Displaying Knives -Part 2: The Design Process. - By: Bill Harvey

#1 Nail down your design.
This means arranging your knives appropriately as they will show up in the case. Start by measuring the INSIDE of your case and draw out a similar rectangle somewhere. If you have the backer board at hand, cut it now and use to arrange things. If you put the backer board into your case and then arrange you knives, (and this is a good idea because it allows you appreciate the effect of the frame), consider skipping ahead to #5 Upholster the Board and install a temporary ribbon tab handle now. This is so you can get it out again!

Do you want to label each knife? Or perhaps a single card that identifies the entire collection. Appropriate identifiers are a hallmark of a valuable collection and an are easy way to distinguish your collection from just a "bunch of interesting old things." Faux finishers use strong tea or week coffee to artificially age paper. Use a clothes iron to thoroughly flatten it out again and then run it through your computer’s printer.

The only tricky bit here is figuring out how you will support or hang your knives. The simplest possible solution -particularly if you collect folders- is to use little brass cup-hooks. The only problem is that when you hang the knife on the hook, it lays on it’s back, rather then it’s more interesting side. Here is what you do. Use a pair of pliers -two pair actually- to bend the tip of the hook up. This is to say "up" when the hook itself is flat. This is to say -bend the hook up -or perpendicular- to the plan of the hook the way it came from the store. (Then when you screw it into the backer-board, turn it in so it goes down-hill with the part you bent going up-hill. Sorry -this is one of those things that is simple in real life, but difficult to do explain with the written word.)

There are a couple of other possibilities for folders. You can simply make a little shelf out of a short piece of wood. Sand it down a little to round the corners, but don't get carried away. A piece of pine molding will do the job and is easy to cut and sand. You might make a long shelf and place a number of knives, or a single little shelf for one knife. Don't hesitate to make interesting shapes or angles. A simple plumber's PVC saw will cut pine every which-a-way you might need it cut -angle wise. You are going to wrap it in the same padding and same fabric you use to upholster the backer board and this will soften up all rough edges. Pad the front, ends and bottom of the block -NOT the top. The fabric will hold the padding in place, (with no padding on top) and make a nice shelf to put your folders on their backs. Then, after you have upholstered your backer, you simply attach the shelf to the backer with short wood screws through the back.

So what to do with regular knives -the kind that don't fold up? Especially given that you want be able to take them down and hold them? There are about a hundred ways to do this. First, consider a locking cotter pin. Looks kind of like a giant safety-pin. A good hardware store will have 3 or 4 different sizes. As to attaching them to your backer board, do this. After the board is upholstered and drilled, stitch them down with some soft copper wire. Do it carefully -with even stitches- and it will look elegant.

Once you have the cotter / safety pin attached, you can safely hang you knives and yet remove them easily when you want to handle them. If your knives do not have hilts, it is still likely that you can find a pin that will support them. You may have to bring several home from the store, but they are cheap

What to do for bigger knives or even swords. Have a look at the knobs you can buy for drawer pulls. If you knife has sufficient hilt, a pair sed side by side -just far enough to catch the hilt will hold you knives unobtrusively. Depending on the age and ' rusticness' of your sword -a hardwood knob may be just the ticket. And wood will not damage the edge. For smaller or more delicate knives, little brass knobs may be the ticket.

Here is a final possibility -one that has the advantage of a huge variety, but the disadvantage of making it hard to remove the knife of sword. Use a bail type drawer pull. Your hardware store has about a million different sizes, styles, and finishes. They are easy to install -if you are using a reasonably stout backer-board. You may have to shorten up the bolts that come with the pulls, or just buy a little bag of the appropriate size machine screws while you are there. Your collection -it's history and glamour- will dictate the perfect look.

Once you have figured out how you are going to attach you knives -both folders and straight blades and figured out how you are going to label them, you must give some thought as to how you are going to keep the backer board AND all you valuable knives- in the case. The simplest is to glue a lip of some sort into the top of the case. Something as simple as 6 or 8 inches of a 1/4 x 1/4 stick would do it. For smaller displays, a single brass brad would serve.

To put the board in, you simply put the top in first and then slide the bottom in. The weight of the board and knives keeps everything in place. You must, however, add a little ribbon handle at the bottom so you can get it out again. Make an attractive loop out of 1/2 - 3/4 gray of black ribbon. Use wood glue and masking tape -to clamp it down to the back of your backer-board. Be sure to leave room for the upholstery step later.

In Displaying Knives -Part 3: Gathering Tools and Materials, we do the leg work necessary to carry on with the rest of the process as easily as possible.

Arguably knife making is mankind's first art. Beautiful things, knives. So beautiful that they deserve a special display. Here is HOW-TO design a perfect display for your knife collection.

Bill Harvey makes drawer and display cases for collectors and museums at Home-Museum.com.
He is also author of the COLLECTOR's HOW-TO series for dedicated collectors and hobbyists who wish to display and protect their very best stuff.