{"product_id":"kuchenprofi-18-10-stainless-magnetic-tool-knife-rack-c-1988-2010","title":"Küchenprofi 18\/10 Stainless Magnetic Tool \u0026 Knife Rack c. 1988–2010","description":"\u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eA wall-mounted twin-channel magnetic rack in 18\/10 stainless steel, made for Küchenprofi of Solingen and marked with the diamond the firm used on its own-brand goods. Sold as a knife rack; just as good, and arguably better, over a bench.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe form is a single extruded bar with a wide brushed centre panel and a rolled, polished lip along each long edge. Between lip and panel runs a recessed channel top and bottom. The magnets sit behind those two channels, so anything laid across the bar is held at two points rather than one and hangs square instead of swinging.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThat twin-channel geometry is why it handles tools. A single magnetic strip grabs one point and lets everything pivot; two lines set apart hold a chisel, a driver, a rule or a plier by its length, so a row stays a row.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eIt is a heavier section than most magnetic strips. The bar has real depth front to back, the edges are rolled rather than folded, and the whole thing has the weight in the hand of a piece of architectural trim rather than a kitchen accessory.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe KÜCHENPROFI mark is etched into the centre of the brushed panel: the name set in a rectangular band across a diamond outline. It is light-etched rather than printed, so it reads as a change of texture in the brushing rather than as a graphic laid over it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eTwo countersunk screws pass through the centre panel to the wall, set well in from the ends. Both ends are closed with a dark moulded cap that finishes the extrusion and sits flush.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe finish is a fine linear brush running the length of the bar, with the polished edge lips left bright against it. It is shown mounted, which is the only way to judge a piece like this: it sits close to the wall, casts almost no shadow, and reads as a line rather than as an object.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eKüchenprofi is a Solingen house, and the mark on this bar dates the object more precisely than the object could date itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe firm was founded in Solingen in 1923 by Artur Schmitz, and for its first two generations it was not a maker at all. It supplied the restaurant trade, then grew into a wholesaler importing foreign brands that were not otherwise sold in Germany. It had no consumer brand of its own and no logo of this kind.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThat changed in 1988. The third generation, under Stefan Schmitz, launched the company’s own manufacturer brand and created both the Küchenprofi name and a new logo to carry it. Everything marked Küchenprofi belongs to that programme and to the years after it; nothing made before 1988 carries this name at all. The company moved to its present Solingen headquarters in 1990 and has since gathered Zassenhaus, Cilio and Spring under the same group.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe upper end comes from the mark itself and from the catalogue. The diamond device etched into this bar is the older Küchenprofi identity; the firm’s current mark is a plain wordmark with no enclosing shape, and the magnetic rack is no longer part of the range. The 18\/10 rack in this pattern was in American distribution by the early 2000s, sold as a fourteen-inch bar in eighteen-ten stainless. On that evidence it is offered as c. 1988–2010.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe reason a piece like this survives so well is the alloy. 18\/10 is eighteen per cent chromium and ten per cent nickel, and the nickel is what makes the difference: it holds the passive layer against salt, acid, steam and damp far better than the cheaper 18\/0 used in most magnetic strips, which is why this bar has no pitting and no rust bloom after a working life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWall-mounted twin-channel magnetic rack in stainless steel, for hand tools or blades\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMaker\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eKüchenprofi, Solingen, Germany (frequently written Kuchenprofi without the umlaut in American distribution)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMark\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eKÜCHENPROFI in a rectangular band across a diamond outline, light-etched into the centre of the brushed panel\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMaterial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e18\/10 stainless steel — eighteen per cent chromium, ten per cent nickel\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eConstruction\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eExtruded bar with a brushed centre panel and polished rolled edge lips; concealed magnets behind a recessed channel top and bottom, so anything hung is held at two points; moulded end caps; two countersunk wall screws\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHolds\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eChisels, drivers, pliers, rules, scrapers, wrenches, layout tools and multi-tools over a bench; knives, shears, a steel, a peeler or a fish spatula in a kitchen\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDimensions\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eApproximately 14 in long, approximately 2 in wide, approximately ½ in deep\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ec. 1988–2010. The Küchenprofi name and logo were created in 1988, when the firm launched its own manufacturer brand after sixty-five years as a supplier and wholesaler, so no piece carrying this mark predates that year. The diamond device is the older identity — the current company mark is a plain wordmark with no enclosing shape — and the rack has since left the catalogue, having been in American distribution by the early 2000s.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eExcellent and fully serviceable. The magnets hold across the full length, both channels are clear and undented, and the bar is straight with no bow. The brushed finish carries light surface scratching consistent with steel having been laid on and lifted off, heaviest across the centre panel, and there is faint dulling around the two screw heads. No pitting, no rust, no corrosion anywhere. Both end caps are present. The etched mark is complete and legible. Shown mounted, with the two original screws in place. Condition Guaranteed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eAvailability\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOne of a Kind — 1 Available\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\n  \u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eOver a bench, this solves the problem every workshop has: the tools you reach for forty times a day are the ones that end up in a heap.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eA drawer buries them and dulls their edges against each other. A pegboard needs a hook cut for every shape and locks you into that layout forever. A magnetic bar takes whatever you put on it, in whatever order you happen to want this week, and gives it back in one motion. Chisels, drivers, pliers, a combination square, a rule, a scraper, a multi-tool. Put a tool back by touching it to the steel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe twin channels are what make it work for tools rather than just blades. Two lines of magnets set apart hold an object along its length, so a chisel hangs plumb and a plier does not swing out and knock its neighbour when you take the one beside it. A single strip cannot do that.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe 18\/10 is the other reason to want this one. Most magnetic racks are 18\/0, and in a shop — damp, solvent, swarf, hands — 18\/0 eventually speckles and streaks. This one has been in service and shows no pitting at all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eIt does the kitchen job just as well, which is what it was sold for. Knives kept on a bar stay sharp longer than knives in a block, because a block drags the edge across wood every time a knife goes in or comes out and a magnet only ever touches the flat of the blade. Shears, a steel, tongs and a bench scraper all hold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eVisually it disappears in the right way. Brushed steel against plaster, brick, tile or dark timber reads as a horizontal rule, and what you actually see is the row of steel hanging off it. Over a workbench that is a considerably better-looking wall than a pegboard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eOn mounting. It wants two solid fixings — studs, or plugs rated well above the weight of what you intend to hang, because a loaded bar carries more than people expect. Set it at a height that clears the bench or the worktop and leave room above for the lift-off motion. Keep it out of direct spray.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eOn care. Wipe along the brush direction, never across it; a soft cloth with a little neutral cleaner is all it needs. Do not use abrasive pads or chlorine-based cleaners on 18\/10 — the brushing is a finish, not a coating, and it will not come back once it is cut through.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"La Rue Tool \u0026 Supply Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48065215070313,"sku":"VE-1630","price":290.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/E8EBD5A0-2C96-4C52-94C2-FDBAEBE058F2.jpg?v=1789515133","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/kuchenprofi-18-10-stainless-magnetic-tool-knife-rack-c-1988-2010","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}