Rolling up a knife roll

[esoo]

OK this may be stupid question kind of time, but going to ask as it has sort-of been bugging me.

I have a Asphyx Nano knife roll and have a dislike of the way it rolls up with 4 knives in it. It gets really "large" and doesn't seem to roll properly. To be fair, this looks like it would an issue with any knife roll that I've seen that holds the knives in the same way (say for example the Hi-Condition ones at Tosho).

I wondering if this is just me...

Since a picture is worth a 1000 words...

Four knives in the roll

First part of the roll

Next roll, and "Houston, we have a problem"

It jams up on the third knife in the roll, and doesn't want to sit properly. This really shows when we try to roll up for the final knife:

At this point, it just doesn't sit well or tight together.

Now if I only put three knives in the roll, I would say this is "perfect".

Step one:

Step Two:

Nice roll up, the way I want it to be.

If is just me, or are rolls like this not really meant to be rolled up with all their slots full?

 

[stringer]

The problem isn't the knife roll it's the sayas. They are too bulky. I use cheap plastic edge protectors unless the spines are too bulky then I make custom cardboard ones with cereal boxes and tape. Lately I just have two knives in blade protectors rolled up in an apron and stuffed in my backpack.

 

[esoo]

i just tried with 4 knives, without any saya or protectors - if I finessed the position of the knife in the third slot, I could get it to a tolerable tight roll, but not as nice as just having three knives in the roll.

As a home chef who barely travels with knives, three is more than enough to be honest, but sometimes I use the roll to store knives not on the rack.

 

[McMan]

Try it with the handles in the slot instead. Could be that because the slots are 'full' with the saya (or blade), there's less room for the knives to shift.

 

[M1k3]

Alternate each knife's orientation? Handle up, handle down, handle up, handle down?

 

[esoo]

Try it with the handles in the slot instead. Could be that because the slots are 'full' with the saya (or blade), there's less room for the knives to shift.

I could, but that sort-of defeats the purpose of this kind of roll - where the knives are held firmly by the saya so the don't move around. The vendors who show this kind of roll (Darkhardt, Hi-Condition, Hitohira) all have pictures with saya in the slot, and full rolls.

 

[McMan]

I could, but that sort-of defeats the purpose of this kind of roll - where the knives are held firmly by the saya so the don't move around. The vendors who show this kind of roll (Darkhardt, Hi-Condition, Hitohira) all have pictures with saya in the slot, and full rolls.

Maybe give it a try. I always put the handles in first. (Maybe I've been doing it backwards all along?! )

 

[silylanjie]

I had the Yoshihiro 6 slot knife roll and had no issues with the saya down when rolling it. Guess the only difference that my knives are yanagiba since I was sushi chef.

 

[esoo]

Maybe give it a try. I always put the handles in first. (Maybe I've been doing it backwards all along?! )

I did try - didn't make a difference.

It really depends on the roll - my cheap Henkels roll goes in handles first.

 

[esoo]

I had the Yoshihiro 6 slot knife roll and had no issues with the saya down when rolling it. Guess the only difference that my knives are yanagiba since I was sushi chef.

That may be part of it. I suspect a yanigaba or a sujihiki in the third spot would help how it rolls. Even a petty would work.

 

[daveb]

https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/collections/knife-cases-bags/products/jki-knife-folio

 

[esoo]

Given that I’m a home cook, I don’t need that many slots.

if I’m going to replace the roll, I’m going to get something like this:Custom Leather Knife Roll Personalized Leather Knife Sheath | Etsy

 

[JayS20]

While the sayas make it harder, the problem with these knife rolls imo is always the space between the pockets. This could be easily solved by having some flat space between the pockets. I don't really get why that's not done. It wouldn't really make the roll bulkier and there wasn't much extra material needed.

 

[bsfsu]

The best knife rolls are the ones you make. Then you can go full custom on it, custom handle, custom saya, custom knife roll.

 

[crockerculinary]

I think typically the expectation is that it’s a portable working kit and you would be carrying a few different types of knives, not just all full size knives with full size saya. So If for example you had 2 gyuto, a petty, and a slicer, you would probably be ok.

 

[demirtasem]

I use same Asphyx Nano roll. I can fit 2 240mm gyuto (Konosuke and Gekko), a 150mm petty(Misono Carbon), cheap paring(Victorinox) with sleeves. Also a Soft Arkansas/pain relievers. I realized I don't need to carry anything else other these four knives. If I try the same combination with sayas I need to pick one of my gyutos instead of two. But I believe in pro kitchen sleeves are better friends than sayas.