My friend had some knives given to him (made from lawnmower blades!) that he wanted to display. Decided on a deep box with glass front.
I used oak which was stained with onyx General Finishes stain and and then High Performance for the finish. The knives are held in place with magnets and are on some small risers. The black background is a sheet of the felt type material. It adheres really well well although I was worried so I ended up going right up to the edge and then set the back in a rabbet. This allowed me to screw the backer board with no worries that the felt will ever peel back. For the glass I had a lot of learning opportunities. I did the quarter round that I have held in place with just a bit of glue and then pin nails.
To hold the frame onto the case I have some magnets on the side which attract the screws in the case (I know - not very fancy!). This was one of my major stressors as the sheer strength was questionable. To ensure the frame would stay in place I added some keyhole slots and basically have the front held with those in addition to the magnets holding the sides. This will allow access to the knives, although it takes some effort to get it off and on.
For the last picture, my husband helped redo that wire so it was tight. Also, we added a second just to be sure as this is heavy!
Had a LOT of help from friends on LJ with figuring out design and troubleshooting issues.
Looks good, Barb! The black felt backer really makes the knifes stand out.
The keyhole mount for the frame is a good idea. It’s nice to have a physical backup for the magnetic mount. (For future projects, you might also consider small rare earth magnets in the corners of both the frame and case. Those magnets can be surprisingly strong.)
Thanks Eric. Was a project full of "learning opportunities"
Tony and oldrivers and pottz - thanks! He was really happy with it. Glad we went with the dark stain and black background as it keeps the knives as the focus.
Splintergroup- thanks. No time in the shop so only "recovered work" 🙄
Ron - thanks. This project changed over the course of the build (I know, sketchup would solve this problem!!). This led to many challenges, and features that I would not repeat - the keyhole being one (although it worked!).🤷♀️
Mike - not my idea on the magnets. Pretty sure that one came from splintergroup! The magnets were SUPER strong (twist to remove and carefully put in place...based on a nice blood blister when I did not do that!) and really did not need more than one on the larger knife.
I don’t know how I missed this one bb1 but I’m glad I found it. You did a fantastic job of building this display case and giving it such depth with the dark colors along with your expert craftsmanship. The knives are also beautiful.
I have always felt that if your dog likes something it’s smart to go along with their instincts. They are smarter in some matters than we are.
Corelz12 - I got a lot of help from LJ as I worked on the method to hold the knives and then had to backtrack when switching from plexiglass to actual glass. Best part was that my friend was very happy with the outcome.
