This well-intentioned article’s title is innocent but could understandably be mistaken as a more nefarious search term when discovered by an employer on a work computer. If your intentions, like the title, are innocent, then welcome - you’re in the right place.
Read the following as an excuse to said employer. There are countless situations and reasons for needing to package or send a knife somewhere: you might be a chef and commute with them daily; you might be moving house; giving one as a gift; or throwing one away (we’ve a handy article on how to do that here); or you might even be sending it back to us for sharpening. An aside: we offer complimentary knife sharpening to all of our Katto Rewards members – which is why we’ve put out this article as frankly, we’ve received packages that have raised (and sometimes nearly shaved) eyebrows.
Packaging correctly is ultimately for safety - yours, the courier’s, the person receiving the blade at the tail end of its journey. But of course, it would be remiss and at odds with everything we preach if we didn’t also care about the condition of the blades.
Sending knives in the post
It is perfectly legal to send knives in the post, as long as they’re packaged correctly. For example, when sending knives with Royal Mail, it’s stated that ‘sharp objects like knives, kitchen utensils and gardening tools may only be posted if they are packaged appropriately so that they are no risk to employees.’ Appropriate packaging comes down to the choice of materials used as well as the way in which the blade is secured. The malpractice of either could lead to the knife being exposed and therefore dangerous or even becoming damaged itself.
Ideally, you’d use the original box to safely ship your knife as the manufacturer will have packaged it to follow legal postal requirements, as well as to protect the knife in transit. If you’ve disposed of the original box, however, do not despair.
To package a knife for shipping, you must first secure the blade’s tip and cutting edge. We’d recommend cork for the tip and a heavy cardboard for the sharp edge. A great way of doing this is by fashioning a tight-fitting scabbard out of cardboard and some heavy-duty tape, then placing some cork shavings in the bottom of it and sliding the knife inside. If you already have a leather scabbard, you should of course skip this step and use that instead. Secure the handle with some foam wrapping or bubble wrap – this is to protect the handle from any dents or bumps whilst being handled. Finally, place the packaged blade in a padded envelope.
Packaging knives for transit
If you’re moving house, taking your knives to work, or dropping them off with a specialist, similar rules apply to sending a knife in the post. Again, the blade’s original packaging or a leather scabbard is ideal. If you have neither to hand, we can only assume it’s because your Katto Leather Scabbard is still in the post. In that case, secure the blade edge, point, and handle in the methods stated above, making sure that the packaging won’t come loose as it is jostled by the movement and contents of your bag.
To conclude
As a final note, you cannot go overboard with packaging for safety. Anyone receiving a packaged blade would far rather have to break into a Fort Knox-style assemblage of cardboard, foam, tape, and glue, than potentially injure themselves or have to deal with a knife further damaged by transit.