I was the other day asked by a customer to make him a magnetic knife strip. So I figure that I may share the WIP here, I actually consider a magnetic knife strip a rather enjoyable small woodworking project.
-- I use rare earth magnet in 20mm diameter, 5mm thickness. These are quite strong, and the depth is around 4 to 5mm from the contacting side. -- essentially you drill the hole using a forstner bit from the back and glue in the magnet, this is really a what a magnet knife strip about. A start with a roughsawn rosewood blank.a bit of hand and machine jobYou end up with a ready to work piece. This is where most people should start: get your local timber supplier to sell you a ready to go blank, and cut to your preferred size.After a bit of drilling, I end up something like thisGlue the magnets, I use 5min epoxy for the job. Once glue is set, sand to 400grit+, with your choice of finish (wipe on polyurethene for better protection, or simply oil/wax for the warmth feeling). You will have your self a nice magnet knife strip!
Using keyhole hanging method probably gives the cleaner installation :)
[Restored October 2026: this 2015 post was lost in a site migration and has been brought back from the Internet Archive, with its eight original photographs as first published.]
