Tobacco Tins - Do you keep them or toss them?

PappyJoe

I have a desk drawer filled with empty tins. Some are empty because I smoked all the blend, some are empty because I've transferred the tobacco to jars for cellaring.

Some are tins that contained good blends that I didn't want to dry out, so I put the tobacco in a jar and kept the tin so I can put tobacco into it when I make a road trip.

What do you do with yours?

PipeProfessor

I keep mine as well, and use them as travel tins. Or if I have opened one, and it's not my style, I will jar most of it and keep a little in the tin to smoke if I get the urge. Some I just keep for the nostalgia factor and because I like the art work. 

Topaz75

I know what you mean, PappyJoe. I have a hard time discarding old tins, particularly if the blend has a cool name or if the graphics are really striking. I toss a lot of them, but I've still got too many empties sitting around on shelves.

Subtilis87

I keep them. If I can I put the labels on the jars I store them in. I love the art and want some tin examples before they are inevitably covered with giant health warnings.

PappyJoe

I'm thinking about taking some of them and making wall art for my garage.

thewanderingdude

I keep my tins as well. They are handy to keep around the garage, and they look cool too

judandhispipe

Pitch 'em. I don't need 40 or 50 tins a year to add to the way too much stuff that is in my house now.

PipeProfessor

@pappyjoe and @thewanderingdude, I agree that they make great art and conversations pieces. I often find myself looking at an old tin and having it bring back memories of the time in my life when I was smoking that blend. The wall art would be cool, but I'm far from an artist. If you have any ideas of how to turn the tins into a masterpiece and want to share, please do!

PipeProfessor

@judandhispipe, 40-50 a year! Holy smokes brother, that's a lot of 'baccy that you go through! 

Darmon

I like to keep a few around the shop, like @thewanderingdude said.  They are nice to have if you take something apart, like say a carburetor, and put all the little parts into so they don't get scattered.  Or to keep misc. screws/bolts/nuts/washers in. 

pipesith

Agree with @Darmon handy to keep screw, bolts, ect. in. Also like some of the art work.

judandhispipe

@pipeprofessor, I smoke a lot more tinned blends than I do bulks.

Woodsman

Some I keep for travel, the cardboard an aluminum foil lined I dump.

IndyJG

I've have always tossed them without much of a second thought.

Bphasty

Like many of the blonds from my past: Tins looked good but weren't worth the trouble they caused. Do what I did: marry a brunette & mason jar your baccy

thesubcon

At first I was taking the labels off and gave them to my kids for knickknacks but as I've progressed, I found better uses for them. Locally, we have a rotating Pipe and Pint meeting (quarterly) that shuffles between 3 different houses. When it's at mine, we meet in my garage and back patio. I use them for ash trays! It's kind of a fun conversation piece, and the cool thing is, when the nights over, I just throw the lids on and go to bed. I like the "clean up in the morning" aspect of it. I keep one in my mobile kit at all times and I don't have to worry about having an ash tray or making a mess in my kit.

thewanderingdude

@thesubcon brilliant! I am stealing your idea!

thesubcon

@thewanderingdude DO IT DUDE!!

iDaveMoore

I tend to jar all of the tobacco, leave a little in the tin to feed off of for a while at work, then I toss the empty tins in the bottom of my pipe cabinet as a remembrance to what I have tried so far. 

iDaveMoore

The tins will make nice discreet ammo containers as well... for when you're trying to be incognito!

hloakes

I use this one for the tools when at home.

 

Daehimeh

I don't keep the tins, but before I throw them out I scan the label. I then print the label on sticker paper and stick it to the jar. It's a bit of work, but it makes keeping track of jars nice and easy.

motoguzzima

That's the best of both worlds Daehimeh! Wish I were that industrious. Do you scan the back of the tin also? I always like to read that.

thebadgerpiper

I keep them if I like their design. I'll also reuse them to keep a bit of tobacco in them, if I have more of that blend jarred somewhere.

Daehimeh

I haven't yet motoguzzima. I read them in the beginning, however nothing has grabbed my attention enough to make me think to copy the back.

ghostsofpompeii

I normally buy my tobacco in bulk but when I do buy a tin I tend to save the first one with intention of starting a collection to decorate the wall of my man cave/smoking area. I've barely scratched the surface but have also branched out by looking for old tobacco tins at antique stores. My wife commented ... "You can turn anything into a hobby." 

PappyJoe

Old tobacco tins make good change holders too. 

Charles

Both.  I save some tins if I need a container for screws or bolts.  I have a small collection of tins from tobacco that I have either tried and liked or has some artistic attraction.  I have saved tins throughout the years as part of a collection of tobacco-related objects, the oldest of which is a brand called Tuxedo from the 1920s.  I toss a fair share too.  One can only save so many without becoming a hoarder. 

Jdalen

I try to keep 1 empty tin of every tobacco I've smoked just for future reference. 

ghostsofpompeii

I have a houseful of old Altoids tins so those are what I normally use for storing bolts, screws, Christmas light fuses and other such stuff. The tobacco tins are strictly for collecting. I plan to get several spools of magnetic strips to adhere to the particle board wall in my smoking area of the garage and have the magnet hold the tins in place without having to drill any holes in the tins to mount them. 

motie2

As others have pointed out, the tins are useful in many ways. I use the ones that seal well -- that keep their contents relatively fresh -- to keep small amounts of blends I make myself. A pinch of this; a pinch of that.