DIY Magnetic Knife Holder With a Vintage Ruler

by Jenny @ Refresh Living

3 Materials

I've seen posts about creating your own magnetic knife rack, but I decided to use something a little different for my knife holder. I also figured out a couple of tricks along the way that made this project a success!

diy magnetic knife holder with a vintage ruler, diy, how to, kitchen design, repurposing upcycling

I found this massive ruler in the corner of a garage at an estate sale. $1.00? I'll take it! It was painful to cut it, but I have a couple of other projects planned for the rest of the 4 foot ruler, so I think I'm happy with my decision.

Instead of sitting in the corner of a garage, it's now a unique, and functional addition to our kitchen.

1/2" by 1/8" thick neodymium magnets worked perfectly for this project, but boy are they strong.

I drilled holes with a 1/2" forstner bit, and the magnets fit in perfectly. I just continued to drill holes across the entire back, making sure to drill close to the thicknesses of the wood, but not through it.

As I added new magnets to the empty holes, I made sure to cover up the magnets that were already in place. If not, those magnets just wanted to jump right out of their little holes.

Those knives at the back are pretty heavy, but with the amount and type of magnets I used, it's strong enough to hold them!

Check out the full post on the blog!

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Frequently asked questions

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3 of 7 questions

Linda Lim on May 08, 2018

How did you cover (or what did u use) to the individual magnets to prevent them from "jumping" up from their holes to the neighboring magnets?

14
Adele Kurtz on May 08, 2018

You say you "added" magnets, but I missed HOW. Glue? What kind? If just inserted in the holes, won't they eventually pop out?

4
Nancy Ellis on May 17, 2018

What brand of kitchen knivesare those?

4

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3 of 75 comments

Karen E Fleischer on Jul 17, 2019

I love the idea, but I agree you do need to add to your materials list.:
1 - The drill
2 - the type & size of drill bit
3 - the type of sealant or glue to keep the magnets in place

Like Reply
Mason larson on Apr 10, 2022

I love the idea but I do have some issues with the design.
first of all, the drill is needed for the construction of this design. Secondly, I think you need to expand the hole in which the knife will go because a knife from farberware wil hardly fit in there. If you want more information on farberware knives and perhaps a review on them, you can reach out.
Wish you luck !

Like Reply
- Carey Marshall on Jan 23, 2023
  
  Since the knives do not go into a hole, the farberware knives should hang on this knife holder as well as any other knife. My only comment about this idea is that you must make sure that there is enough space between when you hang them so that you are not knocking others off when you take one off to use. That was the only issue that I found with a magnetic holder. Also, it should be where no small child could access it. My son at 2 years old, managed to use the kitchen drawers for a ladder, the shelves on the upper cabinets as a ladder just to reach a valentine box that He had forgotten that we had eaten all of the candy from. He was pretty shocked when he looked up as he stood on the counter, opening the box only to discover that it was empty & Mom had caught him in the act. How I wish I had had a camera in hand! So I KNOW at least for him, this kind of knife holder would not be out of his reach no matter where I hung it. Glad he is grown & has grandkids now!
  
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