Reviews

From time to time, people who have purchased boxes from me post unsolicited reviews on Fountain Pen Network or other sites.  These are some reviews that I have been given permission to repost here:

The first is a link to a review published on May 27, 2011, of a custom box selected by the owner and fitted out to his specifications by me.  It was an interesting collaboration.  Click on the link to see the review, but don’t forget to come back here when you’re done…

http://penspensandmorepens.blogspot.com/2012/05/bamapen.html

Cigar Box Ink Storage Review by Jomammie
Posted on Fountain Pen Network, used with permission of author

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…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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Custom Vintage Cigar Box Converted for Pen and Ink Storage
a Review by the owner

Click on the link that follows to read the owner’s review of the custom box that I created for him.  Also look on my Custom Boxes page for my description of this box.

http://penspensandmorepens.blogspot.com/2012/05/bamapen.html

Bamapen Makes Pen Storage Easy!   A review of a cigar box pen storage solution
by Ivan Romero   Posted on Fountain Pen Network  July 31, 2011
Used with permission of author

I just started seriously collecting fountain pens this year. One thing I quickly realized is that I was going to need some place to store my pens that were not in rotation. I started researching my options. That is when I found our very own Bamapen. He takes cigar boxes and turns them into nice looking pen storage boxes. After a few PM’s back and forth, I decided on a design and ordered a box back in April (2011, ed). It has served me well and is a ten pen capacity box.

At the time, I knew that ten pens was not going to cut it. I did let John know I would be back for more storage boxes. At the time I estimated I would be back in July. I was right. This time around I wanted something that could hold a few more pens. We agreed on the details and he went on to create my order.

This is one of two boxes I ordered from him. This is a Cohiba cigar box that has a flocked tray. I like the button closure. One thing I was worried about was a cigar smell that may accompany the boxes. I am a non smoker. Gladly, it was a non-issue. The bottom of the box is finished in a foam rubber that allows me to stack boxes (I have three now) without worrying about scratching the boxes underneath. An added bonus is that although we discussed being able to hold 10 pens per box, John managed it so I can store 13 pens in this box. I am really happy with the John’s work and I am pretty sure you will too, if you decide to order from him!

Bamapen Makes Ink Storage Too.

by Ivan Romero
Posted on Fountain Pen Network, used with permission of author
I now have ink storage to go with my pen storage that Jon was kind enough to help find what I was looking for. I purchased two boxes one fully lined with foam and the other with a lining just on the bottom. I don’t have very much ink and all of my inks fit in one box. Very nice box and it matched my pen storage boxes nicely. Overall, I fit ten bottles on ink of various brands in one box and I still have room for a few more Private Reserve bottles.

 

Converted Cigar Boxes For Pen And Ink Storage

A big thumbs up to BamaPen Boxes

A quick review of four boxes BamaPen converted to pen and ink storage boxes for me.
Posted on Fountain Pen Network, used with permission of the author

Last summer, a large cigar box that would hold both Noodler’s ink bottles and pens on his web site caught my eye. After exchanging several emails I decided on an interior color for that box, and then BamaPen suggested these three little beauties. I was reluctant, since I was looking for something to use at work and wanted something that did not scream “TACKY”. He gave me a great deal on the set and once they arrived, I was blown away at just how nice they were!

Real wood. No cigar smell. They hold about half dozen ink bottles including the tall Noodler ink bottles with a bit of room left for Diamine 30mL bottles or Goulet ink samples. The pen tray holds 6 pens and holds even my larger pens like the TWSBI and Ratnamson 302. Tray sits on top of the larger box and the light dark wood combination is a wonderful accent on my desk.

John (BamaPen) was in contact with me the entire time he worked on my boxes and made sure that I was happy the final product. If you are looking for a unique pen and ink storage box, check out John’s boxes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cigar Box Pen Storage by BamaPen – A Review By Ivan Romero – This review was first published on Ivan’s blog, http://inktronics.posterous.com/ and then on Fountain Pen Network and FPGeeks.

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