Hi everyone
My names Freddie, I am new here and this is my first post. I am a roll up smoker that just discovered snuff. I am using snuff to cut down how many cigarettes I smoke, I have already cut down from 20 a day to 4.
Anyway, I am looking for a wooden snuff box in the tap box style that Poschl uses for the Red Bull container. A hybrid would be perfect, allowing me to tap or pinch. Are there any members here in the UK or possibly other European countries that make such a thing?
Looking forward to hearing from you

For the hybrid style, you need to look to the US for a new wooden box - check out Patrick Collins’ boxes at woodensnuffbox.com (but not just now because the site is temporarily down!)

Otherwise, all the new wooden boxes I can think of have sliding lids, and are really best for pinching from. It’s worth having a look on Mr Snuff’s UK site ( snuffstore.co.uk ) to get an idea of what there is. If you can bear the idea of a plastic one, then the Mr Snuff boxes on that site would solve your problem nicely as they are hybrids. The black Wilsons boxes are nice too, but they will hold about 25g, so might be a bit big for your needs!

Brilliant! Thanks for your help Justin. I am a bit reluctant to order from the US as I am always hit with customs fee and the dreaded handling fee which I think is

*

You could hack a slide box by drilling a small hole or notch in the end of the slide lid or the cut out in the storage area where the lid covers. 

Or you could get a plastic one like this : https://mrsnuff.com/black-plastic-snuff-p-3513.html 

Welcome to snuffhouse Freddie
<:-P

I have a bunch of Patrick Collins boxes, the kinds with sliding wooden lids. They are beautifully made.

I also have some much larger boxes not as well made but very functional for coarse snuffs that I like backhanding. They were made by a member here Georg around 2008-2010 time frame. I don’t know if he still posts here but some shops did start selling his boxes. I think @nosebag had some for sale.

I think the kind of box that will work for you has to do both with whether you like pinching or backhanding and also the grind. That usually means you should own several for your different grinds and taking preferences.

Unfortunately snuff boxes have become collectibles for people who never use them for what they were made and that has driven up prices on nice using boxes past the point most people can afford them. I have some friends with old and beautiful silver boxes that probably hold 20-25 grams and I have no idea how much they would cost now.

I would be interested in a patrick collins box. Do they come in different sizes? I would prefer something smaller that holds between 5-10g. Any idea of when the website is back?

He used to be a member here named @onefortheroad and shipped his handmade boxes all over the world. They are small. I think they might hold 5 grams but certainly not 10. Probably closer to 3 or 4. You can only carry very little snuff and the boxes are not suitable for coarse grinds. What’s great about the boxes is the craftsmanship. They’re fitted beautifully, the workmanship is superb. He used all sorts of exotic woods and did inlays too.

Honestly they’re not the most practical boxes in the world because of the small size and tight fitting lids. There is a risk of having somebody break the lid if you share your snuff with other people and because the cabinetry is so fine if you don’t know how to open it you may never figure it out. They’re just beautiful artwork. For yourself if you need a small gorgeous box to carry for the day they’ll work.

A plastic smash box is a lot more practical. It depends very much on whether you love crafts and can live with the size and functionality or whether you are more utilitarian and just want something to carry snuff.

See if you can find his mailing address online somewhere and contact him that way if the shop isn’t online. I have no idea what he’s up to these days. He is definitely a good guy and not in it for the money.

The other thing nobody has mentioned is this snuffmaster thingy which appears to be simply a snuffbox that gives metered double doses suitable for backhanding. It is available from Toque and direct from the manufacturer in plastic and aluminum.

I use heartwood wooden snuff boxes with sliding covers all the time!

I just open a slot about half an inch wide, hold it so that the slot is vertically aligned, and use it like a tap box by tapping on the top surface (which is parallel to the floor).

In order to accommodate my snuff sniffing, I dress entirely in black these days.

I use darker snuffs, so snuff dribbles and spills don’t show up on a black shirt after you whisk them away!

@howdydave you could take F&T Princes special and go all brown

@howdydave you could take F&T Princes special and go all brown

A fully loaded Patrick Collins single snuff box contains four grams of HDT, I weighed it before and after on some digital scales. I usually carry two of them, one with a White Indian, and one with a nice fine dry English snuff, which sees me through a day easily. They are beautiful, well designed, strong and generally the best thing since unsliced wholemeal bread. Did I already say beautiful? I wouldn’t use them for moist, heavily scented snuffs, although @Basementshaman has pointed out that you can wax the interiors with pipe wax to make them better for such purposes. Frankly, I don’t know why Patrick doesn’t coat the insides with something for exactly that reason, but he’s an artist. He does it the way he does.

Does anyone know the reason that http://www.woodensnuffbox.com, Patrick Collins’ webpage has been down?  I know it says a "brief technical interuption.  I just didn’t know if any of you knew him, and knew when his page might be back up?

Thanks,

Mark

I used one of Patrick’s boxes for some Dholakia Khamal I think it was and if that isn’t heavily scented I don’t know what is. I think it depends on the wood. This one did fine, no traces of the Dholakia after dumping it and wiping it a little with a tissue. Some woods are more porous than others. I got lucky with that one. The snuff was in there for a few years!

@snuffbox
Have you any idea what wood your snuff box is made from? If possible, would you be able to upload a photo?
Thanks

I have 4 of Patricks boxes. One is Walnut, one Teak, one Zebrawood, and one is from a red wood (not Redwood) that I can’t remember the name of. I will try to get a pic somewhere but don’t wait up for me since I’m having computer problems at the moment.

If I can get a pic I’ll also show you the German ones I got because they are better for backhanding.

That would be really great if you have the time.

A Patrick Collins Triple Tech box is what your after that is if you can find one.  They hold about 5 grams and come with a tap out hole, a hidden spoon and a slide top for pinching ( hence the name triple tech because there are 3 ways to snuff from them).  I love em and I have a bunch of them each dedicated to a different style of snuff.  I have a teak, walnut, oak, cherry, zebra wood,  mohagany and a padauk(the red wood one)

Awesome I never heard of that model

@snufferman I have the time I just don’t have an internet connection good enough for anything but text!

@snuffbox I see. No problem.

@n9inchnails that sounds perfect. I’m going to email Patrick Collins now. Have you any idea about how absorbent the different woods are? Do any of them absorb less smells that others?

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@Snufferman, I think Padauk is meant to have some properties that make it a good wood for our purposes. Something about not warping much when it absorbs moisture. But I reckon they are all fine, just don’t put snuff in one and leave it for more than a day or two if it’s not a really dry, fine snuff. I wouldn’t use it for moister SWS and Abraxas snuffs, and probably not for Viking Dark, which are the only moister snuffs I use (and they aren’t really that moist). I’ve been keeping Toque Quit in a padauk box and sometimes not finishing it on the same day and it’s been doing fine.

Thanks @basement_shaman.  I dropped him an email.

Mark

Along with what @jakartaboy said (I think he is probably correct) I think teak would be good too. But if you’re going to order from Patrick or any other woodworker, just ask them. They will surely know the answer.

As mentioned above the padauk, teak and cherry are probably the least prone to warping, the hardwoods especially oak are prone to warping in you put in anything but the driest snuffs, I use my oak box for toasts

@n9inchnails, ah, that’s interesting. I always use my zebra wood box for the driest snuffs. I don’t know much about its qualities, whether it’s a hard wood like oak. Are you a woodwork guy? I know there’s some technical term and a way of measuring how much wood is likely to warp with moisture, but I forget what it is. Floorboard websites sometimes have tables of the figures.

My dad is a carpenter so I have some experience with wood.  Actually the zebra wood box doesn’t warp that easily, I use mine for Toque rustica and I often put a moist Tonka bean in and let it sit for a few days to absorb the flavor and the snuff gets pretty moist and it hasn’t warped on me yet.

@snufferman my internet should be fixed this week so if you still want pics please say so and I’ll try to have them for you this week.

@snuffbox, I’d love to see you pictures. I could easily buy a few more, when they are available again, your images might inspire me. I like the singles best, these days, although the others are both good. The doubles are pretty cool if, like me, you have two basic daily snuffs. I like the triple tech for the slide opening, but I never used the spoon, because I always have a stainless steel spoon which I like much better.

@jakartaboy ok no problem then. I know sometimes people come and go and didn’t want to take pics and upload them somewhere if the guy who asked for them doesn’t come back to the thread. Hopefully I will have them this week if my internet gets fixed.

Hey some of the best snuff boxes in the world are sold in the UK. A lot really, etsy and ebay both are loaded with them. I wanted to get a triple tech box but they sold out and ended up getting a silver one. I really like silver, a little more than the wood heart wood creations. Just because of the way it looked.

Is a 100 dollar snuffbox better than one that costs 12.50? Probably

“Is a 100 dollar snuffbox better than one that costs 12.50? Probably”

Highly debatable. A leaky, stiff, dysfunctional box made of silver and ornately decorated, from the Georgian era will probably cost a lot more than a nice, tightly sealed plastic box from Mr Snuff. And I know which one I’m going to keep my snuff in. And it’s not the expensive silver box. Things that are more expensive are more expensive than things that are cheaper. Better things work better than things that don’t work as well.

Agreed. There are many boxes not designed for snuff that people sell as snuffboxes. My point was only in response to the comment above. When you pay more you should expect to get more. Not that you always do. And silver snuff boxes cost more than wood snuff boxes, all other things being equal.

@snuffbox I would still really like to see the photos when you can.
Has anyone heard from Patrick? His website is down and I haven’t had a reply to my email or message through here. It’s been over a week.

@snufferman hopefully the phone guy will be here today or tommorrow and i will get the pics for you

The four rectangular boxes are Patrick Collins boxes. Clockwise from upper left, Teak, Can’t remember, Zebrawood, Walnut.

The large boxes inside are for schmalzler and work great for any coarsely ground snuff like De Kralingse Latakias, Kendal Brown, etc. I would guess they hold a good 15 grams but I haven’t measured. The left one is Perlholz and the right one Eucalyptus root, if I remember. I may have them reversed but those are the two woods I ordered based on Georg’s descriptions. These cost a lot more, 20 and 27 Euros respectively. Shipping was very reasonable (cheap).

Sorry for the crappy phone pics. The colors and workmanship on Patrick’s boxes are just amazing. The inlay is beautiful. Gorgeous cabinet quality craftsmanship.

The two schmalzler boxes are sturdy and made from beautiful pieces of wood also. All perfectly satisfactory and highly recommended.

@snuffbox Thanks so much for the photos. They all look beautiful. I particularly like the Teak with that inlay.
The larger boxes look very interesting. Are they not hard to pinch from when running low on snuff?

I am starting to think that I may never own one. Has anyone spoken to Patrick? Still waiting on a reply to me email.

@snufferman I am very glad to help. The large boxes aren’t pinch boxes, indeed you cannot get your fingers in there. I tried to show the construction there but I guess I should have said more about them. That dowel not only holds on the top but it slides to and fro to reveal a round opening in the front of the box. They are designed to be used as tap boxes to dispense coarse snuffs for taking off the back of the hand. I suppose they would work ok with fine snuff but because the joinery is not very fine there would probably be some leakage. Furthermore, it seems likely that the snuff would dry out because it would be there so much longer than a coarse ground snuff because of the volume. Those two boxes are really designed for schmalzlers and probably should not be used for finely ground snuff.

I’m sorry you can’t reach Patrick Collins. I haven’t emailed him in years and I am not sure I even remember when he started his store. Maybe a member in his area could get in touch with him. He lives in Illinois IIRC.

Ah, it all makes sense now. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

@snufferman I’ll be leaving the forums shortly because I am being censored so if you need to keep the pics I would suggest downloading them now! I’ll probably start my own snuff blog and I’ll mention some of the misconduct on this site that led to me having to do that.

@snuffbox Photos saved now. I would love to hear all about it. Please let me know if you do start your own blog.

Cheers @snufferman.

Does anyone know what as happened to the Patrick Collins triple tech boxes i have one and was looking to buy another even hoping they made one without the never used spoon compartment. The once used site as been down for ages now are they still being made and if so where can they be bought.

Patrick Collins triple tech boxes

The best snuff box I have ever used why did they stop and you never see them anymore not even secondhand ?

I’m assuming the people that are lucky enough to have a triple tech box are not going to give it up. No idea why they are no longer made.

Your right there Psicko I have never seen one on sale secondhand so I am lucky enough to own one I suppose, but another would be nice for a second snuff blend