magnetic knife or tool holder

[Geoffrey]

Does anyone know where I can something like this in Udon? http://www.ikea.com/th/en/catalog/products/00202084/

[parrot]

If you can't find exactly what you're looking for (I've never seen a magnetic knife holder in Udon), you might be able to make your own. Use a strip of stainless sheeting, put a few neodymium magnets behind it, and fold over the edges of the sheet to the back of magnets. You can tidy it up with some foil tape if you like.
I've recovered a few neodymium magnets from old hard drives......but maybe someone knows where they're sold downtown.

[Geoffrey]

You are amazing parrot. I never heard of neodymium before. I bet you even know what a robertson screwdriver is; something else I just learned.

[fatbob]

Aren't most knife blades stainless steel? If so they will not stick to a magnet.

[parrot]

Aren't most knife blades stainless steel? If so they will not stick to a magnet.

Hey, you're talking to the Imelda Marcos of knives (my wife!)......US, German, Japanese, Thai.....cheap to exxxpensive, you name it, she's got it. Some have 'stainless' on the blade. Every one sticks to a magnet.

But I did notice that a magnet won't stick to spoons/forks/knives that are engraved with 'stainless' on the back.

I guess that means there's stainless and then there's stainless. Magnets stick to what I thought was a stainless table for our 2 burner stove, but they don't stick to our stainless dish strainer.

[BobHelm]

Is stainless steel non-magnetic?

It is commonly stated that “stainless steel is non-magnetic”. This is not strictly true and the real situation is rather more complicated. The degree of magnetic response or magnetic permeability is derived from the microstructure of the steel. A totally non-magnetic material has a relative magnetic permeability of 1. Austenitic structures are totally non-magnetic and so a 100% austenitic stainless steel would have a permeability of 1. In practice this is not achieved. There is always a small amount of ferrite and/or martensite in the steel and so permeability values are always above 1. Typical values for standard austenitic stainless steels can be in the order of 1.05 – 1.1. See Composition effects on the magnetic permeability of austenitic stainless steels

It is possible for the magnetic permeability of austenitic steels to be changed during processing. For example, cold work and welding are liable to increase the amount of martensite and ferrite respectively in the steel. A familiar example is in a stainless steel sink where the flat drainer has little magnetic response whereas the pressed bowl has a higher response due to the formation of martensite particularly in the corners.

In practical terms, austenitic stainless steels are used for “non-magnetic” applications, for example magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In these cases, it is often necessary to agree a maximum magnetic permeability between customer and supplier. It can be as low as 1.004.

http://www.bssa.org.uk/faq.php?id=24

BRITISH STAINLESS STEEL ASSOCIATION

[fatbob]

We have a lot of 316 stainless steel on our job, we check to make sure we are not ripped off with a magnate. 316 will not stick to a magnate.

[KB_Texas]

I bought one here, and IIRC it was at Index. Cheap it was not, but it is both the magnet and the stainless case to hold it. IIRC (it has been well over a year so take it with a grain of salt) the cost was around 750 baht.

One issue you will have with it here that was not an issue with the one I had in the States is the little house lizards LOVE the thing! It gives them a convenient space to squeeze into to hide. I gave up using it due to having to wash the knife blades before each use, and started storing my sharps in a plastic container with a lid.

KB