Organizing a Knife Collection
Kevin Felts 12.01.17
Some people may toss their knives in a dresser drawer, then dig through them when they need a certain knife. Others may have boxes filled with knifes.
For those of us who own a couple dozen knives, I want to talk about how I organize my knife collection.
Someone may ask, “Kevin, what kinds of knives are in your collection?” I am glad someone asked.
My knife collection is a mix of fixed-blade and folding knives, from a Cold Steel Recon Scout with a seven-inch blade, down to a Case Stockman with a two-and-a-quarter-inch blade. And it was a mess which needed better organization.
My fixed-blade knives were kept in various backpacks. When going on a hiking trip, I would grab a certain knife, throw it in my pack, go on the trip, get home, and leave the knife in the pack. Problem: I could not remember which knife was in which backpack.
My pocket knives were spread across the backpacks, and in a dresser drawer. Let’s say I was going on a hiking trip and wanted to bring my Swiss Army knife. I had to dig through all the packs to find it, or it may be in a drawer, or it may be on the computer desk.
What was the solution?
I went to a local Wal-Mart and got a couple of racks designed for deep freezers.
The racks measure:
- 16 inches long.
- 9 inches deep.
- 7 1/2 inches tall.
The racks are made from rubber-coated round steel bars. The coating helps protect my knives from getting scratched. There is just one problem: The racks have gap between the bars that allow small knives to fall through.
The solution was to take a cardboard box and cut it so the box fit inside the rack. This provided sides and a bottom to prevent small knives from falling between the bars.
Place the racks on a shelf in the closet. Small knives go in the rack with the cardboard, large knives go in the rack without the cardboard. The only knives that do not go in the racks are ones with assigned places, and my everyday carry. For example, each vehicle has a knife in the glove box. That knife stays with the vehicle and is never removed without being replaced. My three everyday carry knives stay on the computer desk.
When I need a knife for a certain application, I ask myself, “Do I need a folding knife or a fixed blade?” From there, it is a simple matter of selecting the size I need for the job.
So readers, how do you organize your knife collection?
