I made a simple magnetic knife block for the kitchen a while back like the Mag-Blocks sold by Benchcrafted. We don't have a lot of counter space or drawer space, so it seemed like a good solution. But, those are much better (safer), if they're mounted on a back wall where you don't have to reach across them. As you can see from the photo, the spot where I installed it was pretty risky for my wife knocking a knife off the block. And, she actually did it once, but was clear-headed enough to pull her hands back so she wasn't cut. Anyway, I designed and built version II, which is a much better design. You cannot knock the knives off, and we were able to mount the whole set on the block because it uses the space better. I used rare earth magnets from K&J Magnetics. Most are 1/2" OD x 1/4" thick cylinders, mounted 1/16 or less below the surface. For the largest chef's knife, I added some more magnets because it wasn't quite strong enough to hold it with just the one. The wood is ash.