10 Ways to Store or Display Your Knife Collection

If you’re a knife collector like me then you know the importance of knife storage. My knives are considered invaluable to me, and for most collectors, they hold a certain sentimental value, so it only makes sense to store them properly and preserve their beauty and longevity for generations to come.

Keeping them sharp, oiled, dry and out of the sun is key to ensuring they stay rust free and last forever, but how you store them can also be crucial. Throwing your knives in a drawer and letting them get beat up is a bad way to go.

Here are some different ways to store your extensive knife collection:

1. Knife Bag

The knife bag is a great option for folders, especially if you like carrying your knives from time to time. Brands like Zero Tolerance, Benchmade, and Case all have great storage bags for knives that come in an array of sizes.

Bags can be made from top grain leather, vinyl, canvas, and heavy-duty polyester with insides that include felt, thick foam padding, and soft cloth material for scratch-free storage. Most come with adjustable shoulder straps for easy carry and zippered or Velcro closures for safe keeping.

My Pick: The Spyderco SpyderPac large bag is a hard-to-beat proven seller. Made of black heavy duty polyester denier with large clear individual viewing pockets. This is a great solution for outdoorsmen who like to not only transport their folders but store and display them as well. Choose between the small or large version.

• Small measures 16″x18″ holds 18 folders with a MSRP $39.95
• Large measures 25″x8″ holds 32 folding knives MSRP of $49.95

2. Protector Cases

Protector cases — like those used for guns — are a surprisingly effective method for storing knives. Well, maybe not that surprising since they’re designed to hold guns and other gear, but the cases that feature egg crate material hold knives in place extremely well. On top of that, many of these cases lock, so you don’t have to worry about little ones with candied fingers getting in.

As a bonus, you can add lighting to get that glow seen in the famous Pulp Fiction briefcase.

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My Pick: Pelican makes some darn good cases for guns and other equipment. The gun cases will work fine, but the Pelican 1300 Small Case can be altered to put a fair amount of pocket knives. If I’m not mistaken, that Pelican case is commonly used for cameras.

3. Knife Roll

The knife roll is a convenient way of storing knives in a rolled up bundle to save space and still effectively keep your collection out of harms way.

Most rolls consist of a soft interior lining made from felt, cloth or a soft fabric that ensures a harm-free environment. Exteriors can be made from PVC, leather, vinyl, canvas, or heavy-duty polyester.

My Pick: The 50 piece knife roll from United Cutlery is a top seller in knife storage. With a red velvet felt interior and a PVC exterior you know you can securely carry your knives anywhere with ease. This allows me to carry my tactical folding knife collection worry free. It holds 50 or more knives secured with individual elastic straps.

4. Knife Case

Knife cases can be similar to knife rolls, except they don’t necessarily roll up — think more like a briefcase.

These can be pretty popular with chefs who take their knives on the road a lot.

My Pick: The storage case I’m most fond of is from United Cutlery. This one is very similar to the United Cutlery roll I highlighted above, but this one folds up into a briefcase style. It can fit about 40 knives of different styles and sizes, and the knives pop against the red felt interior. The fact that this will only set you back about $25 is even better.

5. Knife Display Case

For those who simply like to leave their collection at home and never move them, perhaps a nice display case for your knives is in order. There are a ton of options when it comes to picking a case but first you need to determine how large a case you will need. Do you need a locking style case to keep out of children’s hands?

If you are looking for a small display case, you can opt for a nice walnut wood case with a glass top for not only storage and visibility but also a touch of class and decor for presentation purposes.

My Pick: I prefer the Queen Cutlery Schatt & Morgan knife case, a beautifully hand crafted walnut enclosed case with engraved glass and foam interior for safely storing your collection. It’s all about presentation and with this knife case display, you’re sure to garner some looks. I’m entirely sure if they make this any more, so it may be hard to find.

You can probably find similar display cases by doing a search on your favorite search engine (just not Google). There are some Case displays on resellers sites as well.

6. Tool Cabinet

Another popular option for knife storage is inside a tool cabinet. Milwaukee, Craftsman, Husky, and Stanley are just a few companies that make knife cabinets. There are a few downsides to this. First, they can be very expensive. Second, they may be a bit too large, but you could use the extra space for storing other tools.

You can also find some pretty excellent tool storage cabinets that aren’t just the typical metal variety. For example, if you have the dough and really love your knives, you can get something from Gerstner & Sons.

My Pick: Craftsman 6 Drawer Heavy Duty Tool Chest. This is the top portion of a rolling tool set and functions very well for knives, since it’s smaller. It’s a bit pricey, but it’s well made and comes with keys to keep it locked.

7. Safe

It depends on how many knives you have, what the value of your knives are, and other factors, but a safe may also be a good place to store knives. The benefits of a safe is that it not only keeps your items protected from criminals and your family, but it can also save your stuff in the event of a fire.

Some safes even have climate control settings to keep your gear in near mint condition.

I don’t have a recommendation for you because this isn’t my wheelhouse. I know Liberty makes some of the best gun safes and those can also be used for knives.

8. Stackable Plastic Drawers

This is another popular storage method because it’s easy and cheap. These plastic drawers won’t do much to protect your knives or keep them concealed, but they do provide a quick way to access and store knives (and other items).

I won’t point to a specific place, but you can find them at most big box stores or online. You can also add some things that’ll make it just a little bit better, including non-slip pads.

9. Magnetic Knife Strips

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I would say this is less common for collections and more common with kitchen knives. A magnetic knife strip is a long rectangular piece of metal magnetized to hold knives. Like I said, it’s a common method of storing kitchen knives instead of a drawer or knife block (which can be hard to clean).

One of the issues is that the strips are usually on the smaller side, so those with larger collections would need a fair amount (though it’s easy to buy several and put them side by side). It also requires the knives to be open, and knives with exotic materials like ceramic and titanium are a no-go.

Magnetic strips do have some advantages though. You can display them pretty nicely and have easy access to them. If you EDC a different knife every day, this could be more convenient.

My Pick: The Norpro Hardwood Magnetic Bar is a good choice with a strong magnet. The hardwood touches add a nice look to the setup.

10. Go Handmade

For those who want something a little more special, there’s always the handmade option. If you’re gifted enough to do it yourself, then I have nothing but respect for you. But, if you’re like me and can barely make a house out of LEGO bricks, there’s nothing wrong with commissioning someone else.

If you look around the web, you can find some cool displays made by creative people. Here are just a handful from around the Internet:

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