Another Hair-Brained Idea?

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Weird Wood Pusher
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Where did the phrased hair brained idea come from? Maybe it is supposed to be hare brained. You know, like "Crazy as a March Hare"? I know what it means, but it just sounds weird. I think it is a British phrase. They say all kinds of weird stuff. Like "Damn Yanks", things like that.

OK, I am rambling, now back on topic;

I know I have asked about stuff like cutting boards, handles and sayas without following through.
But, I tend to like projects that don't take a long time to complete as a diversion between the time when I am doing the work I am supposed to be doing.

So......I thought, "What about those magnetic knife strips"?

When I am cutting up wood for knife makers and the guitar builders I end up with thinner pieces of cool looking wood.
What I have seen being sold were about 2 foot long and a couple inches wide. I could end up with a lot of wood like that if I made minor changes to how I cut things up.

Questions for you guys?

Is there a market for these in the $100 to $200 range if they were well made using really good wood?

What would be the ideal size/dimensions?

Are there any critical features that should be considered?
 
I think the idea of a magnetic rack is very popular, but it is not as common in practice. I personally love my mag block.

Dave sells very nice wood strips with strong magnets and large sizes available, kind of a "premium strip" thing. They have not really been that popular, because they are expensive.

I think it is something to keep in mind for the future, but at least these past few years, it's not something that people are willing to dish out cash on.

Strange, I know--$5,000 worth of knives and a $200 strip seems spendy. I've got mine in my kitchen with about $300-$2k worth of knives on it(depending on the day), and it cost me $30. I'd get a nicer one if I had a house, but I don't. Yet.
 
Block in this price range will have to compete with cheaper (yet widely popular) blocks form Benchcrafted.
 
If you use exotic woods you could compete with bench crafted. They occasionally have "one of a kinds" using Macassar ebony and Ziricote (I picked one up) the go between 100-200 depending on length. If you go the exotic route you could sell quite a few but if you did too well I am sure they would ramp up.

Block in this price range will have to compete with cheaper (yet widely popular) blocks form Benchcrafted.
 
Forgot to add about sizes...I would go anywhere from 1 foot to 2 feet max. But that's me. Also as far as design, I am sure you know these, recessed mounting hardware...don't want to scratch your knives, chisels, plane blades, etc. just make some, throw them on your site or here as one-offs and I am sure they will all sell. I personally like the handmade one-off factor of things
 
Here's Dave's thread about this. It's pretty relevant to this, lots of good input.

I may be wrong, but I got the impression overall(not just from that thread) that the luxury mag strips were something people loved the idea of, and nobody actually paid for.
 
I like the idea. I also like the idea of you selling says material. That possible?
 
I like the idea. I also like the idea of you selling says material. That possible?
I am experimenting with some pieces I am cutting for Mike D.
I was guessing that a lot of guys who would like to make their own sayas might not have a good wood band saw or milling machine.
So what I am doing with the ones I am sending to Mike will be a single piece cut into a piece about 3/8" then 3/16" then 3/8".
I thought the thinner center piece could be cut to the profile of the knife then when it is all reassembled all the edge grain would match up to look like one solid piece. This is how I make boxes for our gallery, just different dimensions.

I looked at the Bench Crafted Mag Blocks and thought they looked like ugly boards screwed to the wall.
 
Here is a better example of what I am talking about with the saya wood.
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s001.jpg

s003.jpg

s004.jpg
 
That's great. I'm totally interested in trying out some saya material like this! I'll pm you to discuss.
 
I ordered a bunch of rare earth magnets yesterday so I can try my hand at making a couple magnetic holders.
Most of the ones I have looked at just look like a piece of board mounted to the wall.
I will try to make mine look a little more creative without getting too weird........maybe.

I have a couple pieces of Hawaiian Silky Oak set aside for the first one.
Unless I mess it up.
 
Nice!!! I just finished my first one today...Only thing i can do in the house.....
 
Don't forget to pick up some magnetic shielding material. It'll make the magnets work better.
 
What size magnets do you guys use ??
 
I used double and triple rows of 10mm by 5mm N45 magnets with a 1mm layer of wood between the magnet and the blade, holds everything up to 270mm gyuto. Would need stronger magnets for large single bevels as the hollow increases the gap between knife and magnet
 
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