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toobfreak

Lifer
Dec 19, 2016
1,365
7
I apologize in advance for the soapbox rant but I've heard lots of good things about HH Old Dark-Fired so when a large tobacco supply house recently put it on 15% sale, I bought three tins to try. They just arrived. There was a hint of tobacco smell in the box but then, so is there in my daily tobacco tub from which I smoke though everything is well sealed in Ball jars. I mean, these things had spent their whole lives in a tobacco warehouse!
But I'm generally leery of the square tins anyway and once opened, to me they are now garbage. I'm not going to rush to smoke a tin in a week or two just to avoid drying out and I like to mix things up. Right away everything goes in a jar.
So I get the three tins and one has a minor ding on the outside edge that slightly deformed the sealing surface, one has four minor dings on the lid purely cosmetic, and the third has two minor dings on the lid, not a big deal, but also a hard ding that is sharp enough that you can easily feel. . . right at the inside edge where the can seals! Now, I'm not here to bash any company and I don't mean to sound anal retentive, but I will call them next week and let them know. All three tins appear to still have a good vacuum seal, but I had not planned on smoking these for a long time, maybe a couple of years or longer, and who knows by then the vacuum might be long gone?
My point here is I don't have a lot of confidence in square tins to begin with, if they want to put flake or plug in a tin, why can't they just cut it more round to fit (if that is all they are after)? Worst of all, it makes me wonder if the reason why they were on sale was BECAUSE they were dinged? If so, then they ought to be sold that way as seconds for half price maybe-- take yer chances. All words in a vacuum (heh heh) because I'm not the kind of person to send them back demanding a replacement, I will keep them and see what happens, but I will let them know I'm not real happy with the QC.
Am I over-blowing it? It bugs me that two of the three have dings right along where the tin seal. I don't often buy square tins so, how much is normal? What do you guys find acceptable? I mean, they all seem to still have a good vacuum, how much can these guys take before losing air? For all I know, this is how they came from overseas from Denmark, imported by Sutliff (heh heh) then shipped to my tobacco outlet. Maybe I ought to just be happy I got them and smoke my pipe. Opinions?

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
For peace of mind, you probably ought to jar all of it. I trust square tins generally, for a few years anyway, but the dings do raise a question. Welcome aboard.

 

pagan

Lifer
May 6, 2016
5,963
28
West Texas
I would guess the tins were damaged in shipment to you and not at the retailer, if you ordered from P&C I will bet money the tins were damaged cause of their crappy packing, a common occurrence with them and a reason I quit purchasing from them
If you have a vacuum sealer yo can seal the tins as are for future us, they should be good, or open all tins and jar the baccy, or call the company you purchased them from and see about return/replacement tins

 

ericusrex

Lifer
Feb 27, 2015
1,175
3
You can put the whole tins into jars. That way, even if a seal goes bad you'll still have smokeable tobacco in a few years. Let the company know about the dings but only get worked up about the big stuff.

 

stickframer

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 11, 2015
875
8
^ I like the above idea. If you could jar it still in the tin you might be on to something.
I have heard of a forum members or two who put all square tins in large Rubbermaid type containers to be safe.
Anyways, I too would be a little ticked off getting several dented tins. Does it affect the seal? I'm not sure, but it would bother me a bit. However, I am guilty of over thinking such things at times.

 

mikestanley

Lifer
May 10, 2009
1,698
1,126
Akron area of Ohio
I seem to remember discussion about moisture in the tins ODF and some internal rust issues. Between the dents and this, I would jar it, and I'm usually in favor of tins, dented or not.
Mike S.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,565
27,065
Carmel Valley, CA
I have heard of a forum members or two who put all square tins in large Rubbermaid type containers to be safe.
That helps, but I don't think they are airtight. At least none of the ones I've seen.

 

snoopy311

Can't Leave
Dec 21, 2016
402
155
If the tins have lost their seal then I would let the company (place of purchase) know and their customer service should be able to help you. Packages this time of year do not seem to do well but they should have packaged it properly in the first place.

 

toobfreak

Lifer
Dec 19, 2016
1,365
7
Welcome aboard.
Thank you, MSO! The three tins came packed loose in a small box with just a couple air pillows in there to keep them from flying around, but certainly not enough to protect them from banging into each other and I'm sure the UPS bounced that box around a lot.
I've bought from other companies that packed things a lot better.
I have lots of jars but even the largest quart has a neck much too small to fit these. And part of the charm of buying these is the joy of opening them for the first time (jars have no eye candy value), so I would rather not break all three open and jar them in three small jars, that might affect the aging plus then it will be real tough not to at least sample a bowl! :puffy:
No big deal, I will call the company next week to let them, know. ITMT I have some heavy zip lock bags that pounds of tobacco came in, real heavy stuff. Maybe I'll just throw the three tins in that zip pouch for good measure. I go through my cellar about once every 6 months to check on stuff and I will just keep an eye on them, then hopefully in a few years when I open the first tin I will have something special! Thanks for the input everyone.
Off now to have some eggnog and Kahlua over cracked ice, then a pipe to welcome in the new year-- Happy New Year to you all!

 

shaintiques

Lifer
Jul 13, 2011
3,615
227
Georgia
Yeah I hate air pillows. They are worthless. I buy a lot of stuff online and hate it when stuff comes with air pillows which often get popped. Smokingpipes.com uses paper to keep things from banging around. I almost always order from them. Never ever had an issue.

 

jabo

Can't Leave
Jan 26, 2016
321
1
Jar it up. Ya got a discount, what'd ya expect. I wouldn't sweat the small shit !

 

toobfreak

Lifer
Dec 19, 2016
1,365
7
FWIW, to their credit, they apologized for the shipping damage and are sending out replacement product!

 
I like the square tins, but I smoke at a normal rate of 10-12 bowls a day, so drying is never an issue with me. Like most regular smokers, we like to have our tobacco on us, as we navigate our day. And, what I love about square tins is that they fit nicely in the inside pocket of my jacket or coat, where it is safely with me throughout my day. I'm not sure that the tobacco producers are keeping the "one pipe a week" smokers in mind, as most pipe smokers I know smoke all day every day. Maybe I do know a few in real life that only smoke occasionally, but FWIW... The market is probably geared more towards guys who are real smokers that don't dilly dally about between pipe fulls. It is also geared more towards guys who just smoke the tins as they get them, instead of the exclusive cellaring away guys who want to age their blends. Didn't Per Jenson of MacBaron say as much in response to rusty tins of ODF? And, even in my conversations with a couple of other Tobacco producers, they mentioned that those who squirrel away their tobaccos are not their top target market.

Sure, I have a 200+lbs cellar myself. But, this is all new stuff, an anomaly of the times. And, I assume once a week, health conscious, smokers is a relatively new concept as well. I'm not sure it's fair to put the burden of meeting the expectations of the smaller percentage of anomalies on the tobacco companies. Just my $0.02
But, it's awesome that the company is exchanging your tins. Good on them, and good for you. However, I say long live the square tins, and may they forever continue to fit into my jacket pockets. Carrying a damned jar around with me just feels silly. :puffy:

 

mackeson

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 29, 2016
758
2
Jar it up. Ya got a discount, what'd ya expect. I wouldn't sweat the small shit !

Agreed!

I've never had a problem with square tins, but if I was stressed about it, I'd do whatever I could to alleviate the stress. Pipes shouldn't be stressful.
Welcome to the forums

 

ophiuchus

Lifer
Mar 25, 2016
1,557
2,052
... what I love about square tins is that they fit nicely in the inside pocket of my jacket or coat, where it is safely with me throughout my day.

Me too. I gave up on pouches some time ago. I just save my Dunhill Flake and Samuel Gawith 1792 tins and carry my daily smoke in these. Depending on my pocket situation, I sometimes keep a lighter or matches, a pipe tool and curled up cleaners in a second one.

 

newbroom

Lifer
Jul 11, 2014
6,087
6,394
Florida
The shipper in 'question' is owned by a cigar company. I bet they don't ship their cigars so cavalierly.

Buy bulks and get bags. They don't burst. Anaerobic aging is overrated.

I will add that my experience with aged unopened tins is limited.

I do have a few with age that I've been keeping and one I expect to try soon. It's about 2.5 yrs on a square of OGS.

I'm torn about opening it. I've read that 3-4 yrs or more are best for Va's.

I did put a year on a tin of Escudo, and found that it seemed way less zesty.

 
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