In-Drawer Knife Block Options

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scotts

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I've run out of room in my knife block and the situation is only going to get worse as time goes on :biggrin:

I started thinking instead of buying saya after saya I would buy an in drawer knife block until I have a decent enough collection to warrant a custom knife block (maybe by that time Boardsmith will be making them again :wink: ) My wife does not want magnetic strips otherwise I would go that route.
I have an Ikea kitchen so naturally I thought of this one http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/60185406/

But I came across a couple others as well
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009NMVV4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002RL9CZ4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

The only problem with the Wustoff (I would be looking at a Walnut version), is one review says the knife block is held together with metal rods i.e. that's what the knife edges sits on. So that one is out of the running I think. I also have to make sure that 240mm Gyuto's will fit which I think they will, as well as the Nakiri Lefty is sending me.

Does anyone have any experience with the above products or anything else they would recommend?
 
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I took a chunk of wood and cut slots in it.
 
I did an internet search for in drawers about six months ago. There are tons to see just between Amazon and eBay. I wound up looking at J. K. Adams. They come in two different widths, but are way more $$$ than the Ikea one, I think the bigger one is around $70. It is pretty big, so if you're interested make sure your drawer can take it. Stay away from metal rods! Plastic is not that great either.
 
The Wüsthof in-drawer block I have has plastic or nylon sleeves covering the rods that hold it together. So, there is contact with the edge, but it's not metal-to-metal, despite what the "reviewer" on Amazon says.

Knives longer than 27 cm will stick out of one end of the block, so care is called for.

The eight upper slots are suitable for paring or steak knives only, so you have room for only six larger knives.

You'll need to anchor the block somehow because it is smaller than the average kitchen cabinet drawer and you don't want it moving around. I cut pieces of scrap wood to fill the spaces between the block and the drawer sides to keep it in place.

Rick
 
I just bought the Wüsthof rack at Home Sense and I'm impressed. I needed a way to have my 240s at the ready. The only knife that isn't fitting properly is my 240 Misono Dragon. It would fit, but there is nothin to stop it from sliding forward when I close the drawer, which would damage the tip.
It's definitely a great little block and when I showed my wife she was more than happy with how clean and tidy it keeps everything.
My only real knock on it is that thin, fingerguard-less knives seem to want to move around a tad.
Overall, it's a great little answer to an annoying problem.
 
Thanks for the heads up everyone, I'll have a look at Home Sense tomorrow and see what my location has in stock. I'll post some pictures of how everything works out.
 
I bought the Wusthof you linked to on Amazon as a present for my mother. I was there for dinner tonight and took a close look at it after reading your question, and the "rods" holding it together appear to be made of the same wood as the rest of the block. Maybe they changed its construction? Looks good to me (especially for only $30).
 
I have both the wusthof and totally bamboo one (same design basically). The totally bamboo one is much better IMO. The knives on the wusthof drawer block do not rest well in the slots. Depending upon the knife they sort of 'rock' as the blade rests on the connecting rods. With the TB drawer rack, the knives nicely nest in the slots. I actually have four of the totally bamboo ones and really like them. I'm not a saya guy and I don't care for magnetic racks or countertop blocks either.

The wusthof rack holds 14 knives versus the bamboo's 11, but the wusthof rack is really wide and you will likely fit only one rack in a drawer, where you can usually fit two bamboo racks in one drawer. 22 knives in one drawer is pretty efficient in my book.

My only warning would be to carefully consider the size of your drawers. Measure twice, order once ;) These racks are quite long and might not fit all drawers.

drawer_rack.jpg
 
I didn't end up making it to Home Sense yesterday, and instead I just decided to order a couple of the Totally Bamboo in drawer blocks from Amazon along with some cookbooks. Thanks for the input everyone, I'll post some pics when I get them.
 
I didn't end up making it to Home Sense yesterday, and instead I just decided to order a couple of the Totally Bamboo in drawer blocks from Amazon along with some cookbooks. Thanks for the input everyone, I'll post some pics when I get them.

I have never seen the Totally Bamboo product, but trust Mr. Drinky's opinion (particularly as he has both the Totally Bamboo and Wusthof). I went with the Wusthof because it fit my mother's drawer better than the Totally Bamboo, but will see if I can make the Totally Bamboo work in my own place.

Hope you will let us (me!) know what you think of it when it arrives.
 
I have never seen the Totally Bamboo product, but trust Mr. Drinky's opinion (particularly as he has both the Totally Bamboo and Wusthof). I went with the Wusthof because it fit my mother's drawer better than the Totally Bamboo, but will see if I can make the Totally Bamboo work in my own place.

Hope you will let us (me!) know what you think of it when it arrives.

That is exactly why I just took the plunge with the Totally Bamboo, neither is bad I'm sure but I hadn't heard of a single comparison.
 
Awesome! I'm sure it'll be great!
Save room for the Nakiri :D
 
Sorry for being late to this thread, but here is another vote for the totally bamboo one. The other thing that is nice about it is that you can easily trim it down width-wise by just sawing through the bamboo strips that go across the wave. I have two of them one is modified to a 4 big knife slot version (as opposed to the standard 5) so it all fits nicely into the drawer with the cleaver lying flat in the middle.
 
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