(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
With all these pens I have inked up at any given time, I'm always in need of a storage or organization system. For me, the organization and storage of things is almost as much fun as the stationery hobby itself, and they also work really well together. What's even better than having a great place to store pens? Having a great pen storage system that doubles as a great decorative piece for your desk or table.
The Wood Pen Holder from Galen Leather out of Istanbul is a solid block of wood with several precisely drilled holds to accommodate pens of many different diameters. And the right side of the block also has a larger hole for other tools and trinkets. Being able to organize 15 pens in a way that's accessible is a fantastic tool for any desk. And being able to store scissors, small bottles, and other small items upright alongside the pens is a bonus.
The Wood Pen Holder is available in either Walnut (pictured here) or Mahogany. The design and finish is the same regardless of the wood species you pick, and they both feature a warm, dark brown that look classy and at-home with most decor. The clear finish or oil that they used to seal the wood is thorough and has a small amount of shine that enhances the natural beauty of the wood without making it look wet.
The finish is silky smooth to the touch, and there's a very faint smell from the finishing oil that diminishes over time. Based on the quality of the finish, I have no doubts that it will stay protected and looking great for many, many years. This isn't a piece that gets a lot of hard use (like a tabletop, for example), so refinishing the wood shouldn't necessary in most moderate climates.
The front of the block also features a debossed metal plate with the Walden Woodworkers brand (to distinguish from their leather goods), which adds a nice black and gold look to the warm brown wood.
The Pen Holder is a solid block of wood, so it feels stout while not being heavy. Each block is cut and then drilled with a drill press to ensure precise vertical cuts and smooth, rounded edges. There are four silicone feet on the bottom to prevent the block from moving around when being used.
The block is 7 inches long, 3 inches tall, and 2.5 inches deep (or 20x8x6.8cm), and the pen holes are 15.5mm (or about 5/8") in diameter, so nearly any fountain pen will fit with no trouble. I don't have any pens in my collection that are larger, and I think the number of pens that are larger than that diameter are few and far between. If you have one that large, you probably already know!
The larger hole on the right side of the block is about 39.5mm in diameter and can hold lots of office supplies or other writing instruments. I've using this hole as a small pencil cup for storing wood pencils, but it also fits scissors, erasers, a small ruler, and other slim tools. To add some frame of reference, I also tried some other objects that I had in the room with me. Most ink bottles are either too wide or too short, but the Robert Oster bottles fit nicely with a little room to spare. The small Ono roller that I keep on my desk also fit nicely. Unfortunately, the AirPods Pro case was just a little too big to fit.
For something so objectively simple and utilitarian, this pen holder does everything so well while also looking like a piece of decor. My list of nitpicks are short, and they wouldn't prevent me from recommending this to anyone that is interested in a desktop pen storage system. The first thing I noticed is that the inside of the drilled holes are no sanded smooth. As someone who dabbles in woodworking, I know that sanding the walls of the holes is not an easy or time-efficient task, but it can be done. That said, it's not something that detracts from the aesthetic, and it also won't affect how it functions. It's not something you touch, so it doesn't really matter that the holes aren't smooth on the inside.
The second nitpick is an even smaller one. I really appreciate that the drilled out holes are also finished with whatever sealing oil or solution as the outside, but there's some obvious build-up of this substance at the bottom of the large hole that wasn't wiped away when it was wet. Since it's cured now, there's no easy way to remove it. Again, not something that affects the functionality or appearance, but worth mentioning.
My nitpicks aside, I'm really enjoying this Wood Pen Holder from Galen Leather. It looks great on my desk, and I really appreciate having a place to store 15 pens upright in a neat fashion. Sure, I want to pare down the number of inked pens I have at any given time, but that's a problem for a different day. For now, this pen block does the job exceptionally well, and also has a built-in pen cup for other small bits and tools that I reach for regularly. Way back in the day, I bought a couple of walnut pen blocks from Mike Dudek before he closed up shop. His pen blocks were of the same concept — simple rectangles with drill-pressed holes to hold pens. The Galen Leather Pen Holder is a similar product to carry on this simple but timeless design. And at $38, it's easy to recommend.
(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes. This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.)
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