Introduction: Wall Mounted Magnetic Knife Block
My girlfriend is always leaving knives around on the counter. I have a habbit of finding accidents waiting to happen. I thought I'd do us both a favour and build a knife block before the xmas turkey needs carving, something that was going to be well easy to use and not take up any space on our limited counter top.
wall screws | Magnets from old harddrives | piece of wood | knives = wall mounted magentic knife block
Step 1: Behind the Magic
Open up some old harddrives, you'll need the pair of magnets from each drive for every 1.5" of knife block. Dispose of harddrive wastage responsibly.
Mortice out the back of the knife block, to 1/4" from the block face.
I hung it with 2 screws, the screw head hooks were washers till I went at them with a hacksaw. Glue in place. Tip: use a sheet of paper against the back of the block and mark where the screws need to go, then place the paper against the wall and use a level for once.
Do not put up in an earthquake prone area, keep out of the reach of children, etc etc.
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80 Comments
9 years ago on Introduction
Not sure if anyone's interested, but I've been doing this with hardwoods, particularly exotic hardwoods, and rare earth magnets (haven't been using hdd magnets). For those that are interested I have a post on it on my blog:
http://warriorwoodwork.blogspot.com/2013/05/magnetic-knife-strips.html
fyi: I found that the wood that remains in front of the magnet significantly lessens it's pull strength. I've been using 50 lb pull - rated magnets for my knife strips and am confident that will hold just about any knife.
14 years ago on Step 1
this is a cool project, thanks for posting it. getting the magnets out of the hard drives is tricky business though. as i've always loved to destroy things, cracking open a HD was pretty tough. the drive i opened up had torque screws (star-shaped), so you'll need a torque screwdriver to do it cleanly. miraculously, i had one, but it was too large for the screwheads. (i had a T10, and it looks like you'll need a T8 or T6 if there's such an animal). so with a hammer, a strong flathead, a crowbar and a good pair of pliers, I got to the magnets. and man they are strong. now i need to find some more hard drives. good luck.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Wouldn't it have been easier to make a trip to any hardware store and buy the correct torque driver? Any hardware store worth it's salt is going to have these. For the sake of safety, I would not recommend that anyone use a hammer, flathead, crowbar, and pair of pliers to disassemble an old hard drive. The chance of getting injured is too high and a trip to the hospital is just not going to be worth it.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Ridiculous. Why spend the money if you can do it with what you have? Most readers of this site can use a screwdriver or hammer without personal injury! If reassembly is not necessary, there is no need to buy a #4 Torx for disassembly. Get out the hammer and tongs and have some fun! Good project.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Since when is personal safety considered ridiculous? The very notion of blowing off the safety concern while working on any project would be ridiculous. There are just as many young readers of this site as their are old tinkering sorts. The cost of that #4 Torx driver is much less than the cost of an eye or a trip to the hospital for stitches. My theory is that if you need a tool (especially one as inexpensive as a Torx driver set) for one project, you are likely going to need that same tool for another project in the near future. If not, consider borrowing one from a friend or relative. It's just common sense. Safety should always be in the forefront of any project. You shouldn't assume anything about the readers of this site. If most were honest, I'd bet the stories of getting injured while not using the right tool for the right job would never end.
Reply 10 years ago on Introduction
I agree with Geek Tinker,
5-10 years ago i had no problems with drilling / bashing / warping my way into a hdd just to take it apart, they were entirely metal then, and the metal platters made nice windchimes, nowadays your looking at glass platters etc, you bash your way into one of those and your looking to be rubbing out glass dust of your eyes for weeks once you crack it open. (over dramatization but you should get my point)
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
If you're not saving the screws then just drilling out the heads will usually take them out cleanly and without 'special' tools. but I think we all like collecting tools...
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
Personal safety is important, but it's common sense not to be obsessed with safety. I'd smash a hammer in an old monitor any day, just for fun!
15 years ago on Step 1
I am looking at making a knife block for my GCSE rm project. I was wondering where did you get the magnets from even though my idea is a free standing unit it could still be an interesting way to secure the knives Sam
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Hobby shops carry rare earth magnets.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
I was thinking the same thing. I like how strong the rare earth magnets are. You have to be careful though, they are a little fragile.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
thay are hard drive magnets take any old hdd apart you should get 2 out of one hdd
12 years ago on Introduction
Great project! It might not be as environmentally friendly, but one of these would be awesome using electromagnets instead of hard-drive magnets! Not only could you incorporate a handy push-button release for each knife, but it would add spice to every power cut! 8-)
12 years ago on Introduction
Hi, I've been wanting to make one of these for some time, had a roommate once who had one over the stove and I thought it was very, very useful. I have obtained an oak stave (from a wine cask) for the purpose, and using your serious magnet idea is perfect, as I should have ready access to several of them and it solves the curvature problem (wasn't sure how I would do it with a curved surface and a straight strip of magnet, which is what her design looked like). SUPER! Thanks for the tip, I will try it out, it's on my list of spiffy improvements for my kitchen (and then I can get rid of that ugly, chunky knife block with the big footprint). BTW, I have nice German knives - and so did my roommate - and we never ran into a problem with metal shavings, etc. Lisa
12 years ago on Introduction
Quick and neat project. I will be doing this when I get some ambition. I have piles of hard drive magnets. One little nit-pick though. Is the middle set of magnets on backwards?
12 years ago on Introduction
does San Diego count as an earthquake prone area? :D
12 years ago on Introduction
this is a great use of materials. I'll have to try making one. thanks for the instructions.
12 years ago on Introduction
Nice instructable ! Here is the one I've made with my step father (he did most of the wood working). I used 40 1/2"x1/8 neodymium disk magnet. We did 20 holes and use 2 magnet in each + a metal washer (supposed to add some magnetic strength) This is "Birdseye" maple (if that make sense... we call this "Érable piqué" in French) It hold quite well, but I wouldn't put my knife blade side up as it would need a bit more strength, the magnet aren't strong enough. If I was to do this again, I would use 1/4 tick (or more) magnet.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
it looks dangeous heh
12 years ago on Introduction
Fantastic. I have the kind you buy but I have to be so careful to place them without hitting the blade against the metal magnetic strips, I am going to put a thin piece of wood over mine to protect the blades - thanks to your idea!