Book Knife Block

Melanie
by Melanie
7 Materials
$4
2 Hours
Easy

I have little counter space and wanted to make a knife block that wouldn't consume my entire counter. I also wanted it to be a little out of the norm. Meaning wood. Anyhow I was at my Habitat store and noticed some old books. They had 3 identical sizes. So I purchased them for a whopping 75 cents. In an afternoon they would become my new knife block.

So here is the supplies needed for this project. Self adhesive laminating paper, modge podge hard coat, raffia, 3 books( you can alternate sizes), scissors, exacto blade, sponge brush, and a cork fabric sheet. I used this to cover one of my books .

So first I removed the paper covers on my books. Two were shades of blue but I wasn't loving the red and green one.

So you are going to take one of your knives and open the book in a random spot. Trace around the blade. When doing this make sure that the angle of the blade is facing the back of the book, ( the spine ). Your knife will go in on an angle.

Next using scissors or an exacto blade you are going to cut out the traced blade. I cut about 30 pages. This will depend on how thick your blade is.

So here it is cut out.

Now you are going to take a sheet of laminating paper. I put it between the book and traced around it to get the size needed. Now cut out the traced piece.

Now you are going to apply it to the first page and cut out the blade hole.

Next you are going to take your modge podge and a foam brush and open your book to the last page that was cut for your blade. Apply the modge podge to the page and to the cut out area outlining the blade. Close book and apply the modge podge around the top, bottom, and side of book where paper is exposed. This will make the pages hard. You will continue these steps with the other two books. Set them aside and let dry.

So as I mentioned I didn't care for the red and green on one book. I ended up using this cork fabric sheet I found at the dollar store. You can opt to use scrapbook paper, wallpaper, paint, or just leave the books as is,whatever you choose. I cut about a 2 and a half inch strip of paper to cover the spine. Using glue I glued the strip onto the spine. Let dry.

So once your modge podge is dry on your books you are going to take them and wrap an elastic around all three to secure them. Now take a piece of raffia and tie around your 3 books. I had to tie two bunches together to get the desired length.

Place in desired location and place knives in the slots you created. This was a super cheap and easy project and you can tweak it to suit your needs, cutting out more slots for smaller knives, scissors etc. You can create so many different looks using books. Love my new knife block!

Resources for this project:
See all materials
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  1 question
  • Janice Janice on Jan 31, 2019

    Wonderful idea and looks lovely. Could you explain what you did with the laminating paper ? , I've read and read but don't get it?

Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 34 comments
Next