Storing your collection

puukkoman

puukkoman

Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
6,997
Until pretty recently, I just had a drawer dedicated to knives and such. I've since begun keeping them in cigar boxes and the like. To protect them from being jostled and scratched (in the case of some of my slipjoints with nice bolsters, and my SS Spydies), I sometimes line the box with felt, or wrap the individual piece.
I haven't gotten as far as a glass-topped case, or a knife roll, etc., mostly because I can get a nice cigar box for a buck or two at the local tobacconist (when I go in for some pipe tobacco or a stogie :D).
How do most of you guys store your collections?

Peace.
Alex.
 
Tackle/make up boxes work nice for storing and carrying, my box is not the best example of using these type of boxes, but for my users/EDCs it works fine, it's customizable, has room for everything from pen knives to fixed blade hunters and tacticals.

Some of the newer small ellectrical parts bins work real well too.

hownot2store.jpg
 
Mine are in a steamer truck, all kept in their original boxes with the original paperwork and accessories.

After my third floor restoration is complete, I plan on building some sort of lockable display cabinet. An antique store display cabinet would be great, but no way to get anything like that up the stairs, so it will have to be built in place. I'm thinking of a floor-to-ceiling unit with a large upper portion of glass front and shelves, and felt-lined drawers below. It would have wooden doors that close across the entire front and lock. Dreaming that I'm a carpenter...

-Bob
 
I've started to accumulate enough blades that I am looking into storage.

If you use the Search feature, you'll discover a lot of people here recommend Bill's Custom Cases, available from Bladegallery.com

Spyderco and Benchmade also make storage rolls, but at the most for 45 knives.

Here are some threads about knife storage:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=380107
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=311502
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=257508
 
Within the steamer trunk are several Sack-Ups and zipper cases for knives that don't have their own boxes. They work great and are very inexpensive. Unfortunately you still need a crate or cabinet of some sort to store all of the Sack-Ups and soft cases.

Security is another issue entirely. A gun safe would be great, but I'm not going to get a gun safe to the third floor either. And it's not just the value of the knives, but the ass-pain of finding identical replacements. For instance, someone stole a dozen knives out of my cabin. It took 12-13 years to find replacements even though none of the knives were particularly valuable.

-Bob
 
I like to use to use plastic tackle boxes. They are small enough that you can store them anywhere, and they're stackable, and you move the dividers to adjust for different sizes of knives. I highly recommend them. And they're cheaper than just anything else too. And you can find them just about anywhere.
(these aren't what I own, but they'll give you the basic idea)
http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=225
 
This would hold a bunch of folders. And you could line the sections with foam or felt so the knives don't get scratched.

9606.jpg


-Bob
 
A couple of pieces of twine on my wall with my folders and neck knives on them so I can pick out which ones to carry on a day to day basis, a cheap wooden 1x2 bookcase with the blades placed into the gaps for my fixed blades and my large weapons (axes, spears, swords) on the wall of my basement dojo. I have to have the collections out in the open- why have them if you never see them???
 
My accumulation of Busses is getting to be a real storage problem.

I am cosidering buying one of those stacked three-cabinet tool box combos from Sears, lining the drawers, and using it for knife storage. It has a good mix of large and small drawers, and is lockable. It would be in my hobby room upstairs, which is not a showplace anyway, so aesthetics is not a big factor.

My wife has been prodding me to get some of the Gershner wooden chests,
but I don't think those would accomodate my larger Busses. Besides, the Sears tool chests would cost about 25% of the cost of enough Gershners to meet my needs.
 
Mike,
You can get much cheapers chests that look alot like the Gershners from eBay or other online sources. I have 2 and my wife has one. All these were Sams Club purchases. Good Luck either way.
 
The Craftsman tool cabinets are an excellent idea. I have one, but it's out in the shop full of tools. I buy rolls of kitchen cabinet liner pads for about 1/10th what Sears charges for "tool drawer liners" and it's the exact same stuff.

You could build a wooden structure around it if aesthetics become an issue.

I do recommend spending the extra and pick one of the roller-bearing models. They open and close much smoother so the drawer contents won't get jostled around.

-Bob
 
For your workers or junkers, a tool box or drawer is fine IMO. For your collectible production folders, either a knife roll or a felt lined box. For your high dollar customs and high dollar productions, a single zippered pouch is the way to go.
 
I use a knife roll. They are padded, and prorect the knives from anything offensive, like scratches etc.
 
I'm a pack rat! I collect mostly fixed blades. Here's a way to store knives by making stands from various driftwood or whatever..

IM000418.jpg
 
I just purchased a Companion 2 drawer Tool chest from sears for $30. It's actually really nice, and all of my knives fit in it. I lined the drawers and top with some foam I tore out of an old gig bag for a guitar. The foam keeps them from rolling around and scratching. Check it out at sears.
 
I get the largest cigar boxes from my local cigar dealer. Some of them come with separators that are just the right size for a knife or two placed head to tail. Line the box with the tool chest stuff from Sears or some very thin sponge rubber from my local yard goods store. Works for folders and some small fixed blades. And since I only have one FB, not a real problem. And then I afix little labels on the outside so I know what each box contains. Very helpful when trying to decide on which knife will be my EDC for the day.
 
Those look nice, but I wouldn't pay for a veneer product.

Hmmm... I wonder if a mediocre (at best) amatuer carpenter with a decent tool selection could make something like that using real lumber? Maybe for $70 I could buy one of those, peel the cardboard apart, and use the pieces as patterns to reverse-engineer the boxes? I could even re-use the hardware knobs and handles since those are probably real metal...

Hmmm...

You know what, it's crap like this that makes me mad:
The MDF construction provides solid strength to last for years.
Click to expand...
Here's how a truthful ad would read:
The little Chinese girl who glued these pieces of cardboard together did a fine job. However, "MDF" will fall apart like wet toilet paper if it gets damp.
Click to expand...

-Bob
 
I have a 6-foot tall steel cabinet. On the top shelf, I lay out all my knives. On the shelf below that are my handguns and cleaning stuff. The bottom has all my long rifles.
 
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