Cook’s Illustrated advises that considering how expensive quality knives can be, it’s always best to store them the way the cooking pros do, on a magnetic knife strip. Besides protecting the blades in a safe manner, this strip saves on drawer or counter space. BUT, their caveat is that you want to be sure to buy the right one.

Cook’s pros went on to say, “Not only do wall-mounted magnetic knife strips store knives without taking precious drawer or counter space, they can accommodate even the longest knives. (Even a universal knife block fails to sheath a 12-inch blade.) However, if the strip can’t secure a typical range of cutlery—8-inch chef’s, 12-inch slicing, 12-inch serrated, boning, and paring knives, along with kitchen shears—it isn’t worth hanging.” Wow, not only some good advice on what to look for in a knife strip, but also a comprehensive list of knives to own!

What IS the right one, you wonder? Lucky for us America’s Test Kitchen (the folks who publish Cook’s Illustrated and who are thorough and unbiased in their testing), have the answer. They tested five knife strips priced from $19.99 to $50 and ranging from 12- to 16½-inches long. They rated them on how easy they were to install, how many knives they held, magnet placement and strength, whether they hurt the knives, and how easy they were to maintain.

They found that all were fairly simple to install, though they did require a drill and a spirit level.

I won’t cumber you with all the steps they went through to find the best of the best—bottom line summaries suit the purpose here.

Their winner held knives securely in place, didn’t nick blades, and was the only strip with more than 1 inch of clearance between the wall and the knives, keeping their knuckles scrape-free when reaching for the right knife. So here are the Test Kitchen’s conclusions:

Highly recommended: the Messermeister Bamboo Knife Magnet. This strip offers ample room for five knives plus a pair of kitchen shears. It was easy to install and clean, and the bamboo surface was gentle on blades. It’s pricey--$50 to $75 (depending on where you shop). [ My comment: For whatever reasons, this item is no longer available! Grrr and darn. If you ever see this at a garage sale, grab it up—you’ll have a true find!]

So, the next best thing? The Chicago Cutlery Magnetic Knife Storage Strip (about $20). This simple stainless-steel strip aced almost every test. However, the clearance for reaching between a knife handle and the wall was a less-than-ideal 3/4 inch. Grooves where the stainless steel meets the magnet can trap grime, but this strip can easily be removed from the wall and thrown into the dishwasher.

But another well recommended knife strip is the Mag-Blok. This handsome wooden strip has a particularly strong magnet that held all the knives securely. It’s so strong, in fact, that it’s even used in garages, wood- and other workshops to hold hand tools. Testers had only two complaints about the model we tested: First, clearance for knuckles was less than ideal. Second, the 12-inch strip ($41) was too short (you lose an inch on each non-magnetized end). But the18-inch model ($55) had more than enough space.

Lastly, what NOT to buy: The $35 MIU France 15-Inch Magnetic Knife Bar. This strip’s strong magnet and stainless-steel surface were rough on our chef’s knife, nicking its sharp edge. It also affixes permanently to the wall, making cleaning an annoying hassle.

The $39.95 Bisbell Magmates Magnetic Knife Rack. Instead of boasting a solid magnet running the length of the strip, this model offers just five round magnets spaced along its length, limiting the number of knives it can hold. Knives that were not directly fastened to one of magnets slid precariously.