I posted this on another thread a while back, but I think it got lost in the shuffle. Since my flour mill died I’ve been using a coffee grinder and a mortar & pestle; same tobacco and casings. New problem: Despite my efforts to get the same finely milled, fluffy snuff I used to, I’m getting a lot of grit that I can’t seem to soften up by grinding, hydration, etc. Any help I can get is greatly appreciated. I hope to get a ball mill later this summer but in the interim I need some help.
I have no answer, but am intrigued by any potential solutions as I would like to try my hand at snuff making in the not too distant future.
Sieve and regrind?
@50ft_trad, I’ve done the sieve, grind, sieve, grind, repeat, repeat, repeat and no joy 
I am wondering if there’s a “better living through chemistry” option. It’s for personal use, so few worries. Unless some joker suggests sarin or somesuch. The texture is like schmalzer that’s gone dry. Mineral oil? I’m looking at 400 and 600 micron sieves…found some cheap ones that fit on top of a 5 gal pail. Wish me luck.
chefdaniel, I had this problem as well, but the solution will seem logical to a chef: if you whip air into heavy cream you get whipped cream or you can take the same heavy cream and churn it to make butter; thus when you make snuff via mortar & pestle method sift it, then throw product into an air tight, over-size container in small batches with some marbles and shake to beat air into it, the resulting product will much fluffier in character.
Ive found grit in both schmalzers and HDT, so you are not the only one having this problem. I guess some parts of the tobacco crystallize, could it be parts from the tobacco leaf stem? Its almost like sand, really hard texture.
http://snuffhouse.org/discussion/comment/316182#Comment\_316182 try the things mentioned here?
@Ivan, Good idea. Why didn’t I think of that? Senior moment no doubt. @havregryn, it’s all leaf, no stems and center rib removed. It’s perfectly cured when I get it, I shred it my office shredder and pan toast it over very low heat until it smokes just a tad. I rapid chill to stop the cooking and away I go. My old flour mill worked great, but I’ll give Ivan’s hand-held ball mill a try. Sounds good to me. Will keep you all posted.
@chefdaniel a 2-liter plastic soda bottle w/marbles or marble sized ball bearings work well in this application.
@Ivan-it’s working like a charm. Thanks.