Q: I've recently decided to move my knives from a drawer to some sort of magnetic strip on the wall or under a cabinet. In an exhaustive internet search for the best solution, I came across the Magneto knife rack from Eva Solo. Isn't it fantastic? I love that the blade edges are not openly exposed, and it seems like the ergonomics for removing and replacing the knives are better than the standard flat magnetic bar. I have to admit that although it costs 3 to 4 times as much as I was planning to spend, I am sorely tempted.
My question to The Kitchn is: Has anyone seen an affordable version of this knife rack? Or does anyone have a crafty idea as to how a moderately handy person could make her own?
Sent by Emily
Editor: Emily, wow that knife rack is indeed very cool!
• Magneto Magnetic Knife Rack by Eva Solo, $99 at emmo home
Readers, any thoughts or suggestions? Should Emily just make the investment? Or can you think of a clever way to DIY this knife rack?
Related: Reader Gallery: Knife Storage Solutions
(Image: emmo home)
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i know it doesn't look like the picture but we have had one of these for 4+ years & works great for us. can't beat $14.99
we had it in our old house & then when we moved it was one of the first things to be repurchased & go up.
great magnetic quality.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00110353
You could take a nice piece of hardwood to your bandsaw and cut it similar to the picture and then embed magnets into the wood. Might take a little more skill than most things, but certainly doable. I think I'll attempt this weekend. :)
Although it does look like good ergonomics for placing and removing knives, i see some issues. When you remove a knife from a magnetic strip you typically pull from the handle and the knife releases from handle to tip (ie not all at once). With this design when you try to do the same thing there is going to be another knife adjacent. If you try to pull straight out you will be rubbing the side of your knife on the magnets everytime you remove it. As for placing the knife on the strip, a normal strip is very easy; however with this design it looks as if you could end up with knives getting in your way.
Just my .02
What about buying a sheet of thin metal (like this: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202091748/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053) and bending it to the triangle shape, the way you fold paper into a fan. Then you can hot/gorilla glue magnets into each triangular fold. The only challenging part would be then mounting it to something that can be mounted on the wall. You could probably just nail it into a wooden board though. The shiny metal against a dark stained wood would look great! Maybe I'll try too! Great idea!
This is something that looks like it would be awfully easy to make, but only with certain tools the vast majority of people don't have!
For the at-home crafter, I would try either of two methods. 1.)Cut that shape out of a woodblock and attach thin, Neodymium magnets on the inner angle. You wouldn't want very big ones because they are VERY strong, and you don't want to wrestle with knives to get them off!
If you don't have a bandsaw (oh I wish I had one) you could do the cut with a cheap miter box and a handsaw. Around $15 at Home Depot, and it reaaally is a tool worth having.
2.) Find steel sheet metal (Home Depot!) thin enough to cut with tin snips so you can cut a nice, long, thin strip. Bend it over the edge of a table to get the creases (you'll want to look up a tutorial if you've never bent metal before!). Sand the edges to make sure they're not sharp. Then you can just glue strong magnets to the back of the metal, and the entire thing should become magnetic!
Hanging them on the wall will be part of the project too. With a wooden one you could get away with just drilling a few holes and screwing it to the wall. For the metal one, if the metal is too thick for you to punch holes through or trying to drill a hole drives you crazy, you could just make sure to bend the ends out like little wings to lay flat against the wall, then use the tin snips to cut four little notches on the edges, and screw into place with the screws in the notches to hold it tight.
Chris, if you look at the closeup of the knife rack on their website, there are tiny thin rubber or plastic bumpers on the edges and inner part of the rack. So the knife will rub against those instead of the metal.
Thanks so much for the ideas! Kaete, I do have a miter box, so I might just give that a try. I am definitely motivated to attempt this project!
Wouldn't there be a risk of stabbing the wall with the knife tip during removal? That would concern me. Although I do like the look & design of this knife rack & the fact that the knife edges aren't fully exposed.
The Eva Solo one is worth it! My boyfriend got me one fore christmas, and it replaced my old IKEA one (like the one kjchordas recomended), and I have to say there is a world of difference! I would think you would have a hard time getting the magnet/rubber thing right with the DIY versions, although some of the tips here look promising!
I don't know the US price for this product, but where I live (Norway), it's about $45, which is a good investment for good knives.
Good luck!
There are some really awesome suggestions in these comments. I made a magnetic strip that took very little effort. (http://turningithome.blogspot.com/2013/01/easy-diy-magnetic-knife-strip.html) but with a little more effort and patience (that I didn't have) you could make something suggested here to be more like the Eva Solo.