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Displaying Knives -Part 3: Gathering Tools and Materials. - By: Bill Harvey Step 2 Gather up your tools and materials.
or a utility knife for cutting a cardboard backer -life is too short to use a dull blade, get a NEW one if you have any doubt. (And who am I talking to -knife collectors?) scissors -for cutting fabric drill -you got to love those rechargeable ones that come in a case with bits, driver, and sockets included drill bit -if you don’t have a whole set -get one in the neighborhood of 3/16 and maybe a 1/16 inch twist bit tape measure or equivalent framing square -a useful thing but you can use a big piece of paper and a straight stick as a straight-edge if you don’t have one wire cutter and pliers or a needle-nose pliers with cutter MATERIALS:
padding cover fabric masking tape -the wide stuff makes life a little easier wood glue pine molding for shelves for folders things to hang the knives copper wire for safety cotter pins ribbon for handles as necessary Step 3 Select and cut a backer board. First off you need to decide between wood of cardboard. Wood is best but harder to cut. Cardboard is easier to find and cut, but too flimsy for any but the smallest display. My preference is toward 1/8 inch hardboard. There is a product at my home-improvement store called "Hobby Board" that is smooth on both sides. If you don’t have a table saw at hand, you can have them cut it for you at the home center store. Failing this, you can score it with a sharp utility knife (score it several times) and snap it in two. Sorry if I seem to dwell on so mundane a subject, but selecting backer-board is critical to the success (and ease!) of this whole effort. From the least to the most, your options map out as follows: Mat Board ADVANTAGES finished appearance available in many colors easy to cut -the framing store can cut it to exact dimensions DISANVANTAGES flimsy -appropriate for only small collections of small knives in small cases it ain't chjeap WHERE TO GET IT art / craft supply store or a custom framing shop Corrugated Cardboard ADVANTAGES cheap easy to cut and pierce easy to fabricate into shelves for folders etc. DISANVANTAGES flimsy -appropriate for only small collections of small knives in small cases WHERE TO GET IT small pieces are available everywhere -large pieces may require a trip to a packaging store Foam-Core ADVANTAGES easy to cut and pierce the black stuff may be attractive enough to go without upholstery easy to fabricate - perhaps -with care and imagination, into shelves for folders etc. DISANVANTAGES flimsy -a little stronger then cardboard, but still appropriate for only small collections of small knives in small cases WHERE TO GET IT from art supply store or office supply store. White board can be found in drug stores or super stores, but black is harder to find Door Skin (3' x 7' -1/2" plywood) ADVANTAGES stronger then paper things above relatively cheep easy to cut (score and snapping works in a pinch, but you will want to sand the edges) available with a mahogany veneer so you can finish it to a nice hard-wood appearance stronger -appropriate for a medium sized collection DISANVANTAGES tends to be splintery if not cut correctly WHERE TO GET IT lumberyard or home center store. Hardboard ADVANTAGES strong -this is apt to be as strong as you need it to be for any size collection DISANVANTAGES needs to be cut and drilled correctly -HobbyBoard can be scored and snapped to a pretty good edge, but regular hardboard or pegboard needs a saw. both materials need a drill to be pierced, (but not pegboard) WHERE TO GET IT lumberyard or home center store. Peg-Board ADVANTAGES almost as strong as hardboard it’s pre drilled in a nice neat grid for hanging things in a well ordered manner. (Consider the "Align to Grid" command when you tidy-up your computer desktop.) DISANVANTAGES needs to be cut correctly with a proppersaw WHERE TO GET IT lumberyard or home center store. Hardwood Plywood ADVANTAGES strong ! can be finished as fine hardwood DISANVANTAGES expensive(and you may need to buy it in a full 4 x 8 sheet needs to be cut carefully with a sharp saw -makes splinters otherwise needs a drill to be pierced WHERE TO GET IT lumberyard or home center store. Cut your backer board -one way or the other- to match the inside of your display case. Make it about 1/8 inch smaller then the inside dimensions of the case. If you are skillful in such matters, you might carry the padding and upholstery around the edge. This "puffiness’ might hold the board in place if you have a smallish collection. You will need to adjust the size of the board accordingly. In Displaying Knives -Part 4: Putting it all Together., we finally do the magic! (Sadly, much in life involves more tedium, leg-work, and just general preparation then the actual fun of 'doing.') Arguably knife making is mankind's first art. Beautiful things, knives. So beautiful that they deserve a special display. Here is HOW-TO to make the perfect display for your collection. And a necessary part of any HOW-TO is to gather up the necessary stuff. (Makes it all easier in the long run.) Bill Harvey makes drawer and display cases for collectors and museums at Home-Museum.com. |