I’ve noticed from reading the forum, that the standard pinch uses the thumb and middle finger, but I find it better to use my thumb and index-- am I an odd ball?

If you are, then so am I. I’ll use either the middle finger or forefinger. No real preference here

You’re supposed to use the middle finger? Oh-oh. I just use the thumb and index. I guess the middle is longest- maybe more civilized??

The middle finger if slightly fatter .So it allows for a bigger pinch. What ever your comfortable with I won’t call the snuff police on you.

With coarser snuffs I pinch with the thumb and forefinger.  With very finely ground snuffs I scoop a little out of the tin with my snuff spoon and place it on my thumbnail and sniff from there, since if I pinch a fine snuff it seems like half of it ends up in my nose and half of it ends up just coating my fingers, whereas it doesn’t really stick to the thumbnail.  In any case, whatever fingers you want to pinch with is entirely up to you.  I doubt anyone in public is going to call you out on your snuffing technique!

I do the boxcar method myself as I get more snuff in my nose instead of a bunch of residual on my fingers.