How to set up your Magnetic Knife Holder
A magnetic holder is the kindest place a knife can live, but only if it stays on the wall. Putting one up is a ten-minute job, and most of that ten minutes is choosing the right fixing for your wall. Here is exactly what is in the box, which fixing to use, and how to do it so it stays put.
The short answer. Smooth, sealed, clean wall such as glazed tile, glass or gloss paint: use the adhesive strips. Painted plaster, wallpaper, textured tile, brick, or any doubt at all: use the screws through the two keyhole slots on the back. Either way, place each knife spine first and let the blade roll flat onto the wood.
What is in the box
Alongside the holder itself you will find two ways to fix it to the wall. You only need one of them.
- Three adhesive strips. Double-sided tissue tape, cut to the width of the holder. Two of them laid end to end cover the full length of the back. The third is a spare.
- Screws and wall plugs. Three of each. Two hang the holder from the keyhole slots at either end of the back, and the third is a spare.
Which fixing to use
This is the step that decides whether the holder is still on the wall next year. Adhesive is quick and leaves no holes, but it only bonds to the right surface. Screws take a drill and a few more minutes, and hold on almost anything.
Use the adhesive strips if your wall is glazed tile, glass, laminate, gloss paint or a sealed splashback. The surface needs to be smooth, hard, clean and completely dry.
Use the screws if your wall is matt or emulsion paint, bare plaster, wallpaper, textured or uneven tile, brick, or anything that leaves dust on your fingertip when you run it across. Adhesive bonds to the paint, not the wall, so if the paint lets go, so does the holder.
If you are not sure, use the screws. A holder full of knives weighs more than most people expect, and a drilled fixing never has to be thought about again.
What you will need
- A pencil and a spirit level. A level app on your phone is fine.
- For the adhesive strips: a clean cloth and some surgical spirit or isopropyl alcohol.
- For the screws: a drill, a bit to suit the wall plugs, a screwdriver, and a cable and pipe detector if you have one.
Putting it up
Pick the fixing you settled on above. Tap the tab, or swipe on a phone, to switch between them.
With the adhesive strips
- Pick the spot. Within easy reach of your prep area, away from the hob and the sink splash zone. Hold the holder against the wall, get it level, and mark the position of each end with a pencil.
- Clean the wall. Wipe the area with a cloth dampened with surgical spirit or isopropyl alcohol. Kitchen walls carry a film of cooking fat you cannot see, and it is the single most common reason adhesive fails.
- Let it dry fully. A minute or two is enough. Any moisture on the surface weakens the bond from the start.
- Put the strips on the holder, not the wall. Peel one side of each strip and lay two of them end to end along the back so the whole length is covered. Rub each one down firmly with your thumb so there are no air pockets. The tape is thin and needs the wall touching it along its whole length, so when you place the holder, avoid having a strip sit across a grout line or any ridge in the wall.
- Peel and place. Remove the remaining backing, line the holder up with your pencil marks, and press it to the wall. The tape grips straight away, so get the position right before it touches. Then press hard along the full length for thirty seconds. Pressure is what makes the bond.
- Check it, then load it. Give the holder a firm tug. If it does not shift, your knives can go up.
Do not lift and reposition the holder once the strips have touched the wall. Moving them halves their grip. If the position is wrong, peel the strips off, clean the wall again, and use fresh ones, or switch to the screws.
With the screws and plugs
- Mark the screw positions. Hold the holder where you want it, level it, and mark the wall through the round part of each keyhole slot. There is one at each end of the back.
- Check behind the wall. Before you drill in a kitchen, make sure there are no pipes or cables where you are going, especially near sockets and above the worktop. If in doubt, move along a little.
- Drill and plug. Drill each mark with a bit to suit the wall plug, push the plug in flush with the wall, and drive the screw in until the head stands a few millimetres proud. It needs to be far enough out for the keyhole to drop over it, and no further.
- Hang it. Offer the round end of each keyhole over its screw head, then let the holder slide down so the narrow part of the slot takes the weight. Give it a gentle tug to check it is seated on both screws.
- Load it. With screws there is no waiting. Your knives can go straight up.
Tiles can be drilled with a tile bit, started slowly with no hammer action. If you would rather not drill your tiles, that is exactly the wall the adhesive strips are for.
Swipe to switch fixing
Hanging your knives on it
The magnet runs behind the timber along the length of the holder. Place each knife with its flat side to the wood and the edge facing down. Spine first, then roll the blade flat. Taking it off is the reverse: tilt from the spine and lift. Never lead with the edge, which does to your knife exactly what a drawer does.
Spread the knives along the holder rather than crowding them at one end. It shares the weight evenly along the fixing, and it means you never pull one blade across another.
Common questions
How high should it go?
Somewhere between shoulder and eye height for whoever cooks most, close to the chopping board. High enough that long blades clear any wall units below, and out of reach of small hands.
Can I use it in a rented kitchen?
Yes. The adhesive strips leave no holes, which is why they are in the box. Check the surface against the list above first, and if the wall is painted plaster, ask your landlord before drilling rather than trusting tape on paint.
What if the holder comes away from the wall?
With adhesive it is almost always one of two things: the surface was not clean enough, or it was not a surface adhesive can hold on. Clean the wall again and use the spare strip, or move to the screws. If the holder has been damaged in a fall, get in touch with us before you do anything else and we will sort it out.
Does this apply to both the walnut and the acacia holder?
Both come with the same fixings and the same keyhole slots, so everything here applies to either.
Any questions, get in touch at support@kanzokitchen.co.uk. We are happy to help.
