New Samuel Gawith tins

[blametony]

Anyone else notice how easily the new Samuel Gawith tins open? They pop with almost no effort. Not a good sign for long term aging. A rep for them admitted not too long ago that they don’t pack tins for long term aging. I also never trusted those Chinese food containers the 8oz boxes ship with.

 

[SourShank]

I had a polar opposite experience. I recently opened Ennerdale, 1792, and Navy flake. All 3 of them very recently shipped from Gawith to Smokingpipes. Huge pain in the rear to open. I've cracked Gawith tins in the past easily with a coin/key. Lifting at the divot in the corner hearing the vacuum hiss. These ones I had to run a bottle opener lengthwise to coax the lid. For the life of me I couldn't get the 1792 to open without bending the lid. Lifting the edge along the divot produced no audible hiss. I won't claim this difficulty is correlated to the seals efficacy though. Tobacco was fresh (as they should be since they're recent shipments) and tastes like they should.

 

[Brad H]

I had a polar opposite experience. I recently opened Ennerdale, 1792, and Navy flake. All 3 of them very recently shipped from Gawith to Smokingpipes. Huge pain in the rear to open. I've cracked Gawith tins in the past easily with a coin/key. Lifting at the divot in the corner hearing the vacuum hiss. These ones I had to run a bottle opener lengthwise to coax the lid. For the life of me I couldn't get the 1792 to open without bending the lid. Lifting the edge along the divot produced no audible hiss. I won't claim this difficulty is correlated to the seals efficacy though. Tobacco was fresh (as they should be since they're recent shipments) and tastes like they should.

Same. Was almost impossible to open

 

[HeavyLeadBelly]

Yeah this has been an issue for a few years now. Of my purchases I’d say 75% did not have a seal. With that said I don’t really trust square or rectangle tins and so I open them up and jar the tobacco right away. If I ever invest in Mylar bagging then I’d just throw the whole tin into sealed bag and call it a day.

 

[AirOne]

SG admitted that their tins are not vaccum sealed anymore a few years ago, when they changed their partner manufacturer.

 

[fireground_piper]

SG admitted that their tins are not vaccum sealed anymore a few years ago, when they changed their partner manufacturer.

I don’t recall ever seeing that.

In any case, I never really trust square or rectangle tins. It’s not an ideal shape.

 

[AirOne]

I don’t recall ever seeing that.

In any case, I never really trust square or rectangle tins. It’s not an ideal shape.

My mistake , they are vaccum sealed. But not design for long term storage. In my experience, not for short term either, or you need to tape the tin.

From another forum:

Rachel from Samuel Gawith checked in today on a forum, regarding the tendencies of some square tins popping open before a pipe smoker pulls them from the cellar:

“Every single tin leaving the factory is vacuumed sealed and then has a heat sealed anti-tamper strip put round it. Around 2 to 3 years ago the tin manufacturer we used suddenly stopped supplying through the usual channels so we had to find an alternative.


We did find a tin and tested it and all seemed fine. We ordered a container full as this is the minimum order and so there were thousands and thousands of tins received. Due to the design (3 little notches on the side) it meant that a good tight seal could not always be maintained over time. Therefore we went back to the drawing board and designed a whole new tin which has strips to catch the lid on all 4 sides.

It is very difficult to produce a square or rectangular tin that is perfect all the way around and so seals perfectly. It is much easier with round tins due to the way they are produced but round tins are more expensive to make and do not stack well for transport or on shelves in retailers.

And SG and GH have historically been in rectangular tins and so we want to stick with this. The new tin design seals well. It should not need a massive tug to get the lid off (then we get complaints the tins are too hard to open) and just because the lid comes off relatively easily does not mean it is not vacuumed sealed. BUT we do not design tins and make tobacco for long term storage.

This is a relatively new trend, mostly in the States. We always advice anyone wanting to do this to store in a different container or vacuum pack the tins into bags. And in a humidity and temperature controlled environment.”



RachelSamuel Gawith & Company Ltd.

 

[gawithhoggarth]

SG admitted that their tins are not vaccum sealed anymore a few years ago, when they changed their partner manufacturer.

No they did not. Every tin is vacuumed sealed. GH stated that we had to quickly find a new supplier when the old supplier sold out to a new company and stopped making the gold tins. These tins did not seal as well as we had been assured they would due to the design. We then spent a lot of time designing and testing the current tin and it seals just fine. In fact it has a good rubber seal, so you can re-seal after opening, obviously without the vacuum that it had prior.

RachelSamuel Gawith & Company Ltd -> Rachel of Gawith Hoggarth & Co.

There is no Samuel Gawith Ltd any more and has not been for 10 years.

 

[blametony]

No they did not. Every tin is vacuumed sealed. GH stated that we had to quickly find a new supplier when the old supplier sold out to a new company and stopped making the gold tins. These tins did not seal as well as we had been assured they would due to the design. We then spent a lot of time designing and testing the current tin and it seals just fine. In fact it has a good rubber seal, so you can re-seal after opening, obviously without the vacuum that it had prior.

RachelSamuel Gawith & Company Ltd -> Rachel of Gawith Hoggarth & Co.

There is no Samuel Gawith Ltd any more and has not been for 10 years.

Do you still not recommend storing tins for long term aging unless they're placed in vacuum sealing?

 

[Wet Dottle]

Just as for anecdotal entertainment, my oldest Sam Gawith tins are from before 2006 (maybe 2004 or earlier) and are fine. My newest is from 2014, therefore I don’t have a way to compare with more recent tins. I don’t have Gawith & Hoggarth tins in my cellar for comparison, either. But still have other square tins that I cellared in the 90s, namely Three Nuns and Bengal Slices, and they are also fine. I’ve posted pics of a freshly open Three Nuns tin in the forum. Will post some next time I open a tin of the Slices.

 

[gawithhoggarth]

If and how you decide to store tobacco for long term storage is up to you. We do not produce nor package for long term storage.

 

[theTomTom]

If and how you decide to store tobacco for long term storage is up to you. We do not produce nor package for long term storage.

Bring a producer of tobacco, users who buy say 20 tins on a sale and then smoke it over the next 3 years hurts the sales volume.

It's why stg said it killed bulk Mac baren options before the sale was finalized.

I have 2000 to 2005 rectangle tins empty of erinmore, full Virginia, names flake. Only 1 of those tins ever developed seal issues, but the seal itself was damaged

 

[blametony]

If and how you decide to store tobacco for long term storage is up to you. We do not produce nor package for long term storage.

Thanks for the info, Rachel. Very helpful.

 

[theTomTom]

If and how you decide to store tobacco for long term storage is up to you. We do not produce nor package for long term storage.

I have to ask then, what is storage expectations for the 8 ounce boxes? Saw a retailer that was selling some stored in a Florida warehouse since 2010.

 

[Briarcutter]

We do not produce nor package for long term storage.

I don't know if any manufacturer ever had long term storage in mind. Not at least as some consider long-term storage. I would guess a manufacturer would be happy with a couple year seal, not 20 as the collectors wish. That's not to say that seals won't last twenty years or even longer. I've had steel cutter tops from the 1950's hisss open good as the day it was packed. I think long-term storage and aging tobacco is relatively new to the market. Some have always believed in it but not on the level it is today.I've had many round tins sealed 20+ years but it always seems a problem with square and rectangle tins regardless of the manufacturer.

 

[blametony]

I don't know if any manufacturer ever had long term storage in mind. Not at least as some consider long-term storage. I would guess a manufacturer would be happy with a couple year seal, not 20 as the collectors wish. That's not to say that seals won't last twenty years or even longer. I've had steel cutter tops from the 1950's hisss open good as the day it was packed. I think long-term storage and aging tobacco is relatively new to the market. Some have always believed in it but not on the level it is today.I've had many round tins sealed 20+ years but it always seems a problem with square and rectangle tins regardless of the manufacturer.

Agree completely that long-term storage is not in the mindset of most manufacturers when it comes to tin construction or seal considerations. While I usually open and jar my tins, I do tend to keep some tins intact for trading down the road so it's always good to know what the integrity of a tin may be.

 

[Mr. Stubb]

I've had the same experience of tins that were very easy to open. Safest thing is to open the tin and jar it immediately, no down side.

 

[paulfg]

If and how you decide to store tobacco for long term storage is up to you. We do not produce nor package for long term storage.

how many more times do you need to state this.if people wish to store long term its up to them/there risk!!!

 

[paulfg]

I don't know if any manufacturer ever had long term storage in mind. Not at least as some consider long-term storage. I would guess a manufacturer would be happy with a couple year seal, not 20 as the collectors wish. That's not to say that seals won't last twenty years or even longer. I've had steel cutter tops from the 1950's hisss open good as the day it was packed. I think long-term storage and aging tobacco is relatively new to the market. Some have always believed in it but not on the level it is today.I've had many round tins sealed 20+ years but it always seems a problem with square and rectangle tins regardless of the manufacturer.

exactly this,well put

 

[Sig]

I don't know if any manufacturer ever had long term storage in mind. Not at least as some consider long-term storage. I would guess a manufacturer would be happy with a couple year seal, not 20 as the collectors wish. That's not to say that seals won't last twenty years or even longer. I've had steel cutter tops from the 1950's hisss open good as the day it was packed. I think long-term storage and aging tobacco is relatively new to the market. Some have always believed in it but not on the level it is today.I've had many round tins sealed 20+ years but it always seems a problem with square and rectangle tins regardless of the manufacturer.

C&D does.
Many of their blends are specifically made to age. They even have a series dedicated to long term storage. This is why they use the tins they do, and leave some room in the tins so the tobacco can "breathe".
Same with GLP obviously. Several of his tin descriptions suggest years of aging, just like C&D.