I like to see how other people store their kitchen knives. It’s a detail I often zero in on when visiting a new kitchen or looking at photos of kitchens. Are the knives tucked away in a stealth in-drawer block? Or are they out in the open in a traditional countertop block, or suspended from a magnetic strip?
A while back, I spotted a knife storage solution that, after hours of online searching, I realized is entirely bespoke: a leather knife rack mounted to the side of a kitchen island. I had to have one, so I made my own. With a pliable piece of leather, it’s a pretty simple thing to create, and you can tailor each loop in the rack to fit your own needs—no advanced knife skills necessary.
Photography by Alexa Hotz for Remodelista.
Materials
- Wood cut to the desired length. I used a 12-by-2-by-1-inch piece of poplar. Choose a soft wood if you plan to use pushpins.
- Leather hide, at least 14 by 7 inches (enough to generously wrap the entire piece of wood)
- A handful of pushpins or nails
- Sandpaper
- Scissors
- A hammer
- An awl; such as the General Tool 818 Scratch Awl; $4.33 from Amazon
Instructions
![step \1: flip the leather over so that the inside of the hide faces up. sand yo 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/fields/DIY-Leather-Knife-Rack-Remodelista-6.jpg)
![step \2: on each end of the wooden block, trim the leather so that it can be wr 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/fields/DIY-Leather-Knife-Rack-Remodelista-7.jpg)
If your leather is on the thinner side, you can wrap the ends of the wood as you would a gift box, folding it over itself. If your leather is a thicker cut, as mine was, you’ll want to make L-shaped cutouts so that you don’t have unnecessary excess. If you’re using soft wood and leather, you can secure each section with a simple pushpin. If the wood is hard and the leather is thick, you’ll want to puncture your leather with an awl and use a nail to create a hole before applying a pushpin.
![step 3: once you\2\17;ve pinned down each end of the wood, fully wrap th 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/fields/DIY-Leather-Knife-Rack-Remodelista-8.jpg)
![step 4: flip over the block to the display side. to create the knife holder, cu 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/fields/DIY-Leather-Knife-Rack-Remodelista-10.jpg)
![step 5: push the leather against itself until it makes a loop. secure the loop 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/fields/DIY-Leather-Knife-Rack-Remodelista-11.jpg)
Consider customizing your knife rack to your own set of knives and kitchen tools: I created one large loop to hold my kitchen scissors, and smaller, tighter loops for my knives.
![step 6: to mount the finished rack on the wall, there are a variety of options: 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/fields/DIY-Leather-Knife-Rack-Remodelista-12.jpg)
The Finished Look
![the knife rack hangs next to my stove for easy access to kitchen shears and par 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/fields/DIY-Leather-Knife-Rack-Remodelista-13.jpg)
For more DIYs, see our DIY archive, plus:
- DIY: Homemade Dish Soap
- DIY: A Shower Curtain Hoop Made from Plumbing Parts, by Zio & Sons
- The Shingled House DIY: Easy Burlap Shades (for Less Than $20 Each)
N.B.: This post is an update. It originally ran on May 28, 2014, as part of our Modest Modern issue.
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