The question for this review of my 36" magnetic knife rack is: what is the standard for comparison, peer knife racks or my own expectations?
If the comparison is other knife racks at this price point, I'm sure this one does fine. Probably better than some and not as good as others. There's A LOT of garbage on the market after all.
On the other hand, if the comparison is my expectation set by their advertising, well, I don't think the value is quite there. Here goes:
The magnets are advertised as "very powerful". However, each of my knives, which I consider to be well within the normal distribution of weight and design (Victorinox, Shun chef and santoku knives, boning knives, etc.), tilt and swing when placed and it is difficult or impossible to keep them vertical.
Artificer Woodworks solution to "heavier" knife placement is to "place your knives with the handle up and the blade down, so the handle rests on the top edge of the rack." Are they kidding? No freaking thank you. Hard pass!!! Makes me question what they consider to be a "heavier" knife. I mean, a rack at this price point with "very powerful" magnets should easily take an 8" chef's knife without slipping or tilting. But, that doesn't seem to be the case with mine.
Also, there are dead zones between each of the couple dozen or so bar magnets which reduces the functional number of knives my bar can hold from the advertised 15-18 to more like 12-14 at best. Not a huge deal because I understand magnetic fields. But also doesn't meet the expectations they set.
Separately, despite the walnut species, the wood isn't very dense allowing it to become damaged easily. Mine seemed to be packed okay for shipping but there was a small amount of damage to the box which transferred as cosmetic edge dents and damage (about the width of my thumb). The knives hide that damage but not something I'd expect from this price point. I fear that over time the longevity of the product may be impacted.
Takeaway: The rack is "okay" or "fine". My knives stick to the wood and, with a bit of finessing and coaxing, some of them will sit vertically. Yes, the grain is unique and esthetically pleasing as advertised. But, I'm more about function. I was looking at a price point where I was hoping to get dense wood and strong magnets. Perhaps that doesn't exist. My solution is to make my own. Looking over the product, that seems quite easy to do.
