Book Knife Block

I have been wanting to do this project for a while now. The knife block that came with our set has been showing signs of wear. When I stumbled onto a Pinterest picture showing old books repurposed into knife blocks I was in love with the idea. Unfortunately, there were two problems: 1) the link went to a page with a tiny version of the picture and no instructions, and 2) it looked like they had simply slid the knives between the book pages. I didn't like the idea of using book pages to hold the knives. All I could think about was the ink and paper dust rubbing off on my clean cookware. I would need to mull over this idea....

Then one day I found this link with free plans from Rockler Woodworking and Hardware detailing how to build a knife block: //www.rockler.com/build/knife-block.

What caught my eye about this knife block was how they used bamboo skewers to hold the knives in place. I loved this idea! I know many people use bamboo cutting boards so it should be safe for the blades to rub against. I would simply build a box inside the book cover to hold the skewers in place.

I measured the blade lengths of my knives and then headed off to the thrift store to look for appropriately tall and thick hardcover books. Happily they were having a "10 books for $1 sale" so I came home with more than enough books.

I then began experimenting with different methods of sealing the books. I tried Matte Modge Podge on the front of this book and General Finishes High Preformance Matte Water-Based Polyurethane on the back. In a perfect world I would have also tried an Oil-Based Polyurethane as it has better water resistant properties. However, an oil based product would require extra clean up steps with mineral spirits and such. Anyone who knows how complicated Japan's trash system is will understand why I didn't want to open up that can of worms. I have been here five months and I still routinely put out trash "wrong" and they won't take it. Anyway, it's hard to tell from the picture but the Polyurethane side was less shiny and didn't show brush strokes thus it became my sealer of choice.

However, since my first book will be the center book and the sides will hardly be seen I did use two coats of the ModgePodge to protect it. Afterall, I now have an entire jar of the stuff and don't want to waste it. For all future books, I will use three coats of the Polyurethane.

Next I removed the pages, very carefully, with a razor blade. I tried to keep the cut along the natural crease created by the bound pages and the cover of the book. If done well the pages will still be bound together even after the cover is removed. I plan to keep the pages and hope to have time to actually read the books in the future.

Be careful as you cut or you may cut all the way through the spine of the book and have to start over...not like I would ever make a mistake like that...oooops!

I used the measurements from the pages to determine the depth and width measurements for my box. To calculate the hight of my box I measured from the top of where the paper met the inside trim to the bottom of the cover.

I wish I could describe better for you what I used to make the boxes. I am calling it 'craftwood' and think it's made of pine. Being in Japan, and with the limitations of Google Translate, I can't be sure. I chose a 1/4 inch thick piece. I did not use 1/4 inch plywood as I wanted the top edge to look finished and smooth. I LOVE the miter saw so it was an obvious choice to cut the wood into the appropriate sized pieces. Once my cuts were made, I taped off the edges that will eventually be glued and applied 3 coats of polyurethane to any wood that will be exposed (insides, top edges, bottom, and back of the box). If you do not tape off the edges then the glue will not stick to the wood well. Remove the tape prior to gluing.

Gluing the box together was a 3 step process. I glued two sides at a time and let it dry with clamps in place before attaching the next side It is important to make sure your pieces are as close to 90 degrees to each other as possible.

Once the box is complete it is time to attach it to the cover. I applied a generous layer of ModgePodge to all areas of the box that will contact the cover and used a combination of clamps and hand pressure to hold the pieces together.

The bamboo skewers were cut to equal the inside measurement of the box height using...yup, you guessed it...the miter saw. The first book took a little over 500 skewers to fill the box.

Two more books, an elastic band and a ribbon later....and...here's the final project:

I am really happy with how it turned out. I finished this project several months ago. The knife block has been completely functional and easy to clean. As I get more knives I can add more books if needed. It was not a cheap project. It cost me about $20/book to make, but I feel it was worth it.