Knife Storage Drawer Insert

After risking a potential trip to the emergency room for stitches for way too long, I finally decided to make an insert for one of the kitchen drawers to keep the knives in a safe and orderly fashion.

Scraps of 3/4" plywood, cut down 2" x 4"s, and 1/8" luan project board.

This was what my knife drawer looked like before the project. You can see how it was an accident just waiting to happen. I didn't like what I saw online for knife storage, so I opted for a DIY. Woo-hoooo! Shop time!

I cut a 9 1/2" x 17 1/2" section of scrap luan as the base of the drawer insert. Somewhat in the middle I glued a 2" tall by 9 1/2" piece of 3/4" plywood. Before glueing the plywood piece, I cut seven slots at 1 1/4" intervals with the table saw. Four are 1 1/2" deep for the chef's and santoku knives and three 1" slots for the thinner bladed knives (boning, paring, and bread knives). About 3 1/2" from the bottom edge is a piece of cut down 2" x 4" trimmed to 3/4" x 1" x 9 1/2". That serves as a rest for the base of the knife handles and prevents the knives from tipping up at the back of the drawer. The last pieces are a section of 1/4" plywood cut to 3" x 9 1/2" glued to two 1" by scraps. When the insert is placed in the drawer, this creates a small pocket for the kitchen shears.

Here is the completed insert set in the drawer. I put a folded kitchen towel in the back section of the drawer to protect the knife edges. An extra slicing and paring knife that we seldom use fit nicely under the blades of the knives on the rack and the shears are readily accessible at the front of the drawer.

I opted to make the insert removable for cleaning or to take with us if we decide to move.