Vintage pipe tobacco "humidor"

[gpjoe]

I picked up a silver-plated metal tobacco humidor at an antique shop for a few bucks. The inside is lined with a thin piece of wood veneer, which is loose.

Is there a practical purpose for the wood liner?

Just curious.

 

[luvmysuper]

Stabilize humidity.
I've seen desktop cigar humidors that look like that.

 

[gpjoe]

This might sound zany, but not knowing, I wondered if the wood was moistened (not soaked) with water droplets to enhance humidity. I supposed that otherwise the wood would (alliteration? ) tend to wick moisture from the leaf stored in the can.

 

[luvmysuper]

This might sound zany, but not knowing, I wondered if the wood was moistened (not soaked) with water droplets to enhance humidity. I supposed that otherwise the wood would (alliteration? ) tend to wick moisture from the leaf stored in the can.

Wood lining slowly absorbs moisture from the container when the content is wetter, and gives the moisture back slowly when the content is dryer.
Just like the cedar in a cigar humidor.
There were a lot of methods to do this, small clay bricks etc. before the modern silica gel packs that are common today.
There might have been those who "pre-treated" it before storing their product.

 

[bebo8]

i am always hesitant to use these vintage humidors for pipe tobacco. i don't trust they'll do a good job sealing the tobacco for the long periods it takes me to finish the content. i can understand if you put this on your work desk and smoke this one and only tobacco on a daily basis and go through it fairly quick, that it would be ok at this point. But to store for long periods, i think the tobacco would lose moisture and dry up