Pelican case for knife storage question

M

mdjmd

Joined
Jan 24, 2018
Messages
119
Just got a Pelican 1550, great case. It comes with 2 layers of very thick pick-and-pluck foam to allow for customized storage. I've 'plucked' the top layer of foam and inserted my knives, but they protrude out the top of the foam too much for the lid to close. I need to do one of two things ...

Option 1: Remove the exact same cutouts on the bottom layer of foam, partially trim the lengths of the removed pieces and re-insert them so the knives won't sink down too far.

Option 2: Stuff my knives in their holes and squash the lower foam layer as much as I need in order to achieve the desired height.

If anyone out there has a similar setup I'd love to hear how you are handling this situation. Thanks in advance!
 
I've done option 1 before with the pick and pluck in pelicans. It wasn't with knives but same scenario.
 
Thanks for the responses so far guys! Kahuna, I looked at them and they are very beautifully done. But they don't seem to maximize the storage space and I can keep many more knives in the case by using the pick-and-pluck foam. Eventually I will probably get another case with the Nalpak insert for my most precious knives, but until then I'm trying to maximize storage so I want to optimize my current set up.
 
For my knife storage, I mostly use Pelican cases. I have one with the Nalpak insert and another that I just pick and pluck'd. The Nalpak holds my modern folders while the pick n pluck holds my traditional folders. Both works well but the Nalpak looks much cleaner.

Screenshot_20180226-232022.jpg Screenshot_20180226-232044.jpg
ZP64H

QppDK
 
Last edited:
Hey viper, you will be able to answer my question specifically! The amount of exposed knife in your second pic is exactly what I’m going for. So did you achieve that by going with Option 1 or Option 2?
 
Be careful

If you live in an area that has high humidity rusting in cases can be an issue

It has long been common knowledge that you should not store fine custom firearms in foam cases for long periods of time

Know I know most of these folders pictured above are of stainless steel etc but just something to consider

I would not store my fine carbon and Damascus blades in foamed cases for long periods of time and I would suggest using quality rust inhibitors and silica bags
 
All excellent points JP, I researched this very carefully before making my purchase, but your warnings are definitely worth mentioning again.

I’m still waiting to hear back from viper how he achieved that perfect height for his knives. Hopefully he will chime in again.
 
The Nalpak cases are very nice. I have been toying with the idea of picking up a 1200 for like a year, for just top tier stuff. I like how much neater/cleaner the Nalpak cut/dual color foam looks.

I already have the desiccant bags, keep them in the safes in the house as well.
 
For my traditional knives, I throw in a desiccant or two to help inhibit rust but i have been needing to buy some higher quality ones. Only issue is that I forgot to make appropriate space for a larger one so I am using desiccant bags that come with things I bought.

As far as height, the Nalpak fits most of my modern folders as I stick with a specific size for my knives however, if it is too small, I used felt cut to the height of the slot then rolled up and pushed to the bottom so the smaller knives will sit on it. The 3 folders on the left are 3in blades so I used felt to get them to the correct height.

For my traditional folders, I have 3 different sized cases...small, medium, and large to accommodate the sizes of my traditionals. The second pic worked out because the knives were of similar height and pushed down into the base foam pad. They were all plucked for the same height. I am thinking it was stored long enough for the knives to press down on the foam. For size, I have a GEC 98 whittler as the largest and a GEC 15 in that box.
 
viper89 thanks for clarifying ... so if I have this correct, you plucked out the foam completely from the top layer, and you didn’t pluck out any of the bottom layer? It simply became compact over time? My case came with 2 layers of pick-n-pluck foam, so if I just pluck the top layer my knives protrude several inches above the foam and the lid doesn’t close.
 
mdjmd said:
viper89 thanks for clarifying ... so if I have this correct, you plucked out the foam completely from the top layer, and you didn’t pluck out any of the bottom layer? It simply became compact over time? My case came with 2 layers of pick-n-pluck foam, so if I just pluck the top layer my knives protrude several inches above the foam and the lid doesn’t close.
Click to expand...

I picked from both of the pick n pluck layers. The base foam layer is on the bottom of the 2 pick n plucks. The knives either barely sit on top of the base foam and is flushed with the top OR is pressed down into the base layer because the knife reached the max height the case can accommodate.

I think I would be best to re-insert foam cut to accommodate the knife and height you are looking for. I used felt for my nalpak since I didn't pick n pluck it but I think foam would be more precise especially since you can just cut the pick n pluck you just plucked.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top