Baloney Sandwich?

December 10, 2006 7:33 PM

This lunchbox is no longer in stock. If you can direct me to somewhere I can buy it new online, I will send you a special holiday card. Really I will.

I'd like one of these for a gift for my brother's inner Ralph Kramden.There are a few on eBay, I know, but I'd prefer a new one that wouldn't have cleanliness or rust problems. Here's hoping.

posted by Miko to shopping (11 comments total)

Is item# Dome1/2 maybe close enough? Maybe not. It's from the same source, so you may have already seen it, but I thought I'd throw it out there.
posted by JMOZ at 7:59 PM on December 10, 2006

What about the real deal?

One more.
posted by craven_morhead at 8:06 PM on December 10, 2006

Here is a box of the same style, just silver instead of black. A bit smaller, and no thermos carrying capacity.

Looks like outside of lunchboxes.com, there's not a lot of places to buy remakes of vintage models. That's a great idea you had though, here's hoping you can pull it off.
posted by Saydur at 8:19 PM on December 10, 2006

Good job with the stellar reading comprehension there, craven.
posted by Rhomboid at 8:21 PM on December 10, 2006

Yeah, the silver ones look nice, but they just aren't quite as hefty, and don't have the Thermos and Thermos clip.

Seems like an item a lot of people would love. It's odd it's so hard to find one.
posted by Miko at 8:22 PM on December 10, 2006

Fine fine, make fun of me JUST BECAUSE I NEVER LEARNED TO READ!


You have no idea how hard using the internet is for me.
posted by craven_morhead at 8:38 PM on December 10, 2006

The lunchbox you linked to is made by Burning Lotus Designs. You could try using the Contact Us mailto link on their site, and ask them where you could buy it, or if perhaps you could order it directly from them.
posted by cerebus19 at 9:09 PM on December 10, 2006

I feel like I just wasted fifteen minutes of my life, because it seems to be back in stock now. Buy Buy Buy.

If I'm wrong, and you really love your brother, you can buy them here too. But you have to buy at least 24.
posted by saffry at 9:15 PM on December 10, 2006

How about the same lunch box as the one you linked, but one that's been rebranded?

I don't know how reputable the seller is, but I found what seems to be the same lunch box at Tequipment.net, which seems to sell mostly electronic/tech supplies. According to the description, the lunch box has a "Fluke" company logo etched on the lid. You can click to enlarge the photo to see the logo better. Not sure if your brother would appreciate a box that says "FLUKE" in capital letters, though.

I'm guessing that Tequipment (which is in New Jersey, and also appears to operate Techedu.com) got their lunch kits from the electronic tools manufacturer Fluke, who in turn got customized versions from Burning Lotus Designs. (I checked the Fluke site and couldn't find any reference to their lunch box model "FK-65" or to lunch boxes in general, but I may have missed it.)

If you don't mind a lunch box that's not domed and less Ralph Kramden, there's the very industrial-looking, rivety, silver classic Canadian miner's lunch box from the original manufacturer. In the States, Lehman's has two sizes in stock, both with thermos clips, although the separately-sold matching thermos for the larger size is out of stock. I guess it doesn't make a difference if you get a thermos on your own or if your brother already has one. (Found the Lehman's link in a previous thread.)

Those retro lunch boxes do look cool.
posted by macguffin at 10:38 PM on December 10, 2006

"but they ... don't have the Thermos ..."

Shoot. For some reason I didn't remember this bit and that you wanted everything included. Sorry about that.

In investigating the May Metal site further, the thermos that Lehman's offers isn't exactly "matching" as I said, but made from a different manufacturer. May Metal only makes lunch boxes.
posted by macguffin at 12:07 AM on December 11, 2006

The rebranded Fluke is the best option so far. I don't mind the name (it's kinda funny). I wonder if there are others like it out there whose names I'd like better, though...

I did find these never-used Dura-Diner lunchboxes too...but they're sold out, too.

This repro-vintage-lunchbox concept is ready for someone to make a fortune from it.
posted by Miko at 7:52 AM on December 11, 2006