So I have a tin of Brunswick Black Rappee and am only halfway thru the tin and it completely dried out. Worse, it seems to have taken on a “tin” note, hah hah! I see salt crystals in it but hopefully it’s not the tin flaking off into it.
It seems to be potent still but not near as enjoyable anymore, even though it sticks up your nose. I really wish Wilson’s would use the Fribourg Classic tins for these because my Princes and Santo Domingo are still moist (and the Brunswick is the same base tobacco it seems, so should be like them). I’ve read it’s hard to keep rappees fresh and moist in other places, anyone have a method they use or just deal with it? I just didn’t expect it to be so dry so fast.
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@towhee89 Would it help if we sold empty screw top tins?
We have black tins that hold between 10 and 15g.
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Yes that be helpful. I kept meaning to order some off amazon but never did, that snuff is the only one that dried out sooo so fast on me, but I need to do something before next order of darker moist snuff. BTW, do you guys have any wooden snuff boxes available at the moment? thanks
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The link below offers genuine wooden tabatière with the clover leaf zinc and nickel maillechort decoration made by the St. Claude snuffbox industry in the Jura region. The usual dimension is 85x45x20 but I have both larger and smaller examples. The best ones like those illustrated have metal ends. They are made with tight-grained wood such as ebony, rosewood or burl. Unfortunately I dropped my large ebony box down a stairwell in Marrakesh some years back and it didn’t survive bouncing down the steep steps.
I can’t vouch whether these do, but in France they all came with instructions inside the box.as care has to be taken in opening them. Slide your fingers under the lid applying equal pressure along the length. The hinge will then remain undamaged and the box should last a lifetime. Never attempt to open a hinged box using your thumb. Earlier examples are often made with several woods and have larger, more detailed maillechort as well as metal ends.
https://mysmokingshop.co.uk/snuff-accessories/snuff-boxes
Years ago I recommended on this forum that one should never discard the F&T tall tins, especially the large size. They are the same dimensions as the 1lb and 2lb tin canisters once found in tobacconists from which you could buy loose and are shaped like that for good reason.
I buy snuff in 1.1lb canisters and when contents become low I transfer everything into F&T tins to minimize the surface area exposed to air.
Provided the tins are well-packed and kept cool (not refrigerated) they keep snuff in good repair.
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What a wonderful thing the internet is!
Here are the instructions for opening a box. I use a slightly different technique, holding the metal ends in my RH, placing the box in the palm of my left and sliding the fingers into the opening. Closing I recommend using both thumbs and applying equal pressure to both sides of the lid.
My earliest box bought in the 1960s didn’t have the metal ends. With such boxes there was a tendency for a crack to appear in the box where it is joined by the lid. I’ve never experienced this with metal ended boxes. The metal ends also allow you to place the box upright overnight to compact any contents you have not snuffed during the day.
These days I prefer larger sized boxes that won’t leave me heartbroken if broken.
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I am keeping all my classic f+t tubes. They keep the snuff the freshest out of all the tins I’ve tried. I heard Wilson’s is discontinuing them and I hope not but I think they did because mrsnuff doesn’t have hdt there anymore. If you mean the bigger plastic ones I only have one but it is keeping my Viking rappee fresh, and I’ve been decanting into the free “Sunffhouse” box I got in an order.
I am glad I bought the Viking in bulk, its my favorite plain unscented dark by Wilson’s with maybe Santo Domingo second. All similar Zimbabwe dark fired base I can tell.
Rappees just dry out sooo fast unless packed tightly.
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@volunge I was considering decanting my Taxi & NTSU containers into my aluminum screw top lids. Right now, I’ve got them in the original packaging in an airtight glass food container. Would it be a better idea to decant them into the screw top lids (combining each kind to fill up space in the screw top tin)? I haven’t had many issues with storing them in the typical packaging, but I don’t think they are airtight.
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I’ve found the NTSU and Taxi plastic tubs to be fairly good for a good long while, but if your aluminum screw top tins are the type that have the lid liners (like what Toque comes in, for example), then those are typically quite reliable for longer-term storage.
Better than both of these, however, are mason jars: the very small Ball 4oz ones work great for up to 50g of most snuffs, come in a flat of a dozen for around $10-$12, and are readily and easily available at many stores.
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I’m not quite sure about South African snuffs… but I would advise against storing dark and moist English snuffs in tall F&T tins due to high probability of corrosion. Just be aware of it.
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As stated above nothing works better than mason jars for storing snuff and pipe tobacco. All moist snuffs should be decanted into a small mason jar asap to avoid it drying out.
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Thanks. I saw those 4oz at the store I may get some. I figured the screw top tins would work well enough but I have gotten some pipe tobacco to store now too. Amazon’s shipping was late for the aluminum tins and reshipped some so I ended up with 40 hahaha.
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Thanks I have kept all my f and t in the classic tins and no issues yet but I may decant them but it keeps them very fresh overall.
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Just FYI. In my experience if those kinds of tins do not have fitted lid liners (inserts that sit flush in the tin lid and create a pressure seal when screwed down, like the Toque tins have), then they are more-or-less useless for anything but short term storage. I learned that the hard way.
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Appreciate it. I haven’t noticed any issues yet with these but is this what you mean :
I do know the Ball Mason’s have better seals, I’ll have to grab some. The store only had 8oz today too big for what I need.
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That would be the type of lid liner I was referring to.
The 4oz Ball mason jars are sometimes a bit harder to find than the more common/standard sizes that folks use for canning, but if you happen to stumble upon them by all means pick them up. I use them all the time for long term snuff storage, and they cannot be beat. They use the regular mouth lids/bands just like the larger ones, so once you have a flat or two of them you will be set for a good long while as far as endlessly reusable snuff storage goes (unless you break them all, of course)!
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I’ve never experienced any corrosion with F&T ‘tins’ for storing moist snuffs – at least for a year or so and mine have been used over and over again for several decades - doubtless because they are made from aluminium with an internal oxide layer which is resistant to corrosion. The later vacuum-sealed containers that Samuel Gawith’s snuffs came in were lined with tin that also prevented corrosion. However, repeated lifting the lid on and off wore off the thin tin layer and corrosion would set in around the rim. That at least has been my experience.
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You were lucky, @PhilipS2.
Aluminium is prone to oxidation. I’m not quite sure which particular salt triggers the reaction… but it’s one of the additives of Santo Domingo and Princes (maybe it’s ammonium carbonate to blame, paired with high water content).
I had my tall “tin” with SD corroded in one year, and saw some photos of other snuff takers picturing exactly same issue.
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I went ahead and decanted all of my F Ts into my aluminum screw top containers to be safe. But some of them I’ve had about a year and no issues but I’d rather be safe than sorry. Still moist as ever though
I too had my tin of F&T Santo Domingo corrode on me after about a year. Its the only one that corroded I suspect the high salt content.
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Following up, here’s my personal tips for this:
~The little metal screw top (Toque) tins are great, and don’t seem to lose much if any moisture as long as tightly packed. Towards the last 1/4th though, when there is not much to pack down, it will lose some, but not as much as say, a WoS tin. If you do buy rappee style snuff from WoS for example, decant immediately, or buy by the tub.
~As far as South African snuff is concerned, I figured out the best solution: decant into snuff box when using, so you don’t keep opening the original tin, and always keep tightly packed. The SA’s are useless without the ammonia.
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