Make your own knife magnet
We get a lot of inquiries about DIY knife magnets, so we made a guide on it. The best tip for making your own knife magnet is to have the smallest possible distance between the knife and the magnet, i.e. if you have the opportunity to mill a groove or a pocket in the material that the knives will be hanging on, this will give the best result, and a smaller distance requires less strength and therefore makes the project cheaper. You can also put magnets directly on the knives – you don’t need a piece of wood, cork or tile in between.
Magnets for magnetic knife holder
Our best-selling magnets for knife magnets are the disc magnet size 15x8 mm and the block magnet size 20x20x5 mm. And for the largest projects (for chefs and for manufacturers of knife rails) we sell the most sizes 25x7 mm and 35x5 mm.
In most cases, you can drill holes/pockets in the back of, for example, a wooden strip and glue the magnets into the holes. The holes do not have to go all the way through, because you should not be able to see the magnets from the front. However, remember that the strength of the magnets decreases with the distance on the wooden strip.
A good rule of thumb is that the magnet's strength decreases to 30% at a 2 mm distance between knife and magnet. At a 5 mm distance, we are down to 8% of the original strength measured in direct tension. Examples of magnets for knives are here.
EXAMPLES
15x8 mm.:
Strength in direct pull: 6.7 kg
Strength in direct pull w/2 mm. wood: 2.0 kg
Strength in direct pull w/5 mm. wood: 0.5 kg
25x7 mm.:
Strength in direct pull: 12 kg
Strength in direct pull w/2 mm. wood: 4.0 kg
Strength in direct pull w/5 mm. wood: 1.5 kg
It all depends on the distance between magnet and knife. We recommend a maximum distance of 3 mm. between magnet and knife. Normally 1 magnet per knife is sufficient, but it is also possible to build your knife rail with 2 magnets above each other in a vertical line, so that very heavy chef's knives can hang on without problems, as there are two fixing points per knife.
Make your own knife magnet in wood with magnets
You can make a knife magnet in wood, but it can also be cork, tiles or plastic. The principle is the same, and a really good tip is that there should be as little gap between the magnet and the knife. This means that if you have the opportunity to immerse your magnets like on the test tree shown in the video, it will be really good for both your wallet and in terms of being able to "control" the magnets.
The test tree is 1 cm. thick at the top, while in the embedding there is only 3 mm. distance between the knife and the magnet.
Our best-selling magnet for knife rails is a 20x20x5 mm block magnet made of neodymium, and it has a strength of approx. 6 kg in direct pull. The magnet can easily hold a chef's knife despite the distance and the resulting lowered magnetism compared to the heavy knife - and the same is of course true for smaller knives. Knife suspension via magnet can be a great success, as long as you use the right magnet.
If you choose not to immerse your magnets in the wood (or another material), then you can see in the video why it is a bad idea with 1 cm distance between knife and magnet: a neodymium magnet of 20x10 mm with a strength of approx. 11 kg (a very strong magnet) cannot hold the knife up. This is because - in addition to the distance - there is so much weight downwards from the knife, which gives an indirect pull on the magnet, that the magnet with a strength of 11 kg cannot withstand the pull and the gap.
You could also easily choose a smaller magnet to hang knives directly on. But remember that magnets tend to follow what is most magnetic, and in this case it is the knife blade that is far more magnetic than, for example, the fridge, and therefore the magnet will follow the knife. It is therefore a really good idea to choose a magnet that is a good size, so that it is easy to take off the knife again and put the magnet back on the fridge.
No need for overly powerful magnets
You can also choose some stronger magnets, but it's not necessary at all unless your knives weigh over 500 grams each. A stronger magnet will just make it even harder to take the knives down from the wall, and it will give a bigger "hit" on the magnet with the knife, which can result in scratches on the knife blade and faster demagnetization of the magnet. Fortunately, there is help if your magnet becomes dull, as it can be remagnetized again by rubbing another neodymium magnet over the dull magnet a few times. Then the poles will straighten out again.
The metal pots are slightly rounded, so they do not scratch the knives, unless you are very careless and run the knives over the pots, so that the pots are damaged/scratched.
I would not recommend going over 8 kg in direct pull by direct contact, as the knives get too much resistance from the magnets. And especially if the knives weigh well under 800 grams (the weight of a standard chef's knife), we recommend a maximum of 5 kg in strength. Rule of thumb: 3-4 kg feels the same as when opening a refrigerator.
You can also choose to use rubber magnets, but it is not necessary to use rubber coating unless you always hang up wet knives or choose a very low strength, where you depend on the knives not slipping down. Otherwise, rubber is not necessary. The metal pots should always be kept dry. They are made of metal that is suitable for kitchen use, so they can also be used in commercial kitchens. But remember to remove water from them, otherwise they will rust.
Pro tip: paint a thin layer of nail polish or another clear coat over the pot magnets so that they are "tightly" sealed to the surface, because then the magnets will withstand water better.
What should I use?
To summarize:
If you make a knife rail with wood or the like in front of the magnets, you need to calculate the strength loss as in the table above. And then you need to use magnets that are VERY strong.
If you want to screw magnets to the wall, you need to go for pot magnets that protect the magnets from direct blows from the knives and that have a little height so that you can actually grab around the knife handle.
And finally; if you want to glue the magnets to the wall, you need to go for a magnet that has a little height so that the handle of your knives does not bend. And then you need to find a way to protect the magnets from direct impacts. For example, you can glue a piece of felt on top of the magnets where the knives hit, or you can choose a rubber magnet that can also withstand impacts. Read more about how to glue magnets HERE. You need a special type of glue, and then you need some fine-grained sandpaper.
If you have any questions for us about knife magnets, you are very welcome to contact us by e-mail, phone or in the chat.
