Samuel Gawith Scrapped There Old Machinery?

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Worknman

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 23, 2019
983
2,908

seanv

Lifer
Mar 22, 2018
3,106
11,129
Canada
So, others also think that the SG they recently bought (in the US) had less moisture?
I have opened boxes of St James flake and golden glow from this round. Both are drier than expected but still moist. I have some FVF coming hopefully next week. I'm interested to see how dry or wet that is
 
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strave19

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 13, 2011
249
325
So, others also think that the SG they recently bought (in the US) had less moisture?

Yep, definitely less moist out of the box. Haven’t opened any tins yet. It went straight from the box into jars and I definitely didn’t want it drying out too much in between. Normally letting it sit in it’s bag for a month or so would have been my move to let it dry a bit.

Still looks like the same awesome leaf though!
 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,248
57,309
67
Sarasota Florida
If I ever got a moldy box, I would show it to every pipe site, Facebook anyone who would listen and then tell SG if it happens again, I will make your company sounds like a bunch of dead beats who lost alltheir tobaccer knowledge when the split happened.

I have close to 45 pounds of 3 SG flakes and they are great. If you can make it once you can do it again. There is never any good excuse for mold of any kind. All mine is from 2012 and earlier.
 

musicman

Lifer
Nov 12, 2019
1,119
6,058
Cincinnati, OH
I just received a box of SJF a couple of weeks ago, and it seems to be a little drier than normal for Sam Gawith flakes. It only takes a couple of hours in the AZ dryness to get to optimal smokability, as opposed to 12-24 hrs for your typical FVF.

FWIW, if they started slicing these flakes thinner, I'd be all for that. I think one of the principal challenges for smoking Sam Gawith flakes is the preparation involved. I generally rub them out fully, but having the ability to fold and stuff would be nice too, and that's pretty much impossible for a thickly sliced flake.

To use a term that the OP used, while I do like the lady in my life to be "Thicc", I'll take nice and thin for my tobacco flakes, thank you very much.
 

pantsBoots

Lifer
Jul 21, 2020
2,364
8,983
So, others also think that the SG they recently bought (in the US) had less moisture?
Yes, absolutely. 2 boxes of BBF and 8 boxes of FVG, plus a lone tin of GG. All drier than previous experience. Plus 3 boxes of Kendal Plug, which is new to me, but did not seem overly wet.

I like the new direction of SG I don't have to worry about molding.
 

jeff540

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 25, 2016
518
799
Southwest Virginia
Several years ago there was much consternation and gnashing of teeth over the high moisture levels, and now with less moisture levels there's again angst. I guess that's the curmudgeon inherent in pipe smoking :)

FWIW, I recall nice thin slices of SG from the 2002-2008 period, after which they got noticeably thicker.
 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,213
I think MacBarens, STG, K&K, etc all make fine products. I am a happy customer, particularly of MacBarens. They are consistent in moisture content and have virtually bullet proof packing. Not a chance on God’s earth of mold. Better living through modern chemistry. And automated factories. And using stalk harvested leaf sourced from the conglomerates.
 

pantsBoots

Lifer
Jul 21, 2020
2,364
8,983
I think MacBarens, STG, K&K, etc all make fine products. I am a happy customer, particularly of MacBarens. They are consistent in moisture content and have virtually bullet proof packing. Not a chance on God’s earth of mold. Better living through modern chemistry. And automated factories. And using stalk harvested leaf sourced from the conglomerates.
Gotta raise my hand and say I got a 100g tin of Old Dark Fired that was green with mold upon receipt. Reeked of vinegar and the tin was visibly rusting away along the sealed edge inside. Probably a one-off, but as it was one of the first tins I had ever bought, it gave me pause.
 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,213
Gotta raise my hand and say I got a 100g tin of Old Dark Fired that was green with mold upon receipt. Reeked of vinegar and the tin was visibly rusting away along the sealed edge inside. Probably a one-off, but as it was one of the first tins I had ever bought, it gave me pause.
Improper storage of the tin before it got to you, or rust from inside out because the tin had some age on it?
 

pantsBoots

Lifer
Jul 21, 2020
2,364
8,983
Improper storage of the tin before it got to you, or rust from inside out because the tin had some age on it?
Rust from the inside out. I've seen some rust inside since, but this one took the cake. Not just a rusty patina, but the surface becoming noticeably rough and almost pitted. I'm guessing they either sprayed the hell out of it with vinegar, or else the vinegar was more acidic than typical?
 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,213
Rust from the inside out. I've seen some rust inside since, but this one took the cake. Not just a rusty patina, but the surface becoming noticeably rough and almost pitted. I'm guessing they either sprayed the hell out of it with vinegar, or else the vinegar was more acidic than typical?
I have seen that a few times in tins that weren’t that old, hard to figure out. One explanation I saw as a possibility: out of X thousand empty tins, y are going to be defective in some way that isn’t visible. They get filled. If there is something out of bounds, the product can set up a chemical reaction that otherwise wouldn’t happen.
 

saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,192
5,116
SG machinery: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. SG, AA and the Catholic church contend for the most ultra-conservative organizations that have ever been.
 
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