Home»Miscellaneous»Wacom Pen Holder

I recently bought another Wacom Intuos pen tablet to use at the office. I'm creating lots of diagrams in visio and powerpoint, and it's just so much faster and easier with pen than a mouse. But after the unboxing, I quickly realized this model did NOT include a holder or cradle for the pen. Wth? My other (albeit more expensive) tablet I use at home included a holder and I find it incredibly convenient and useful. So much so that decided I needed to buy a holder for the office pen. A few google searches later, and I found the holder that Wacom sells for this specific pen... for the low low price of... $36! Granted it includes a few extra nibs, but holy cow, the entire tablet with pen was $95! This thing is basically just a weighted hunk of plastic?!

Being the cheap person that I am, I decided that I would fashion myself something equivalent with bits and pieces of leftover goodies lying around the house.

A week later, I happened to be browsing around in one of Oviedo's antique shops (checking for any cool vintage photo gear) when I remembered I was still in need of a pen holder. The casual browsing immediately turned into a serious mission! I looked at several shot glasses, small medicine bottles... anything that looked like it might work. After a good while, a friend I was with spied these orange, blown glass candle holders sitting on a shelf, right there at eye level. After a few seconds of inspection, they looked to be almost perfect for what I had in mind. Small, heavy, with a low center of gravity to prevent tipping. The hole at the top where candle sticks would go, seemed to be about the right diameter as best I could recall from memory - and the opening's perimeter was rounded over with a generous radius (like the top of an apple) and tapered deep inside the base, so the pen's nib wouldn't bottom out. Even better, I found the internal decorative pattern of opaque swirls and air bubbles interesting, in an artsy kind of way (most of the other items I saw were downright ugly!).

Sure enough, after returning the very next day with pen in hand to test fitment - it was a match made in heaven. The shop owners wouldn't budge on price, but $6 (plus tax) for the pair was still a bargain compared Wacom's OEM solution!!!

After returning home, I practiced inserting and retrieving the pen from its new holder over and over. The pen rests at a slight angle when stored in the holder (as opposed to dead vertical like my other pen/holder), but I find that it makes grasping the pen more natural. I have to say that I'm quite happy with how this all turned out. Another great find at the local antique shop!

A few photos of the pair to document a re-purposed candlestick base, as my new Wacom pen holder.