Knife storage

fruitbat

fruitbat

Joined
Dec 17, 2003
Messages
1,275
My knife colection is starting to get pretty big. Mostly I like tactical folding knives like CRKT M-16. Gerber Applegate,Timberline,Spyderco, Benchmade, etc. I have been keeping them in a a dresser drawer that is starting to get pretty full. I'd like to find some way of storing them so they don't get messed up, but also so that I can get to them easily since I switch a lot. The knife roll I got didn't work for me. Too much trouble to unroll it and find what I want and roll it back up. In the mornings I have a wife and twin boys to get out the door on time, so I need something like a box. Something I can open, pick one and close quickly. Any suggestions?
 
I suggest what I have been using successfully for some time. Try storing your knives in an oak tool chest originally designed for the machinist's trade.

The top-of-the-line maker is Gerstner, and if you can afford it you will never be disatisfied. But, that said, for the $120 I spent at a Sam's Club I purchased one that has solid oak panels and well designed/lined drawers. It works as well now as the day I bought it. Costco has similar, I believe.

Here's a search on eBay for " Oak Tool Chest" and it has the real old ones, Gerstner and similar to mine.

At this point only my less valuable folders and knives are in there, as I also got a safe for the ex$pen$ive ones. Still, it is quick and useful.

Coop
 
I keep my EDCs in the tray of a mil surp footlocker and keep the rest rolled into bath towels underneath.
 
Lowe's had the Gerstner-like chests for <$100 last time I was there. Gerstner also runs annual or bi-annual sales which are pretty good.
 
I keep all my folders mounted to those magnetic chef's knife holders that can be bolted onto a wall - you can get them in different thicknesses and lengths. So far I've got three of them...

What makes it nice is that you can easily see and pick out your EDC rotation, and the display shows off your blades very well.
 
I keep most of my folders and fixed blades in a couple of cheap plastic drawers, but the folders that I use more frequently I keep in a nylon CD-holder that was made to be attached to a car visor - I got it at CompUSA for not much $$$ and it has about a dozen sleeves that will fit pretty much any size folder (the biggest folder I store is a SOG Pentagon Elite II with 5" blade, smallest is a Kershaw Chive, and I usually have about a dozen folders in it any any given time). The folders go into the sleeves and the clips keep them from dropping out of sight. I put the CD-holder on a clothes hanger and it hangs on one end of my closet. You can see all the folders at once, grab the one you want, very simple.

Here's a photo of the sort of thing I'm talking about:

CD-holder

Look like I have the $6.00 model, and it looks like it will last a good long time. I rigged it so it hangs with the sleeve openings oriented horizontally.
 
Mine sit in an under the bed plastic storage bin from WalMart in zippered knife cases.

I keep a few out that I'll use daily but the rest go to the bin under the bed. Some there are NIB, never opened, put away as collectors for later trades or sales.

Brownie
 
Hey I like all those ideas!!! I think I'll each one. That's pretty much what has happened with my gun collection. They are in the gun locker, in the closet, under the bed, in the sock drawer and believe it or not, I have 2 in the kitchen cabinet.
 
This is not a suggestion, but just a story. Back when I was about 19 my friends got used to my knife collection filling a large desk drawer right next to an easy chair in my room. It was common for one of them to make himself comfortable in the chair and poke through the drawer to see what I had added to my collection. I got a really good deal on a steel ammo box for 20mm cannon shells and I moved my collection into the box. I used the box as a footstool for my easy chair. I left a note in the now empty drawer saying "Knives are evil". When one of my buddies opened the drawer and ran into the note he almost fell out of the chair in surprise and alarm. He thought maybe I had "got religion" or lost my mind. He thought it was a hell of a good joke when I showed him that he was resting his boots on my stockpile.
 
I have a Gerstner that dates back to the early 30's and was in use at a Rockwell plant for roughly 55 years. It was given to me in the mid 80's by the owner who worked for my dad and was retiring.

It had about 1/8" of grease and grime covering it, all of the green felt flecking had been worn away and when I stripped the grease I found out it had at one time been painted goldish yellow.

I didn't restore it until a few years ago but now it's in near original condition and is a wonderfule place to store my knives.

The reason for the long winded description is to prove that, like anything, there is something to be said for buying the very best quality you can afford - this tool box is something that will still be around for me to give to my children and is a testament to American craftsmanship.

I have pictures somewhere but can't seem to locate them now.
 
Originally posted by Julian Elliot
I keep most of my folders and fixed blades in a couple of cheap plastic drawers, but the folders that I use more frequently I keep in a nylon CD-holder that was made to be attached to a car visor - I got it at CompUSA for not much $$$ and it has about a dozen sleeves that will fit pretty much any size folder (the biggest folder I store is a SOG Pentagon Elite II with 5" blade, smallest is a Kershaw Chive, and I usually have about a dozen folders in it any any given time). The folders go into the sleeves and the clips keep them from dropping out of sight. I put the CD-holder on a clothes hanger and it hangs on one end of my closet. You can see all the folders at once, grab the one you want, very simple.

Here's a photo of the sort of thing I'm talking about:

CD-holder

Look like I have the $6.00 model, and it looks like it will last a good long time. I rigged it so it hangs with the sleeve openings oriented horizontally.
Click to expand...


That is one of the cooler idea's I have ever seen, good work!
 
cpirtle,

When you restored your Gerstner chest (a wonderful thing to do since those boxes are beautiful), I hope that used a museum-grade felt to line the drawers.

Common craftstore felt is not necessarily color-fast. Over time, materials like horn, stag, ivory, unsealed woods, etc., can absorb dyes from the felt and be permanently discolored.

Of course, if you're using the knives such that they're not in contact with the felt constantly, this isn't a big concern.
 
I have my folders in those small plastic fishing lure boxes from Walmart. These stack nicely in my gun safe.

Tom
 
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