How I planned to keep my keys, good or stupid?

[WellRozey]

Is this too much or not bad? I plan to keep my recovery keys in four separate locations, a brand new flash memory from Huawei, a brand new WD External hard drive, my book with a strong cover and my wardrobe, in my wardrobe you can't easily see it because its always dark in there, I use my torchlight to carve those words in there and its even written on the top inside the wardrobe, I tend to keep it this way for now till I can get a Nano X.

[Charles-Tim]

Why backup your seed phrase on flash drive or external hard drive which are not advisable. Get a paper or steel sheet and have the backup writing directly on it which is offline, rather than hard drive or flash drive that can be faulty at any time. Another issue is if you generate the seed phrase offline, there could have been mistakes in a way the seed phrase is no more offline as the poor and non advisable procedure used while storing it on hard drives or memory card.

[mk4]

Best to keep all your backups offline on a steel sheet/s, unless you absolutely 100% know what you're doing with creating airgapped devices. Because if you're just going to turn off the internet in your personal computer and copy the keys to an external hard drive, you're putting your funds at risk.

[Rikimaruu]

You tried your best but stainless steel is still the best way to keep your recovery seed, I can't find any better way than this other than buying a hardware wallet.

[n0nce]

I do get that those 'Bitcoin steel' sheets are sometimes so expensive that you might as well save up a little more and get a Trezor One. However, you'll also need a backup of that, and a steel washer backup only costs around $3 if you have the tools (you may be able to borrow them from someone).

Any creative ideas like inside a wardrobe - some people are even stamping on door hinges before screwing them in - and stuff like this, are nice to see.
Simply use your imagination and do keep in mind your risk profile / attacker models.

I could criticize the wardrobe idea for not being fireproof, but if you do have a paper wallet in another location (your book), it will be alright, for instance.
When it comes to flash storage, do know that they don't last forever. I've had USB disks die a few times in the past, just from being old and laying around.

A HDD will be better in this aspect, since if handled with care, it can last a long time. However, don't connect it to a regular PC with internet connection and OS since if it has viruses on it, they can and will infect the HDD and steal your funds in the future when spending them. You will need to set up a Tails Linux USB drive, boot it, and do everything you need from there. It has no internet and runs a clean, fresh OS separate from whatever you have on your main drive; Electrum is preinstalled and allows you to create a new wallet & store the backup on the HDD.
When you're done, simply reboot and unplug it.

Then transfer your funds to that new wallet.

[Findingnemo]

Saving the keys digitally even if you are doing everything in offline is not advisable so avoid those two of them and the wardrobe idea may looks good but what happens after 10 or more years? Wood can damaged by insects so it can be completely erased so I would choose to write it on a metal which is 100% rust proof (I am not sure if there is any) but that is the best option.

[Lucius]

...I tend to keep it this way for now till I can get a Nano X.

And what will you do when you get a hardware wallet? I hope you know that you still need a backup, and that such a device will not mean that all your problems are gone.

When it comes to multiple locations, it’s always a smart solution, of course assuming each location is secure. In this regard, it may be wise to avoid backup on any devices, because in case of theft, thieves will steal the HDD or any other storage device rather than a simple piece of paper (unless they know exactly what they are looking for).

If you are not a person who forgets very quickly, I would suggest you to divide your seed into at least two parts and save them separately. There is also an option to further protect your seed with a passphrase, but this is an advanced option that you can find out more about on the manufacturer's website.

[lovesmayfamilis]

The OP explained that he does all of this up to the point where he can buy a wallet. But even with him, it would also be good to take keeping your phrase very seriously. It looks like the OP is somewhat misunderstanding all the bitcoin storage points.
Nevertheless, it can be assumed that he does not have much money in his wallet, and there is time to study everything in more detail so as not to lose much more in the future.

[NeuroticFish]

I plan to keep my recovery keys in four separate locations, a brand new flash memory from Huawei, a brand new WD External hard drive, my book with a strong cover and my wardrobe

As already said, flash drive and HDD are not advised, they can break too easy, so I won't count that much on them. A piece of laminated paper is already better. Steel would be even better.
But from what you wrote here I have the feeling that all "four separate locations" are in the same house. Maybe I'm wrong, still, I would like to emphasize that for life changing funds you should use geographically different locations. I mean that if your house/area/city is ever devastated by fire, or hurricane, or whatever, you may need a proper backup somewhere else.

[sheenshane]

Is this too much or not bad?

Your idea isn't bad but I think you're too paranoid about your keys.
Stainless steel and engraving on it the keys and have a copy like 3-4 pieces and place it on different places is enough to protect your private key.  It's fireproof and waterproof or any disaster will come your private key were still there not unless someone will steal it from you physically.
Your book is also good since it has a strong cover, place your keys on the different pages and spread them, for sure no one will suspect them as your private keys.

Saving your private key offline is enough, just buy hardware wallets it has better and safety features that can protect the hardware wallet itself, Trezor and Ledger Nano S as an option are enough too.

[sunsilk]

Is this too much or not bad?

IMO, Not bad but try to listen to others about writing it down.

I think it's not that much as well. You're just trying to scatter your keys and as long as you're the only one that can access all of those, I think that's not even a problem.

The unique idea is about the carving and you shouldn't tell this to anyone that you can't trust because that person might go through your closet and has the intention to look and copy for it.

[Maliceprime]

There are better ways, HDD and memory cards get damaged on their own without using them, those things get an expiring date better to use something that cant spoilt on its own..

[Markinzo]

This fewer gadgets you mentioned can likely get damaged, lost or stolen. You use Torchlight to view your private keys in your wardrobe, what if another tends to look for something else in there when you're not around and then come across it?

So ask yourself from what have just exposited, are your keys really in the safer places?

[cryptoaddictchie]

Is this too much or not bad? I plan to keep my recovery keys in four separate locations, a brand new flash memory from Huawei, a brand new WD External hard drive, my book with a strong cover and my wardrobe, in my wardrobe you can't easily see it because its always dark in there, I use my torchlight to carve those words in there and its even written on the top inside the wardrobe, I tend to keep it this way for now till I can get a Nano X.

For me its not. If you have a lot of backup, youll worried now on maybe those things might got stolen from you and even you got a lot of back up, even one got stolen then its not worth it. But in a sense its actually good to have more back up in case you lost one of those. But the probability it will lose or get by someone is much fearful.

[Rruchi man]

The unique idea is about the carving and you shouldn't tell this to anyone that you can't trust because that person might go through your closet and has the intention to look and copy for it.

I don't even fancy the idea of inscribing it in your wardrobe regardless of OP saying that it is dark in there. It may seem good, but that is too easy...What if someone with an idea of what "Keys" are (male or female friend) decides to one day wear one of your clothes, and makes way to your supposed dark wardrobe with a very bright torchlight?

Even though it is not advisable to save your keys in your email, i still feel if you can break them up into two or three different parts, turn them into a sort of puzzle or poem that you alone understand and save to your mail that you alone have access to, it can be really save there. You also do not need to save it to the mail address you use on our device, to increase safety, you can save to another mail address you normally do not make use of.

[YellowSwap]

You sound as if that hardware wallet you plan to get later will keep its key safe by itself, you should know that you will still need to secure your hardware wallet keys yourself, get steel that you can carve your phrases on that's the perfect solution.

[bittraffic]

You sound as if that hardware wallet you plan to get later will keep its key safe by itself, you should know that you will still need to secure your hardware wallet keys yourself, get steel that you can carve your phrases on that's the perfect solution.

Just make sure that the steel where you carve your seed will not be seen by others. For me, i would likely want to access the seed easy and at the same time hard to spot by someone else. A txt file in my usb is fine as long as I make sure no one finds it so having a password for the USB and the file itself is good enough.

There is always a chance that I may lose the USB though. so having a back up in a paper will be good. One problem to solve is that how is your kid or partner going to find this seed incase you suddenly will be a victim of roadkill?

[PrivacyG]

The problems with having multiple different seed storing methods is that you may end up forgetting they even existed in the first place.  And then the more storage locations there are, the higher the chances are for someone to find them.  Particularly when storing the seed in a wardrobe or in a book.  And before you know, you will one day throw away the book you own forgetting the seed was in there and your seed and Cryptocurrencies are now compromised.

Steel washers.  Turn some washers into a seed storage as previously suggested and bury it in a safe place or in multiple safe places.  Wardrobes, storage devices and books are definitely not the way to go.  Maybe storage devices, only if you REALLY know what you are doing.  But these have a life expectancy you must consider.

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Regards,
PrivacyG

[sunsilk]

The unique idea is about the carving and you shouldn't tell this to anyone that you can't trust because that person might go through your closet and has the intention to look and copy for it.

I don't even fancy the idea of inscribing it in your wardrobe regardless of OP saying that it is dark in there. It may seem good, but that is too easy...What if someone with an idea of what "Keys" are (male or female friend) decides to one day wear one of your clothes, and makes way to your supposed dark wardrobe with a very bright torchlight?

That scene is very possible.

But since it's a wardrobe and personal place for him, I doubt it that he'll just allow someone to get in and snuck there for those clothes. I'm sure that he'll not allow that to happen.

Even though it is not advisable to save your keys in your email, i still feel if you can break them up into two or three different parts, turn them into a sort of puzzle or poem that you alone understand and save to your mail that you alone have access to, it can be really save there. You also do not need to save it to the mail address you use on our device, to increase safety, you can save to another mail address you normally do not make use of.

Well, it's like having your own pattern but I still don't think this is a good idea. I've done this before and luckily was able to read those tips about of how not ideal it is.

[WellRozey]

How can you easily crave words on stainless steel? What tools did you use? Nails? Knife? Or what?.