Cigar Box Ink Storage Review

[Jomammie]

I am a pretty new member of the Fountain Pen Network and only have a few postings. I figured I would get a bit more active and do a review of an ink storage box I recently purchased through a posting on FPN. First review so hope it isn’t too bad.

 

I have a small collection of Noodler’s Inks that I had been trying to find a storage solution for. I wanted to be able to get to my inks fairly easy, but not have them on the counter at all times. Having them sit out in the sunlight seemed like a bad idea. Being short on drawer space I decided I wanted a wooden box of some sort.

 

I started out searching for cigar boxes on EBay. I knew I was going to need a fairly deep box for the tall 3 oz. Noodler’s bottles. The bottles are 3.5 inches high. The sellers would give the dimensions of the boxes, but I could not be certain which dimensions were which. I could not be certain that the height of the box would be the same as the depth.

 

I also found that some online cigar vendors also sell cigar boxes in quantities of 5 or 10 or more. You had no choice on the type of cigar box... random type of thing. I also have a few cigar boxes already and they can be kind of rough and splintery as a lot of the cigar companies do not finish them up much.

 

Then I found Bamapen’s listing in the Classifieds - Paper & Pen Paraphernalia section. He had some cigar boxes converted to pen storage boxes up for sale and it led me to the link to his website. http://jehubbard.com/hobbies/cigar_boxes.htm Browsing around there led me to some cigar boxes that specifically stated they would fit the Noodler’s bottles Perfect!.

 

I contacted Bamapen through email and he let me know the box was indeed available and would fit the Noodler’s bottles. He also said he had a second matching box that he needed to put a finish on! Cool... so I could have two matching boxes and he just needed a few days to finish them up.

 

When I received the boxes I was more than pleased. They looked great! The boxes were “The Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur No 2” and could fit eight - three ounce Noodler’s Ink bottles. There was a little bit of room left over in each box that I use to store some blotter paper and ink syringes.

 

The finish on them is great. The wood grains look great and this is a really well built cigar box in general. The boxes are jointed with a finger joint. The color of the wood grains alternate on each finger joint. This is a nice touch to the box that did not show up on the photograph on Bamapen’s website.

 

He coats the box with varnish and rubs them down with steel wool. Multiple times. This makes for a great looking box that is very smooth to the touch. No more worrying about getting splinters. He also padded the bottom of the box so that it would not leave any marks or scratches.

 

I am very pleased with the communication with Bamapen and with the quality of his work on these boxes. We had several communications back and forth. He walked me through the work he did on the boxes, offered me the second box, and made sure the finish of the boxes were great and fit the Noodler’s bottles. He also let me know when they were in the mail. They were packed well and arrived in perfect condition.

 

I am next looking into one of his newer boxes that have ink storage plus storage for a few pens! Sweet!

 

I will be following up with some photos over the next day or two when I have my camera back.

 

Cheers,

Shaun

 

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[Pulse]

As an occasional puffer myself, there's nothing I love better than beautiful boxes like these with great stuff like noodler's inks in them.

[fiberdrunk]

Wow, that is just gorgeous! I love how the wood looks. I wish I would've known that tip about varnishing then using steel wool multiple times. I made myself a Divine Comedy writing box, and though I sanded before I began staining, I'm sure it's not as smooth as what was achieved on yours. What a great heirloom!

[DrPJM1]

I love cigar boxes. Every time I buy a couple of cigars, they give me empty boxes for free!

[Jomammie]

My brother used to work at the cigar counter in Beverages & More and would bring home a lot of cigar boxes. I know a lot of the shops will give them away for free like you mentioned.

 

Part of my enthusiasm about the review was that the two boxes I received, stained and sanded, were very affordable. And I did not have to do any of the work. For example, my box is listed on his site for $12. A single Hoyo De Monterrey #2 Natural currently costs around $10 at any cigar shop here in the Bay Area.

 

It is true that most of the shops around here are pretty generous with giving out boxes. I will take a few pictures of a beautiful cigar box that I store my darts in.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I still have not gotten around to getting the felt padded rill sheets to make a shelf.

The first humidor is walnut.

 

 

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The second humidor is 'wurtzelhotz' burl veiner with ceder lining.

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[padams2359]

My ink is now in my humidor. Not all of my ink fits in the box. It is relatively small. There is a cigar shop in town. I will have to run there to try and get a couple of boxes. One for my pens, and maybe a large one for my remaining inks. Some of the bottles are too large for my humidor.

[Gcouch]

Cigar boxes are quite convent for ink storeage and the like. And all you have to do is ask. They look nice and are a good way to camouflage those standard looking bottles that wouldn't be missed from the desk. The box looks good.

[JonSzanto]

BamaPens is a good guy. He was very sharing and collaborative with tips when I decided to make my own pen storage cigar box. And he, as I can see, continues to do nice work!