Superb Pen Chest At Giveaway Price Of $40? Available Online And In Stores

[Manalto]

As I mentioned above, I ordered one yesterday, it was back ordered, scheduled for delivery in one week.

[whichwatch]

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but given that these are apparently made in China, has anyone determined for sure that the smell is not formaldehyde, for which Lumber Liquidators got in trouble on their Chinese made wood flooring?

[AAAndrew]

I couldn't guarantee that it's not, but it smells like a wood finishing product that I've smelled before. I think it's spray lacquer and the finish looks like it too. I've done a bit of woodworking and it's a familiar smell. I've not done anything with formaldehyde or used the cheap Chinese plywood or flooring that had it in it.

 

The other clue that this most likely is not formaldehyde is just the overall quality of materials, build and manufacturing. IIRC, the formaldehyde from lumber liquidators was found in bamboo flooring, and the other source, not so widely known, was found in plywood, not in hardboard. It is used as a cheap way to quickly cure finishes.

 

My chest has stopped off-gassing by this morning, so I suspect it was merely that it was packaged in a plastic bag which prevented it from finishing its curing. It was packed well, by the way. Just not very environmentally sensitively, in lots of styrofoam.

 

And as for thieves, we don't store jewelry in boxes on dressers since we had our home broken into about 7 years ago. I will use this though, for two reasons.

1. It's too big to just throw into a pillow case, which is what they did

2. when they take a peek to see if its worth pilfering, they'll see pens, which they'd see anyway on my dresser. Since you probably can't sell pens easily for cash at a drug house or pawn shop, they are very unlikely to take them

 

If they want the pens, they'd take them off my dresser as they are now. If they want them when they're in the chest, they just pull out and empty the drawers and probably leave the big box.

[Manalto]

Thieves! Poison Gasses! I suspect the boxes were made out of the wood of endangered species by enslaved children under deplorable conditions and are infused with the ebola virus. Maybe I'll get two.

Edited June 6, 2015 by Manalto

[Angela]

On a separate note, when I was lining up the chest and putting my pens in there, my wife joked that if a thief breaks in the house, he/she can just take the entire chest and run. I was really thinking about this and getting a bit worried. Anyone had the same thoughts?

I had a similar thought, but it was a positive, "Next time the town is evacuated, I can just pick up the chest and put it in the car!"

[AAAndrew]

Thieves! Poison Gasses! I suspect the boxes were made out of the wood of endangered species by enslaved children under deplorable conditions and are infused with the ebola virus. Maybe I'll get two.

 

Don't be silly. They're from China. They were made by enslaved Panda cubs and infused with SARS. Sheesh. No sense of geographical context.

 

Or maybe I should just demand that you show your sources. Over and over and over again. (if it was made by Sheaffer)

[AAAndrew]

Tried an experiment. Took a sheet of heavy "resume" type paper and scored it at 3/4" intervals and tried it out as pen dividers. I think I can go to 1/2" or so and it will work better and may be able to fit more pens. But overall the concept works quite well, is cheap and I like paper more than the pen dividers, but that's me. It's just a random selection of pens I grabbed and they're in one of the three small drawers.

 

 

 

 

[Fabienne]

BRILLIANT!!!!! The scored resume paper. BRILLIANT!!!!!

 

I have the pen slot things and I have a devil of a time cutting them and making them look decent. They are always too long or too short for the drawer, the scissors cuts are never perfect, cutting with an Exacto doesn't yield better results either. Argggh! I was not looking forward to dealing with them but now, I am just going to score cardstock and I will have perfect inserts all through my pen chest. Thanks AAAndrew.

[AAAndrew]

And if I wanted to get totally crazy, with paper you can even label the slot for each pen.

[debraji]

New house rule: Do not go into the Marketplace Forum on a payday. Sheesh!

 

Thanks a lot, guys.

[Fabienne]

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af174/fabienne301/FullSizeRender_zpsa8e38831.jpg

 

Wow, very slick. Looks great. Very precise. This one was done with 1/2" spacing. The drawer is 6 5/16" wide, so I cut the paper at 6 1/4" wide and it fit perfectly the first time. At 1/2" spacing, I could get 10 pens in one drawer. I would not do spacing more narrow than 1/2".

[Cyber6]

Just because I am OCD.. I will do darker cardstock... Black or dark brown. GREAT IDEA Andrew... :D

 

 

C.

[Fabienne]

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af174/fabienne301/IMG_0321_zpsc71f3896.jpg

 

The center drawer will take 4 bottles of Noodler's and close BUT there is wasted space in there and I don't think any other bottles of ink will fit.

[Manalto]

 

 

The center drawer will take 4 bottles of Noodler's and close BUT there is wasted space in there and I don't think any other bottles of ink will fit.

 

The wood's a nice color, too. That center drawer does have enough leftover room for cartridges, converters, samples, or pill vials containing anti-pen-collecting medication.

Edited June 6, 2015 by Manalto

[TheRealScubaSteve]

 

 

Wow, very slick. Looks great. Very precise. This one was done with 1/2" spacing. The drawer is 6 5/16" wide, so I cut the paper at 6 1/4" wide and it fit perfectly the first time. At 1/2" spacing, I could get 10 pens in one drawer. I would not do spacing more narrow than 1/2".

 

What're the first four pens?

[Fabienne]

The first 4 pens (left to right) are Cross Solo Sport. They all have gold B nibs (which were supposed to have been made by Pilot, and I believe it). They are no longer made.

 

The next pen is a Big Red ballpoint pen which was made into a fountain pen, all you have to do is to unscrew the nib and fill assembly from a Cross Solo Sport and put it into the Big Red body. Fits like a boss. I gave the pen to my dad long ago and was happy to convert it to a fountain pen last year.

 

Then three Pelicans, a classic old green and black one, a White Tortoise (I think it's an M400), and an AG which was the starter model of Pel which was discontinued. Don't remember the model number or the first one (pipe up here anyone who knows). The White Tortie is a beauty.

 

A lovely Parker than my husband gave me when we were dating. Actually, the fact that I used and appreciated fountain pens was a huge plus to my then-boyfriend. When he gave me this I was in love. You can change the nib and dial it one way or the other. What is the model? I dunno. It might be a Vector from the mid 1970s. Tell us if you do know.

 

Finally, a Parson's Essential from Mr. Pen. I love this pen, it has been a pure joy.

 

There, that's your answer.

[Ghost Plane]

Now you've got me dithering over the paper colors I have hoarded, er, stored that might complete the storage experience.

[AAAndrew]

http://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af174/fabienne301/FullSizeRender_zpsa8e38831.jpg

 

Wow, very slick. Looks great. Very precise. This one was done with 1/2" spacing. The drawer is 6 5/16" wide, so I cut the paper at 6 1/4" wide and it fit perfectly the first time. At 1/2" spacing, I could get 10 pens in one drawer. I would not do spacing more narrow than 1/2".

Very nice! I had a feeling 1/2 inch would work better. I wish I could claim credit for inventing it, but I saw it on a site to make your own pen boxes. Don't mind borrowing ideas that work.

[NavyDr]

So anybody who has theirs and the pen slotter trays already, how many of those trays do I need for the chest? I'd like to order them before the chest comes in.

I believe I used 3 trays not at all measured precisely to fit. It was about 2/3 width of one tray to fit in the long drawer (they were about 2 slots short long wise, but I'm not a perfectionist). I used the leftovers to line the smaller drawers, and they filled only about half of each drawer. It looks lazy, but it'll still hold the pens so thats what matters. I did not line the top open area and I left one small drawer unlined for junk pens and pen parts.

 

Sorry that was a fairly confusing description, I'll try to get a picture or two when I get back home!

Edited June 6, 2015 by NavyDr

[Tack]

Tried an experiment. Took a sheet of heavy "resume" type paper and scored it at 3/4" intervals and tried it out as pen dividers. I think I can go to 1/2" or so and it will work better and may be able to fit more pens. But overall the concept works quite well, is cheap and I like paper more than the pen dividers, but that's me. It's just a random selection of pens I grabbed and they're in one of the three small drawers.

 

 

Your random selection of pens... Wants them I does *drool*