I’ve always preferred the spoon because I rarely spill any snuff. When I pinch, loads of snuff seems to find it’s way down my sweater. Isn’t pinching wasteful?

With your hand pat your sweater and breath in deeply.

I’ve managed to figure out how much snuff actually goes up my nose, so I try to pinch roughly that amount in the first place. Also, I pinch, snuff and hold my breath for a second and as I do so pinch my nose together, then breath out. That way i get hardly any dust. Seems a bit over the top but when you do it its quick and clean.

When I pinch I slowly roll my fingers to release the snuff as I slowly breathe in. I don’t lose much unless it is something extremely coarse like gwaith black rapee and for that I have to sqeeze me nose to keep it in.

wastefull? It’s just snuff

As staph said, I pinch firmly then ‘roll’ my fingers as I sniff, and I hold my fongers very close to my nostril. That way the snuff is held firmly until it is in the path of the air being inhaled into my nose, and as far as I can tell, there is littke to no wastage. I’ve even got it so that I can pinch enough for both nostrils and release half into one and then the rest into the other. I get it right about 75% of the time…

It’s just snuff!?!?!? Blasphemy!!!

@OscarWabbit you stole the words right out of my mouth

Also, try snuffing from the back of your hand in a windy place and see how wasteful that is! Pinching seems to be the most secure way to me.

That’s a good reason to adopt the boxcar method of putting the snuff onto your thumbnail. Your thumbnail becomes a snuff spoon that you can never leave the house without by accidently forgetting it on the counter.

Howdydave, I’m going to practise that until I get it right. I can’t seem to find a decent flip top snuff box, so if I perfect the boxcar technique, I’ll be able to use a tap out container, of which there are many. Thanks for reminding me

I agree with bob. When I look at the size of my hoard, I worry even less.

Wasteful is a relative term. Do I smoke every last bit of a cigar, cigarette or pipe full? Do I suck every last bit out of my snus? While accidents happen while pinching, I’ve gotten pretty good at it over the years, so it’s a rare thing when I loose a bit of snuff to a bad pinch. The point is, I use tobacco for the pleasure it gives me. So I don’t keep a running total of my mistakes. Rather, I remember the pleasure I’ve had in the act itself, and the people I’ve enjoyed sharing those times with.

I usually pinch over my box with the big rappees.

I don’t have the dexterity to handle those tiny spoons well, and usually end up spilling the contents. So for me, pinching is less wasteful than using a spoon.

Pinching is also an arbitrary measurement. The size of the pinch depends on one’s finger sizes. So if pinching is wasteful then not everyone would be wasting the same amount anyways.

Pinching is only wasteful if you are doing it wrong.

Laying your hand flat, bring your fingers together, squeeze your thumb slightly more tight against your index finger. Viola, a snuff spoon has been created. Fill that spot with a mount of snuff and away you go. No spillage, virtually no clean up, no tobacco left on the fingers, etc.

Howdy doctorbeat! I use either an empty President tap box or a wooden snuffbox with the lid only opened a cm or two. Hold the wooden snuffbox so that it is resting on the index finger wrapped around the end of your thumb with the open slot is vertically aligned with your thumbnail and tap the box. With practice you will not need to stabelize it on your finger. The width of the slot may vary with the consistancy of your snuff. The objective is to make it narrow enough so that, when you tap your box, snuff comes out at a controllable rate.

Yes and messy, but sometimes it’s what is needed. With the very fine snuffs, so much sticks to the fingers and drops on my shirt. I’ve been using back of hand a lot lately, I find it delivers a better hit somehow, especially with the fine ones. But when out and about, the pinch is the most casual and discreet method.

I’m with bob and Xander. Mess concerns me more than waste. And I’m not all that concerned with any mess.

Thanks howdydave, I’ll try that as soon as I find my Red Bull container. I have turned my apartment upside down and I can’t find it :o( I agree with sprangalang that a pinch is probably the most discreet method when in public though, it doesn’t require much fanfare and it looks less like you’re taking an illicit drug.

I prefer a pinch, mess and waste is minimal. Besides, I am of the opinion that pinching is the manliest of techniques.

“Isn’t pinching wasteful?” Not at all. Pinch on. Let’s help keep these wonderful snuff producers in business. It’s not so expensive so some waste is inevitable.

I find that most of the waste occurs when I open the tins, I do it over a sheet of paper now. When I pinch, I let any excess fall back into the container before I move the snuff to my nose. Have you ever seen how much tobacco is left in a cigarette butt? What about a cigar butt? Even the dottle (is that the correct term ?) from a pipe contains some unburned tobacco. I think that snuffing, at least the way I do it, it is far less wasteful than other ways of using tobacco.

@Doctorbeat I do not keep any of my snuffs in their original containers. As soon as I get them, they go into a mason jar for consumption. When opening a small tin, like the round Wilson’s variety, I hope it horizontally vertical inside the mason jar. Never lost any snuff yet. Enjoy.

@minux, yeah, I get rid of the original container as soon as I open it too. The tins are so full that you simply have to remove at least some of the snuff into a different container. I don’t use mason jars though, because I worry that would leave too much air space for moisture to leak into. I’m still looking for my ideal container, but for the moment I’m using a small tupperware type thing for the contents of tins, which I fill my box from.