Anyone using a slot in your countertop for knives?
I'm installing my butcher block countertops this weekend, and I'm contemplating cutting a long, thin slot in one end, near the wall, to hold my knives. It'd be well out of the path of any drawers or open cabinet compartments.
I have friends with this setup, and they say they like it -- but they aren't really cooks.
The only downside I can see is that I can envision the possibility of bending the knife by accident, and the blades may occasionally knock into one another.
Any other pitfalls I should be aware of?
dmd_kc
Nov 02, 2009 06:53PM
No direct experience, but I'd be concerned about spills. Just imagine some spilled milk pouring into the slot. Cleanup could be a real pain.
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dmd kc,
Do you mean a build-in knife block inserted in your countertop? Will these slots be going top-to-down or side-to-side? I assume it will be a top-to-down setup.
These are some drop-down top-to-down knife block:
http://starcraftcustombuilders.com/images/Kitchen/KitchenPrepAreaWithKnifeStorage.jpg
http://www.frankekitchensinks.com/Franke%20knifeblock.jpg
Top-to-down knife block is more stable and you won't have to worry about knives accidentally slide out or children accidentally grab them. However, I think it is a bit more natural for you to pull knives out from a slanted angle, like a typical wood block. Having a buidl in top-to-down knife block insert all the way in the back of a countertop forces you to reach over too much. I think it is fine if you only use one or two knives in each cooking session, but if you are a cook who like to switch from knife to knife, then I do not see the advantage there. The only exception is when the top-to-down knife block build close to your dominant hand, so you can draw your knives out from a very natural motion, almost like gunslingers pulling out guns. Something like this:
http://www.cookinstyle.co.uk/imagevar...
However, this is a unsafe set up for children, so....
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I have something similar: instead of cutting into my butcher block countertop, I built a knife block by cutting two long slots (I have lots of knives) into a wooden board, etc, and attached it to the butcher block end that is not touching a wall. Bending knife is not a problem nor one blade knocking into another as long as I am careful. The one problem I have is that short blade paring knives don't stay put in the slots. Also, my setup would not be good if you have small children because the knife blades are exposed from below.
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If you've watched a few episodes of Good Eats you know Alton has this type of storage for his knives. Looks very convenient. Not sure what's underneath them or how they are enclosed. Looks like just slots
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I had one at my old apartment. It was in an inconvenient location compared to my prep area, was impossible to clean well, and I wound up knocking the sharp end of one knife against the back of another too many times. Got a knife block and lost a bit of counter space, but never regretted it. Now I have a magnetic knife rack and it's perfect.
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I have done it for 32 years. I put a butcher block counter in, next to my sink. In the back of the block there is dead space. Drill slits to fit your knifes. It is a wonderful storage option for all your knives. Nothing has ever spilled in the slots, and I am a cook!! One of the best things I ever did in the kitchen. It was my idea, but I am sure I read it somewhere! Go for it, you will not be sorry!
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I had a similar arrangement in another house and loved it.
NB: my late husband made it so that no knife touched another, there was no possibility of one knocking into another. Instead of one long (thin) slit, there were individual slots for my knives. Yes, it was a long, thin space, but the knives were in individual slots.
I remember absolutely no issue with cleanup. If there was something spilled, I don't know about it. Because the bottom was open, whatever spilled would have drained through and I would have noticed it sooner or later.
My biggest issue was keeping non-cooks from grabbing the first knife they came upon to open a recently delivered UPS package or a stubborn soda can. THAT was my bete noir.
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Oh my gosh, if someone used one of my good knives on a cardboard box, I would be tempted to pull another knife from the slot and do some creative cutting of my own!!!
Thanks a million to everyone who contributed. To be honest, I still can't decide whether it's for me or not. Luckily, I'm blessed with an almost overabundance of drawer and counter space, so it's not an absolute necessity -- but I do like the idea a lot. I'll report back!
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I use my kitchen knives to open boxes and letters. No problems but then I maintain them myself and they are always sharp.
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dmd,
Why don't you place your knives now at where you may put the build in knife block? Obviously, I have no idea about your counter and concern about you having to reach out to your knives in an uncomfortable position. So you can do a mock test. Put your current knives where the block will be built and days in day out picking up and putting back your knives there and see if you like the feel.
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Unfortunately, that won't work, because it's underneath and upper cabinet, and a vertical knife block on top of the counter top wouldn't give me enough room to clear.
I'm actually thinking I'm not going to go that way now that I have the counters in place. I love the clean look of nothing on the counter tops. There's enough other visual noise in the room to make an array of handles look too busy.
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Actually, I wasn't thinking about moving your current knife block. I meant putting your knives by themselves lying flat at where the new knife slot will be build and do a mock cooking -- reaching out and putting down the knives and see how you like that feel.
Don't forget to take a photo when it is all done and upload it here to let us know. Best wishes.
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That's okay. I had one "helpful" guest get up extra early to try to prep ribs for smoking, and he managed to bend the tips on both my Henkels Twin Pro slicer and chef's knife. He just kept jabbing them into the bone. No idea what the heck he was doing.
I was never able to straighten them out for fear of the tips breaking off, so I lived with the bent chef's knife for years, although I only reach for it for heavy applications, like cutting up a chicken, and I retired the slicer. I will only reach for that if we are carving multiple roasts at the same time.
I remember how I could have cried. Now, I hide my most expensive knives on the inside door of a little-used upper cabinet on a magnetic strip. The only thing that was hard was figuring out where to position the strip so that the knives would not hit the cabinet shelves when I closed the door. At least now I can sleep a little late on a weekend morning.
Given the propensity of others to just help themselves to any knife for any task, I am thinking that the hidden knife storage may be the plan for me in my next kitchen, not anything like Alton has.
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RGC,
Are you telling us that after your guest bended three knives, he/she did not offer to pay some kind of compensation?
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