Wooden Coffee Cuff

These wooden cuffs from Bentwood are made from cast-off architectural veneer and are molded to double as a sleeve for hot coffee cups. They're lovely, as wood so often is, but at $70 CAD about $60 more expensive than they should be. I'm all for not wasting paper, but something about using an expensive zebrawood cuff in lieu of a nickel's worth of cardboard seems strange to me.

Product Page [Contexture.ca via Gadget Lab via Book of Joe]

[#1 posted by grinn.net , April 11, 2008 5:53 AM]

Just think of all the trees you'll save by not throwing away your $70!

[#2 posted by strider_mt2k , April 11, 2008 6:16 AM]

I'd like to try to make one some time, but my steampunk-esque-like lamp project has priority at the moment.
(Yeah I'll post it when it happens)

This is beautiful and the use scrap materials is great but yeah, ouch on the price.

For that much I'm most of the way into materials to make my own, sorry.

[#3 posted by mikeyboy , April 11, 2008 6:24 AM]

wow i hope one feels $70 worth of stupid when they accidentally throw this away while still attached to their empty starbucks cup.

[#4 posted by cha0tic , April 11, 2008 9:07 AM]

There must be some Makers out there who can do a 'How to'

I'd assume steam, a former (an old cup filled with sand/plaster of Paris?), some clamps/elastic bands and some sort of Varnish would be a start.

[#5 posted by cha0tic , April 11, 2008 9:12 AM]

I thought some more. Make the former as described above, bend the veneer round using steam(?), then pop inside another cup to hold it 'til it 'sets'. Would that work?

[#6 posted by Anonymous , April 11, 2008 9:40 AM]

When working with veneers, steam probably isn't necessary. Three layers of veneers glued up while bent in the appropriate form will likely hold their shape. As long as the veneer isn't flawed, it will bend around something the size of a cup without breaking.

[#7 posted by Mim , April 11, 2008 10:30 AM]

@3 - indeed - Or when it gets crushed in my bag.

[#8 posted by Mim , April 11, 2008 10:37 AM]

While I appreciate the recycled materials aspect of these, it seems that $5. can purchase a non-crushed-in-bag option that is dishwasher-safe.

[#9 posted by dustbuster7000 , April 11, 2008 10:57 AM]

Forget steam. Buy half a dozen sheets of bending ply (or less depending on thickness), make former (see above), bend and glue to former, trim to shape with whatever tool you prefer (fret saw, sanding drum, scroll saw, whatever), use. I think the other reason that its so expensive is that its supposed to be a fashion accessory (a bangle) *as well* as a coffee cup cuff. And given the nature of fashion, arguments about its use as a bangle seem pointless.

[#10 posted by michaelportent , April 11, 2008 2:50 PM]

I'd be afraid I'd throw it in the trash accidentally, or forget to bring it to the coffeehouse with me too much to make it worthwhile.

[#11 posted by w000t , April 11, 2008 3:05 PM]

Remember those pot holders you made as a kid with the little fabric loops? I made a coffee cozy/cuff/sleeve/holder like that for a mug that doesn't have a handle. Cost less than $5 for all materials (with plenty of extras) and tools and went together in about an hour including figuring out how to do it. I keep meaning to put together an instructable, but I'm now out of loops (but man do I have a lot of potholders).

[#12 posted by Fnarf , April 11, 2008 4:03 PM]

I'm confused. Wouldn't these conduct heat? Isn't not conducting heat the whole point of having a cuff around your drink? Isn't that why the cardboard ones are corrugated or crinkled in some way, to form air pockets?

How about a nice solid gold one?

[#13 posted by Scuba SM , April 11, 2008 4:06 PM]

Heh. I was dragged to Starbucks the other day where I ordered a large tea. They gave me my tea, double cupped with one of those cardboard rings as well. I found it immensely amusing to read on the ring where it said "Thank you for choosing to use an insulating ring. Using this ring consumes 65% less material than using a second cup."

That being said, there's a coffee shop near me that has absolutely no issues filling whatever mug you bring in with coffee. It doesn't have to be one of their branded cups, and it certainly cuts down on consumer waste.

[#14 posted by Daisy Bond , April 11, 2008 7:14 PM]

Yeah, especially strange since the nickle's worth of cardboard in reusable. And what's the point of not wasting that cardboard if you're still going to waste the paper cup and plastic lid?

I recommend a thermos.

[#15 posted by Scuba SM , April 11, 2008 8:09 PM]

DAISY BOND:

In some cases, those cardboard rings aren't reusable. I've seen some that have little lines of hot glue that's activated by the hot drink inside the cup, gluing the ring to the cup. That makes it impossible to get the ring off the cup in one piece. Most of the rings I've seen also have a little line that says "Intended for single use only. Do not reuse."

[#16 posted by globule23 , April 11, 2008 11:29 PM]

It appears to me the person in the photo opted to use a cardboard cup sleeve anyway. Must have forgot about that fashionable chunk of wood around their wrist?

[#17 posted by stinkingpig , April 12, 2008 2:00 PM]

@13, I go to Starbuck's when on the road and unable to find a Peets... you should thank them for the double-cupping, their tea water is about 211.9 degrees F. However, they will fill your cup, just like any other coffee shop.

Unfortunately, there's still no solution for the nasty dishwasher-proof way that coffee oils and milk fats permeate and bond to just about every non-porcelain vessel intended for coffee within a few weeks of use. What's worse, disposing of 50 cups/lids/rings, or disposing of a steel and plastic thermos after 50 uses?

[#18 posted by Cnoocy , April 13, 2008 9:32 AM]

The only thing I have to add to this is that there's no need to resort to the term "coffee cuff" when the word zarf exists.