Objective: To cover most mason jar questions when it comes to long term storage. For the purposes of this guide we’ll stick with the US most widely distributed mason jar maker — Ball.

Collected information: The following comes from my own, and many in the communities feedback [pipesmagazine.com, reddit.com/r/pipetobacco, brothersofthebriar.com] to build this document. Some advice may be more than you would like to do or willing, but it’s there for you as education so take what you want from it. Some people will boil their mason jars, some choose not too.

Where to buy: (US)Walmart, Super Markets, Amazon.com

Sizes:Jelly Jars (4 liquid oz; 125ml)Half Pint (8 Liquid oz;250ml)Pint (16 Liquid oz;475ml)Quart (32 Liquid Oz; 950(1000)ml). There are also wide-mouth jars as well.

Cleaning: First off, and some of you might gasp, it is not necessary to clean out your mason jar prior to dumping tobacco in it. An established expert who is a SQF Practitioner who tests machines for milk production took an experiment to test for contaminants. http://brothersofbriar.forumotion.com/t7288-are-new-ball-jars-clean findings show they are cleaner than if you had run them through a dishwasher.

The above said, I know that many are not as comfortable with the thought of just opening and pouring tobacco in. Many will throw the jars in the dishwasher anyway and there is nothing wrong with this. Just make sure that the jars are completely dry before you start putting in your tobacco.

If you’d like to take it a step further, place empty jars right side up in a pot or boiling water caner. Fill the pot/caner with hot (not boiling) water to 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes at altitudes of less than 1,000ft. Higher elevations add an additional minute for every 1,000 feet.

I will also comment that some people warm the jars and the lids prior to putting tobacco in — in order to get a better seal. Your milage may vary depending on environment, elevation, humidity, etc.

Amount of Tobacco:

Jelly Jars (4oz Liquid) — I've found that these Jars you can usually stuff 1 to 1.5oz of ribbon, course, shag tobacco into them. Just pour to the rim, push down to compress, pour more, compress etc. Seal lid. Different tobaccos have different weight to volume ratios so your results may vary.

Half Pint (8 Liquid oz) — I've found fits 2 to 3 ounces of loose ribbon, course, shag tobacco depending on consistency. [Stokkebye’s Luxury twist flake fits 2.5 oz a jar.] [Esoterica’s Dorchester fits about 2 ounces per jar] [50g tin of Erinmore Flake that fit perfectly into a half-pint, but a 50g tin of Molto Dolce barely fit into a half-pint. ][2oz of Penzance should fit in half-pint]

Pint (16 Liquid oz) — Generally 4-5 oz of loose ribbon, course, shag tobacco. [ 8oz of Mississippi River, which is a crumble cake, into a pint jar no problem, at the same time 6oz of a loose tobacco blend that was nearly overflowing out of the jar. 250g FVF in a pint; 100g Semois in a pint ]

Quart (32 Liquid oz) — Ranges between 8 and 10 oz of ribbon, course, shag tobacco and your results may vary. [ 250g of 1792 flake in a 32oz jar, and it’s a tighter fit. Some of the flakes fell apart, if not for that you could probably stuff in another 1, maybe 2, oz before it got too tight. 250g Dan Tobacco: Blue Note, perfect fit.]

Wide Mouth 8oz(250ml) 1.76 ounces of navy rolls in one with plenty of room, and 2 ounces of bullseye flake in another, also just a bit more than half full. Have a full tin nearly of Dunhill flake in another, fits perfectly, and about 90% of a 2 ounce tin of Pirate Kake in another. So I guess I’d say for really compressed tobacco, they’re the best.

Empty Jar Weights — while this may fluctuate slightly below are weights of jars without tobacco in them.

Jelly: 4.7oz without lid

Half Pint: 6.2 oz without lid

Pint: 8.8 oz without lid

Quart: 15oz without lid