Knife Magnet Upgrade

[madmotts]

Recently i discovered my walnut knife magnet was putting some ever-so-fine scratches on my knives and did this mod with cork. I decide on using a stainless bar since they seem to be more powerful. I think it'll work better than my wood knife magnets, since those have a bit of slippery-ness to them. Not sure if this is a "new" idea or not, but thought i'd share.

Here's the cork (link) and the knife magnet (link)

 

[nexus1935]

Ooh I really like that look of that cork bar! How do you find the magnetism on your knives? I'm worried that too weak and the big knives slide down, too strong and the knife slaps onto the bar, so is this a happy medium? No more fine scratches after this mod?

 

[ian]

I had a too strong wood strip and attached some leather to the front. Easier on/off, but no chance of slipping, especially with the increased friction.

 

[Bensbites]

I would love to hear a long term review. I have seen some of my knives showing light scuffing from my mahogany knife bars. I just assumed it was unavoidable since repeated use of kitchen towels to dry a knife can cause light scratches.

 

[coffeelover191919]

anybody here have their wooden magnetic knife strip turn black due to some residual moisture on the knife? I towel dry my knives, but sometimes theres a thin layer of moisture from an already damp towel or i miss 1 drop of water and the wood turns black.

 

[dafox]

anybody here have their wooden magnetic knife strip turn black due to some residual moisture on the knife? I towel dry my knives, but sometimes theres a thin layer of moisture from an already damp towel or i miss 1 drop of water and the wood turns black.

Yes that has happened to me but I think they were carbon knives, hasn't happened with stainless steel knives.

 

[ian]

I would love to hear a long term review. I have seen some of my knives showing light scuffing from my mahogany knife bars. I just assumed it was unavoidable since repeated use of kitchen towels to dry a knife can cause light scratches.

I did my modification last winter, I think. No issues so far, works as advertised. Certainly doesn’t scratch knives, since it’s soft leather.

anybody here have their wooden magnetic knife strip turn black due to some residual moisture on the knife? I towel dry my knives, but sometimes theres a thin layer of moisture from an already damp towel or i miss 1 drop of water and the wood turns black.

I had that happen with some kurouchi knives on wood too.

https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/marks-on-knife-strip.39494/

 

[madmotts]

I had a too strong wood strip and attached some leather to the front.

oh... i like the leather idea. Gotta think about that one. The possibilities are endless

 

[Matt Jacobs]

That looks great. I did something similar with an IKEA metal bar and I added a really thin piece of balsa wood that I staind

 

[coffeelover191919]

I had that happen with some kurouchi knives on wood too.

https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/marks-on-knife-strip.39494/

Thats the thing, it happened on my (non Kurouchi) blue steel knife. I'm not sure if it has to do with the Kurouchi, but it may have to do with the carbon steel. It doesn't happen where i place my wusthof stainless knives.

 

[M1k3]

Probably just small amounts of steel. Think of swarf. Even stainless is black.

 

[gregfisk]

I made some pumpkin carving tools out of sawzall blades and made oak handles for them. The first time I washed them the oak turned black where it was touching the metal blade. I ended up sanding them down and clear coating them with lacquer or poly. That took care of the problem.

 

[billyO]

Oak has a lot of tannins (I think) that will react with steel. Most knifemakers I know avoid using oak for handles (unless there's really cool patterning) for this very reason. With moisture, it can even corrode through a tang.

 

[madmotts]

Here's the latest iteration of a covered stainless knife bar using furniture repair tape (amzn link). The color is "irregular pattern camel"- if that doesn't float your boat, there's ~ 30 different flavors. The texture is reminiscent of like 80s Naugahyde. No where in the amzn listing is it's fake- "durable leather". The backing is a 3M product, so it should stay on pretty good. It was pretty easy to put on. We'll see if it takes off any KU, binds to iron cladding or other longer term effects.

The cork version from the OP has had some adhesive lifting. I just ironed it, but not hopeful. The cork idea in itself is solid. It provides a nice padding and some friction to limit movement. If I was set on cork, i'd explore some other adhesives.

it's fun project if you want to soup up your knife bar or bored.