What happened to knife boxes?

[Don Wiss]

Why aren't people making knife boxes or knife strips any more? Knife blocks
on the counter waste space. And the one I have allows the long knives to
stick out at the bottom and hit the counter.

I have dug up pictures of what a knife box looks like. And I found an old
image of a knife strip. I will have one or the other custom made. But I
would prefer to buy one off the self.

More is described and shown on this page that I put up:

http://donwiss.com/knifebox/

Don. www.donwiss.com (e-mail link at home page bottom).

[Pete C.]

I suspect they have disappeared due to most people not wanting to mount
such a box or strip to the wall in their kitchen. The ubiquitous knife
block requires no installation and is easily moved around. Magnetic
knife strips do still exist, but they don't seem to be particularly
popular, probably for the same installation reasons.

[Norminn]

On 5/20/2013 1:12 PM, Don Wiss wrote:
> Why aren't people making knife boxes or knife strips any more? Knife blocks
> on the counter waste space. And the one I have allows the long knives to
> stick out at the bottom and hit the counter.

Kitchens have changed....the wall-hanging gizmos are nice, but no room
to slide the knife out if it is under a wall cupboard. I have a nice
big block in a dead-ish corner of my counter top, and I keep a lot of
stuff on the counter. My actual kitchen, continuous with dining
area/room, is very small, but works wonderfully even for large meals.
It's a little "U", plus pantry and doorway to garage (superb for
carrying in groceries). I keep a crock for all the stirring/mixing
stuff next to the range, and a smaller one for baking stuff like
measuring spoons. I hate having to dig through drawers for stuff. Got
one lower lazy susan below a large corner wall cupboard and all my
baking stuff is in the two...mixer, bowls, seasoning, etc.

[Ralph Mowery]

"Don Wiss" <donwiss@no_spam.com> wrote in message
news:60mkp8t4ugrtcirsd...@4ax.com...

The good cooks only use two knives. A big chef's knife for most work and a
smaller paring knife.

[tra...@optonline.net]

On May 20, 1:31 pm, Norminn <norm...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> On 5/20/2013 1:12 PM, Don Wiss wrote:
>
> > Why aren't people making knife boxes or knife strips any more? Knife blocks
> > on the counter waste space. And the one I have allows the long knives to
> > stick out at the bottom and hit the counter.
>
> Kitchens have changed....the wall-hanging gizmos are nice, but no room
> to slide the knife out if it is under a wall cupboard.

I think that is the essence of the problem. In my kitchen, like
many, there are cabinets above the counter anywhere that
you could put a hanging type. And the block type, sitting on
the counter and shoved all the way back works fine for me.
The only disadvantage is that the block types, at least the ones
I've seen, can' be cleaned.

For the wall type, I've seen magnetic ones. There was one
at Amy's Baking Company, the restaurant with the crazy owners
that Gordon Ramsay visited on Kitchen Nightmares last week.
That was quite an episode!

[willshak]

My Henckles knife set came with it's own counter top knife box similar
to this one which is available without knives. $54.99
http://www.amazon.com/J-A-Henckels-10-Slot-Oak-Block/dp/B0001XAJ6G/ref=sr_1_27?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1369072304&sr=1-27
or: http://preview.tinyurl.com/kc5eoqr


--
Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeros after @

[Shadow]

On Mon, 20 May 2013 13:12:30 -0400, Don Wiss <donwiss@no_spam.com>
wrote:

>Why aren't people making knife boxes or knife strips any more? Knife blocks
>on the counter waste space. And the one I have allows the long knives to
>stick out at the bottom and hit the counter.
>

Rattling around in drawers will blunt knives.
Idea here:

http://www.first4magnets.com/create-a-magnetic-knife-rack-251-c.asp

Commercial ad, but you could DIY.
Useful for keeping the edge on a few knives (More than that
and it will look trashy).
[]'s
--
Don't be evil - Google 2004
We have a new policy - Google 2012

[k...@attt.bizz]

On Mon, 20 May 2013 13:12:30 -0400, Don Wiss <donwiss@no_spam.com>
wrote:

>Why aren't people making knife boxes or knife strips any more? Knife blocks
>on the counter waste space. And the one I have allows the long knives to
>stick out at the bottom and hit the counter.
>
>I have dug up pictures of what a knife box looks like. And I found an old
>image of a knife strip. I will have one or the other custom made. But I
>would prefer to buy one off the self.
>
>More is described and shown on this page that I put up:
>
>http://donwiss.com/knifebox/

Seems to me that these take up far more wall space (at a big premium
in many modern kitchens) than a block. Note that the vertical wall
space much be taller than twice the length of the longest knife. I
don't think there is anywhere in our kitchen I could put one if she
wanted it. With the block only takes around 20sq.in. of counter space
and holds a dozen knives (and a pair of scissors).

[Don Wiss]

On Mon, 20 May 2013 14:56:27 -0300, Shadow <S...@dow.br> wrote:

>On Mon, 20 May 2013 13:12:30 -0400, Don Wiss wrote:
>
>>Why aren't people making knife boxes or knife strips any more? Knife blocks
>>on the counter waste space. And the one I have allows the long knives to
>>stick out at the bottom and hit the counter.
>
> Rattling around in drawers will blunt knives.
> Idea here:
>
>http://www.first4magnets.com/create-a-magnetic-knife-rack-251-c.asp

I will have to give the originator of that knife rack a lot of credit for
being original!

I don't want anything for knives on the counter. Though I suppose that
could be wall mounted. And I see further down individual magnets being used
on the wall. That idea is also original for me.

[Don Wiss]

On Mon, 20 May 2013, "tra...@optonline.net" <tra...@optonline.net> wrote:
>On May 20, 1:31�pm, Norminn <norm...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>> Kitchens have changed....the wall-hanging gizmos are nice, but no room
>> to slide the knife out if it is under a wall cupboard.
>
>I think that is the essence of the problem. In my kitchen, like
>many, there are cabinets above the counter anywhere that
>you could put a hanging type.

In my kitchen the sink looks out a tall window. Many kitchens are designed
this way. There is height to the ceiling when mounted on a cabinet
alongside such a window. And being near the sink, easy to store after
cleaning.

The wood strip that I left behind was first mounted on a wall that a
counter ended at. Then in the next apartment I had a wall oven, and its
side at the end of a counter also worked well for the longer strip.

>For the wall type, I've seen magnetic ones.

Yes. There are many around. Though as noted elsewhere in this thread, I do
think they have fallen in popularity, with the countertop blocks
increasing.

I don't want to give up counter space. Plus the block has the disadvantage
that you can't tell which knife is which. Some handles may be the same. In
what I'm seeking no problem identifying the knives.

[Don Wiss]

On Mon, 20 May 2013 13:54:55 -0400, willshak <will...@00hvc.rr.com> wrote:

>My Henckles knife set came with it's own counter top knife box similar
>to this one which is available without knives. $54.99

I'd call that a block and not a box.

>http://www.amazon.com/J-A-Henckels-10-Slot-Oak-Block/dp/B0001XAJ6G/ref=sr_1_27?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1369072304&sr=1-27
>or: http://preview.tinyurl.com/kc5eoqr

There are better ways to post an Amazon URL. First you can clip off
everything past the ASIN number. That gives you:

http://www.amazon.com/J-A-Henckels-10-Slot-Oak-Block/dp/B0001XAJ6G

Then if that is still too long, the description in the middle is simply
filler. You can reduce to:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001XAJ6G

And now as short as the tinyurl.

[tra...@optonline.net]

On May 20, 3:13 pm, Don Wiss <donwiss@no_spam.com> wrote:

> On Mon, 20 May 2013, "trad...@optonline.net" <trad...@optonline.net> wrote:
> >On May 20, 1:31 pm, Norminn <norm...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> >> Kitchens have changed....the wall-hanging gizmos are nice, but no room
> >> to slide the knife out if it is under a wall cupboard.
>
> >I think that is the essence of the problem.  In my kitchen, like
> >many, there are cabinets above the counter anywhere that
> >you could put a hanging type.
>
> In my kitchen the sink looks out a tall window. Many kitchens are designed
> this way. There is height to the ceiling when mounted on a cabinet
> alongside such a window. And being near the sink, easy to store after
> cleaning.
>

I have the same arrangement. But considering the height
where the bottom of the cabinet ends, the knife box would be kind
of high and not so convenient to get knives in and out, at least IMO.
It might work better for one of the magnetic strip holders,
but I still don't think that location is as easy as a traditional
wood block holder where the knives go in on an angle. I
have mine right next to the sink, at the back of the counter.
Works fine for me.

> The wood strip that I left behind was first mounted on a wall that a
> counter ended at. Then in the next apartment I had a wall oven, and its
> side at the end of a counter also worked well for the longer strip.
>
> >For the wall type, I've seen magnetic ones.
>
> Yes. There are many around. Though as noted elsewhere in this thread, I do
> think they have fallen in popularity, with the countertop blocks
> increasing.
>
> I don't want to give up counter space. Plus the block has the disadvantage
> that you can't tell which knife is which. Some handles may be the same. In
> what I'm seeking no problem identifying the knives.

Yes, it does let you see which knife is which. But I think
most people with blocks just have a system of which
knife goes where. That's how I keep them arranged.
The chefs knife is top left, next is a shorter chef type
chopping knife, then a longer thinner knife, etc ending
with a paring knife on the lower left. I always put them
back that way. On the right side, where I have the knives
I use a lot less, I sometimes do pull the wrong one when
I go looking for one.


>
> Don.www.donwiss.com(e-mail link at home page bottom).

[Jim Elbrecht]

On Mon, 20 May 2013 13:40:29 -0400, "Ralph Mowery"
<rmower...@earthlink.net> wrote:

-snip-

>
>The good cooks only use two knives. A big chef's knife for most work and a
>smaller paring knife.
>
>

That gets them through the prepping stage. How do they carve a
roast or slice soft bread?

I'll bet a 'good cook' will also have a cleaver and a frozen food
cutter.

Jim

[Jim Elbrecht]

On Mon, 20 May 2013 13:12:30 -0400, Don Wiss <donwiss@no_spam.com>
wrote:

>Why aren't people making knife boxes or knife strips any more? Knife blocks
>on the counter waste space. And the one I have allows the long knives to
>stick out at the bottom and hit the counter.
>
>I have dug up pictures of what a knife box looks like. And I found an old
>image of a knife strip. I will have one or the other custom made. But I
>would prefer to buy one off the self.
>
>More is described and shown on this page that I put up:
>
>http://donwiss.com/knifebox/

That would make a good project for a beginning woodworker. But I
think I'd design it to fit in a drawer on a hinge so you could lift
and slide the knives out. Use lexan to cover-- or life dangerously
without one.

In my kitchen the only place it could hang would be on the side of the
refrigerator---- which wouldn't be out of the question, actually. I
could use magnets or double-sided sticky things. . . . . Hmmm. .
. . I've never liked that knife block. .. . .

Jim

[Pete C.]

I'm a pretty good cook and I use three knives - 8" santoku type, 3"
paring and a long serrated. I do use an electric carving knife, but only
for BBQ brisket hot from the smoker where anything else will shred it
vs. slicing it.

[Pete C.]

Adapt the idea and embed the magnets into the side of an upper cabinet
so the knives can just stick on the side handles down...

[Frank]

On 5/20/2013 1:12 PM, Don Wiss wrote:

Nice DYI project I did several years ago:

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2v97zad&s=5
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=309ht9u&s=5

Cheap poplar board. Rough cut board to block size pieces and then cut
out openings for knives on one side of piece then epoxied pieces
together, planed and sanded down, stained and varnished. Only cost a
couple of dollars to make.

[gregz]

I mostly use one knife. I bought another used ebay magna wonder knife,
because I thought it was a good idea to stock up. Showing my sister the
knife, I cut myself. The serrations are large compared to the other over 50
years old. Of course, I don't know the age of my acquisition.

I gave my mothers old knife to my sister. I keep it in a flip open panel
right below and under the sink, where mostly it's a fixed panel in most
kitchens. I made that when installing new sink. Very handy.

Greg

[Don Wiss]

On Mon, 20 May 2013 23:53:05 +0000 (UTC), gregz <ze...@comcast.net> wrote:

>Ralph Mowery <rmower...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>> The good cooks only use two knives. A big chef's knife for most work and a
>> smaller paring knife.
>
>I mostly use one knife. I bought another used ebay magna wonder knife,
>because I thought it was a good idea to stock up.

But the real question is not how many knives one uses, but how many one
owns and has to store. Some may be special use, like for boning or
filleting. I once researched all types of knives and summarized them here:

http://paleofood.com/kitchen-equipment.htm#knives

And that doesn't include a bread knife.

[gregz]

I would be lost with all those, but I do have some odd looking knifes, many
junk.

Here is something like I made, except mine is all wood.

http://www.houzz.com/photos/1051714/Sink-Front-Storage-Tray-Kit--kitchen-products-detroit

And I guess this is new version of my knife.

http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=magna1

Greg