Cigar Weekly

xrundog · 09-17-2017, 06:38 AM

I think the cedar absorbs the moisture pretty well. It will actually pull moisture from the exterior box if it has any.
I think tin (or zinc, some alloy anyway) seemed like a logical material at the time. Clean and durable. Then over time, the metal corroded. Not so great for cigars. So humidor manufacturers switched to glass liners.
Don't know how someone figured out Spanish cedar was a good liner. But that pops up around mid century.
The old boxes are sometimes warped. I guess usually because they've sat in a basement or attic subject to extreme moisture and temp swings. The lid goes first. Then the body joinery starts coming apart. A slight warp is okay. It can be compensated for. And it isn't very noticeable.
The Benson & Hedges liners seem to be highly polished. Wonder if that made a difference. Or if B&H used a better grade alloy. I've seen pics of some that have corrosion. But nothing like the crusty mess one sometimes sees.

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09-17-2017, 06:38 AM	#5
xrundog Contributing Editor Herf Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Central, Iowa Posts: 9,806	I think the cedar absorbs the moisture pretty well. It will actually pull moisture from the exterior box if it has any. I think tin (or zinc, some alloy anyway) seemed like a logical material at the time. Clean and durable. Then over time, the metal corroded. Not so great for cigars. So humidor manufacturers switched to glass liners. Don't know how someone figured out Spanish cedar was a good liner. But that pops up around mid century. The old boxes are sometimes warped. I guess usually because they've sat in a basement or attic subject to extreme moisture and temp swings. The lid goes first. Then the body joinery starts coming apart. A slight warp is okay. It can be compensated for. And it isn't very noticeable. The Benson & Hedges liners seem to be highly polished. Wonder if that made a difference. Or if B&H used a better grade alloy. I've seen pics of some that have corrosion. But nothing like the crusty mess one sometimes sees.