Good question. The protection of your knives, in effort and cost, should increase along with the value of your knives and there number. Limiting the question to do you use a safe or not is just cutting off the corner of this entire subject. Everyone should realize from watching the commercial on the outdoor channel, NO safe is fireproof or burglar proof. Yes, I use a safe, but I don't have a collection of ivory or stag scale knives, Yellowhorses or really valuable early Bucks. I am counting on my cheap safe to halt the 'fast' thug from grabbing the collection and just taking the EDC's as they ransack the house.
It will be more than you may want to read on a phone but let me list my thoughts on the second part of DeSoto's subject.
1. Fire - Remember former Buck forum member Oregon and the fire department letting his house burn and totally destroying his knife and gun collection. The same will happen to any of us with dozen boxes of ammo (or more) when it starts popping off they will pull back and let it burn. Those of you with small department (or none) fire protection will see a slower response time than some larger towns from the fire department.
2. Theft - as shown in the outdoor channel commercial about cutting into safes with simple tools. A crook who knows you have a valuable collection or display, via word if mouth (friends, get togethers and kids) will case your coming and going to make time in house. Do you leave your windows open after dark ? Do you park outside ? Be suspect of anyone who knocks at your door, I never invite anyone inside, no matter the weather or purpose. These are the folks that will come prepared to cut open your safe, locked closet, metal footlocker, etc. Your nice display will be smashed also. Its just the chance you take building a valuable collection. Talk to your family if needed. We can't live in a concrete bunker.
3. Environmental protection - if you store in a basement or some other dark airless corner consider effects on metals and leather sheaths. You may need to work on reducing moisture in the area. My cheap safe is not air tight but I am still getting tarnish and some Delrin off-gassing on my 300s I never touch. Especially the ones stored in boxes.
4. Insurance - You say I only have two dozen knives, but what is their value. Let's say you have 24 nice Bucks. To replace them it might cost you $100 each, $2400 dollars and that is likely low in actual replace of some old knives. You can investigate whether your homeowners or renters insurance covers even that amount. I have spoken to my insurance agent and friend and he said a rider will likely be needed for most folks.
5. Alarms - I would like to have a system, but all we have is the door bell camera that rings your I phone. The dog here and the dog across the street barks anytime a car(or UPS) even stops at either house. That sets off another half dozen dogs in the neighborhood.
I did some LE work for 28 years and I try to be careful, I constantly talk with my wife to lock doors and close blinds when it gets dark. We leave timers on lights and TV when gone overnight. I don't talk about my collection of 300's or ever show it to anyone. Except now half the world.
I have small little adhesive dots stuck inside most blade wells. Hoping a crook will not see them when they sell some at the pawn shops. You likely would have to search for this method yourself as LE likely won't search past city or county lines. All that said you can only prepare for the worse in a reasonable manner and not be too paranoid or you lose the enjoyment of your knives. After all in the end you can't take them with you...…….300
