How do you display your knives?

[leadcounsel]

Like many of you I've got some knives and bayonets I like. It's a shame they are tucked away in a box to be forgotten. Going through this box, I forgot about some really cool knives I have.

I want to display them, but am frugal. I have perhaps 10 or 20 that would look cool on display, along with a PILE of pointy stick picker bayonets that could look cool handing on a wall or something.

I want the sheaths to stay with the knife but display the blades. I don't want to hunt through a box or worse lose the correct sheath (expensive to replace among other things).

Thinking of a nice pine or other board, vertically or diagonally or horizontally along the wall, knives in place with small brad nails or something, sheath perhaps behind or above or beneath (but that may look too cluttered).

Thoughts?

 

[Valkman]

The only thing I've ever found for smaller knives was a framed piece at a gun show that I put some Case knives in. A customer also sent me a real nice knife holder made of antler and a wood base, but I have nothing in it now.

I just have mine spread out everywhere. You're right, a nice display board would be neat. Maybe RC can chime in with an idea.

 

[rcmodel]

I bought a rotary Pantie Hose display stand fixture from a store that was being remodeled. (Eggs, or Leggs, I think?)

Steel pegboard hooks from a hardware store fit it perfectly.
But I got enough with the display stand to fill it more then full.

Think I gave $20 for it.
Takes up very little room in a corner, yet can be turned with one hand to see all sides.

Nothing good for pocket knives though.
They reside in a gun cabinet drawer where they are soon forgotten and lost in all the other junk!






rc

 

[Valkman]

That's pretty neat RC.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Dad got a glass top coffee table with a pull out display drawer . He got all of his blades in there.

 

[Valkman]

Now that's a great idea! If you had it made you could adjust the build for your collection size! Except if you have as many as RC, which I don't.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Order some rare earth magnets to mount the knives with. They're very powerful and your knives will be much better secured than they would on brads.

Plus you get the added benefit of blades on display without any visible mounting brackets around them.

 

[rcmodel]

And magnetized blades that pick up all the steel shavings when you sharpen them too!

Plus, I have a couple or three stainless, or anti-magnetic military blades that won't stick to a magnet.

rc

 

[hso]

IKEA has curio display glass top coffee tables.

Shadow boxes are pretty standard.

An acrylic display box with a doll stand is good for fixed blades.

Chief,

How you mounting the magnets so they'll hold even when you pull the knife free?

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

And magnetized blades that pick up all the steel shavings when you sharpen them too!

Plus, I have a couple or three stainless, or anti-magnetic military blades that won't stick to a magnet.

rc

True...however, this isn't a concern for a display. These aren't blades the user is talking about a utilitarian use for.

Besides, we're not talking about making these into strong permanent magnets. At best, they'll be mildly magnetic and any issues the user may have about steel shavings during and after sharpening are easily taken care of by a single wipe of the blade with a cloth.



And they can be easily degaussed, too, should the user be concerned with this at some later point.


And no, magnets won't work on Austenitic (300 series) CRES, which are non-ferromagnetic. Martensitic CRES (which is part of the 400 series CRES) is ferric, and thus magnetic.

Non-magnetic CRES would, of course, have to be mounted some other way, since magnets won't work on them. Unless, of course, you make a magnetic clamping bracket.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

IKEA has curio display glass top coffee tables.

Shadow boxes are pretty standard.

An acrylic display box with a doll stand is good for fixed blades.

Chief,

How you mounting the magnets so they'll hold even when you pull the knife free?

I made a cutlass display which used a nice oak plaque, routed around the edges with a decorative routing bit, and used clear acrylic posts set into the wood. The tops of the acrylic posts were drilled to match the size of the round magnetic disks, which were in turn epoxied into place.

The cutlass, when mounted on the posts, hid the posts from casual view; and from any side angle the clear acrylic didn't really stand out in any distracting way.

So the lines of the blade was completely free from any wire or any other type of bracket which may otherwise have been wrapped around an edge or over the top of the blade.

It also made it really easy to remove the cutlass for casual dusting/blade care for cleaning and preservation purposes. Pop it off, wipe it down, put it back, easy-peasy!

Oh...and do a little sanding to score the surface and edges of the magnets so the epoxy sticks to it better. And choose a magnet wisely...obviously choosing one that is exceedingly large/powerful for the purpose may result in the magnet pulling free of its epoxy mount when you pull the blade off.

 

[joneb]

So rc for those that think I have to many knives can I use your picture?

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Mine just kinda migrate about.

Almost on their own it would seem. Office, living room, sheds, shop, bedroom...

We and visitors pick them up and move them about in the course of conversations.

I like just having well made knives and bayonets floating about and have a very forebearing wife... Hell, she bought many of them for me as gifts.

Todd.

 

[SuperNaut]

I have some of mine in a wooden curio case that I got on closeout at a craft store, I have it mounted on the wall. I keep meaning to glue magnets to the back to keep the knives in place. Maybe this weekend...

 

[bikerdoc]

I only display one in a oak box with a plexyglass top I made. Keep it in the curio cabinet.

 

[Zeke/PA]

I got 'em stashed in several plastic boxes.
IMHO no display is necessary!

 

[hso]

I have 4 display methods.

Free standing knife stands allow them to sit horizontally on shelves.
Doll stands allow larger sheath knives to be displayed vertically on shelves.
Glass topped display cases allow the bigger pieces to be displayed (although the tops are covered in other "stuff").
"Map cabinet" type cabinet is lined in green felt and the drawers can be pulled out to display the contents.

 

[Vonderek]

This is a knife a close friend gave to me before he passed. I bought an 8" x 8" shadow box from Wal-Mart for $7.95 and fastened the knife to the backboard with two small black zip ties.

 

[Valkman]

Supernaut, I recognize one of those!

 

[SuperNaut]

Two of those are yours man!

The third knife of yours (bird & trout) I've roughed-out some purpleheart scales, but I haven't had time to finish. I keep going back and forth over whether I want liners or not...

 

[theotherwaldo]

I've got a black steel victorian umbrelle stand that is filled to overflowing with swords, sabers, machetes, long bayonets, and shorter pole arms. Looks like an advertisement for Game of Thrones.

Good quality long blades go on the wall racks, shorter blades go in a set of drawers in one of the tool cabinets.

 

[Valkman]

Now I see the top one! lol

 

[chameleonbear]

I display mine one at a time, on my hip. Otherwise they stay in a drawer (or rather 3 drawers) in my bedroom.

 

[hso]

Got too many for that and they're too pretty to be hidden from view.