Book Art: Magnetic Knife Holder

I saw this post on Instructables on making your own magnetic knife holder from a piece of wood and computer hard drive magnets. I love that idea, but found a way to make it a bit more personal for a book lover like myself.

How to make a magnetic knife block from a book:

Materials:
magnets (I got mine from salvaged hard drives, but this is a good place, too!)
book
x-acto knife
permanent glue


1. Start by choosing a book. I chose this old cookbook that worked well with my kitchen's colors.


2. Measuring your magnets, cut a well inside the front of the book block deep enough for the magnets to sit comfortably, but snugly.


3. Put a good amount of glue in the well and place your magnets inside. I broke a magnet trying to get it off one of the metal things - they are VERY brittle - and so I put the pieces in the gaps.


4. Next, glue the cover of the book down over the magnets and glue the edges of the book block to seal shut. Bye-bye recipes from the early 60's...


5. Place a heavy weight on it until it is dry. Afterwards, you have a couple of choices. You can drill two holes in the back of the book and put those keyhole hangers in them or do what I did because I'm impatient.


Voila! Sit it on your countertop and love the convenience of steak knives and paring knives within reaching distance. What I love about this is that they won't get dulled by rubbing against wood inside a block. And it's a book, of course.

As soon as I get more magnets, I hope to make a larger one for my big knives. If I'd had more money, I would have bought 1/8x1x2 magnets for this job and put them a lot closer together for better hold. Still, this works for now and I love how it looks!