OH!VAL Cigar Ashtray

I’ve mentioned before that my ideal ashtray is a single cigar ashtray with a stirrup, i.e. a place to put your cigar that isn’t part of the bowl of the ashtray. It’s a surprisingly difficult thing to find and when I do stumble across an ashtray of this design, it tends to be at the extremes of the price spectrum: either quite inexpensive—and therefore concerningly cheap—or rather expensive. Over time, I’ve mentioned the OH!VAL Cigar Ashtray in various reviews. For example, earlier this year, I wrote:

One of these days I am going to buy some accessories from the Japanese brand Oh!Val, but so far I’ve suppressed my urges. This is one of a handful of ashtrays the company currently sells and it would seemingly fit the bill. Unfortunately, I’ve neither used nor seen this ashtray.

My urges finally got the best of me. More specifically, the lone place that I know that sells this ashtray was running a 20 percent off sale, which I figured was as good a time as any to purchase the ashtray.

WHAT IS IT?

The ashtray is one of a few different designs created by Nobuo Inoue, a Japanese industrial designer. It’s made using nambu tekki, a Japanese form of ironware that dates back to the mid-17th century. It’s known for its resistance to rust, insulation and even heat distribution, which makes it an ideal choice for tea kettles. In 1908, Crown Prince Yoshihito—later Emperor Taishō—visited an ironworks, which was widely reported on in Japan and expanded the popularity of nambu tekki.

Currently, Nobuo Inoue offers four different ashtrays that use nambu tekki. They all follow a pretty similar design: an oval-shaped bowl designed for one cigar, usually with an elevated stirrup to hold the cigar.

The OH!VAL Cigar Ashtray is three pieces: the oval-shaped bowl attaches to a base—also shaped like an oval—and a removable stirrup is then attached to the bowl. The bowl and stirrup have magnets at the bottom, which allow for them to be placed at different angles, though the preferred method seems to be to place the bowl at the center of the base and then place the stirrup at one end of the bowl.

In terms of size, the ashtray’s bowl is about 7.125 inches from tip-to-tip and 3.1875 at the bowl’s widest point. I filled the bowl up with water to determine its volume and found that it could hold 140ml.

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

The model I purchased is all black, though there’s a nearly identical ashtray that has silver paint applied to the top of the bowl to provide some contrast.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

We paid ¥30,800, which amounted to $222 in July 2023, down from its normal price of ¥38,500. We were also charged ¥4,000 ($29) to ship it to the U.S., though our order included a pair of cigar scissors, so perhaps shipping for just the ashtray would have been a bit less.

The aforementioned silver-lined ashtray is listed at ¥44,000, which would have been $317.15 in July 2023.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

What I love most about this design is that the cigar makes minimal contact with the ashtray. The stirrup is 2.3125 inches in length, meaning that there’s rarely a point when the ash needs to be touching any part of the ashtray. I find that having the lit part of the cigar hanging over the ashtray, as opposed to coming in contact with the ashtray itself, tends to create less mess.

As for using the ashtray, it can be a bit more involved than most ashtrays because you can make endless tweaks to the position of the stirrup—both its location and angle—as well as the bowl itself.

Beyond that, it’s an ashtray: place your cigar in the stirrup and smoke.

WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL?

If you wanted to point the bowl upwards or downwards, you could do so, something I can’t recall seeing in other ashtrays.

I don’t know if there’s much need for this, though I suppose if you were dealing with some wind, being able to tilt the bowl might be useful in trying to stop the wind from blowing the ash out of the bowl.

 

THE GOOD

• It’s Pretty, Oh So Pretty — This design won’t be for everyone, but I find it to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing ashtrays I’ve ever used. The oval shapes are soothing, and the matte black texture makes the curves look even more pleasant in my mind. One small visual trick: the top part of the bowl has a smooth finish, whereas the rest of the ashtray has a natural iron texture, similar to what you’d find in a cast iron pan.
• It’s Substantial — At 700g (1.54 lbs), this is never going to be confused with flimsy. Every piece feels substantial, almost indestructible.
• The Magnets Are a Pleasant Surprise — Magnets are an awesome way to incorporate the stirrup into the design. While there are times in wish the base didn’t detach, there are other times when I appreciate that it comes apart. The magnets are strong enough that you can pick the ashtray up by the bowl and the base will come with it. You can even move the base slightly and it will remain attached, though with a bit of force, the bowl will eventually come down.

• Top-Notch Durability — I accidentally dropped the ashtray’s base once and was expecting to find a blemish. There was none that I could see. Like a cast iron pan, I wouldn’t put this in the dishwasher, but other than harsh cleaning, I can’t imagine this thing is going to show any signs of wear. The base is showing signs of wear, which isn’t surprising given the metal-on-metal contact. Fortunately, that’s not visible until the bowl is detached.
• Easy Cleaning — Not only is it physically easy to clean each piece, but the iron seems to release ash as well as any material. With a pretty basic wipe-down, nearly every speck of ash seems to be removed. Under bright lights, I can see a bit more, but with natural light, the ashtray looks more or less ash-free after cleaning.

THE BAD

• The Price — I’ve reviewed more expensive ashtrays, but at more than $200, this is still not cheap.
• Ordering Can be a Problem — As far as I can find, the only place to buy the ashtray is directly from the Nobuo Inoue store, which is based in Japan. Fortunately, the site uses Amazon Pay, which makes purchasing pretty easy. That said, both the black and silver versions of this ashtray are listed as sold out, meaning I’m not sure how you can buy one as of this writing.

Smoke & Rye’s The Bowden Ashtray ($40)

The Competition

Nobou Inoue has some other ashtrays that are similar to the OH!VAL, the most interesting to me is the OH!VAL Kayak (~$220), which looks similar but has a more elongated shape. While I have not seen this ashtray in person, the cigar rest is removable.

• Smoke & Rye The Bowden Ashtray ($40, Pictured Above) — For those wanting a much more affordable single cigar ashtray, The Bowden is a great option. Just a few months ago, I thought The Bowden would be my daily ashtray pick going forward, but I much prefer the OH!VAL Cigar Ashtray’s stirrup versus The Bowden’s longer channel. If forced to pick one, I’d take the OH!VAL.
• Davidoff Murano Glass Ashtray ($237) — While I liked the way this ashtray looks, that’s more or less the end of my list of compliments for the Murano Glass Ashtray. Yes, it has a stirrup. Yes, it’s a single-cigar ashtray. Unfortunately, the ashtray has a wobbly stance and a stirrup that oftentimes wants to fall inside the bowl. The OH!VAL is 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 pretty well. For a year or so, I used this ashtray as my daily ashtray until one of the feet fell off. While both ashtrays allow the ash to hang off of the cigar, the OH!VAL’s stirrup is much smaller and sits higher up. I’d rather own the OH!VAL, but the price difference is so large it’s somewhat difficult to compare these two from a purchasing standpoint. With both the Butt Bat and the OH!VAL, you are getting what you pay for.
• Davidoff Sliding Ashtray ($150) — This is a single cigar ashtray that also uses black metal and wood. While it has a similar material to the OH!VAL, the ashtrays function very differently. The Davidoff can expand and could be used in a way where the ash doesn’t touch the ashtray, but that’s not how I ended up using it. I’d spend the extra money and get the OH!VAL.
• Stinky Jr. ($26.95) — If you want a single-cigar ashtray that has the stirrup and don’t care about the other features of the OH!VAL, the Stinky Jr. accomplishes the task. I’d still take the OH!VAL over the Stinky Jr., but it is nearly 10x the price.

Should You Buy It?

Yes.

If forced to pick just one ashtray to use for the rest of my life, of the three dozen or so ashtrays we have around the halfwheel office, this is likely the one. I’d think twice about this or the Czevitrum Salamander, but as of today, I’d lean towards the OH!VAL Cigar Ashtray because of the stirrup. Quite simply, this is the ashtray I’ve been wanting to use.