Hickory hill knife rolls

[KnifeSlinger#81]

I'm thinking of changing storage to the hickory hill knife rolls that are made in the usa instead of the sack ups I currently use, at least for my best knives. I want something easily portable and to be able to see my knives easily without touching them. I have done some research and at the very least the hickory hill rolls seem to be of very high quality, but I would like to know of anybody else's experience, praises, problems or such before I seriously consider buying one. Thanks in advance.


Just for reference these are the rolls I am speaking of.

[FRJ]

Just my experience, Paul. I stepped away from the rolls and went to the zippered brief/valise knife carry.
Sorry I can't give you particulars on the item. 42 knives. They may have other models.
Much quicker access to knives than the rolls although the rolls can hold more knives.
The doing and undoing of the rolls was tedious.

[peanut740]

Paul for storage, sackups are the best.Rolls are fine,but for your best knives I would stick to what you got.Has far as zip up cases,if you plan to carry them around,the knives will move and come out of their loops,especially smaller knives.Just my opinion,I have used them all.

[RobesonsRme.com]

I like knife rolls and still use them, but I also have some of the valise cases Joe mentioned above.

My rolls are not Hickory Hill, but came from SMKW several years ago.

My one complaint with knife rolls is this, if they are not full of regular sized knives, there are not enough holes in the straps to tighten them up properly and safely. I've had to punch holes in the straps of all my rolls.

A loose roll will not keep the knives in their place.

Charlie

[kootenay joe]

I have at least 10 Hickory Hills knife rolls. The older ones are of better quality than the ones of last 5-10 years. I would not call any of them 'high' quality, but they are decent and don't break down.
The important aspect of knife rolls or storage cases is the quality of the elastic that holds the knives in place. I have never had the elastic deteriorate in a H.H. roll. In the fold up case type storage of which i have owned maybe 30 or so, in every one of them the elastic broke down within maybe 2-3 years and then they are useless.
Most of my H.H. rolls are now empty and i would sell them but the cost of shipping from Canada might be almost as much as buying new in USA. Note, after years of use they are as good as when new. I cannot say this for any other brand of knife rolls that i have used. If you want to use knife rolls, Hickory Hill are the ones to get.
kj

[Mumbleypeg]

I agree with Roger. Not gonna say I’ve tried them all, but I’ve tried a bunch. Sackups are by far the best IMHO. I had a bad experience with Hickory Hill - you can read about it here viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6514&p=688180&hilit=Hickory#p688180. Scroll down to my second post for a picture of the damage. To be fair that was years ago. Maybe they’ve improved the materials used since then.

Ken

[FRJ]

Has far as zip up cases,if you plan to carry them around,the knives will move and come out of their loops,especially smaller knives.

Roger makes a good point here.
I have not experienced this because I use my zip up cases for storage only. I don't travel with them.

[KnifeSlinger#81]

I appreciate all the input.

I have been using sack ups from early on in collecting and have always been very pleased with them. In fact I just received my 10th 18 pouch sack ups roll yesterday. The only thing I dislike about them is the inability to see what you have without taking the knives out and the fairly small capacity. I keep them labeled though, which is very necessary. I might purchase a hickory hill to try it out but it does not seem to be the best for storage and protection based on what I'm hearing.

I have a few sack ups that have been handled enough they show a little dirt/grime on the fabric and I don't like that, has anybody ever washed a sack ups?

Ken thank you for commenting about your issue with the deteriorating straps, that is the main concern I have with a hickory hill.

[deo-pa]

...and to be able to see my knives easily without touching them.

Nothing I can add to the rolls vs. zip-up cases vs. sack-ups discussion Paul but I have to say your will power is much greater than mine. I can seldom admire a knife without fondling it!

Dennis

[XX Case XX]

has anybody ever washed a sack ups?

I have. Several times. They still hold all the knives, but the stuff they put on them to keep the rust away gets washed off. They still work though.

_____________
Mike

[stumpstalker]

Knifeslinger:

Do read the thread cited by Mumbleypeg.

I like rolls per se and had no problems for about 15 years with any brand I had knives in.

But last Fall my consciousness was raised by posts about Hickory Hill rolls on this Forum. I checked mine and noticed that there was permanent corrosion, caused apparently by the elastics "outgassing". The problem was where the elastics touched blade backs or springs. Some of the knives had been mint, but fall short of that definition now.

I immediately retired all my Hickory Hill rolls.

I had not heard anything about the problem being addressed or acknowledged by the people that made the rolls. Anyone is welcome to apprise me if I have missed any significant developments.

[kootenay joe]

None of the elastic in my H.H. rolls has broken down or out-gassed. Some were bought new in last 10 years and some are older.
H.H. must have bought a batch of 'bad elastic' at some point. I wonder how long they used it before realizing there is a serious problem ?
kj

[KnifeSlinger#81]

I heard the hickory hill rolls are made by a furniture company out of leftover fabrics and such used for the furniture. I do not know if this is true or not, it's just what I heard from a youtube video. This could account for some rolls being fine while others damage knives if they are in fact made from a wide variety of different leftover materials.