# Knife Rolls and Knife Cases



## riderc90 (Nov 14, 2013)

My arsenal of knives if growing and I need some type of portable storage. I looked at a ton of rolls and cases. The more compact the better. But I need something that can for and protect the edges of about 6-8 knives including a Chinese cleaver. 

Recommendations??


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## papajo (Jun 21, 2014)

Sanelli makes a knife roll I find comfortably fits all my knives, Chinese cleaver included. I would suggest, however, to make or buy a sleeve. There's not much you can do to stop sharp corners from cutting up any knife roll. Luckily Sanelli's is double layered, so even if a knife does pierce the canvas your knives remain unexposed.


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## riderc90 (Nov 14, 2013)

Excellent. I will explore this option as soon as I can


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## chris bruce (Jul 5, 2014)

Dude My Jende Knife roll is Amazing





  








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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Leather, huh?

How do you clean/sanitize the roll when crud (ie. coffee, salad dressing, breadcrumbs, soup, etc) gets spilled on it?  How do you get crumbs and crud out of the deep pockets? How do you "deodourize" it when it starts to get skanky?

Leather rolls may be great for chisels and carving tools, not a good idea for kitchens where there is perishable foods around and a real need to keep knives sanitized.


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## chris bruce (Jul 5, 2014)

Good point but as for me and most every other chef I know we work clean that was one thing we learned in culinary school. I for one would not be putting a knife with bread crumbs or salad dressing or soup etc etc on it and back into my bag. I tend to wipe my knife after every use. As for a knife bag it is used to transport your knives in not be used as a plating table, so I don't ever have a problem maintaining it.

This is the 5th bag I have owned all of them leather only 1 I had that was not was in school and it was ballistic nylon. It was junk. I have not once had one leather bag that got a bad smell either. I guess it comes down to if you are not a clean chef then maybe it is not for you, but if you are and you like great quality and works of art like I do, and in my knives as well, like my custom Halsingers then a bag that shows off 1500 dollar knives is well worth it to me. Only my opinion.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Well yeah, fair answer, everybody should work clean.  Thing is, where do you put your knife roll when you come into work?  Either on or under your workstation, right? 

Kitchens are full of food, sh*t happens, and stuff gets spilled.  This has nothing to do with how clean you work or how organized you are.  It's pretty much guaranteed that stuff will get into your knife roll no matter how clean you keep, or how clean your knives are when you put them in.

The questions I asked you in the above post were pretty much the same questions "ye olde health inspector" asked me about 20 years ago when I had a similar roll, only mine was zippered and had a pebbled finish on the full grain leather.  When I didn't have a suitable answer to his questions on sanitizing the roll, he told me to just take it home, and not to let him see  on his next visit.  Of course, I though he was full of crap, and used the roll, stuff got spilled on it, and in it, no matter how clean I kept it, and it got pretty skanky.  By shear luck I got rid of it before the health inspector made his next visit.


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## chris bruce (Jul 5, 2014)

Fair answer. I have never had any spills and or loose items get into my bag. I agree he was full of crap as when I have my knives in my bag I use Mag edge guards and my knives are clean so I don't see a problem with keeping it clean. 

I do see your point but again a rinse before service after taking out of a bag does that trick as well. I think it all comes down to personal preference, I feel the leather is amazing and works far better than the nylon.

Also just to answer that I tend to put my bag up as high as I can as to avoid spills and things falling in or god forbid some thing climbing in  So in all I think it is what we prefer and how we are as chefs if you have a  habit of leaving things low then yeah it might get ruined. If you are like me and put it up high and only use it when getting a tool out then it seems to work fine. 

I am glad we have both points of view on this it is nice to see it from another perspective.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Go to home depot buy yourself a good big plastic toolbox that you can lock. That's what many of the Pro's use. If it gets dirty  run through dishwasher.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

The knives and the rolls that the culinary schools make the kids buy are a farce.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Chris Bruce said:


> I tend to put my bag up as high as I can as to avoid spills and things falling in or god forbid some thing climbing in


Ah...I see.... You want to store sharp, heavy, pointy-ended objects as high above your head and body as possible and yet still be readily accessible.

Roger that. Over and out...


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## chris bruce (Jul 5, 2014)

foodpump said:


> Ah...I see.... You want to store sharp, heavy, pointy-ended objects as high above your head and body as possible and yet still be readily accessible.
> 
> Roger that. Over and out...


I was thinking you are not so bad and seem to have some incite but t appears either your just a jerk or you have no common sense. Yes I keep my bag open with points out and no guards, right directly above my head. Matter of fact I use my mutant powers to levitate it over my head as I work.

Now maybe reality of the inside of a kitchen? When I use my bag I take what I will need for a shift, some of us know we will not be using all 14 knives at once. I take my chef my slicer and a utility, the rest and kept safe and sound in a roll secured and up on a shelf out of the way. Now just to make it toddler clear the case is secured locked and the knives have mag knife guards on them (new invention since the last time you worked in a kitchen I would guess) and it is set atop a shelf not to be in mine or any ones way. No I do not use my knife roll to plate food on. No I do not take my knife guards off and leave my bag open and balancing on objects above mine or any ones heads. Hope that clears it up for you if need be I can make a photo tutorial to make it very clear if that still don't work (at this point would not surprise me) we can make you a video so you can see all the pretty moving shapes and hear the voices tell you what to do.

Roger that over and out.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Welcome to Cheftalk.

If you're ever in Vancouver, you can come and visit me in my kitchen.  Bring your knives.


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## chris bruce (Jul 5, 2014)

Will do I have a business downtown on Pender near Harbor Center I would love too. I am on a consulting job right now in Taiwan so as soon as I am back I would really love to. Thank you for the invite.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

I'm on Hastings @ Nanaimo, on holidays this week, we'll open up the 15th, Tue to Sat, 9-5.


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## chris bruce (Jul 5, 2014)

Cool Nice to meet you i'm Chris. Enjoy your break I do look forward to meeting you. I think it would be fun, knocking heads and all it is still nice to meet others with passion for what they do. Take care and enjoy your vacation.


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

I'm reviving this old thread to point out these attache cases are very well made and going for about 80 dollars plus shipping on ebay right now... A friend at work has one and they are spectacular. There are pictures on the ebay listing if you scroll down. Good alternative to rolls and brand name attaches which seem to retail for a few hundred dollars +

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231133596166


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

That's pretty cool! Dunno if it's long enough for my 300mm yanagiba with the saya.  How do shorter knives stay put?


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## rsi rich (Nov 12, 2014)

That looks like a great deal,  Is the attache specifically for knives only?  I know most people usually have other tools in the rolls also.  How difficult is it commuting with this case?


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

I believe they are 19 inches in length, the coworker has a 12" sab tranchelard so i suspect thats roughly 17" overall. He is able to store alot of knives in their saya, along with his idahone. Hand tools can fit underneath the handles of your knives. Not alot of space there and i believe he kind of fits a paring knife and petty under the handle too but.. we'll see when mine gets here. I believe they lock aswell!


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## jim berman (Oct 28, 1999)

I am all for a rugged, easily-cleaned, hard to steal tool box. It takes a beating, is stashed easily, passed through the dish machine and identifiable if it goes walking. Although, I am most envious of that roll @chef bruce pictured above. Nice! Classic and looks great!


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## chris bruce (Jul 5, 2014)

Thanks Jim I really am Lucky to have got this and for me I am on top of the world. I might also mention that now a days I only do consulting so every week I am in a new kitchen and never do my knives get left any place I am not.

I hope some of you guys enjoy this and again just really wanted to give a shout out to the guys from Jende and say Thanks!!! 

It just blows my mind they did that for me.

The other day I ordered 2 knives from them to replace some from my kit I will post those when they come. The things they sale are high end and have a price tag but I guess you get what you pay for. I know for many of us this is our art, our job and our life so I am a believer in spend the money to do the job and don't cheap out I just spent 2800.00 for  2 of the knives from them. Like I said well worth it from this place, I know my money is well spent in Quality and in customer support.

Thanks all you guys on the feedback.


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

SpoiledBroth said:


> I'm reviving this old thread to point out these attache cases are very well made and going for about 80 dollars plus shipping on ebay right now... A friend at work has one and they are spectacular. There are pictures on the ebay listing if you scroll down. Good alternative to rolls and brand name attaches which seem to retail for a few hundred dollars +
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/231133596166


so theres enough room in this case for an additional 2" of blade length on my tojiro dp 240, 3" if you cut a slit into the handle rest on the opposite side. Very happy with my case, less so with my postal carrier. Need thinner edge guards though. Always something...


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

chefedb said:


> The knives and the rolls that the culinary schools make the kids buy are a farce.


consider how much area might be taken up by 15-20 or more plastic toolboxes. Usually pros use the fullsize ones with an insert... most culinary students wont acquire enough gear to utilize that space while in school and I imagine not all school kitchens are massive.

I own one fullsize roll and now i plan to use it for a pallete knife or two, fork, bk and microplane. I also use garnish rolls because i can keep almost all my hand tools on station.


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## chef hanz (Jun 2, 2014)

Mercer makes a chef pack its a back pack with built in knife case holds utensils laptop etc got mine for less than 90$.


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## chris bruce (Jul 5, 2014)

yeah really the Jende knife roll is for higher end chefs it is not meant for line cooks and kids just starting. this is elegant and a fuctioning work of art to reflect the skill, love and passion we have for our profession. 
I guess for me I want the best quality and the best look from my whites to my roll, if i walk in with a 15 dollar set of whites and a plastic tackle box to most every place i have been, i would be looked at like some jack ass kid, and in truth would feel like i take no pride in what I do.
So to some it up I pay for quality and functionality and i hope my gear can show just from one look how serious i take my profession.


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

Arent you worried about edges rubbing against spines? V. Expensive leather case...


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## chris bruce (Jul 5, 2014)

i use Edge-mag guards so no i don't worry at all. plusthe bag has waxed canvas backed flaps to protect it as well


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

The price of a chef's whites and his knife roll are not a good gauge of the chef's culinary abilities, only his wallet.


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## chris bruce (Jul 5, 2014)

@Spoiled Agree with you it don't say nothing about his ability just the pride he takes in his job.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

How do you clean it.    I empty my tool box take out the foam sheets and run it through the dishwasher.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

The pride I take in my craft shows through clearly on the plate.


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

I thought pride was the name of the pinch grip callus


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## duckfat (Aug 7, 2008)

That's a pretty amazing piece of leather. Gotta go with what works for you but I never liked leather much for my working knives. A roll like that is going to draw a lot of unwanted attention. I did use a roll for a few years (cloth) but once I started using a plastic tool box I never looked back.

Nice craftsmanship on the leather either way and I can see why you like it.

If I was going to pimp my kit I think I'd have to roll with one of these;

http://korin.com/Glestain-Knife-Case


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## adeason (Jan 26, 2015)

Incredible roll, searching for one right this second!


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## mgm0 (Nov 27, 2012)

Before leaving CR the idea of getting one got into me. Sadly I couldn't get one. Tough luck.

DIY Knife roll by me





  








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On the flip-side leather is cheap. It was a real treat making it. Its not the prettiest one for sure, but next time I'll do better. It's been handy for traveling so far.

The Jende one looks amazing though. Something to aim for I guess.


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

The thing with leather is you have to watch out for corrosion on your nice knives.  Also the type of leather and how it is tanned matters.  You want vegetable tanned leather.  Chrome tanned cause a lot of problems with the process.  Acids, salts, etc.  bad stuff for metal.

On top of that the already mentioned theft problem.

Not for me.


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

DuckFat said:


> That's a pretty amazing piece of leather. Gotta go with what works for you but I never liked leather much for my working knives. A roll like that is going to draw a lot of unwanted attention. I did use a roll for a few years (cloth) but once I started using a plastic tool box I never looked back.
> Nice craftsmanship on the leather either way and I can see why you like it.
> If I was going to pimp my kit I think I'd have to roll with one of these;
> 
> http://korin.com/Glestain-Knife-Case


I would hate to have my knives clunking together like that... Korin has some really nice hard cases though


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## chris bruce (Jul 5, 2014)

SpoiledBroth said:


> I would hate to have my knives clunking together like that... Korin has some really nice hard cases though


Really? Did you not look a that hard case? It is a Open Box that's all your knives will be doing. In the leather cases each knife is secured and then has a protective flap over it. Sorry but that is just a box and nothing to keep them in one place so all they will do is clunk together.


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

Chris Bruce said:


> Really? Did you not look a that hard case? It is a Open Box that's all your knives will be doing. In the leather cases each knife is secured and then has a protective flap over it. Sorry but that is just a box and nothing to keep them in one place so all they will do is clunk together.


which is exactly what i said....


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## duckfat (Aug 7, 2008)

Your knifes are not going to be clunking around in a box unless you plan on playing Monkey in the middle with it. If your that fastidious use knife guards, cloth or foam roll to wrap them.

No biggie.


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

Put the box sideways in a backpack and walk a few miles ? They're going to clunk together


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

MillionsKnives said:


> The thing with leather is you have to watch out for corrosion on your nice knives. Also the type of leather and how it is tanned matters. You want vegetable tanned leather. Chrome tanned cause a lot of problems with the process. Acids, salts, etc. bad stuff for metal.
> 
> On top of that the already mentioned theft problem.
> 
> Not for me.


Same problem with woodworkers who buy expensive chisels and store them in split leather tool rolls--they rust....


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## duckfat (Aug 7, 2008)

DP


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## duckfat (Aug 7, 2008)

foodpump said:


> Same problem with woodworkers who buy expensive chisels and store them in split leather tool rolls--they rust....


...and Ice Chisels..and


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## chris bruce (Jul 5, 2014)

DuckFat said:


> Your knifes are not going to be clunking around in a box unless you plan on playing Monkey in the middle with it. If your that fastidious use knife guards, cloth or foam roll to wrap them.
> 
> No biggie.


So why buy a box if you are still going to have to roll them to protect them? That;s why we have knife rolls! I also use knife guards in my roll it should be number one thing to protect your edge.


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## chris bruce (Jul 5, 2014)

About rust and leather, all my blades are High Carbon most are virgin steel, I do a lot of work in Asia with a humidity rate that will kill you. All of my blades are perfect. I work and use my blades as well as keep them oiled when not in use, therefor no problem at all safe and sound tight and not bouncing round in a box but in a leather roll.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Oh high carbon will rust--quite easily, and I don't know what "virgin steel" is, but then again, who knows what that steel is doing when no one's looking?

Taiwan's kinda unique in that it straddles the equator.  I worked for 5 years in S'pore, high heat (30-35 daily) high humidity (+- 90%rh on a dialy basis) and knives will rust even in a air conditioned climate.  I'm partial to Victorinox which is quite robust and fairly rust free.  Wiped down one knife and unwittingly left a tomato seed near the heel of the blade.  A week later I take out the knife, and I have a rust pit where the tomato seed was. It happens on s/s meat slicer blades too.

Meh, time will tell. Maybe in a year from now you'll finally figure out that the leather roll will smell skanky--like a boy's highschool locker room, you'll find crud in the pockets, which is virtually impossible to remove, and you'll start to wonder how do you sanitize the thing.  Most of the "regs" on this site who've been working in kitchens for over 20 years have already commented on it.


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

foodpump said:


> Oh high carbon will rust--quite easily, and I don't know what "virgin steel" is, but then again, _who knows what that steel is doing when no one's looking_?


Haaaa! So many days without a big, spontaneous laugh! Thanks for that.


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## chris bruce (Jul 5, 2014)

LOL Agree no one really knows what it is doing. Well this year I will be celebrating my number 20 in the kitchen and have had nothing but leather rolls and to this date 0 problems.

Now again this could just be because I take care of them very well and it might not be for everyone, but for me nothing is better.  Thanks for the Smile on that comment foodpump


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

I have carbon steel and they always rust and they are not cheap either, but they are old.


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## jim berman (Oct 28, 1999)

Had the absolute pleasure to review the "Rocco" knife roll from Savage Supply Co. I think the review fits nicely into this thread:
[product="27548"]Savage Supply Co Rocco Knife Roll [/product]


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