica
gear which is much more fragile than a knife. I either use new boxes
I get online that cost very little in small bulk amounts. Thick cardboard
nice and sturdy. I bag the item in a small freezer bag, then wrap in
bubble wrap. I place this in a large enough box to allow styro peanuts
just tight enough to prevent a loose fit but still allow for crush space.
In ten years, I have never had a damage shipment claim, knock on
wood. Unfortunately, today I received from a forum member a knife
I paid over $400.00 after shipping charges for. It came in a somewhat
chewed up priority envelope wrapped in plenty of
paper towels. The knife thankfully arrived undamaged but it did not
sit well with me. Needless to say, I will not purchase again from
this person. A small box & some bubble wrap goes a long way!

 

[mcm80]

Not sure if it has already been stated but simply wrap the blade or knife in bubble wrap and pack the box with foam peanuts and or paper. Also a double box system works great, especially for UPS which treats their shipments like garbage.

 

[jdracing]

i use bubble wrap,or the foam sheet and cut is about inch longer
than the knife.
wrap several times and always tape the ends shut as well.
they can slip right out the end of the bubble wrap,etc.
and always use delivery confirmation...it only cost .45 cents or so and
i think the postal carriers even take better care if it has a tracking number.
they know if it gets lost,it's there butt.
provide insurance if the buyer wants it as well.
i don't ship very expensive knives,or hadn't so far.
i think items are automatically insured for 50.00,but can't be certain
of that.
and like so many others say,always tape the boxes on the corners.
jd

P.S.don't forget the delivery confirmation tracking number.

 

[LMT66]

method: overkill
(for larger blades)

cut one face of the end shorter than the otherside so you can bend it over, making a sealed end

folded reinforcement for the tip

leave enough room for the cardboard to taper when you roll/fold the longer side over

so that it wedges the handle downward. If the handle side gets slammed down, it has to shove the cardboard apart before it can get to the sealed end and break through.

final product. This way it's held in place within the sleeve by multiple points of pressure, and even if it does manage to slide up or down, it has extra room and reinforcements at both ends.

on a machete (with adittional handle stabilizer)

Because this machete doesn't have a lot of grip points for the rolled cardboard to keep it in place (from sliding up or down) I cut a window to help grip it into place. This way the handle gaurds will hit the cardboard here instead of having the tip fly through the package.

With this kind of sheathing overkill it's much less likely to puncture through the packaging box and less likely to get damaged as a result of it. With other types of products it's necessary to pad them and keep them from striking hard surfaces because it might damage the product. With knives this heavy, if the box is struck on a hard object or put through a lot of g-force on a curve, throw, spin or drop - you have an edge projectile that can and will cut anyone who grabs it without seeing it. My goal with packing knives is less about protecting the knife and more about protecting the people who handle it - as said before in this thread, who often handle it like a football.

This should be SOP for everyone. Excellent pictures showing how to correctly ship an unsheathed fixed blade.

You pack like I do! :thumbup:

I'll add that an address label should be put on the cardboard wrapped blade before being boxed up and of course one on the outer box and put a pice of clear tape over both labels in case they get wet and the ink runs.

 

[jdracing]

yep,clear tape over the labels and around the package in case
it starts to peel for some reason.
it less likely to come completely off if you wrap it arount,but not overlap
where it meets.
does that make sense?
jd

 

[cosmophonic12]

Had some close ones within the last 30 days. I was surprised regarding the retailer packaging. It was an Esee 5 still in the sandwich bag, my guess is that it shook loose in the box (little to no packing peanuts) causing the tear from inside the box. The BF trade was a downright NO-NO!! It was sealed solely by the USPS seal, no tape present anywhere on the envelope! Knife and sheath had some newspaper around it but the problem occurred when it’s loose in the envelope, it shook inside and developed a tear in the upper left hand corner. I was surprised that it didn’t fall out!!

Photos taken prior to opening the box/envelope with the goodies!


BF trade

Online retailer

 

[n2wilderness]

My knives can usually go in the small flat rate box and I'll stuff it with plastic grocery bags. If the knife is in a smaller box and can slide around I'll normally put a bag in there too. I'll shake the box around and if I hear minimal to no movement I feel good about it.

 

[jdracing]

My knives can usually go in the small flat rate box and I'll stuff it with plastic grocery bags. If the knife is in a smaller box and can slide around I'll normally put a bag in there too. I'll shake the box around and if I hear minimal to no movement I feel good about it.

yep,those grocery bags are 10 times better than the styrofoam crap
that people use.
those things stick to everything...you can't throw em away.they stick to your fingers,etc.

grocery bags are free,and work better than just about anything you would
have to buy.
they also work great to wrap a fixed blade before pkging.
wrap it in plastic bag really tight,then put the clear tape all around.
it ain't coming out that.
jd

 

[TLARbb]

I have only shipped one or two knives at a time and only occasionally to friends as opposed to customers. What I do is cut corrugated cardboard the size of the box (USPS small priority mail box) stacking them until the stack of carboard "sheets" just slides into the box. I then cut an interior cavity in the stack of cardboard so that the knife (knives) will be completely surrounded by the cardboard material. As long as the package stays together, the knives will be very well protected from loss or injury. As I write this I don't have any photos, but I will take a couple of my packaging just returned to me by Don Seals with my knife. His comment was "Man, you pack!" Anyway, no knife shipped this way has been damaged.

Ed J

 

[LMT66]

When shipping a fixed blade without a sheath, make a two-part sheath from cardboard.
Cut cardboard to just longer than the length of the blade and wide enough to fold it over the blade and tape it. The handle will prevent the tip from being exposed if you cut it right. Then fold a small piece of cardboard over twice and then fold it over the tip end of the blade and tape it.
Wrap blade in heavy paper or bubble wrap and tape all around (in case the inner pack becomes separated from the outer packaging. If it's concealed, you might still get it. If it's obvious it's a nice knife, a dishonest employee may have a new EDC). Apply address label (in case the inner pack becomes separated from the outer packaging).
Then proceed to packing it into a shipping BOX (no envelope). If it is a tight fit, use a couple strips of cardboard to reinforce the corner of the box that the tip is at. This prevents the tip from going thru the box.
Tape all ends and corners of box. Apply address label to exterior of box and put a piece of clear tape over it.

 

[Anthe]

USPS is generally much easier on packages than other shipping services. If your knife has the original box, you can leave it in there (maybe stuff something else in if the box allows the knife to move) and just put that in another box with peanuts. If you are shipping the bare knife, wrapping it in a small piece of foam or bubble wrap will do (this will keep the knife from falling through any slits as well as protect it from scuffing and such) then filling the rest of the box with peanuts. Also, I know many people prefer USPS shipping as it is cheaper for smaller boxes, but incase you are partial to UPS you can actually just take one of those free priority boxes from the post office and slap a UPS label on it so you don't have to find/pay for a box.

 

[stjames]

You should not just seal the little box the knife came in with the "Small Sebenza 21 Insingo" sticker on one end and the "Chris Reeve Knives" sticker on top with a couple of pieces of scotch tape and write the address on the bottom in ball point pen and hope for a miracle.

On the other hand, miracles do happen and the knife is actually fine. But for crying out loud!