Over the last few holidays and birthdays, we've been building a nice little collection of Wusthof knives. They're quite a luxury (it pays to have a mother who looks at knives the way Carrie Bradshaw looks at shoes), but recently they don't seem quite as sharp as they used to be.
These Bamboo Box Knife Holders from VivaTerra ($49 small; $89 large) are intriguing -- according to the VivaTerra site, the bamboo skewers that make up the inside of this contraption cushion your blades and keep them from dulling.
We've never seen anything like these knife holders and worry about the longevity of those thin bamboo skewers. If they were guaranteed to last, we'd put these on the next wish list.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
They've been around for at least a year; AT New York blogged about them in May 2007. I don't know how well they last, but they sure are attractive.
view Jeri Dansky's profile
I saw these at a museum shop recently on a trip to either San Diego or LA. I thought they were great, but am not into this high-lacquer everything look, so I was thinking once I find an appropriate size box it would be a really easy DIY with skewers.
view amt230's profile
I saw something similar a couple years ago at the National Building Museum's Green House exhibit. I recreated it, just using baltic birch plywood for a box and regular bbq bamboo skewers. It works really well, though you need many more skewers than you'd imagine to keep the knives tight at the top. It makes sense that it wouldn't dull them because they aren't rubbing against the wood as they are in a traditional block, though a magnetic strip would serve the same purpose. I just made it because I liked the design, and haven't had any problems with the durability of the skewers.
view kdelap's profile
Knives will dull just through use, I rather suspect what you keep them in has little to do with it.
Find someone professional to sharpen your knives or learn how to do it yourself. It's not hard and it's very soothing. Well, as long as you don't mind the shink of stone on steel.
view Tiamat_the_Red's profile
Reminds me of these things you can get at Target or Bed Bath and Beyond. They've been around for a while:
http://www.kapoosh.com/kapooshhome.html
view homecreepo's profile