[DIY GUIDE] Where to Hang The Knife Magnet in the Kitchen!

Knife magnets are a sleek and efficient upgrade to any kind of kitchen. Whether you have a small kitchen with limited counter space or a well-designed, modern kitchen with performance in mind, a knife magnet provides a functional way to both display and store your kitchen knives.

Where should you hang the knife magnet in the kitchen? To best showcase your knives, hang them above the stove or sink, or in the space between countertop prep area and upper cabinet. If you want your knives out of sight, hang them in or under a cabinet.

Before you decide where to hang your kitchen knives, it’s important to consider a few things about your kitchen space and what kind of setup you’d like to achieve.

Showcasing Your Knives with a Knife Magnet

Anyone with a great knife collection knows that part of the appeal to a knife magnet is the ability to stylishly showcase your blades. With just a sleek strip in the back, a knife magnet puts your knives up front with a full, unblocked display.

Choosing where to hang your kitchen showpiece, however, can be tricky. Here, we’ll go over a few different options in your kitchen and why you might like some places better than others.

Hanging your knives so they’re on display:

In the space between upper cabinet and countertop (on the backsplash).
The wall above and behind the stove.
Above the sink.
On the side of a cabinet.

If you have a small prep area, then it’s hard to argue for a more convenient place to hang your knives than the space between countertop and upper cabinets. No need to reach far for your knives while you’re prepping food, simply reach across your countertop and grab whichever knife you need.

If you have a very crowded countertop, mounting your knife magnet onto the backsplash may not be ideal. If kitchen gadgets and tools are blocking your access to the space between countertop and cabinet, then there’s still a few ideal places in your kitchen to show off your knives.

Mounting your knife magnet in the space above and behind the stove can be a great way to make use of previously empty wall space. And if your prep area is close to the stove, you still have the convenience of easily-reached knives. If your stove is on an island and you don’t have a wall behind it, you’ll obviously have to forgo this option.

Similar to the unused wall space behind a stove, you could also make use of the usually empty area above a sink. This has the added convenience of making clean-up easier. If you have a window behind your sink, the window frame also makes a great mount for knife magnets.

If your chosen spot has a lot of area you can cover, then you have free range on whether to orient your knives horizontally or vertically. Hanging knives vertically is often the usual go-to, my own knives are angled up at home, but rotating your knife magnet so that your knives are horizontal can be a great way to store extra-large knives.

If all this fails, most kitchens have unused space on the sides of upper cabinets. You might be restricted to hanging your knife magnet vertically (and your knives horizontally) if you mount on the side of a cabinet, but it’s still a great way to fill empty space.

Hanging Your Knife Magnet Out of Sight

If you want your knives out of sight or out of easy reach, then you can get creative. For keeping your knives out of sight, you can mount them inside or underneath one of your kitchen cabinets.

Where to hang knives so they’re out of sight:

Underneath an upper cabinet.
Inside a cabinet door.

Having your knives out of sight and out of reach could be an important safety consideration. For anyone with a young child that loves climbing your kitchen counters, it can become necessary to lock your knives away where they can’t be reached.

For the rest of us, wanting knives out of sight could just be as simple as just not wanting to look at hanging utensils in your kitchen.

For anyone that wants their knives both out of sight and out of reach, you can hang them inside a cabinet door. With a child lock on the cabinet, you can keep your knives in a secure area while also successfully freeing up room in your utensil drawer.

Don’t be cheap if you opt to put your knife magnet on a door; the swinging door can be a safety risk if your magnet isn’t strong.

If you want your knives out of sight but would prefer them in easier reach, you can store them on the underside of your upper cabinets. In this example, your knives will be suspended horizontally in the space hidden by the front façade of your cabinet.

When you hang your knives like this, you should always be sure to face the blades away from you for safe storage.

The Kitchen Knife Magnet

Knife magnets provide an excellent way to efficiently store your knife collection. To best protect your blades and yourself, you should consider the material going between your knives and the magnet. You’ll also need to decide how strong of a magnet you’ll need for your larger knives.

Knife magnets usually come with either a wood finish or have a stainless steel face. There’s advantages and disadvantages to each.

With a wood finish, your knives are less likely to be damaged since wood is soft enough to take the brunt of too hard contact. Metal faces, however, can be cleaned easily with a damp cloth and soap, making them the more sanitary option.

The magnetic strength you’ll need will depend on how large and heavy your knives are as well as how thick your face material is. If your knife magnet is too weak, you can usually install extra magnets on the back to add some more strength.

Advantages of using a knife magnet:

Free up space in either your utensil drawer or on your countertop.
No hidden nooks or crannies for bacteria to thrive in.
Can hold other metal items besides knives.

Once you have your knife magnet, it’s time to decide where to hang it. If you have large, long knives or plan on having larger knives in the future, it’s important to take the size of your largest knife into consideration. You may have to custom fit your knife magnet to squeeze in particularly small places.