unpopular opinion knife rolls/bags are a complete scam

[Jville]

New rule: knife bags should cost no more than 10% of the contents that they protect.

That's fair, you are only need 5 knives averaging $200 to spend $100 on a bag. Some of those nice leather look nice, but never seemed practical to me.

my UE is literally FULL to max capacity with tools or knives in every orifice. it weighs like 30 pounds lol

I've scaled down lately, but at times I've had mine nearly busting at the seems. You can fit alot of stuff in them.

I gotta agree on the sayas they look nice but can really slow the work flow and take up a lot of space not a huge fan of sayas

I like sayas, generally inexpensive ones, and have a bunch, but I can't argue against your points. They can definitely be cumbersome, especially if the pin is tight. But a nice soft wood friction fit says just does it for me. My favorite says is a simple one that came with my heiji cleaver from jki. Fits perfect and the wood seems soft.

 

[stringer]

That's fair, you are only need 5 knives averaging $200 to spend $100 on a bag. Some of those nice leather look nice, but never seemed practical to me.



I've scaled down lately, but at times I've had mine nearly busting at the seems. You can fit alot of stuff in them.


I like sayas, generally inexpensive ones, and have a bunch, but I can't argue against your points. They can definitely be cumbersome, especially if the pin is tight. But a nice soft wood friction fit says just does it for me. My favorite says is a simple one that came with my heiji cleaver from jki. Fits perfect and the wood seems soft.

If I buy a knife that comes with a saya I usually sell the saya on BST. They are too bulky for me. The only one I have kept is for my deba. I have a few felt lined guards and I make the rest out of cardboard and athletic tape. I replace them every couple of months. Prior to moving to Boston a 3 knife or 5 knife roll did me just fine. In the Midwest, kitchens were better equipped with spoons, tongs, spatulas, peelers, microplanes, ladles, portion scoops, small immersion blenders, decent non-stick pans. On the East Coast, at least at the hotel I am laid off from, you are expected to be a lot more self-sufficient. They provide almost zero personal sized tools and equipment and what is provided is hoarded and squirreled away. If you are given a spatula then you are expected to take care of it and protect it with your life and not let anyone borrow it unless they leave their driver's license as a hostage. It ends up being a lot easier to just you have your personal gear instead of hunting all over the place every time you needed a pair of tongs.

So I upgraded to an 18-slot Boldric as well as a 24" Craftsman toolbox. Both very full. I had an office I could lock them in. But they do occasionally accompany my on my train ride in to or out of the city. Not ideal, but doable. I did leave my knife roll at a train station once. My stuff is pretty utilitarian, but still maybe 10-12 knives / $1500 value. I thought I was going to die. But a guy called me the next day. He saw it sitting on the platform and it had my contact info on it. He's a cook too and knew immediately what it was. Turns out he worked at a restaurant right across the street from my hotel.

 

[Cliff]

i use felt lined dexter knife guards, not a fan of sayas. having to take them in and out vertically annoys me where as the guards you slide in horizontally.

Do you not run into trouble with carbon knives in those lined plastic guards? I've been afraid of rust if I keep knives in there while traveling.

 

[panda]

as long as they go in dry theyre fine

 

[soigne_west]

I wanted to show you guys who might be interested I bought the above linked Pro mark drum stick bag as a “don’t need all my sh*t” bag and I have to say... I like it. Fits my 250 marko suji also fits a 240 Maz with room. OAL length of a knife is no more than 431mm

 

[Michi]

But a guy called me the next day. He saw it sitting on the platform and it had my contact info on it. He's a cook too and knew immediately what it was. Turns out he worked at a restaurant right across the street from my hotel.

I love stories like this!

In my experience, most people are honest and will do the right thing. I have stupidly left behind valuables on more than one occasion, such as a bag with lots of credit cards, cash, and passport in it; expensive mobile phone (before the days were you could brick them remotely), and other valuables. Each and every time, when I went back where I thought I had left/lost the item and asked, someone was there and told me "sure, we were wondering when you were going to show up, someone handed in your lost property."

Years ago, I came across a wallet on the floor of a shopping mall. I picked it up and looked around for someone who might belong with it, but no luck. I briefly looked through the wallet and found a club membership card with a name, but without an address or phone number. I also found just under $1,000 in cash. When I got home, I started doing phone book searches for the name. Fortunately, it wasn't a common name.

I called a few people in Brisbane with the same name but without luck, and ended up widening the search area. Eventually, I called someone in Townsville (about 900 miles north from here). A man answered and I asked "can I speak to John Smith please?" The reply came back "I'm Adam Smith; John is my son. What is this about?" I asked whether his son was in Brisbane and whether he might have lost something recently. I instantly got the full story of how his son had lost his wallet and was absolutely crushed because he was 19 years old and had been saving for months to go on a holiday… I popped the wallet into the mail the same day, and that was that.

About ten days later, the door bell rings and the postman shows up with a parcel. I wasn't expecting anything, but it was addressed to me. When I opened the parcel, I found a "thank you" note and a bottle of Penfolds St Henri that was 11 years old. Value of that bottle at the time was well in excess of $200. The father had used the return address information on my parcel to send me the note and the bottle of wine.

What goes around comes around.

PS: I did call him back to thank him and told him that this wasn't necessary, but that I would enjoy that bottle very much. Two years later, I shared it with two very good friends of mine. It is the most rewarding bottle of wine I've ever shared.

 

[holdmyphone]

Honestly I agree with this knife bag thesis. All the cooks I know either have a Messermeister bag that is poked full of holes and won't zip anymore, or a $100+ leather hipster roll. When the time came that I had my own knives and I needed a bag I bought the smallest, cheapest one and carried my four choicest knives to work each day. No shoulder strap, loop, extra pockets.

The drum stick bag is a f***ing great idea. Thank you for enlightening us.

 

[daveb]

The worst part about having the 100+ hipster roll is finding the 100+ apron that matches it.

 

[Michi]

The worst part about having the 100+ hipster roll is finding the 100+ apron that matches it.

Oh my, that's really rough. I feel with you. I bought a Le Creuset dutch oven in Volcano orange. But, since, I found out that they've released a very cool-looking line in Indigo, and I really would like to buy a skillet in that colour. But it wouldn't match my dutch oven, so I'd have to replace the dutch oven as well.

I really do not know how to deal with this most vexing problem… Can anybody help me?

 

[panda]

The worst part about having the 100+ hipster roll is finding the 100+ apron that matches it.

I bought a chef works plain black apron for $25 and I never wear it cause it's heavy. I like the thin ones I get in bulk (plus washing service) through linen company. The thin ones don't weigh your neck down plus the strap is super light and not scratchy.

 

[WildBoar]

Oh my, that's really rough. I feel with you. I bought a Le Creuset dutch oven in Volcano orange. But, since, I found out that they've released a very cool-looking line in Indigo, and I really would like to buy a skillet in that colour. But it wouldn't match my dutch oven, so I'd have to replace the dutch oven as well.

I really do not know how to deal with this most vexing problem… Can anybody help me?

That is a common issue, and is easily solved by replicating all of your Le Creuset cookware with Staub cookware.

 

[esoo]

That is a common issue, and is easily solved by replicating all of your Le Creuset cookware with Staub cookware.

Only ever had 1 Staub - black enameled frypan. It rusted. Zwilling took it back saying it was weird.

 

[holdmyphone]

I bought a chef works plain black apron for $25 and I never wear it cause it's heavy. I like the thin ones I get in bulk (plus washing service) through linen company. The thin ones don't weigh your neck down plus the strap is super light and not scratchy.

The last place I worked at, my chef was given a nice apron with her initials embroidered on it by the owner as a congrats for her first head chef position. She never wore it because she liked the linen company ones better. Sometimes an apron is just an apron.

 

[WildBoar]

Sometimes an apron is just an apron.

Match it up with a short skirt and panty hose and you may find others will not treat you like a cook

 

[daveb]

My LeC looks like a crayon box. I like it that way And there is a Staub or two in amongst em.

 

[DitmasPork]

Probably an unpopular opinion but I think knife rolls and bags are complete scams and are usually super over priced or just complete trash quality. Ever sense I entered the kitchen ive always been into chef gear, getting the most efficient knives and tools for each task, the most comfortable apron, the best fitting work shoes, etc, you get the idea. For the most part most of these things are easy to find or figure out eventually, with some trial and error youll eventually find the knives that bests suit you or your favorite shoes but it has taken me almost 6 years to find a knife bag that is not only cheap, but made well, and fits everything you'd actually need on the job and the best part is its not even a knife bag.

I have several problems with knife rolls that are sold to my fellow chefs regularly. First off as cooks we already dont make a lot of money combined that with an overly expensive knife addiction and maybe an affinity to a certain white powder we arnt left with a lot of money. All cheap knife backs are complete garbage anything below 50 dollars tend to be made cheaply with material that will wear and tear withing the year and tend to have a low amount of pockets and space to keep other tools. Then you have your nicer knife rolls which are way to over priced that can range anywhere from 100-200 dollars. These tend to be made with much nicer material such as leather or ballistic nylon but the trade off in nice leather is that they tend to be much bulkier taking up a lot of space in what can often be very tight kitchen space. There are also just general gripes i have with most knife rolls which are not enough of them come with zippers instead of buckles. Zippers are much easier to open especially when you have an angry chef yelling at you to do something and you need to grab a tool from your back. Knife rolls get way to bulky when filled to max capacity. If im going to buy a 10 pocket knife back im gonna use all 10 pockets but if your going to design your knife roll to be bulky and clunky as hell when fully used your an *******. This has been my experience from using dozens of different knife rolls in search of the right one from the cheap messermister backs to the more expensive boldric rolls.

So the solution you ask? Drum stick bags. Im being dead serious. In terms of shape drum sticks and knives arnt that different so drum stick bags actually fit knifes very well. maybe a year ago i stumbled across a youtube video of a chef reviewing a trakke drumroll which is designed to hold drum sticks but he used it as a knife roll to great effect. Now unfortunately a trakke drumroll is roughly 100 usd and was out of stock when i tried to buy one to try but as i digged a bit deeper i found several other drum stick bags that had a lot of features which brings me to my current knife roll https://www.guitarcenter.com/Promark/TDSB-Transport-Deluxe-Stick-Bag.gc . Theres a lot i like about this bag so let me explain, First off the price tag, at 36.99 dollars its a steal and competes with 100+ dollar knife rolls in terms of what it offers. On the outside it comes with a strap and a magnetic handle at the top which i much prefer over the usual Velcro or button to keep your handles together. There's also an outer pocket which i store my thermopen, sharpies, pens, notebook, and first aid supplies. Once opened you can see there's a loop at the top that allows you to hook your knife bag up on your station which is insanely helpful and should be a standard feature on all knife rolls as being able to hang my bag open on my station and easily access all my tools makes prep and service so much more convenient. Another feature that should be standard in knife rolls which this bag has are deep pockets which keep my knives from falling out. There are even two smaller pockets for any other accessory you might need. This bag holds all my knives and tools no problem, isn't super bulky, and does everything any knife roll ive had before can do but better.

In conclusion this covid situation got my so bored that i wrote a ****** essay on a drum stick bag.

I understand where you’re coming from regarding cost of knife rolls, and gotta say your idea of repurposing drumstick bags are clever and resourceful.

However I do feel that “complete scams” and “super over priced” are a tad harsh—knife rolls cost what they cost. There’s much subjectivity regarding value when it comes to knife rolls. Personally, with knife rolls I don’t like to do price comparisons, but simply seek out a knife roll that suits my purpose, is well designed, quality craftsmanship, and appeals to my aesthetic tastes—cost is probably the last thing I look at, it’s either something I can afford or not. I especially favor buying a knife roll from a small producer, albeit at a higher price—don’t mind paying over the odds to support talented craftspeople, if I can afford it.

My fave knife roll is this simple 5-slot leather and canvas roll from Jaw Leather (pictured below), a one-man shop on the west coast. Top-notch leather, well designed, fits my purposes perfectly, I don’t need additional pockets since it’s primary use is that of a travel roll. Not cheap, but I can’t imagine not having it.

Many of my knives are quality and relatively expensive (to me), so I feel it’s worth having a special roll to transport them. Similar to how some will spend money getting a custom saga in great wood for a high priced knife. If I used a set of Victorinox knives, then my Jaw Leather roll might be overkill. Sometimes you need to splurge on good shoes to go with the Paul Smith suit is what I believe.

If I’m just transporting 2 knives, sometimes I’ll just take the padded case that JKI send me when I bought a knife from them.

I’ve spent years searching for my next knife roll. On my current want list are these two:

• Any of the knife rolls from Dark Hardt, which IMO are some of the most beautifully designed rolls on the market, Unicorn rolls to me. https://www.darkhardt.com/

• The new, leather knife rolls at MTC caught me eye, great bang-for-buck rolls IMO. Longer length perfect for big knife needs.

 

[Michi]

My fave knife roll is this simple 5-slot leather and canvas roll from Jaw Leather

That's a think of beauty, for sure!

 

[WildBoar]

As far as rolls go, Steve Goodson's are still probably the best crafted leather rolls out there.

 

[labor of love]

I think I like my knife bag brand the most. Luxury high end leather just doesn’t appeal to me. The canvas and hemp rolls that you can throw in the washing machine are a huge plus for me.

 

[Chuckles]

I have that Jaw roll. Larger handles can be very hard to fit into the slots. Especially westerns.

 

[AFKitchenknivesguy]

Lol at leather = hipster roll. Not quite lol.

 

[DitmasPork]

I have that Jaw roll. Larger handles can be very hard to fit into the slots. Especially westerns.

Agree. My Masahiro suji handle won’t fit, but I mostly do wa handles. I’d mentioned that to Jonathan at Jaw, and he said he’d customize the slot widths for me next time.

 

[Keith Sinclair]

My early years in kitchen used a metal tool box painted black l airbrushed a wave on the back had a little combo lock on it.

The ultimate edge is a good design the pockets are a little loose. Doesn't take up a lot of space opening it like a lot of rolls do with the large cover flap.

Had a drawer at my workstation keep whips etc. Transfer knives I would be using out of roll & in to the drawer. Kept my cleavers in the drawer.

Used a global roll liked the tight elastic pockets. Held my carbons, yanagibas, deba, & Gyutos.

 

[DitmasPork]

Lol at leather = hipster roll. Not quite lol.

“Hipster” roll? Sadly, you make no sense at all.

 

[AFKitchenknivesguy]

“Hipster” roll? Sadly, you make no sense at all.

Read some of the early posts in this thread to get my gist.

 

[panda]

Look at ditmas being all hipstery, haha. That one does look really nice. But for me I find having to close a strap/buckle rather inconvenient.

 

[Keith Sinclair]

Hipstery or not can dig wanting a cool leather roll for couple thousand $$ worth of knives

 

[labor of love]

I wonder if sword collectors are having a similar discussion somewhere right now over the pros and cons of using duffle bags.

 

[soigne_west]

You know the EDC guys have had this convo too...

 

[aszma]

Look at ditmas being all hipstery, haha. That one does look really nice. But for me I find having to close a strap/buckle rather inconvenient.

im glad i found someone else who else who also doesnt like buckles on their knife rolls and prefers to not use sayas im considered a heretic for such thoughts among my friends