Custom Knife Boxes
Custom knife boxes from 100 — long rigid magnetic boxes, sleeve-and-tray boxes and folding window cartons for chef’s knives, paring knives and sets, with foam or card inserts that hold the blade clear of the walls.
Holding a sharp edge so it never touches the box
- Board
- Wrapped grayboard rigid with foam insert; SBS cardstock for folding window cartons
- Styles
- Magnetic flap, sleeve and drawer, window carton, long lift-off lid, kraft tuck
- Inserts
- Foam or die-cut card holding the handle and bolster, blade in a clear channel
Order online
Order knife boxes
Starting from $7.00 per unit
Printed to your artwork or plain, sold in runs of 100 up to 5,000 units per product online. Freight to the US, UK, Canada and Australia is inside the price.
How an online order runs
- Add the units you needThen check out with your delivery address. Add other products to the same order on the way.
- A digital proof comes backLaid on the dieline, before anything prints. Change it as often as you need.
- Pay once you approve itPay by PayPal invoice or bank transfer after you approve your digital proof, or cash on delivery in the US and Canada.
- We make it and ship it deliveredYour delivery date is confirmed with the proof, against the spec and your fill date. Freight and customs are handled on the way to you.
Another size, board or finish, or more than 5,000 units? Send the spec for a price instead. Freight by market and our terms cover delivery and remakes.
Get a price for Knife Boxes
Send the size and quantity — we reply the same working day with a price, a dieline and a date. Artwork optional at this stage.
- Free dielineThe flat drawing comes with the quote, before you commit.
- Proof before pressNothing is printed until you have seen it laid on the dieline.
- Die kept for reordersTooling is paid once. Every reorder skips straight to press.
- Quoted in four marketsUS, UK, Canada and Australia, in the delivery currency.
Holding the handle, not the blade
The insert grips the knife at the handle and bolster, where it is thick and strong, and leaves the blade suspended in a channel slightly wider and deeper than it is. Foam does this best for heavy chef’s knives; a die-cut card insert with a handle slot works for lighter knives. The blade should have a sheath or an edge guard where you supply one, and the channel is cut to fit it. Our foam inserts cut to the product page shows how a cavity is drawn.
Box styles by knife and by price
| Rigid magnetic flap | Chef’s and santoku knives sold as a gift; foam bed, lid opens like a book |
|---|---|
| Sleeve and drawer | Slim rigid or paperboard tray that slides out of a printed sleeve |
| Folding window carton | Retail knives on a shelf; window shows the blade, insert holds the handle |
| Long lift-off lid | Sets of two or three knives side by side |
| Kraft tuck box | Utility and pocket knives, workshop tools |
Sizes that follow the blade length
Box length is the overall knife length plus room at each end for the insert, usually about an inch. Paring knives come out around 9 in, utility knives around 11 in, and a 10 in chef’s knife needs a box near 16 in. Width follows the deepest point of the blade or the bolster. Long, narrow boxes are built with a heavier board so they do not twist when picked up at one end.
What the box tells a buyer
- Blade length and steel type on the end panel or the sleeve.
- Handle material and how to care for it.
- A warning line about the sharp edge where a buyer opens the box.
- A care card inside the lid: hand wash, dry, store guarded.
Knife boxes for cutlery and kitchen brands
Knives are often sold alongside cutlery, boards and cookware, and a brand wants the boxes to look related. Wraps, colors and the lid style can be matched across a range. Flatware and serving sets have their own boxes in our custom cutlery box range.
Send a knife, or its overall length, blade depth and handle thickness, and we draw the insert around it.
Knife Boxes — specification
The rows that are specific to this build first, then what applies to every job we run. Anything not listed is a question, not a limit — send the brief.
This build
- Board
- Wrapped grayboard rigid with foam insert; SBS cardstock for folding window cartons
- Styles
- Magnetic flap, sleeve and drawer, window carton, long lift-off lid, kraft tuck
- Inserts
- Foam or die-cut card holding the handle and bolster, blade in a clear channel
- Full color wraps, foil, embossing, matte black and soft-touch
- Sizes
- From about 9 in for paring knives to 18 in for long slicers
- Minimum
- 100 boxes per size and design
On every job
- Print process
- Digital below about a thousand, offset above it. One side or both, with spot colors where a match has to hold.
- Color
- CMYK as standard. Uncoated and kraft stocks print lighter and warmer; a spot color is the only exact match.
- Tolerance
- Cutting plus or minus 1 mm, creasing plus or minus 0.5 mm, confirmed on a plain sample before the run.
- Tooling
- A cutting die per size, made once and kept. Foil and emboss dies per artwork, also kept.
- Food contact
- Food-grade board and inks where the carton touches food, with the interior left plain.
- Sustainability
- Mono-material board wherever the product allows; recycled-content and FSC stocks; no claim printed the pack does not earn.
- Artwork
- Vector PDF or AI, 3 mm bleed, 4 mm safe area, fonts outlined. We check every file and send a proof before press.
- Dieline
- Supplied free with the quote, before you commit. Yours whether or not you order.
- Sample
- A plain unprinted sample at the finished size on request, for fit and construction.
- Reorders
- Skip the tooling and go straight to press at a lower unit price.
- Lead time
- Quoted with the price against your fill date rather than promised before we have seen the spec.
- Markets
- United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia — priced in the delivery currency, freight included.
Boards and films we build knife boxes on
A folding carton is one sheet of board, so the board is the product. These are the stocks we run for cartons, what each is good at, and where it lets you down.
Natural kraft
Unbleached folding board. Warm, hides marks, costs least. Mutes color — one or two flat colors print well, photographs do not.
250–350gsm sleeves; 14–24pt cartonsWhite SBS
Solid bleached sulfate: bright, coated, the retail carton standard. Takes accurate color and every finish. Shows scuffs sooner than kraft.
14–24ptWhite lined chipboard
A recycled gray core under a white printing face. Cheaper than SBS and slightly duller; the back of the sheet stays gray.
16–24ptKraft-look coated
A kraft face over a coated inner. The natural look with a barrier behind it — the answer where oil, grease or moisture would mark plain kraft.
14–20ptRecycled-content board
Post-consumer fiber with a gray-brown cast. Right for outers and inner components; poor for bright whites and photography.
16–22ptMicro-flute E and F
A fine corrugated layer where a carton needs structure it cannot get from board — a large panel, a heavy product, a box that ships alone.
E 1.5 mm; F 0.8 mmUncoated and textured
No clay coat, or a linen or laid grain. Print reads softer and warmer; a deboss goes deeper. Photographs do not sit well on it.
280–350gsmMetalized and pearlescent
A metallic or pearl face for a shelf that needs to catch light. Costly, and it fights a photograph — a mark or a pattern suits it better.
16–20ptNot sure which? Say what goes in it and where it is sold — the material follows from that. Our notes on recycled, recyclable and compostable cover which claims each stock can honestly carry.
- 01
Send what you have
A dimension, a photograph beside a ruler, or the product itself. No technical drawing needed — that part is ours.
- 02
We quote and draw
A price, a dieline and a date come back together. If a different build would suit the product better, that is in the reply too.
- 03
Approve the dieline
The flat drawing is yours to check: which panel is the front, where the folds fall, how deep the cavity really is.
- 04
Artwork on the dieline
You place your design on the flat we sent, or we place it for you, and you see a proof before anything goes to press.
- 05
A sample if you want one
A plain unprinted sample at the finished size shows fit and construction — the things a drawing cannot.
- 06
Cut, printed, shipped
The die is cut once and kept, so every reorder skips the tooling and goes straight to press at a lower unit price.
Format
Vector PDF or AI where possible. Raster artwork at 300dpi at final size, in CMYK.
Bleed
3 mm past every trim line, so a fraction of drift on the cutter never leaves a white edge.
Safe area
Keep type and anything important 4 mm inside the cut and away from every fold.
Color
Convert to CMYK before sending. Uncoated stock prints lighter; a spot color is the only exact match.
Fonts
Outline them or supply the files. A missing font substitutes silently and the proof will not match.
Barcodes
On a light, matte, unvarnished patch with the quiet zone clear — a code on gloss fails the scanner.
Not set up that way? Send it anyway — fixing a file is a short conversation, and we check every one before press. Our guide to preparing print files covers each point.
Every finish here is a decision about light on a shelf, not about luxury.
Matte lamination
Reads considered, hides marks, takes a ballpoint.
Gloss lamination
Lifts color; glares under shop lighting.
Soft-touch
Velvet in the hand; shows fingerprints in a bag.
Hot foil
Real metal leaf — the most reliable premium signal.
Emboss / deboss
Shape with no ink; works in the dark.
Spot UV
Gloss shapes on a matte field.
Uncoated kraft
Warm, natural, mutes color.
Textured stock
Texture in the paper; cannot scuff off.
Not sure which suits the shelf it sells from? Say where the product is sold and we suggest one — our notes on specialty finishes show them on real boxes.
Sizing a folding carton so the die comes out right: knife boxes
Measure the product, not the box it is in now. A carton is built around what has to fit inside it, assembled — cap on, lid fitted, folded if it folds — at its widest point in each direction. Send those three numbers and say which is which.
- Length x width x height
- Internal, always. External dimensions include the board and are what the carrier measures, not what the product needs.
- Clearance
- 2–3 mm a side for a snug fit; more where an insert or void fill goes in. A carton cut exactly to the product is slow to pack and transmits every knock.
- Board thickness
- Heavier board takes internal space from the product. It matters most on small boxes, where four walls of 24pt is a real share of the cavity.
- Varies between batches?
- Glass, textiles, molded parts and cured soap all do. Measure several and build to the largest.
- Cutting tolerance
- Plus or minus 1 mm on folding board. Confirmed on a plain sample before the run.
- Units
- Metric or imperial, as long as you say which. Mixing them in one spec is where mistakes happen.
Not sure your numbers are right? Send the product dimensions rather than the box dimensions and we work the box out — the full method is in our guide to measuring for a box.
Interactive · five steps · no sign-up
Build your Knife Boxes in 3D
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a board and a finish. The preview on the left redraws as you go, and the spec lands with us exactly as you set it.
Frequently asked questions
Got a question about knife boxes? The answers below cover what we get asked most. If yours is not here, send it with a brief, message us on WhatsApp, or call +1 503-461-4788 — we reply the same working day.
How do knife boxes keep the blade from touching the box?
The insert holds the knife at the handle and bolster and leaves the blade in a channel wider and deeper than it is.
What insert is best for a chef’s knife box?
Foam, cut to the knife’s outline. It holds a heavy knife firmly and absorbs knocks in transit.
Can knife boxes have a window?
Yes. Folding window cartons show the blade on a retail shelf while the insert holds the handle out of reach of the window.
How long should a knife box be?
The overall knife length plus about an inch at each end. A 10 inch chef’s knife needs a box near 16 inches.
Can a knife box hold a set of knives?
Yes. A long lift-off lid or magnetic box holds two or three knives side by side, each in its own cavity.
Are rigid knife boxes suitable as gifts?
Yes. A magnetic flap rigid box with a foam bed opens like a book and is the usual gift presentation.
Can a knife box include a care card?
Yes. A printed card inside the lid can cover washing, drying, sharpening and storage.
Do knife boxes need a sharp edge warning?
It is good practice. We place your warning text where the buyer opens the box, as you supply it.
Can knife boxes be made for pocket and utility knives?
Yes. Smaller kraft tuck boxes or rigid boxes with a card insert suit folding and utility knives.
Can a knife box hold a blade guard or sheath?
Yes. The blade channel is cut to fit the sheath or guard you supply, so it stays on in transit.
Can knife boxes match my cutlery packaging?
Yes. Wrap papers, colors and lid styles can be matched across knives, flatware and serving sets.
Same range
