hey all . . On my trip down to banbury i picked up a wooden snuff box which is engraved by ws . Now no matter what snuff i put in the dam thing the wood taints the snuff which is well not nice at all . . . Is their a magic fix to this ? Is it normal ? Thanks for any help . Knowing my luck im the only one with this prob
just to add its teak . . . I have also found the same box on snuff store .
my (albeit non-professional) recommendation would be to season it. I would do this by making a paste out of your favorite plain tobacco snuff and water, and wiping the inside of the box in this mixture. Just a light film on the inside. When it dries to a crust, with a dry cloth, wipe it out. I did this with one of my snuffboxes that’s too large to carry regularly (thing holds about 20 grams, and I can’t go through that amount before it dries out. so it holds bone-dry american scotches on my desk) and it worked well. My PC double box has a bit of a smell of the stain he used, but it’s ok with all but the most delicate-scented snuffs. I find if I keep it FULL, it doesn’t affect the snuff at all.
With some use and time the smell should subside. Plain snuff is like a sponge and should absorb the wood scents. Much like making your own scents by leaving snuff in a container with vanilla, coffee or liquor. Just in this case you’re inadvertantly making teak snuff. Maybe rotate some sacrificial snuff for a few days. Rubbing the inside of the box with snuff may help too, but I would avoid any moistened concoctions since rapid changes in humidity are bad for anything made of wood. It should also be noted that teak wood is high in natural oils, so it may take longer to “season”. @zonesix- the smell in the double box is probably the padauk itself. should go away completely in time. So you know, I don’t use any stains on my boxes. And the interiors are always left as the natural wood. The exteriors are clear coated and you may be able to smell that for a week or two after making the box, but I haven’t made any of those recently so it should be fully cured by now. Overall I’d say season wood snuffboxes with continued use and time.
I stand corrected. Now that you say that, I’m sure it is the wood smell, like you said. It’s only when I change snuffs or empty the box that I smell it. I will say though, that my “snuff sludge” method is ok to use. It’s only making a paste and wiping it on the inside of the box. Just a thin film. a little moisture gets in the box, but nothing major. LEAVING a BUNCH in the box would be bad, but a little moisture is nothing major, especially when it’s left open to dry.
“snuff sludge” LOL Just don’t hurt your box 
I think I’ll try a peanut butter snuff sludge sandwich tomorrow.
I love this double box. I would never harm it. It goes with me everywhere I challenge you to make a triple or quadruple. I’ll buy one of each.
Glad you like it zonesix. Did you just challenge me? You’ll eat those words very soon… triple?..quadruple?..hah! mere childs play!
fine. let’s see your work, wood-man! this tread will serve as proof I said I’d buy one of each. Hell, I’ll provide high-end product shots for free if you put them into production.
thanks everyone great ideas . . .i am glad its not just me . I had no idea teak was high in natural oils etc so it all makes sense now . I like the making a tin paste idea ! Il try that and il try leaving a base snuff in their after that . Great stuff guys thanks . Teak snuff just is not nice
Was going to break down and buy one of the acclaimed Patrick Collins boxes Wednesday afternoon after the Black and White get in but I was going to get the teak one, but don’t know about the oils it has in it, anybody have any suggestions on a neutral scent wood maybe Oak but don’t really have any idea about the scents of the wood.
@ ibook7537: The oak is almost scentless, the African Mahogany & Zebra Wood I never had any trouble with either.
I have 3 PC boxes: Padauk, Oak and Zebra wood. The Oak’s lid tends to work loose but it’s not a big problem. I’ve never had any smelling problems with any of them. The Padauk box is perfect and if I should buy any more of Patrick’s boxes, it will be Padauk.
I own two of the Padauk double boxes, no problem with them, does not seem to alter the snuffs in any way, they are prized possessions. They are with me at all times.
Onefortheroad…Have you considered making a cedar wood snuff box? Now I know i’m not the only one who loves the smell of cedar, but i think it would make a great compliment to … lets say a Rose flavored snuff like in the F&T line, or any really strong flavored SP snuff, this way the cedar would not overpower the snuff in the box. Hmmm then again it could be a disaster for any snuff to. Lol, anybody else have thoughts on what a cedar snuff box would be like?
You would have to use Spanish cedar. Regular cedar has a different odour which is much stronger and would taint the snuff. All good humidors use Spanish Cedar. The demand does make that wood scarce and expensive.
I thought I happened upon this phenomenon with Royal George in WS Teak myself (didn’t mind it). So it wasn’t planned that way? Wood is a heck of a thing with all the intricacies, expanding, shrinking, taking on some weathering, and stinking.
squarefiend, I cannot imagine anything on God’s green Earth that would color the flavor of Royal George… That must have been some strong wood. I’d bet the defense department would be interested in it.
zonesix: Yeah, I’m pretty sure it was teak from smelling the outside of the box since from the tin, I put it in sealed glass, then the teak box sampling from each, a few days later the snuff in the teak was a little different; again, didn’t mind.