Craftsman built British Cigar Box Guitars
You may be somewhat surprised to see guitars in the window of a well respected Jermyn Street
cigar store, but the truth is that these instruments are just as much craftsman made items as
the cigars which nestle in the humidor.
How they came to be there is a fascinating story.
Geoff Hawkins, who makes them in his garden
workshop in North London, is a retired engineer
and part time musician. He still plays but his
passion is turning his hands to making the most
amazing cigar box guitars.
There is no doubt that Geoff is a craftsman. When
he retired he found himself with time on his
hands and as a semi professional musician he
started to research how to make a cigar box guitar.
Since he made his first guitar some three years
ago he has honed and refined his craft, making
ever more beautiful instruments. He has been
challenged by the team at Davidoff with some
extraordinary and unique boxes but he always
rises to the challenge.
His link with Davidoff follows his initial search
for raw materials. He toured London’s cigar stores
looking for interesting empty boxes and when he
met Eddie Sahakian, himself a music lover, he
knew he had found the right ‘partner’.
The boxes Davidoff provided got him started, at
first making guitars with frets, but all tuned as
slide guitars, with an open tuning, making them
relatively easy to play.
7
Edward Sahakian agreed to sell the guitars and
everything took off. Sales were brisk and Geoff
calculates that he is now working on his 110th
guitar.
He showed me some of his trade secrets and told
me where some of the fittings for the guitars come
from. It’s clear that he is keeping many of the
tradition alive, making guitars from items found
lying around the house, but in a way that means
the finished product fits in perfectly with the
craftsmanship of the rest of Jermyn street
Cigar box guitars started in the 1800’s in America
when empty cigar boxes where recognised as a
quick and cheap way to make an acoustic guitar.
Geoff told me that it’s the larger thinner boxes
which produce the best acoustic instruments. But
as he is challenged to produce instruments with
ever more exotic boxes he includes pick-ups and
electronics to allow the guitar to be plugged into
an amplifier.
Cigar lovers and professional musicians are
among the customers for Geoff’s guitars. In
our short video Geoff demonstrates his guitars
and plays a couple of his creations. You can
see pictures of many of his instruments on
his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/
geemancigarbox?ref=br_rs