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.
