after reading the post about Semois, are there pipe tobaccos that work well as snuff? are there ones that don’t?
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oh yes and yes. Generally any flavoring is going to smell totally different in the nose then in a pipe or tin. Generally a rawer type of tobacco is better if you ask me. Though some people have really claimed to have good luck with certain blends.
But doesn’t “real” snuff include all kinds of other ingredients? Some kind of minerals or something?
salt is typical and some alkalizing agent. The variation in alkalizing agent is why I can’t use Indian snuffs all day as they end up drying my nose out unlike German or English styles.
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I used pipe tobacco as snuff base. Not the aromatics one tough. I already used burley based pipe tobacco and will be using RYO for next batch. Hope to get those tobacco soon.
Look at @juxtaposer thread about snuff making 101. You’ll see those ‘minerals’ as ingredients. Add a little potassium carbonate and sea salt never hurt 
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@Chico, @artificialme, check out these threads for more detailed information on snuff ingredients:
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Wow…nice thread there @volunge. Those ingredients sheet will be handy if I really want to mass produce snuff in Indonesia. But for now, let’s concentrate on the experiments
By the way, how can I actually know about the pH of the snuff? Litmus paper? I saw in your article that snuff produced with pH around 5 to 7. What happened with the snuff with lower or higher pH?
pH range of industrial snuffs is quite broad - from 5.50 up to 10.00 (according to the data of the tables, which you can find following the links in those threads). Higher pH makes the nicotine uptake more efficient.
You can use pH meter to measure the pH. Or simply use manufacturers’ listed ingredients in original ratio to achieve the same pH value.
pH values of some German snuffs are indicated in this table: http://www.bat-science.com/groupms/sites/bat\_9gvjxs.nsf/vwPagesWebLive/DO7AXL9M/$FILE/medMD7DTDGU.pdf?openelement
For raising pH really high, I would follow this simple recipe: tobacco 7.2 g, water 2 ml, potash (potassium carbonate) 0.6 g, salt 0.2 g. Dissolve potash and salt in water and mix the solution with already ground tobacco. This should result in pH 10 (approximately). Let the mix sit at least overnight. I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but this will be my first try when I obtain some potash.
How much potash did you add to your snuff?
Excellent. Maybe I’ll try those high pH snuff in my next snuff. Seems like fun
By the way, I didn’t measure it with a weight scale for the first batch. I’d use a small amount in the tip of a spoon. Maybe not even 1% of the total tobacco flour. Maybe it just to small for the snuff but it was my first experiment with snuff. Hahaha. Hope it will not go wrong
So what do salt and alkalizing agents do? (and please don’t say “they alkalize” 
Salt is a flavour enhancer, helps to bring out the tobacco flavours and alkalizing agents increase the pH to make nicotine absorb into the bloodstream faster.
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and the rate nicotine absorbs into the bloodstream effects what type of nicotine buzz you get. Faster is more stimulating and uplifting where as slower is calmer and more centering. Nicotine is a complex drug. Also the faster it goes in the faster it leaves the system too. So a slower snuff you’ll need less time between pinches to feel sated where as a faster snuff you’ll need a pinch sooner.
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