I bought several of these unfinished boxes and finished them, added a divider, and lined them with felt. They're not great, but passable and cheap, not counting my time. https://imgs.michaels.com/MAM/assets/1/5E3C12034D34434F8A9BAAFDDF0F8E1B/img/A75B54967EDB4238B73140DAFA96AC79/10357775_22.jpg?fit=inside|1280:1280
I 3-D printed an insert for another cheap craft store box to hold my Italfama pieces
I´ve never understood the point of a divider. I mean, how often does one play only the white or the black pieces?
On a chessbazaar listing for a set with ebonized black pieces it says: "Please keep white and black pieces separately to avoid discoloring of white pieces." None of my pieces are ebonized. I added the divider for tradition, but it certainly would have been much easier without the divider.
On a chessbazaar listing for a set with ebonized black pieces it says: "Please keep white and black pieces separately to avoid discoloring of white pieces." None of my pieces are ebonized. I added the divider for tradition, but it certainly would have been much easier without the divider.
I´ve never heard that but it makes one wonder. I guess it can be true for brand new pieces but it shouldn´t be. What do the Indians use to ebonize their black pieces?
The pieces on my pictures are more than a half century old and the box was made some time in the 19th century so I guess the lack of divider won´t be a problem. So far (after a couple of years) I cannot see any discoloration...
Shoe bags, bags I've sewn from scrap, and a leather box with a divider that I made when I was just starting out in leathercraft. I really need to either make more boxes (which I can now that my skills have significantly advanced, but I won't because my free time has significantly decreased), or just buy some (which I probably won't do either).
Wait -- I just re-read @mjeman's post. Are these the boxes you mean? Cuz, my free time and apathy may have just met their match in terms of effort and price. Huh.
Wait a second, DesperateKingWalk, which pieces does your comfy looking SmilCo box contain in the picture above? Are those the amazing $25 Amazon Lardy men (and four ladies, two extra queens!)? They fit perfectly! Now do I have to go even farther down the rabbit hole and buy some fancy boxes? BTW, I saw one of the chess houses has the leatherette bags listed for something like $16!
Wait -- I just re-read @mjeman's post. Are these the boxes you mean? Cuz, my free time and apathy may have just met their match in terms of effort and price. Huh.
That's it.
Here is a link to an old thread. It’s my storage box. (Sorry for the shameless self-appreciation) 🤣
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/from-ye-olde-hawkeye-wood-shoppe
Finally, I was able to order the box from German Amazon. It's a bit more expensive, but should still be great value.
Chessmen are, or at least should be, made to play with and sturdy enough to not break or be damaged by normal handling. Thus a simple wood or cardboard box, or a drawstring bag, should do for storing them. Transportation may another matter.
I found some boxes like these at Hobby Lobby (here in the States) and thought they would be a good place to store some of my sets. It adds to the back story I made up for them and the adventures they had been on to receive their "battle scars".
Chessmen are, or at least should be, made to play with and sturdy enough to not break or be damaged by normal handling. Thus a simple wood or cardboard box, or a drawstring bag, should do for storing them. Transportation may another matter.
Honestly, it depends on the set.
I have plenty of sets that are made for playing chess on a Monday night at a club, or at a bar perhaps.
But I also have sets that are, in my opinion, made to be used to play after a nice Saturday dinner, with a tasty single malt scotch in hand (double, neat), or perhaps a brandy, discussing life's mysteries and solving all the problems of the world with a close friend.
As you feel the luxurious wood and the admire the fine craftsmanship that went into producing them, you just know that these are worthy of being stored in a luxurious coffer with nice compartments for each piece to inhabit while they await their next foray onto the 64 square battlefield to do the bidding of their commander.
Why would you need a divider as long as the box offers enough room for all of your pieces to stand upright next to each other? The boxes are too big and heavy to bring them to the club anway.
Divider is better as it avoids pieces of different colours mixing up. Also looks more organised.
There are exactly TWO different colours. Not much of a mix-up. So, unless you have dyed pieces and you're afraid the colour might come off while they're resting in the box (And if so, you bought garbage pieces), the divider makes no sense.
".... Also it looks more organized."
No comment. 
I´ve been away from home a lot lately so it was only today I could pick up my 25 dollar Amazon sets. I´ll post about the actual pieces later (and elsewhere) but the bag... The bag! What a piece of kit! Easily on it´s own worth the 25 bucks. Well made, heavy duty and it had obviously done it´s job to protect the chessmen that arrived in pristine condition after who knows how many miles.
Absolutely the best bag for storing/protecting/carrying chessmen that I own. And I got the beautiful pieces for free...
How do we take care of our. more or less, precious pieces? In what do we store them? Here´s my favourite box. What it has contained earlier in it´s pretty long existence I do not know but now it´s home to one of my sets.