Review: Cain Cigar Box Pen Case from BamaPens

June 19, 2015 by Lori Beck in Accessory Review

You may remember a little over a month ago when I reviewed my OSOK and Hoyo de Monterrey boxes from BamaPens. Shortly afterwards John reached out to me when he read on my review that he'd forgotten to put the rubber feet on my OSOK box. He immediately made it right and sent me some rubber feet in the mail to apply to my box. I was very pleased that he would go to the trouble of doing that, completely unsolicited by me.

In speaking to John at that time, I asked him if he happened to have any boxes like the ones he's sold Brad Dowdy with the glass top. A glass top box was what I'd really wanted as a nice display for my pens. He said he had exactly one left, and offered it to me with whatever color lining I'd like. He was also nice enough to offer a small discount as a returning customer, which I thought was an awesome gesture.

After about a week or so John emailed that he had completed my new box and sent it on its way to me. Just like last time, the packing was impeccable - it would have taken a small explosion for this thing to get damaged in transit. He also sent along another nice note with my purchase.

As much as I loved the OSOK box that I purchased from John, this is the one that I fell in love with. For the price, you can't beat this as a pen display box and it's got a bit of a rustic feel to it.

I noticed that the glass on the box was a bit scratched up, but I kind of expected that given that it's intended purpose was to house cigars. I'm sure the manufacturing tolerances on these things aren't the tightest when it comes to things like scratches and scuffs. The box has some nice stamped logos on the top and sides, which I really liked. The "Cain" logo itself kind of appeals to me.

The front of the box has a nice indention so that you can easily open the lid. The inside has 10 pen slots that John has covered in a nice black felt that I chose. He offers both felt lining and suede in various colors on his website. I really love the black lining in this box as it allows the pens to stand out. John also applies a foamy rubber sheet to the bottom to prevent the box from sliding around. I found it to work really well.

Once again I was very pleased with my purchase from John. If you're looking for storage and/or display boxes for your pens, I highly recommend you check out his website. If you're looking for something that's not on his site, be sure to shoot him an email because I've found that he has more in stock or readily available than he has time to list on his site.

Thanks for reading!
Lori

SOLD: BamaPen Cigar Box Pen Case

May 22, 2015 by Lori Beck in Personal

*UPDATE* The box has now been sold!

You may remember I recently did a post about my cigar box pen case that I purchased from John Hubbard at BamaPens. Well, I actually just bought another box from him which I like even better, and don't have the space for both - so I'm offering up my OSOK 6 pen cigar box pen case for sale to you fine readers!

I've barely used it as you well know since I just got it, so it's in as great condition as it was when I bought it. John even sent me some rubber feet for the bottom of the box to keep it from slipping, which have been working out nicely.

I'm asking $35 shipped in the US for the box - if you're outside the US and are interested, send me a message and we'll work something out. Please reach out to me via the Contact form or via Twitter @thedeskoflori

Review: BamaPens Cigar Box Pen & Ink Storage

May 04, 2015 by Lori Beck in Accessory Review

I'd been seeing several pen addicts out there who'd gotten ahold of repurposed cigar boxes for pen and ink storage from BamaPens. It intrigued me at first, but I quickly let the idea go because from the pictures I'd seen of these products, I knew they had to be very expensive. On a whim, I looked up the website for these boxes, and was shocked to learn that they were VERY affordable. I immediately knew I'd be placing an order.

I perused the site and found several boxes that I was interested in, but ultimately whittled it down to the OSOK 6-pen box, and the Hoyo de Monterrey ink storage box. I reached out to John Hubbard, the man behind BamaPens, to see about shipping. John was very prompt in returning my email and let me know that he could combine shipping for both boxes, which would save me a few bucks. I was definitely pleased that the total cost for both boxes, plus shipping was $57.50.

I paid via PayPal and waited a few days while John stained and varnished my ink box. I received updates from him as things progressed, and finally and email letting me know that they were on their way to me. I was impressed at how great the communication was throughout this process - great customer service.

Nice handwritten note included with my purchase

The boxes arrived just a couple days later, and I excitedly tore open the box to find that my new beauties were packaged very carefully. John wrapped each box in tissue paper, and then surrounded that with bubble wrap and filled the box with packing peanuts. I loved the care he took to make sure that my boxes would arrive undamaged.

The OSOK box was lined with red felt and had 6 slots for my pens. The felt was cut perfectly for the lining of the box and felt as if it was always a part of the box. The pen tray was wide enough to accommodate even my Ahab and there was plenty of room to accommodate a pen of any length. I really love the pirate artwork on this box, that was actually the main draw for me. John varnished all the unfinished parts of the box, and though his site mentioned that he'd placed 4 rubber "feet" on the bottom to prevent slipping, I unfortunately didn't find these present on my box. Not a huge deal, I can always do that myself down the road.

The Hoyo de Monterrey ink box was beautiful as well. John stained and varnished this box, and though I love the color of mine, I should mention it looks a bit lighter than the one pictured on his website, so I'm thinking he may have used a different color stain on this one. He placed a rubber pad on the bottom to prevent slipping which was nice. On his site, he mentions that the depth of this box will accommodate the tall 3oz Noodler's ink bottles, which is true, but unfortunately my box will not snap shut with Noodler's bottles in there. That was a bit of a disappointment, but not for long because this thing looks awesome on my desk, and is already full of other shorter ink bottles.

I will most definitely purchase from John again, as the craftsmanship of these boxes are spot on. John has quite an array of boxes to choose from, and from what I can tell he's always getting new and different designs. I am also glad that he always has these ink boxes on hand, because my ink collection is ever-growing and I love the look of this box. I highly recommend you check out his site - the prices are very affordable for what you get, not to mention the customer service that is included!