Reddit mentions: The best knife cases, holders & protectors

Well, as for storage, you could always invest in a cheap knife case like this. Obviously not amazing quality or anything, but since it sounds like you just store most of your knives, it would be a way to keep them dust free and out of the way of the chilluns.

As for cleaning, I just try to pay attention to when it looks like the knife has been gathering too much dirt/dust/lint/etc. and then clean it out with a rag or cloth. If it's really dirty I'll tear it down, wipe down all the pieces, oil the metal parts, and then reassemble, but honestly that doesn't have to happen that often when you can just use a rag to wipe in the crevices.

I like to use mineral oil for my knives, which so far has done a great job of keeping them rust free. However it sounds like you already oil, and honestly just cleaning your knives after use like you said you also do should do the trick, so other than that just pay attention to how you use it and wipe it down afterwards and you should be good.

Holy ____.

It's your money, but I wouldn't spend over $100 on a knife roll. Knife rolls are pretty straightforward things. I have one fairly similar to this and it works just fine for me. If your son is the chef as opposed to a cook - I presume he's not, because you said graduation gift - a $100+ knife roll would run the risk of getting stolen. Even if it isn't stolen, a knife roll is a functional product and there is very little return to the additional $$.

Much more useful would be a couple great cookbooks, or a couple great sharpening stones if he doesn't have them yet, or . . . well, not knowing your son, hard to say. Difficult to recommend a good knife without knowing what he has / likes.

Honestly, depending on the person, the job, and how much stuff they actually carry back and forth with them, knife rolls can be very personal things to shop for. You may find a nice roll that holds 12 knives, then they may end up taking a lot of smaller tools that don't fit in the knife spots. You may find a roll that has a zippered area for smaller tools, only to discover that they only take 6 knives and a peeler to work with them, and have no need for a zippered pouch.

You could go with an ultra-basic model, and it could be fine; it's utilitarian, and gets the job done. In my school, most people ended up going with a bag like this, because it had a pocketed area for smaller tools like thermometers, pens, bandaids, and other things. I still have mine somewhere in the basement, and it's a good bag. Personally, I usually take a lot of stuff to work with me, and I wanted a larger bag to be able to hold everything, so I started looking at bags like this, which are massive, and have 4 areas to hold all sorts of things. A week after I started looking at them online, I actually got lucky enough to find one in a thrift store for $3, so I couldn't pass that up.

For myself, because the tools I take to work varies, based on the menu cycle we may be in, or the work I expect to possibly need to do, and because some of the things I take a little too bulky for a regular knife roll, I prefer not to use an actual knife roll. I've switched over to using something like a small duffle bag, and it works just fine for me.

What I might suggest is to see if you have a restaurant supply store near you, or some place that sells cutlery that has a large selection of chef's knives, because those places might have knife rolls. If it's possible that you find a local place that has a few different types/styles of knife rolls, maybe you could take him there, and ask him to pick his own knife roll, since he knows what he would plan to put in it.

Any of the ones that I've linked to would be a half way decent starter knife pouch (except for maybe the huge one), and over time, he'll most likely upgrade to something else.

Something else that you might want to seriously consider, if he doesn't already have something like this, is maybe getting him a set of blade guards to go with the knife bag. It'll help protect the knife edges, and his fingers, while they're still in the bag.

Whatever you settle on, good luck.

I personally love my Macs, ive got an 8 year old 8 inch thats been my daily workhorse for the past 4 years, and a 7 1/4in that i picked up for $60 to replace it. I prefer the smaller knife for precision work, and the handling on it is spectacular in my opinion. Well worth the money, i think. I have a Shun elite 8in, and i find that the weight of it can get fairly annoying after a while, which is why i love the light weight of my Macs.
As for the filet knife, ive had both the victorinox and the henkels equivalent (yellow handled one), and found that after a few butchery jobs, the blades really went out quickly. I ended getting a global after using a co workers for a while, and have been really impressed with how well it handles, as well as how long it holds an edge for. I picked up the 6 1/4 inch flexible for about $70, and its been great.
For sharpening stones, id start out with a Messermeister 400/1000 double sided stone. At $20, it fits the budget for a first stone, and its what i teach a lot of my cooks on.
As for a knife roll, Messermeister is definitely a good brand to go with, but id reccomend getting more than 5 pockets. When i was starting out, i grabbed a 8 pocket shun bag because it was the only one the shop had at the time, and i was amazed at how fast i was able to fill it up. I keep more than knives in the pockets; microplane, peeler, thermopen, steel, oyster knife, etc. Just something to consider.
Here are the links to my reccomendations, if you feel like checking them out:
Mac 7 1/4in
http://www.amazon.com/Mac-Knife-Series-Chefs-4-Inch/dp/B000N5BUWY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405661045&sr=8-1&keywords=mac+knife
Global Filet 6 1/4in
http://www.amazon.com/Global-G-21-Flexible-Boning-Knife/dp/B00005OL41/ref=pd_sim_k_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0XMAX8VN0AQVN18NZWYB
Messermeister Stone:
http://www.amazon.com/Messermeister-Two-Sided-Sharpening-Stone-1000/dp/B003JV3TEQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1405660753&sr=1-1&keywords=messermeister+sharpening+stone
No name 13 pocket bag:
http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Hard-Tri-Fold-Knife-Bag/dp/B004BN1C5E/ref=lp_13840871_1_20?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1405660955&sr=1-20

All in, thatll set you back about $190, which isnt too bad for what i think are the beginnings of a good kit.

They are good knives. OP, this might help you to get to know the difference between stamped knives and forged knives. Stamped are always cheaper. Fibrox like many other low end chef knives are stamped.

link

The Fibrox knives are great and a strong benefit of them is that they are lightweight which is helpful when cutting for long periods of time. They are what I use at home and they hold an edge for awhile if you aren't using them every day. The ones we used in a professional kitchen get dull pretty quickly if used constantly.

Also for anyone who gets these knives I highly recommend this case as the blade is well protected and the knife will stay razor sharp and not get damaged. Also you can throw the knife in a drawer without worrying about cutting yourself when digging through the drawer.

The Morakniv is fine, but what are the chances that in a year from now, the sheaths are all gone and you're carrying the knives loose in tupperware?

You should look at getting a knife roll; good leather ones are a bit expensive, but you can find some cheaper nylon ones like this

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MSFTWQ7

You can buy plastic edge guards to protect the blades, which will also get lost and need to be replaced... or you can just use some manila envelopes folded over and taped to make a sleeve.

Good knives are an investment, even good cheap knives... it's certainly worth buying something to keep them organized and protected.

i love my backpack! that said, i got through culinary school on something like this, and once i started to expand my kit a bit, i got one of these, which i also love. the second is a bit bulky, though. best for carrying everything you need, like if you're doing some offsite catering or something like that.

edit: my backpack is what i use everyday now, though.

A good fillet knife is a pretty solid gift. He undoubtedly already has one, but with two he can switch knives when one gets dull. I'd recommend the Cutco Fisherman's Solution as it is the best, but unfortunately it's out of your price range at $90.

So some other options follow:

• [Buck Silver Creek Folding Fillet Knife] (http://www.amazon.com/Buck-Silver-Folding-Fillet-4-Inch/dp/B00389TOWK/ref=sr_1_6?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1417483864&sr=1-6&keywords=fillet+knife) He probably doesn't have a folding fillet knife and a folder is nice to have because it's more handy to carry.
  
  
• [SK-130 Fishing Knife Kit] (http://www.amazon.com/Sarge-Knives-SK-130-Serrated-Sharpener/dp/B003BR17HE/ref=sr_1_8?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1417483864&sr=1-8&keywords=fillet+knife) Cheap knives but it's a whole set with a carrying case and cutting board.
  
  
• [Buck Silver Creek Large Fixed Blade] (http://www.amazon.com/Buck-0225BLS-Silver-Creek-Stainless/dp/B001DBBE5A/ref=sr_1_15?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1417483864&sr=1-15&keywords=fillet+knife) It's a big knife, guaranteed forever.
  
  You get the idea, a good fillet knife is a decent gift for fishermen.

I can't tell if you cut the wrong way across the grain or not but you definitely need to up your knife game. That frozen fish knife you're using will hack the meat to shreds no matter which way the grain is running.

I highly recommend this Victorinox 12-Inch Granton Edge Slicing Knife for carving up your finished BBQ, one long cut instead of back and forth makes for beautiful slices. And if you get it be sure to get an edge guard like this too, this knife is wicked sharp and you'll want to protect it when not in use. I have one and trimmed the end of the guard at an angle so it fits the knife perfectly.

Regardless of the cuts the brisket looks like it turned out great!

Thanks again for all your help, everyone. I talked with her some more and she mentioned that she's actually much more comfortable with santoku knives than chef's knives (and neither of us are professional cooks so the possible slight loss of versatility shouldn't be too much a problem), so I ended up going with this Victorinox santoku, blade guard, and a Wusthof paring knife. Aaaaand looking at the order I realized I forgot to get a sharpener god damn it. Although some people have been saying sharpener bad, honer good. So, for someone who enjoys cooking but is an absurdly busy grad student, who likes caring for materials to be simple as possible, is there any consensus on what the best intersection is between quality, cost, and simplicity?

> i know that i could possibly just take any ol chef knife from home and pack it safely, but im thinking of like some sort of all purpose pocket knife or something along those lines.

Could you speak a bit more about a couple things? 1) What sounds appealing about a pocket knife version? 2) What sounds unappealing about carrying around a chef knife from home?

Does a chef knife from home seem too big? Do not want to pack your more expensive knives? Are you afraid of your packing failing and cutting things up in your bag? Does a folding knife just appeal to you? Or a smaller packable knife?

And in general, suggesting a knife is still wrought with personal preferences. Do you know how to sharpen? Do you like harder steels? What handle shapes do you like?

When I was stuck in a hotel for a couple months, I really appreciated bringing my 8 in chef knife. I packed it in a knife guard that clip around it. I've travelled tons and those cases have served me well.

For me, I wouldn't like using a folding knife for any extended period of time bc they would necessarily be back heavy and they tend to use meh steels (or super expensive otherwise).

So, tell me more about what you want/need.

If he like CS;GO, could definitely use some smack talking headphones with a speaker. If he's an apprentice chef, he is speaking a lot of time on his feet, some nice insoles might also be very nice. If he is working in a nice place, we is also going to need, (even if he doesn't realize it yet) a nice set of knives. These of course you can't afford, however, a nice knives travel case or sharpener might both be within your allowance.

I think that would be a great set. Just, I would trade out that sharpening steel with this.

Also, your bread knife, doesn't matter what brand really, it is just a bread knife. I would go with something that will fit the look of what you are already getting, but that is just my own opinion.

Also, add a few plastic blade sleeves. If you do not plan on having your blades out in the open, it will allow you to store it in a drawer without damaging the blade. It will also make it easier if you ever move, since you can just put the knife in the plastic sleeve, and not worry about it getting damaged, or flying loose. This is the one that I have, and it works really well.

I would also add a slicer knife, if you think you will use it, like this. It is amazing for slicing steak, chicken, brisket, ribs, and so on. I use my chef's knife to do it, but if you have a chance to get a knife that you can use JUST for that, go for it. Slicing cooked protein will dull a knife faster than cutting raw protein(in most cases.)

I would say get a petty knife, then get either a smaller paring knife or a larger utility knife depending on your needs. This is a good European value option, or you could get a Tojiro DP 5" petty if you want to try a more expensive Japanese knife. You can also get a 5" Victorinox if you want matching knives.

Depending on how bad your hand-me-downs are, you may want a good quality serrated bread knife.

As for storage, wall-mounted magnetic strips are great. Really, really great. Other options are a universal knife block (make sure that the rods holding the knives can be removed for washing), using blade guards or putting a knife organizer in one of your drawers.

Not really dumb. I see a lot of super aesthetic leather sheaths and all this showy stuff and I ask myself the same questions about the choice from a practically perspective. I also wear mine scout style specifically when wearing just a backpack, like you mentioned.

Anyway, to answer your question: There is a retention strap that goes from the back of the sheath over the guard and across the front and has a snap button, at least on my kydex sheaths. There is also another one closer to the hilt that keeps it from moving away from your body. That is specific to my mini KABAR style knife, as I'm not a fan of big knives. I keep another 2.5 inch fixed blade (about 5 inch oal) on my left side next to my multi tool. Again, it's really only for when carrying a backpack or just a belt loadout. A lot of times, at least from a tactical perspective I have a riggers overbelt and a plate carrier so scout doesn't work.

Each setup really is objective oriented and depends on what you're doing, as they all have pros/cons. If you're thinking it may work for you, tie some cordage around it to create belt loops and wear it for awhile, see if it works.

For reference with overstrap and ability to use cordage to try it:

https://www.amazon.com/Kydex-Sheath-For-Short-Ka-Bars/dp/B000UPWYMM/ref=pd_bxgy_200_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=B7CKW9YB3XWZS06SK5S5

Stay safe!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001BR77CA/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1479446072&sr=8-2&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=ultimate+edge+knife+bag&dpPl=1&dpID=41YnlR1qMUL&ref=plSrch

I use this bag in orange. Plenty of room to hold all my knives and miscellaneous tools (mandolin, spoons, tweezers, peelers, scissors, etc.) I've had it for two years and still looks great. The orange makes it stand out from all the black knife rolls and fits easily on any shelf. While I love the look of leather, I like being able to have all my tools with me where ever I am.

See my other posts in this thread, but to sum it up: Shun knives are considered a joke by serious cooks.

The 600$ Shun is trying to charge students for that selection of knives is a rip off. No one needs more than 2-3 knives for at least the first couple years of their career, which will be spent doing basic prep and line cooking. You won’t be doing any butchering or specialized work till further on anyways.

And when you do, do your research and buy them piece by piece. At that point you’ll be working with and learning from more experienced chefs who will be more than happy to point you in the right direction.

Here’s a suggestion to get you started:

8” Chefs knife

Paring knife

Bread knife

Ceramic Honing Rod

knife roll

peeler

All of this can be had for around a 1/3 of the price Shun charging and I guarantee you these tools will serve you way better.

Messermeister makes the cheapest small roll I would trust. For the next step up Boldric makes a canvas roll I would expect to be more durable. I would shop around for that one, you might find it cheaper elsewhere.

Your upper range is pretty high, so you should have high expectations. Partially or fully custom made, lined leather or waxed canvas with copper or brass hardware, the works. JAW makes a small roll in either black or brown that is probably comparable to the best out there. Otherwise you might try to contact a leatherworker.

Alright, how about a kitchen knife with a case. It makes for a portable cooking knife that you can take camping or wherever. I love to cook and this has definitely increased my enjoyment of cooking. Add a solid oak cutting board (just have your local lumber supply cut and sand a chunk of oak for you) and you're golden.

They're awesome, you can get a BladeSafe, if you're going to be keeping it anywhere other than a magnetic strip it's a good idea to protect the edge.

You can attach it to the wall if you want. I wanted something a little more mobile. Its really sturdy so I would say, since you are renting, don't attach it to the wall.

The knife holder was the most exciting new addition to my apartment! The thing is awesome! Here's the link

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006IVY7E/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i01

A plastic knife guard works well for me. Bought a great quality chef knife a year or so ago and this helps it live safely and undamaged in the drawer.

This is the one I have: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005P0OSTO/

Chef knife bags are easy to find...multi-pocket is also nice for more than just knives. The related items will give you more options. IMO always good to use edge guards for your knives I don't know where you will would find travelling cookware or bags that are not specific to camping or would be for slow cooker/dutch ovens. I know Lodge makes a bag for their dutch oven..but that is about it.

I don't use this brand, but they are all pretty similar. My local knife shop sells "Dexter" branded guards in various sizes from $2-$4. You can get a set or individually if you would like:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074QWXDML/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_s3PyDb4EZ660E

Get a blade safe, they are only like $7 and gives you the security of being able to carry it in a pocket without fear of imminent castration.

https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-47302-Cutlery-BladeSafe-6-Inch/dp/B0000CFBB6

I use this one. I've had it going on 8 years now and its held up amazingly well. Definitely worth the price.

Also they have a newer model that has a few extra pockets on the outside for little nick nacks.

Is it bad in any other way than if you remover/replace the knives incorrectly? I'd been told that as long at you start with the back of the knife and roll forward to replace (and roll out to the spine to remove) it's ok. Are there other dangers? Or is it still bad for them with the way I described? I'm not slamming them up or anything, very gentle... but I bought my first two nice knives and want to take care of them... I'm using this type of holder. Is this wrong?

I assume your link was meant to go here: https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Forschner-BladeSafe-8-Inch-10-InchKnife/dp/B000MF47B6

Even if you got a knife roll, you probably still want to have something covering your knife and that sheath is going to fit well. It's also only like $7.

I would include your price range. How many knives you own. What the length of your largest knife is. Do you own all one type of knife, like Shun? William Sonoma is a good place to check out too.

I decided that I'd procrastinated long enough and finally took the plunge and bought a decent chef's knife. First impressions are WOW... this thing is an absolute pleasure to cut with. But now I need to get a decent cutting board, wood preferably, one that will be kind to my new knife.

Edit, as a summation from all the advice here, and my size needs, I decided on this Ironwood Gourmet Acacia Wood Square End Grain Chef's Board. My kitchen is very tiny, or I would have gotten the larger one.

In accordance with NotYourMothersDildo's suggestions I'm also getting one of these J.A. Henckels Twin Four Star 10-Inch Honing Steel

As for a place to put them, I'm grabbing one of these MIU 3527 15-Inch Stainless-Steel Magnetic Knife Bar Holder and just because I need a paring knife too, I'm getting one of these Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Four Star 4-Inch High-Carbon Stainless-Steel Paring Knives

Thank you all for your advice :-) I'll wait another hour or two incase I get better suggestions, but these are all the items in my cart at the moment....well not 'all' but the ones pertaining to this thread.

I have this one. It fits in my backpack pretty well. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZVL8P0?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00

You don't need anything super expensive, just something made with decent steel that will hold an edge. Maybe 30 bucks tops. Get a knife case like this to protect the edge. If you are using a whetstone you can sharpen your knife down to a narrow angle that will require less in between sharpening (Japanese style). A wider angled edge can just be kept with a honing steel between uses.

I used to have a wusthof bag like this and I think it would have lasted me much longer if I hadn't abused the HELL out of it. I Currently have a bag really too big than what I need but it was on sale. I am looking at this right now as it came recommended.

I also have a Henckles Classic and it fits this guard perfectly. No scuffing at all.

Personally I am a fond of the classic and have always used Messermeister Padded Knife Roll.

I like this roll a lot - I have three of them currently, one for the day job, one for catering prep and one for catering events. Very good build quality, decent pocket for tools and will actually hold 8 knives. I've a few other bags but these are the ones I use the most.

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Edge-2001-8BN-8-Piece-Knife/dp/B0001KOBUE/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1510078757&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=the+ultimate+edge+2001-8bn&psc=1

Ultimate Edge also makes a larger, $100ish bag that will hold everything but the kitchen sink I prefer going small.

United Cutlery UC1338 Pocket Knife Storage Case, Large https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CZBFHE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_OktjDb1TYMY6H

It’s actually a knife case I bought and I just use it for my tools. Here’s the link to it

United Cutlery UC1338 Pocket Knife Storage Case, Large https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CZBFHE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_4e92CbJ37ZNDV

Sounds like a vnox fibrox is for you. You could get both the 8" and 10" and knife cases around your budget. That leaves you room to get a whetstone if you don't already have it.

case:
https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Forschner-BladeSafe-8-Inch-10-InchKnife/dp/B000MF47B6

Something like this https://www.amazon.com/Shun-Knife-Roll-8-Slot/dp/B00457KAA4 is what chefs do use.

But adapt it to your other kinks. PM me

Dont get one that closes with velcro straps, it makes it really hard to get weird shaped thing in the bag and close it. Straps are only long enough to go around a few knives laying flat ontop of each other. I used this bag. Inside I had everything, even this scale, plus my shirt and apron rolled up in the middle, butane torch, sometimes my mandolin, and any other odd thing.. I used a carabiner to hook the two hand loops together worked better than the velcro. Now working as a butcher i just throw my scabbard into my chrome messenger bag and call it a day. So glad i dont need all that shit anymore.

For camping/fishing, what about fishing knives, this fish finder, or any yeti product?

For aviation, what about aviation themed whisky glasses, a model aircraft or drone, replica propellor, or a flight simulator.

There are also a lot of cool aviation themed lamps 1, 2, 3, 4

That's where I'm leaning so far. Unless my parents have extra knives sitting in the basement that they want to get rid of, I'll probably end up getting this, this, this, this, this, and a couple of these.

http://www.amazon.com/Messermeister-8-Pocket-Padded-Knife-Black/dp/B00AZVL4RM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449608518&sr=8-1&keywords=messermeister+knife+roll

I use one of these. Fits everything, been through some shit in the last 2 years and has held up nicely. Should fit in a backback, and if not comes with a handy shoulder strap.

https://www.amazon.com/Messermeister-8-Pocket-Padded-Knife-Black/dp/B00AZVL4RM?ref_=bl_dp_s_web_2596458011 For the money it is not a bad roll.

I keep my EDCs in a bin or next to my other EDC items on a shelf. For my "nice" knives I use this: http://www.amazon.com/United-Cutlery-Large-Pocket-Storage/dp/B001CZBFHE/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1380984227&sr=8-5&keywords=knife+storage

I found them on amazon...super cheap:
https://www.amazon.com/United-Cutlery-UC1338-Pocket-Storage/dp/B001CZBFHE/ref=lp_13840871_1_20?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1496250965&sr=1-20

Here

I just ordered a second one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0000CFBB6?th=1&psc=1

Hows this one? anyone know? https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Cutlery-BladeSafe-8-Inch-10-Inch/dp/B000MF47B6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1484363561&sr=8-6&keywords=knife+guard

When I gifted a chefs knife to my wifes mother, we didn't know where they would keep it, so we also gave her this

This is a very cheap and convenient design too It all depends on how portable you need though.

https://www.amazon.com/United-Cutlery-UC1338-Pocket-Storage/dp/B001CZBFHE/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1466501653&sr=1-1&keywords=United+Cutlery+UC1338+Pocket+Knife+Storage+Case%2C+Large yoooooooooo

They make bags for knife sets too

Yet another +1 for this knife, and definitely listen to /u/Butthole__Pleasures - these knives are ludicrously sharp. You will cut yourself straight to the bone if you aren't careful. I suggest getting a blade protector so you can keep it sharp.

Key things:

• don't use a glass cutting board
  
• don't scrape the blade sideways across the cutting board to move whatever you were cutting
  
• don't let it scrape around against things - other silverware in the drawer (hence the blade protector), laying around in the sink, etc.
  
• don't try sawing through bones with it
  
• when you're done, wash/dry it right away and put it in the protector - don't put it in the dishwasher.
  
  I've had this knife for about 4 years and it's still ridiculously sharp, the only thing I've used is the little ceramic rabbit ear things.

All is not lost. When I lived in a tiny apartment and legitimately couldn't fit a knife block and a cutting board on my counter at the same time, I got a few of these snap-on edge guards to protect my knives while they lived in a drawer. It's not pretty or elegant, but it gets the job done and you aren't reduced to sawing helplessly at food with useless knives.