Thanks for visiting my site. Feel free to look around for pen and ink storage options to meet your specifc needs. If you don’t see what you are looking for, please contact me because I frequently have boxes on hand, or can find them, that I have not posted here.
I enjoy finding interesting used cigar boxes (and other types of boxes as well) and converting them to storage containers for fountain pens and bottles of ink. To date, I have re-purposed over 100 boxes and distributed them around the world to my fellow fountain pen lovers. Boxes by BamaPen are spread from Perth, Australia, across the USA, Mexico, and Canada, and all the way to the UK, Spain, and Slovenia.
The menu above gives you access to the boxes. Latest Boxes is everything new. Boxes for Pens and Ink reveals a dropdown menu to see boxes for pens, ink, or both. Sold shows boxes I’ve sold and don’t have on hand right now. Some do come up occasionally, so feel free to ask about them. Pictures from Customers is images from satisfied owners and may give you some ideas as well. Custom Boxes shows some created specifically at a customer’s request. Reviews are unsolicited customer reviews. My Fountain Pens is about, what else, my own pens.
A Note About the Boxes: Please remember that these boxes began their lives as cigar boxes, intended by the manufacturers as “throw-away” items that would be discarded when the cigars in them were all sold. Many are unfinished wood when I get them and most are not what one would call great woodworking. No two boxes will be exactly alike, and all will exhibit some minor dings and flaws that seem to add to their character.
Exterior Finish: If the box is bare wood, I apply Minwax stain followed by three coats of Minwax polyurethane varnish, each coat hand-rubbed with 0000 steel wool for a deep satin finish. If the box is factory finished, I will try to touch up nicks and scratches, but it is impossible to match most finishes, so there will be evidence of use in most cases. I cover the bottom of the box with a soft foam pad to prevent scratching or sliding, and to facilitate stacking of boxes of different sizes.
Interior: I use felt or microfibre suede cloth to line the interior of pen boxes. These materials provide very good protection for the finish of your pens. Felt is available in two colors: red and green. Suede cloth is generally available in: black, burgundy, red, Kelly green, light tan, dark tan, yellow, and occasionally with a decorative pattern.
I fashion pen compartments in three ways:
- With individual dividers made of stained wood and faced with felt or suede cloth, leaving the edge of the wood exposed as a decorative element, but not touching the pens.
2. With individual dividers
made of wood totally covered with felt or suede cloth, leaving no wood exposed. Some prefer this look as it calls more attention to the pens.
3. With individual ”saddle” style vacuum-formed pen compartments lined with suede cloth. This style supports the pens nicely and has been described as making the pens appear to float in the air.
Multi-deck boxes: Some of the boxes are deep enough to permit two layers of pens. In this case, I fashion a removable top deck. I have made mostly two-decked versions, but have made one or two three deckers.
Combination Pen and Ink Storage: Some boxes are deep enough to accomodate a tray of pens above bottles of ink. I can fashion a removable top deck that covers the entire box or just a part of the box, depending on your needs.
Ink only: Frequently I am asked for boxes that will hold that clutter of ink bottles. I can find suitable boxes and fit them with a padded interior bottom and exterior pad at very reasonable prices. Sometimes I find a family of boxes that make a nice combination of pen storage and ink storage.
Purchasing boxes: Check out this site for boxes that will meet your needs and contact me via email. Please include your location so that I can give a shipping cost estimate with my reply. If you don’t see what you are looking for, please contact me, as I frequently have boxes on hand that I’ve not posted here.
Shipping: In the USA I ship via USPS Priority Mail and internationally I use USPS International First Class Mail – it is slow but reliable.
Payment: I accept payment by PayPal.
