I’m new to snuff and I was hoping I could benefit from the experience here. If you could go back in time and give yourself advice on snuff what would it be? What do you know now that you wish you knew then?

I wish I knew the principles of snuff making 25 years ago. Due to local snuff ban I started making my own from cigarettes and pipe tobacco on the very same day I had my first pinch, but my homemade lacked essential ingredient - alkalizer. I would have made kilos of snuff from my homegrown tobaccos and rustica. Ground without addition of alkalis, it was a pure disappointment. I even discarded most part of my last (and the largest!) crop of fine low nicotine strains… Ironically, sodium bicarbonate (which is so easily convertible to sodium carbonate) was always at hand.

I take nasal tobacco almost since about 20 years.

When I could go back in time, saying 15 to 18 years I would recommend my former Myself not to fear and avoid the fine, dry Ones. Here in Germany it seems that many of the snuffers use to fear and avoid the fine and dry Ones due to their more specific tt requieres more technique than the german standards.

I would recommend my former Myelf to leave the path of all these Poschls and Bernards earlier. Going into the english way and the indian as well. There was a whole bunch of snuffs available all around here. But what have I done? Staying away from them due to the lack of grind and the difficult moisture. LOL.

I would recommend any new snuffer trying out whatever is possible on the market. At least as long as possible. The TPD2 ban almost sorted out the cabinet. But now the Brexit might finish the last offer for us guys in the EU on the more exotic stuff and english ones as well.

Do not fear the find grind… do not fear the lack of moisture…

I wish I knew about boxcar method. This technique serves me pretty well in case of mentholated Poschl products. I wish my roommate and neighbours in dorm knew that method from the beggining.

Instead, we were snorting credit card-long lines of Red Bull… why, oh why?!  :))

@Johano thank you for the tip about the boxcar method, that was a breakthrough for me! @Humppa I have orders out for a variety of snuffs…I’m pretty ignorant about the hobby generally so I guess I just didn’t know that I ought to fear certain grinds and moisture content. I have a 6 photo sampler on the way along with a great variety of different blends from many regions. We’ll see how I get on with them. I’m sure I’ll learn to fear the ones I should! @volunge I don’t think I’ll be growing my own soon, but if I do I will heed your advice.

@volunge what is snuff like without an alkalising agent? Does it burn?

I would go back 14yrs and tell 18yo me to start using snuff!!! The thousands of dollars I spent on cigs could have bought me a real nice hotrod by now…

I would tell myself to buy up every last tub of Molens and Abraxas you can get your hands on while you can.

Don’t buy snuff in tap boxes; get the tin or bag instead even if it’s 25g and you only want to sample. The larger the tin generally the better the stuff’s freshness: aroma and moisture. Try sticking with a bad (at first) snuff (within reason). I remember being repulsed when I first tried a South African snuff (heavy ammonia, like horse). Fast forward a couple years and I’ve enjoyed 20+ tins. Sometimes the nose needs a few experiences to learn the pleasure. The Friborg & Treyers are largely pretty far off the wall and you can probably focus your energy elsewhere. Keep the Indian snuffs separate. Ideally all the snuffs go in glass. Heavy scents like in the 6Photo sample pack easily make their way out of their plastic rolls and into screw top tins while in storage. Toque economy bags too. MrSnuff, Toquesnuff and snuff.me.uk are all reliable, quick to ship. Best Toque, F&T & Silver Dollar come from Toquesnuff (but I believe MrSnuff now too is in the same space). MrSnuff has the market on Sir Walter Scott and Rosinski snuffs, both of which deserve our time. Bullets and spoons aren’t as elegant as guessed to use or to be seen

I would say let new tins breathe a little so the ammonia scent dissipates. This mark of freshness puts off some people at first.

@Gunnar, some commercially made non-alkalized snuffs usually contain salt, so burn is there, but less intense. Toque Rustica comes slightly salted, but all rustica leaves contain natural citric acid (some strains up to 20%), which adds to the burn. If you are curious about non-alkalized snuffs, try Bernard Civette and Alt Offenbacher Kostlich, they contain only small amount of salt and paraffin oil (the rest is tobacco and water). Poschl schmalzlers - A Brasil, Perlesreuter, SF, D - are alkalis and salt-free.

@ar47 there was a lot to take in there, thanks for your response. I don’t have any F&T on order but have some High Dry Toast in my basket for next order, we’ll see if I like it. Thanks for the tip on Indian snuff possibly ghosting other nearby bins that’s really good to know.

If you could go a little back in time I would have bought many bulks of my favorite snuffs so I wont have to wait that much for orders i did while in quarantine.

@ALLex I’ve heeded that advice prior to recieving it! I have 4 snuff orders out at the moment, although still waiting for delivery. I’ll be in snuff for a very very long time once my orders arrive. Truthfully I overbought, but it won’t stop me from placing another order…probably before they all arrive. There are already things I want to try that I haven’t yet ordered. It’s another hobby like pipe smoking. If you’ve tried one blend then you want to try them all!

@brandaves over buying is wise! I will hopefully see my orders come in and then I will have a handsome collection indeed! Thanks @volunge for the insight, that was a good read

@Gunnar I actually placed another order last night and none of my previous orders have been delivered yet. A comment you made actually prompted me to place an order for Toque Lime Toast. I also purchased some HDT and Spanish Gem out of curiosity.

Oh…and some Rustica for blending.

@brandaves Toque lime toast is lovely. When it arrives let the tin air for a short while to clear the ammonia. It is fine ground but excellent quality. I have a lonely almost empty tin of McChrystals lemon and it’s nowhere near as good. Where in the world are you based?

@Gunnar I’m in Kentucky USA…Tobacco central really. Although I only partake in snuff and pipe tobacco. You?

@brandaves just north of Denver CO here

CO is a beautiful state! I haven’t spent much time there but driven through once. As for snuff, I was fortunate enough to get a two samples of snuff from a member on another forum I follow and I’ve been slowly working my way through those. I’m a pipe smoker mainly but between pipes or at work I like the quick nic hit and flavor of snuff. I have a small tin of McChrystal’s Warm Glow and an unknown snuff that seems to have a light peach flavor to it. I’m almost out of those two and I can hardly wait to get my orders here so I can sample more…its a lot of snuff so I shouldn’t want for variety or quantity for quite a while!

I’d say take the advice to air snuffs with perspective. Typically once you come accustomed the ammonia is actually a virtue

The ammonia still brings me right to dirty cloth diapers… Its really a shame cuz the hit is great

@snuffalufagis adult or baby dirtied? If baby, is it the squat wide Taxi Red tin specifically or all of them? Last winter I got a funky tub of Taxi Red and don’t know when I’ll try again

@ar47 toddler, for some reason we cant get the smell of pure ammonia out of the diaper inserts. Its worse sometimes than others, however both ntsu and taxi have the same raw ammonia smell. As soon as I snuff it I immediately think of diapers. Its a serious olfactory response problem lol

@Snuffalufagis I sympathize! My wife has a new air freshener she likes that to me smells like cat poo. There’s a scent I think in her air freshener that is used in some kitty litters, and the association makes me smell the aromas I’ve come accustomed to be along with that kitty litter scent.

Firstly I would not overorder! Back in day I would order a couple of snuffs that I like along with dozens of new tries, the result was always the same: rarely would the new 

snuffs

surpass what i actully ike. I only use one flavour these days.

Bloody laptop

@Sir_Rodney_Ffing too late for that one! I have soooooo much snuff at the moment! That’s all right. I have just bought a mini fridge for storage until I can get around to all of it!

@brandaves Im not sure if the fridge is really reqired to assure fresh condition. If you store in airtight containers, theres no way they will loose any moisture or scent (no air flow). I even seal some tins with electrical tape around after use, but thats probably overkill

@Johano that’s good to know! I have decanted the more moist ones that use water as opposed to oil (Viking). I have a few Bernard tap boxes but I think they are oil moistened. I’m not worried about the Indian stuff as it seems dryer then a trustworthy fart to begin with. Most everything is still sealed and I’m currently storing them all in a cooler in my basement. Maybe I’ll keep them there.

@brandaves Come to think of it brandaves buying lots of sniffs at once is part of a very important process, it is a snuffers way of eliminating what we like and what we can do without. I gradually dropped certain types of snuffs and ended up with just a few. Then, I dropped the few and ended up with one and that one is my snuff. It was by trying lots of snuff that I found Crumbs of Comfort and I am totally addicted to the one. Its my only sniff, none other will do. Others find this odd at times, to think that only one snuff is it, but for me that’s the way it is. As far a decanting is concerned I first go hold of a small mustard spoon for shovelling the snuff into a snuff box. I then tend to buy the favourite in packs of 12 medium tins and for the decanting vessel I use a very high quality jam jar. If you buy a good conserve the jam often comes in a decorative jar that not only looks the part but is also airtight! I then put a couple of tins in the jar and leave the other tins sealed, that way you can use a couple of decanted tins before popping another couple of tins into the jar. As far as snuff boxes go, a search on eBay for coin boxes will bring up some excellent modern coin boxes that do not cost the earth. If you are in the UK Wilsons of Sharrow also have a great site with things on as does Mr Snuff if you are elsewhere.

P.S Soak the jar in warm water to remove the labels and the jar looks a lot better!

@Sir_Rodney-Ffing Sir_Rodney Ffing Thank you for the advice. As for the jars, I am a pipe smoker so have a nice stock of Ball/Kerr/Mason jars on the ready for storing tobacco. For snuff boxes, I couldn’t really find any that I liked anywhere. I ended up ordering several of the plastic tap/pinch boxes from My Smoke Shop online. I haven’t received them yet but I have high hopes they will serve well. I did buy a nice horn box that will require some repair. The hinge and top close secure but there are a few holes in the bottom. I have several horn blanks which I use for straight razor restoration, the dust from those plus a bit of epoxy should do the trick nicely. I’ve heard that the coin boxes are deceptively small and difficult to pinch from if you have large fingers so I’ve avoided them, I may have to reconsider.

I’m currently working my way through my collection and taking notes as I go along. I currently don’t have any WoS snuff, an oversight I intend to remedy with my next order. Crumbs of Comfort will certainly be among those ordered. Any other insight or advice you might have is certainly welcome! I’m in the United States BTW so shipping and avaialbility can be an issue here.

My path certainly took buy-it-all route and I’d do it again. Frankly… I have snuffs from a couple years ago and they’re certainly still enjoyable if not at their prime. I’ve ordered most every possible snuff I could online, and sometimes in bulk and/or many years old because that was what was available and I needed to order. I spread the buying over about a year. I’ve been snuffing for a little over two years now though and still don’t have a consistent go-to snuff. Recently it’s been a lot of Toque offerings but with a constant churn through maybe 10 different “flavors” and from toast to Schmalzler to his regular. And with them I’ve been enjoying SWS Tears, Hedges L260 and SG SCT KB too! After buying and trying hundreds of snuffs I have a few favorites but being favorites doesn’t give them the lion’s share of my consumption - that’s still widely spread. Anything from Quit or Rocket I’d feel comfortable not revisiting, but otherwise I’d do all the buying again

@ar47 I’m with you on Quit. I bought some and I’ve had success blending it 20%/80% with other Toque tobaccos. Right now I’m taking 20% Rustica/80% Lime Toast and it’s delicious. My biggest snuff gap that needs filling is WoS. I haven’t tried an WoS offerings yet. I’ve been enjoying Toque out of the mini bullets so I currently have an order out for 12 of those as well as 4 or 5 tap/pinch snuff boxes from My Smoke Shop. Once both those orders arrive I might look into ordering some WoS offerings.

@brandaves I actually was referring to a brand of snuff, Quit. I have their Jasmine and it’s terrible! I don’t know if they are still around

@ar47 hmm, I’ve never heard of Quit…not really unusual since I’m new to snuff.

Or QWS (quit with snuff) I believe a house brand from Mr Snuff. The Sandalwood was not bad.

Always remember not to wipe your nose on the back of your hand having recently sniffed dark coloured snuff. 

@Betty_BW I have done this recently…I shook my head at my stupidity and pulled out my hanky.

Do not stock up on too much of fragrant and perfumed snuffs since they will never be your all day every day snuffs when your tastes mature. Stocking up on plain, toasted and Madras snuffs will be better.

Do not store moist snuffs in their original tins. Always decant.   

Stock up on WoS Strasbourg.

@ar47 I agree with you on the Q Snuff jasmine, it was horrible.  The She jasmine was bad as well.  Those two brands and Fubar and not ones I think I will try again.

As for advise to my past self, I would say if you do not like a snuff save it and come back to it weeks or months later.  My nose changes what it wants and some I hated the first time around I now love.

Many multiple pinches of a plain fine grinded snuff like Toque Quit or Natural, or a Toast like HDT or Toque natural toast can instantly sober you up from a mild drunk or high state.

followed by some mentholated snuff pinches at the end for the freshness. 
Like if you take a gram or more chain pinching.

One day I got accedentaly high from a joint a friend shared with me a day i thought i had nothing to do.

Pinching a gram of Toque Quit and some Toast and some menthol for the finish got me sober instantly.

Warm air can enhace the aroma of snuff in the nose to the point of detecting full scent and tobacco base aroma.

I discovered this when i was pinching Toque sp extra and standing right across my air conditioner in a small room.

It was the moment i got full tobacco flavour from Sp extra besides the citrus scent,  something i was always trying to do by mixing it with Toque Quit. 

Then i made an experiment by blowing warm air in my face using a hair dryer while having snuff in my nose.

This gave me full aroma in the nose and a better understanding of the snuff.

Even with some strong menthols i got the full tobacco base aroma.

Only advice I would give myself would be, don’t believe them when they say toasts are not for beginners! I love them, can use them all day for the nicotine and the aroma, there’s enough variety between them to keep them interesting, and they don’t seem to lose any scent or aroma over time if you’ve had a big stock up. F&T’s toast for example comes so unbelievably dry that I don’t think it even could spoil!

Don’t go crazy. Relax and enjoy what you got.