OH!VAL Cigar Ashtray Review | Excerpted from Halfwheel

We are pleased to share with you a wonderful review from the well-known cigar review website Halfwheel . This time the protagonist is Ohval Cigar Ashtray . This ashtray has attracted the attention of many cigar lovers with its unique design and practicality. The following is a summary of the main content of the review:

I mentioned before that my ideal ashtray is a single cigar ashtray with a stirrup, i.e. a place to rest the cigar, that is not part of the ashtray bowl. This is a surprisingly hard item to find, and when I do stumble across an ashtray of this design, it tends to be at the extreme ends of the price spectrum: either very cheap – and therefore worryingly cheap – or quite expensive. Over time, I have mentioned the OH!VAL Cigar Ashtray in various reviews. For example, Earlier this year, I wrote:

I was planning to buy some accessories from the Japanese brand Oh!Val these days, but I have so far resisted the urge. This is one of the few ashtrays currently sold by the company, and it seems to fit the bill. Unfortunately, I have neither used nor seen this ashtray.

My impulse finally got the better of me. More specifically, the only place I know of that sells this ashtray is having a 20% discount, which I think is the perfect time to buy one.

what is it?

The ashtray is one of several different designs created by Japanese industrial designer Nobuo Inoue. Southern Ironware , A type of Japanese ironware that dates back to the mid-17th century . It is known for its resistance to rust, heat insulation, and even heat distribution, making it ideal for teapots. In 1908, Crown Prince Yoshihito— later Emperor Taisho —took a tour of an ironworks, Widely reported in Japan Expanded the popularity of Nanbu Ironware.

Currently, Nobuo Inoue offers four different ashtrays made with Nambu ironware. They all follow a very similar design: an oval bowl designed for one cigar, usually with a raised stirrup to hold the cigar.

The OH!VAL Cigar Ashtray consists of three parts: an oval bowl attached to a base (also shaped like an oval), and then a removable stirrup attached to the bowl. There are magnets on the bottom of the bowl and stirrup that allow them to be placed at different angles, but the preferred method seems to be to place the bowl in the center of the base and then place the stirrup on one end of the bowl.

In terms of dimensions, the bowl of the ashtray is approximately 7.125 inches from tip to tip, and the widest part of the bowl is approximately 3.1875 inches. I filled the bowl with water, determined its volume, and found that it holds 140 ml.

The stirrup's magnet is off-center, which means the length of the ashtray with the stirrup attached ranges from 7.8125" to 8.5". When all three pieces are attached, the ashtray is about 2.75" tall.

The model I purchased was all black, albeit with an almost identical ashtray The top of the bowl is painted silver to provide some contrast.

How much does it cost?

We paid 30,800 yen, equivalent to 222 USD, in March 2023, 38,500 yen less than the normal price. Although our order included a pair of cigar cutters, we also had to pay 4,000 yen ($29 USD) to have it shipped to the US, so perhaps the shipping cost for just the ashtray would have been a little less.

The above silver ashtray is listed at 44,000 yen, which translates to $317.15 in February 2023.

How does it work?

What I like most about this design is that the cigar has minimal contact with the ashtray. The stirrup is 2.3125 inches long, which means that the ash rarely needs to touch any part of the ashtray. I find that having the lit portion of the cigar hanging above the ashtray, rather than in contact with the ashtray itself, tends to make less of a mess.

As for using the ashtray, it can be a little more complicated than most, as you can make endless adjustments to the position of the stirrups (both location and angle) as well as the ashtray itself.

Besides that, it was an ashtray: place your cigar in the stirrup and smoke it.

What's so special about it?

If you want to point the ashtray up or down, you can do that, which I don't recall seeing in other ashtrays.

I don't know if this is necessary, but I imagine if you were caught in wind, tilting the bowl might help stop the wind from blowing the ash out of the bowl.

OK

• So beautiful, oh so beautiful — This design isn't for everyone, but I find it to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing ashtrays I've ever used. The oval shape is soothing, and the matte black finish makes the curves even more pleasing to my mind. A little visual trick: The top of the bowl has a smooth surface, while the rest of the ashtray has a natural iron texture, similar to the texture in a cast iron pan.
• This is substantial — Weighing in at 700 grams (1.54 lbs), it will never be confused with fragility. Each piece feels solid and virtually indestructible.
• The magnets were a pleasant surprise — The magnets are a great way to incorporate the stirrup into the design. While there are times when I wish the base didn't detach, there are times when I appreciate that it does. The magnets are strong enough that you can pick up the ashtray by the bowl and the base will come with it. You can even move the base slightly and it will still stay attached, but with a little force, the bowl will eventually fall off.

• Best-in-class durability — I accidentally dropped the ashtray base on the floor once and was hoping to find a blemish. I couldn't see anything. Like a cast iron pan, I wouldn't put it in the dishwasher, but I can't imagine this thing showing any signs of wear other than harsh cleaning. The base showed signs of wear, which isn't surprising given the metal-to-metal contact. Fortunately, it wasn't visible until the bowl was removed.
• Easy to clean — Not only is it physically easy to clean each part, but the iron seems to release dust as well as any material. With a very simple wipe, almost all of the ash seems to be removed. In bright light, I can see a little more, but in natural light, the ashtray looks more or less ash-free after cleaning.

The Bad

• price — I’ve reviewed more expensive ashtrays, but at over $200, this still isn’t cheap.
• Ordering can be a problem — As far as I know, the only way to buy this ashtray is directly from the Nobuo Inoue store in Japan. Luckily, the site uses Amazon Pay, which makes purchasing very easy. That said, both the black and silver versions of this ashtray are sold out, which means I'm not sure how to purchase one at the time of writing.

Bowden Ashtray by Smoke & Rye ($40)

compete

Nobou Inoue has a few other ashtrays similar to OH!VAL, the most interesting to me is this The OH!VAL Kayak (about $220), looks similar but has a more elongated shape. While I haven't seen this ashtray in person, the cigar holder is removable.

• Smoke & Rye Bowden Ashtray ($40, shown above) — For those who want a more affordable single cigar ashtray, The Bowden is a great option. Just a few months ago, I thought the Bowden would be my everyday ashtray of choice going forward, but I prefer the stirrups of the OH!VAL Cigar Ashtray to the longer channel of the Bowden. If I had to choose one, I would go with the OH!VAL.
• Davidoff Murano Glass Ashtray ($237) — While I love the look of this ashtray, that’s more or less the end of my list of compliments for the Murano Glass ashtray. Yes, it has a stirrup. Yes, it is a single cigar ashtray. Unfortunately, the ashtray is unstable and has a stirrup that often falls into the bowl. OH!VAL Much better.
• Butt Bat Single Ashtray ($10.99) — This ashtray is sold under a number of different names, but the all-metal single cigar ashtray functions very well. I used this ashtray as my daily ashtray for a year or so until one of my feet fell off. While both ashtrays allow the ash to hang from the cigar, the stirrups on the OH!VAL are much smaller and higher up. I would rather have the OH!VAL, but the price difference is so great that it's a little difficult to compare the two from a purchasing perspective. With the Butt Bat and the OH!VAL, you get what you pay for.
• Davidoff Sliding Ashtray ($150) — This is a single cigar ashtray that also uses black metal and wood. While its materials are similar to the OH!VAL, the ashtray functions very differently. The Davidoff is expandable and can be used in a way that the ash doesn't touch the ashtray, but that's not how I ended up using it. I'd spend the extra money to get the OH!VAL.
• Little Stinky ($26.95) — If you want a single cigar ashtray with a stirrup and don't care about the other features of the OH!VAL, the Stinky Jr. gets the job done. I'd still choose the OH!VAL over the Stinky Jr., but it's almost 10 times the price.

Should you buy it?

Yes.

If forced to pick just one ashtray to use for the rest of my life, we have three dozen or so ashtrays lying around. halfwheel The office, most likely this one. I'll think twice before doing this Czech Salamander, but from today on, I tend to use the OH!VAL Cigar Ashtray because of the stirrup. Quite simply, this is the ashtray I always want to use.