Once in a while I look for one that is priced reasonably and I stumble onto some $350-500 pen boxes holding twenty pens! We are talking about 13" by 8" wood boxes, with no carving, no detail and no special touches. See this for example. I think we paid $400-450 for a 2-drawer hardwood night stands with nice cherry veneers, with good finish, and a few nice details (see here for a picture I just found by chance but that doesn't reflect the quality of the finish). OK, I am sure they cost around $550 nowadays. But look at pen box in the link above. Compare the two. You are looking at fairly simple wood cuts and no special woodwork that I can see. Also, there is less wood there than on a single drawer face. Who in their right mind would pay $445 for such a plaine jane tiny pen box Am I off base here?

Hey Stylo, I'm with you on this one. You've got to be joking.

Well they do say "there's one born every minute".

Gary

Yeah, Stylo, that's mostly why I've been holding back on actively looking for one.

Now if only I took my one term of woodwork in school seriously... :doh:


G.

Darn! I already ordered three of 'em :doh:

Seriously though, I think you're right-on with this post, Stylo. It's the same with watch cases too. I guess they figure we're suckers who'll spend crazy money to display our crazy collections. I'd have a hard time spending that kind of mony on a pen case - I could buy another Duofold for that... I guess that's ironic.

While still a little expensive, there are some very decent ones in the $50-100 range. The one I linked to in my first post struck me because of the very high price and the fact that the box doesn't even come close to measuring up to it.

My thoughts exactly. When I was searching for one I couldn't believe they were that expensive. I was going to convert a cheap generic wood box and add a groved piece of wood to the bottom. Then we got on the kick of the Michaels craft store one and that seems to meet all my needs. I was even thinking of converting a cigar humidor and those seemed to be very high quality. Air tight and climate controlled Seemed like paying over $50 was just way too much for those.

Excellent news, Stylo. Do you have any links? (And by decent, you mean fantastic value for money and probably very longlasting, or do you get what you pay for?)

I am not trying to justify their prices because I too think they are overpriced, but maybe they do not sell very many and must make more profit from each sale. If I am right then I am one sale they will not get with those prices.

I have to say that I was in a pen shop (I won't name it) before Christmas and my eye was caught by a beautiful chest of drawers - really beautiful wood with eye-catching grain; each drawer properly made with small, tight dovetailed joints etc. etc. and on half-price sale for £100 Mine, all mine...

Then I looked again and saw I'd missed a 0 - sale price £1,000.

Ah well...

Chris

Being a woodworker, I am amazed at the prices of pen cases in specialty shops (online and off)...
I know what it takes to make a good case, I just don't have all the necessary skills and tools for the flatwork involved.

HOWEVER, the shops that are producing them for the specialty store DO have all the tools and the process is usually computer controlled as to the cutting. Even if the pieces are hand assembled, the places that they are normally made have low priced labor.
Not only that but the prices they pay for "quality" lumber is about 1/3 - 1/2 what I have to pay... Finishing is usually done in batch quantities by spray machines... that beautiful "hand rubbed" stain and lacquer finish is normally a tinted catalyzed lacquer that is applied under controlled conditions and needs no further "rubbing out"... it comes out of the finishing booth ready to ship.
Be especially wary of "high grade mahogony" pieces.. these are normally standard mahogony or even luan that has a tinted lacquer finish to make it look like the good stuff, which is very hard to come by today.
Well made cherry and walnut boxes are real nice, but neither wood is rare or hard to work with... and again the color is most likely tinted lacquer.

OK, I will get off my soapbox, I had to spout off because I know how this stuff is made and marketed.

THat has to be a mistake. Right? I mean, if it had some kind of special hand inlay work around the edges or something *maybe*. You could hire a cabinet maker to make one and it would probably cost less. Crazy.

But the gift wrap is very pretty

I got virtually the *same thing* from Levenger a couple of years ago for $29.95 each. It was a close-out sale, and I bought 2. They are good quality too.

Edit: Oh, I just noticed, mine don't actually have *gold-plated* hinges. The horror!

I've got about $300 in materials in this:





So it's not material costs. Don't ask me how much labor I have in this, it's probably less than 100 hrs, but not much less.

Steve

Steve - that is one incredible piece of craftsmanship!! That would go for a lot more than the prices mentioned above, and would be well worth it.

Your work is breathtaking!

Thank you for posting those pics!

Tom Scott

That is beautiful! Easily the nicest "pen display cabinet" that I've ever seen.

Now THAT is a beautiful box.

OK Steve, now that you have made me want to sell what tools I have (except my lathe) I have to tell you that is probably the most beautiful pen case I have ever seen... the quilted maple?? is absolutely gorgeous... I have worked with some on pens that was tighter quilted, but that is stunning...

Thanks very much for the kind comments.

OldGriz - it is quilted maple. I had the raw lumber sitting in my shop for about a year before I had time to make something out of it. The wood designed the box for me in many respects - size, grain orientation, etc. I Wish I had a lathe - it's the biggest limiter I've got in building things.

Cheers,

Steve

Steve, that is awesome, I would be proud to have something like that, let alone make it.
You do realise you could start up a custom pen box business, bespoke to the customers requirements. You could be the Karl Faberge of pen boxes. Sell them in Dubai and charge the earth.

That box is gorgeous! Beautiful wood and expert craftsmanship: my hat off to you.

If anyone is interested in safe, secure storage, and not a display case, check out the products from Otterbox (www.otterbox.com). I purchased mine orginally for cigar storage, but am considering converting it for pen and accessory storage.

If you are interested, a good source is www.cigarbid.com - they are usually auctioned off fairly cheaply.....

Michael

Now see that I can understand. $300 worth of materials and tons of labor. That is what we should be seeing when we see pen CABINTET for $1000+ dollars. Think of scaling that down and what $100 could be in the right hands. Something beautiful. Excelent craftsmanship! You put the catalogs to shame when you post that!

Quilted Maple!? Wow, I thought you used fabric. Does the wood have texture or is that an illusion? Nice box!

"OK, I will get off my soapbox, I had to spout off because I know how this stuff is made and marketed."
-Old Griz, 1st page, 10th post

Never a problem. Insider knowledge is the best type, and is so much more useful than the superficial "consumer side" perspectives that most of us have.

Steve-- Beautiful pen case!

Edward T.

Edit: Included source of quote

Did I miss a post?

Sorry, I'll edit my post to refer the quote.

Edward T.

Elaine,

Quilted maple is wood with a genetic "defect" that causes the wood grain to grow in a wavy pattern. When the tree is sliced strait through to make a board, in some places the grain will be parallel with the cut, in others it will expose end grain, and grain at every angle in between. The angle of the grain determines the way light reflects off the finished piece, and also effects the way the finish is absorbed. This is what causes the illusion of a 3rd dimension is a smooth flat piece. If you run your hands over it, there is no feeling of variation.

Many trees occasionally exhibit this effect, but it is more common in Maple trees than in most others. The same genetic defect can also be called different things depending on the appearance of the flat board. Quilted maple is also sometimes called flame maple. If the pattern is more regular and striped in appearance, it is called curly, or tiger maple (the internal dividers are made of this). It’s all the same genetic defect though. As far as I’ve ever been able to find out, no one knows why some trees do this and others don’t. I think I remember reading somewhere that it is more common in parts of the tree that are under stress, such as under a large branch, but I’m not sure of this.

Steve

As long as we are on pen cabinets, I will come out of my "lurking" mode.

In this link are some pictures of a cabinet that I completed a few months ago.

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/oc_nice

I am in prototype development by trade, but in my spare time i design and build furniture, at the moment I am in an Arts and Crafts phase.

When the door is closed the cabinet has an appearance similiar to a picture frame, when the door is open there is plenty of space for ink storage...

The wood is Leopard wood, the finish is hand rubbed oil and wax...

The glass is a piece of antique blown glass, so it is no where close to being smooth/perfect...

The reflective surface is silver plated copper, so it will take on a patina with time and does not have the perfect cold reflection of a piece of mirror...

The hinges are hand made from copper...

The "holders" are lazar cut from acrylic...

The period of time from initial concept to actually hanging it on the wall was a little shy of 2 years... I have the tendency to alter things as I go...

The cost.... i would really rather not say.... the fire from the reciepts was very warm tho...

Thank you for the time to look at my work....

"Lurking" mode - back on

Now that is nice!!! I would love to have a display case like that!! I would need 2 or so for my pens!!! Fantastic job!! I only wish I had wood working skills!!!


TNS

Brettman,

That is a beautiful piece of work. I think the use of the antique glass is perfect and inspired choice. I couldn’t tell from the pictures for sure, but are the rails ‘bowed’ out in the middle, or are they square?

Steve

Everything is square....

I was playing with the camera and the pictures didnt come out as good as I was hoping...

Thanks Ed! I got it now. When I first read this thread I skimmed over it and didn't notice the last line of OldGriz's post.

Sorry, I went offline for a week or so and I forgot all about this post. here are some sub-$100 cases I have found on the net:

- Skymall 24 pen box: $79.99
- Bombay 's Stanton flip case: $49.00
- 24 pen box: $64.99
- A selection from Levenger's ranging in price from $48 to $74.
- 20 pen case at Goldspeed : $60.75

Almost all of them look nicer than the one I linked to in my first post. If you search, you can find many more.

That is some beautiful quilted Maple.... man I would give my right arm,(ok my drummers right arm) for a guitar made out of that!!!!

To Steve: your pen chest looks stunning. I am absolutely no woodwork connaisseur, but I can immediately tell the original pen box I linke to and yours have absolutely nothing in common. Even I can quickly tell the following:

- use of very expensive quilted maple
- dovetail joint at all four corners
- what appears to be "inserts" or at least inlaid pieces to highlight the joint
- tapered base trim
- wave pattern dividers with rounded edges
- multiple layers of stain
- the trim piece sitting atop the front face

It is obvious that all the non-rectangular pieces have been custom cut as I can't imagine anyone selling precut trim pieces in quilted maple I can understand a piece like yours being sold for $1000-2000 in a retail store. But the one at the jewelryboxshop is just a glorified shoe box in comparison.

Hi
Just an idea but I spent £10 GBP on an old knife and fork box from EBAY velvet lined in blue nice oak good finish holds 30 odd pens and looks realy vintage (well i guess it is).

With some work it could be made into a real nice pen case with trays and such.

Just an idea

kevin