List Price: $161.32
Sale Price: $107.99
Today's Bonus: 33% Off
The wooden box and contents seem fair. Now that it is in hand, I do not believe it is worth the $107 paid. The exterior box is nice with the faux distress and metal leaf emblem on the lip. Hinges are very loose though, I would prefer the lid to have a bit of resistance when opening, but that's neither here nor there. My biggest complaint is that the internal dividers are card stock and are only in place due to the pressure of all the content items wedged in. When I opened the box for the first time, most all of the dividers, pen nibs, and ink bottles popped out. It was a pain to sort through it all, refolding the cardboard divides, and trying to wedge each single wall back into place using the product image here in Amazon to guess where each piece goes. I will end up building a proper wooden dividing grid to avoid this in the future, and to make things a bit more formal and authentic.
So everyone knows generally what's included in the box, I'll try to list it out---something the product description neglected.
Wooden box with metal Leaf emblem on lid.
5 colors of bottled ink.
Wooden pen 1
Wooden pen 2
Glass/plastic pen 3 with odd spiral design. Easy to look at, but awkward to hold.
3 nib designs, with 2 nibs per design (6 nibs total). I don't have the box with me as I write this, so it is possible that each pen had a nib already attached making a total of 9 nibs? I just honestly can't remember. Either way, you get at least 2 of each which should be fine. Just be aware you may end up bending them under the pressure needed to put them in and out of the pen heads.
Reference top right corner of product image: You have a wooden handle with a metal scoop/spoon for melting wax. My metal head was barely attached to the hand in the the threading was not cut deep enough into the handle for a proper fit. The tension of the threading keeps it together, but I must be very careful as a decent bump may knock the spoon head loose. I would be annoyed if I spilled hot wax due to this, so be careful.
Just under that is a card stock lid to open revealing reddish wax flakes to be melted for your letter seals.
Reference lower right of product image: 3 wax seal stampers. 1. fish icon; 2. heart icon; and 3. a generic leaf-life shape. If I can figure out how to post pics, I'll add later. on the far left of that row is a metal burner. You unscrew the top cap revealing a rope-type wick as you would find in oil lamps. You can unscrew the base to add oil for burning. So, light it, scoop the wax flakes into the metal spoon top right, hold over to melt, pour over closed envelope, stamp, and seal.
There is also a wax stick in the middle. It looks nice as it is, so I'll probably stick to red waxes and keep broken under the lid as described earlier.
For decoration it's fine. For function, you may end up tweaking things a bit. I would be happy to pay $50 for this maybe, but feel disappointed at the current price knowing pieces are loosely put together and there is no sturdy dividing structure to compliment the design. Some pen nibs were also bent out of shape. Not a problem as they work (and replaceable at a local Michael's or Hobby Lobby), just frustrating.
I hope this review helps? It's overall not bad, just over-priced for the quality. 3 stars because it works. Lower price or slightly better quality of material would easily give it 4 or 5 IMHO. Shipping and packing material was very good. Box was secure for shipment.
All the best,
Noel.
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While it may have taken a while to get this due to manufacturer delays, it was well worth wait. This is a beautiful set with a nice selection of nibs and an awesome glass pen. The ink selection is very nice also. And I love the sealing wax with the burner and pot. VERY cool! I am quite pleased.
