I just received several 10 g tins of WoS Princes. The first one was very difficult to open, and when I finally did get it open, I took a huge pinch of the stuff. Then I noticed that the top edge of the bottom part of the tin was very jagged, like a saw blade, and it appeared as if the metal of the tin had corroded and flecked off into the snuff. There is also visible rust around the outside top edge of the bottom part of the tin. I wish I could enclose a picture, but I don’t have the capability. Normally I’m the last person in the world to worry about something like this, but it looked so bizarre, I really became seriously nauseous. Here’s a similar thread, although my tins are not as bad as the one photographed here: http://snuffhouse.org/discussion/1271/5/what-the-hell-are-these-white-flakes-and-chips-in-my-princes/#Item\_12 On a similar thread several weeks ago, I responded to someone else that my Brunswick tins showed no signs of corrosion, but now that I examine them more closely, they look similar, though not as bad, as the first Princes tin I opened. I decanted the snuff several weeks ago, so I can’t tell if it has metal flakes in it. Is this something that you are expected to put up with when it comes to WoS dark, moist snuff? The thought of inhaling tiny shards of metal into my nose is not very appealing. It startled me so much that I’ve gone off snuff for the time being, and am back on cigarettes.
Depending on how bad the tin is, I would either scrap it or decant it into a plastic one such as a snus container. If you do decide to save it, any metal bits would likely be around the surface. Brush over it gently with a magnet, and it will pick up any steel flecks. Its always a personal judgment call in these situations. Sometimes they are salvageable and sometimes not. Good luck.
LHB, I just had this problem and posted on it 2-3 weeks ago with the WoS Princes tins.
Thanks saucy_jack. I just found the thread you started. I searched for it before but was using the wrong keywords I’ll check it out now.
After reading the thread started by saucy_jack several weeks ago in connectionn with the same snuff, it seems like we have exactly the same problem. Whatever is in the snuff is more than just metal flakes. It’s like it’s completely gone off, and taken the tin with it; if you could see it, I don’t think you would want to put it in your nose even after passing a magnet over it. Like I said, I felt pretty nauseous after taking a big pinch, but that was no doubt due to the pyschosomatic effects of looking at it closely. I’ll just stick with my F&T, which is fine, even though I was hoping to find a less expensive substitute. It seems like I’m far from the only one with this problem.
Virtually everyone has had this problem with Wilsons’ dark snuffs. You need to write WoS directly. Maybe if they get enough complaints about this they will finally get around to correcting this.
the thing is, to my mind, wouldn’t it be easier, and cheaper, to make a kind of smash box for snuffs out of the factory as opposed to the tins or the tap boxes?
I suspect the tins are viewed as “traditional” and that they have a huge stock of them. It’s not necessarily metal either, in my opinion; it’s the thinness of the tins. I suspect Toques tins with the rounded edges wouldn’t suffer from this problem; Toque should really try producing a coarse, black, moist snuff and see if I’m right (hint). I would be all for the smash boxes, but then a lot of people would probably complain of their “cheap” packaging.
Yes, but as I stated in a thread before Toque’s tins are so weak that you can’t carry them in your pocket without them distorting and warping and losing whatever airtightness they may have had.
For me the cheap looking NTSU tins are the best. The only tins i have where snuff don t dry out even after some months. For snuffs like Princes i choose a shop, where i know, i get it absolutely fresh.
NTSU’s stay moist indefinitely if you put them in an airtight bag, and then in an airtight container. And that stuff is so moist and toxic, you’d thnk it would have to be stored in a salt mine in lead lined cylinders to keep the fragrance from seeping out and corrupting decent people in the vicinity.
“Is this something that you are expected to put up with when it comes to WoS dark, moist snuff?” Absolutely not. Insist on a replacement tin from where it was bought and accept nothing less. I buy drums of Princes, which are filled to order and arrive in first-class condition. However, it obviously makes sense to purchase samplers first. Hopefully your unfortunate experience won’t put you off Princes.