Ok, i must admit ive been using some Poschls lately because every time I use Toque Bourbon or W&H it either hits the throat and I cough or it actually hits the mungs and im coughing in pain. I have a deviated septum so one nostril is partially closed, which the snuff either goes in good or doenst go in at all, and one good nostril which is WIDE open and the snuff goes WHAM into the throat. Ive tried taking a deep breath then sniffing… no help and ive tried “smelling” the snuff, no help and also sniffing first then briging the nsuff up and nothing. How do you all use these properly?? I figure fine snuffs will have some throat hit… am I wrong or just using it wrong?
My condolences. Try doing a little nose blow first to moisten the inside of your nose. Hope this helps.
Pöschl Snuffs are always hard to take as they love to put menthol in it. My nose used to clog with Pöschls.
For me, Poschls are easy to take. But, as Alex stated they are often heavily mentholated and artifically moistened with parafin so after a certain period of time they can have a paradoxical affect on a lot of people and cause the sinuses to inflame a bit and lead to a clogged feeling. With that said, I believe you are addressing the question of ingesting the finer grinds such as toasts and scotches which can easily get sucked past the sinuses and into the throat and lungs. There is no easy solution that I know of. It takes a lot of practice and can still go wrong after that. My limited experience has been to take smaller pinches; inhale slower; use the finger pinch method or a bullet; use a small snuff spoon; or even have a slightly runny or clogged nose prior to ingestion. The whole idea being to draw the fine powder into the nose without it passing beyond the septum and into the throat. I’m sure others will chime in here and add some further suggestions. For me, it just takes a while to get used to using a fine grind. If I avoid using them for a while or get spoiled by a different grind then I have to re-train myself. I too sometimes get snakebit and cough when using a toast or scotch. I suppose another idea would be to mix it with a non-flavored snuff with a thicker grind. I keep a large collection of fine scotches on hand and it always surprises me when I go back to them. It takes a while to get used to them again and I’m left wondering how the hell I managed to snuff the stuff to begin with. Anyway, hope this helps and best of luck.
When I first started learning how to do the finer grinds, I would take a pinch of some courser snuff before hand such as Latakia 1860, it makes a nice buffer at first between your nose and throat. Helped me to get used to the amount of inhalation required to keep the toasts in the nose and not in the throat and lungs. Also found that pinching and very slowly and slightly inhaling while twisting the snuff between your thumb and index finger helped control the amount going in your nose allot better than back of hand.
one sugestion is try really small amounts not that it makes it a lot easier but when you flub up it doesn’t hurt as much. Paradoxicaly I’ve found jumping it in my nose works well (which is to take a shallow sharp sniff almost a snort but not quite making sure to hold my breath for second afterwards). also if that does not work close off the nostril slightly (the nostril you are snuffing through) which helps. Also this is how I started using fine grounds just stuck it up my nose with my pinky (while holding your breath of course) then breathing out gently after a second, this method works well but is kind of gross and not really very charming in social situations.
I too have found that switching between grinds is tricky. and you have been doing something course all day then hit a scotch and blow your head off. It gets better with practice don’t you know.
I use bigSnoot McSnuff’s method both the Latakia 1860 and the twist and it works for me. Works well for American Snuff too. Don’t give up!
Yep, a small gently sniffed pinch is the way I do it, otherwise you will just get pain. I more breathe it in than sniff it, which is a reverse on how I do other types.
@Snuffster, that’s the way I do do all my pinches, breathe deeply but release the snuff slowly. Works for all kinds of snuff.
Strangely enough, I have an easier time with larger pinches of the finer grind snuffs. When I try to take smaller ones, they hit my throat every time. It’s hard to explain how I do it, sort of a sharp, yet shallow sniff. I guess I’m weird lol.
I’m with Carol on larger mass. Larger mass has more gravity keeping it together.
Do you know how a whale’s blowhole works? There’s a piece of skin and muscle that the whale can close off when it’s done breathing. Same as that, we each have that piece of skin/muscle in our sinii. It feels like it’s in the back of your throat. Try exhaling through your nose, and before you’re one exhaling, use your “nose muscles” to cut it off early. Now do the reverse. NOW, INHALE and cut it off early. Practice this, and then do it with a pile of snuff on the back of your hand. Inhale and use your nose muscles" to cut off the inhale about as quick as it starts. Blow your head off? Wait a minute and try it again. You should have perfected it in just a few tries. I am new to snuff, and mastered HDT/scotches inside of a month. Practice, Pain, Practice, Practice, Perfection. Don’t give up. Toasts are worth it!!!
I think we seriously over complicate this by talking about technique, I mean how difficult can it be to sniff some powder up your nose? The reality is that it just takes some getting used to as a sensation and the only skill really involved is becoming accustomed to it. I’ve tried time and again to explain how to do it to folks but Ive come round to thinking all Ive ever done is confuse people by making it sound more than it is?? I don’t mean any disrespect here and hope it hasn’t come across that way. And, yep, toasts are definitely worth it.
Ok, then here’s my refined method. Sniff. If it blew your head off, try again, and sniff less hard. If it blew your head off, try again, and sniff less hard. Rinse, repeat as necessary.
And there you have it, I think thats put pretty well and about all you can meaningfully say.
It only took me a few tries. When it hurts you learn quickly. I mostly smell them like a few others have said.
How about standing on your head and pouring the snuff in your nose. This is the only way I can get my netti pot to work without choking myself.
I know nothing of neti pots. Only because I don’t have enough time in the day to wash snuff out of my nose. All available time is dedicated to mainlining Irish High Toast 22 at this point. Maybe if I could use some of that e-cigarette nicotine fluid in the neti pot, then we’d be talking.