Packaging knives to ship.

Salem Straub

Salem Straub

Joined
Oct 20, 2008
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5,547
I ship almost all of my work out of the local Post Office, insured Priority. I've used a lot of flat rate boxes, and occasionally will reuse a box I have on hand that seems right. Recently I sent out a big knife, and used a cardboard shipping tube. I really like these, the walls are much heavier than standard boxes, with the 3" width there is enough room for a knife in a sheath with some padding but not too much, and they can be easily cut to just the right length.

They just cost a lot at the local P.O., and I live in B.F.E. Also, my P.O. does not have extra end caps if I want to section tubes up.

Anyone have a good, economical source or idea where to get this stuff? What about bubble wrap, too? Online retailers?

Thanks in advance.
 
The industry calls these "spiral paper tubes". If you google this for your area, you are likely to find a local source. Seattle certainly has some supplier. Hopefully that is not too far.
 
Try U-line and see if you lke their prices. They have almost anything you could think of for packaging stuff.
 
I cut up the tubes that my steel comes in. Then I approach local building centers to get the tubes their stuff gets shipped in.

I don't know about USPS but with Canada Post, if I flatten the tube enough that it doesn't roll, I can save 2-3 dollars on shipping, per package. I stuff newspaper in the ends and tape them off.... if you really need a cap, you can cut a plywood plug and staple it in, I suppose.


Rick
 
I've always used bubble wrap. If the blade is shipping without a sheath, I've always wrapped in paper towels or a regular clean towel before bubble wrapping. I like to build up the end so that it doesn't poke anything. The excess space in the box can be filled with waded paper, foam peanuts, various air packing media, etc. All of this stuff has always been available to me at the office or at home, so I never really thought too much about it.
 
If I ship a blade without a sheath (which rarely happens) I sandwich it in thin plywood/panelling.
 
Thanks, guys. I looked at Uline, that's pretty much what I was thinking of. Way cheaper than the P.O. Rick, I'll try looking at building centers. I get other things from them for free, the thick mild steel wire rebar is bundled in when they receive it is great for small blacksmithing projects, for instance. Now I have more to scrounge from them. They'll probably call me "packrat" behind my back now.

Seattle is about 200 miles from me. It's marginally an option for things.
 
Here's what I was looking at. They have a lot of other options, as well.

S-1367W 3" WHITE PLASTIC END CAP 100/CT
$22.00

S-2645 3X36 KRAFT MAILING TUBE 25/CT $1.14 / EA
$28.50

SUBTOTAL = $50.50

That's a lot of knives. 50-75 depending on size. The tubes each include 2 end caps as well.

Don't know about shipping, yet. They also have bubble wrap in rolls of many kinds, but you have to buy kind of a big roll and I don't really need to drop cash on bubble wrap. I can get recycled shipping paper for free.
 
I don't presently use tubes, but when I did find it worked very well to cut them out of wood and even nail them in place. Frank
 
I'll try that, too. I could crank out a bunch with a hole saw or fly cutter.

It always seems like I get to the post office and I forgot tape. Then I have to buy tape there. They don't have any for customer use. The tape costs $4. So does one 36"x3" tube. So does their small roll of bubble wrap. But you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes, I feel uneasy when sending out something not packaged adequately.
 
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Salem,
don't know if this might be an option but..
If there is a carpet store near you they often have heavy duty cardboard tubes that the carpet is stored/shipped on , that they will give away
you can cut it to various lengths I'm talking 6-12 ft and the diameters vary as well.
all you then need is away to cap the ends
very economical and heavy duty stuff
eds
 
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Guys

Heavy shipping tubes are great for protecting their contents, but due to their shape (tubular) they roll, they roll around in trucks, they roll off of shelves, and they roll under the bottom shelves. After having a package being shipped to me not arrive I visited my local postal office to inquire if they might have a package meeting the description of mine which was lacking a label. Bottom line, after several minutes of presuading a rather large person to get down on his hands and knees and look under the lower shelf, my package was found. I always tape something to the exterior of a mailing tubes to make sure they won't roll arround.

Jim A.
 
Just a thought...if you know any electrical contractors...
The boxes that individual ballasts for fluorescent lamps come in are almost identical to knife boxes, only heavier. If you can find someone that is throwing away ballast boxes, they would be perfect and potentially free.

Just a thought...
 
Over here a company that frames posters and such gives them away free.
People bring there posters in a tube and collect them framed.
Give it a trie
 
M3mphis said:
Just a thought...if you know any electrical contractors...
The boxes that individual ballasts for fluorescent lamps come in are almost identical to knife boxes, only heavier. If you can find someone that is throwing away ballast boxes, they would be perfect and potentially free.

Just a thought...
Click to expand...

If you want these, try a sign maker/contractor. They go through those ballasts by the hundreds. I sure they would be more than happy to have you take the empty boxes away ;)
 
I've used standard PVC plumbing pipe with end-caps to ship long stuff (wrapped in bubblewrap and stuffed in the tube). Very sturdy and quite cheap. Available at any hardware store in various sizes....

Cheers ROdy
 
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