| Author | Message | ||
     Kerry Lex Gerald Member Username: Comoy Post Number: 10 Registered: 02-2009 |
Gentlemen, I am trying to lean more about tobacco I have heard great things about Bob's Chocolate flake but am unsure how to use Flake tobacco AND what is the difference in flaked and non-flaked? and rubed and ready-rubed any lessons? Thanks,Kerry Gerald | ||
| Dan Bryant Member Username: Bryantm3 Post Number: 6 Registered: 03-2009 |
to use flake tobacco, there are several methods: -the "tear it up into little pieces" method. this is where you just tear the flake into coarse cut-looking pieces and put them in your pipe -the "roll it into a little ball" method, where you take the little pieces and roll them between your index finger and thumb and drop the balls into your pipe -the "international house of pancakes" method, where you cut little circles out of the flake and stack them in your pipe like pancakes and -the "i don't really have a lot of time" method, where you roll the tobacco up like a newspaper and stuff it down in your pipe basically, what a flake offers is versitility. you can do whatever you want with the flake, the decision is yours. | ||
| Melvin S. Schwartz Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 4250 Registered: 02-2002 |
One method not mentioned by Dan is simply folding the flakes and filling your pipe. Not all flake tobaccos react the same when folded, such as Penzance that may crumble a bit--especially if on the dry side. In the latter case, being on the dry side, a bit will likely turn into a lot.  | ||
| J Richardson Member Username: Griz Post Number: 2 Registered: 07-2008 |
+1 for the folding method. I smoke a Mac Baren Navy flake. Simply folding it over once offers a long, cool smoke. | ||
| Gerard Carroll Member Username: Nogbad Post Number: 56 Registered: 06-2008 |
I use more than one method depending on the tobacco. Penzance I coarsely crumble and lightly pack Mc Baren I fold and frizz Lakelands seem to work well balled between the palms, as they tend to be sticky and quite hard to break up. Never heard of IH pancake method till now though! | ||
| Vincent Booth Member Username: Vincentpbooth Post Number: 2 Registered: 03-2009 |
I love VA Flake tobaccos. You can't beat the flavors. I pack them according to both the nature of the flake and what I doing at the time. If I'm driving, I usually will rub it out and pack it not light but not too firm. I find that flakes take less attention when rubbed out and if I'm driving I don't want to have to fuss with it or keep re-lighting. If I'm working out doors I crumble, wad a and stuff it into the pipe, being careful to not get it too tight. This allows a moderate amount of tamping and re-lighting but still a good smoke that will stay light and not get too hot in the wind or while working. If I'm relaxing in a chair with a drink, then I highly recommend folding. IMHO folding is the best way to smoke a flake. I take a flake or two, depending on the size of my pipe, fold them together in half and the roll a little to get them into the pipe. | ||
| Duke January Member Username: Duke Post Number: 37 Registered: 05-2008 |
Once I had some wet S. Gawith Full VF needing drying before the match, and my desire to smoke outweighed the longer, time honored air drying of flakes, accepted by serious pipe smokers. By the way, I like my flakes rubbed out well, and those damp Gawith flakes reluctantly rub out to my liking. So I tossed some whole flakes in the Amana Radar Range™ (microwave) for 5 seconds. What I discovered was amazing. The flakes were warm, but the best part was they rubbed out beautifully. I mean as if by some unearthly force separated each leaf sliver. The tobacco wasn’t as dry as I hoped, but the result of the rub was great. As I tried rubbing out other clinging flakes (Xmas Cheer), I gave them a short blast and low and behold rubbing out was breeze. I also discovered that flakes appearing virtually crisp softened and separated. If careless over heating is allowed the tobacco is too dry to enjoy. This works best on tightly pressed flakes, whereas the flake Penzance is by nature easily friable. Dunhill Lt. Flake always rubbed out easily. Has anyone had any similar results? | ||
| Dallas Beikes Member Username: Pipedawg Post Number: 3 Registered: 12-2009 |
Usually I just fold the flake twice and shove it in my flake-pipe (somewhat narrow chamber and thick wall). As for discs/coins/curlys I prefer rubbing them out. | ||
| Ray Mackessy Member Username: Csi Post Number: 42 Registered: 02-2008 |
Other then fold and rub out, I cut the flake into small squares and load. I use the scraps as a top layer to make lighting easier | ||
| mr smokey Member Username: Mrsmokeyman Post Number: 20 Registered: 12-2009 |
i fold discs - they can fill a bowl surprisingly easily... if its a large disc like navy rolls, i fold in half and then in quarters and plug it in... burns perfectly right till the fine white end... as much as i love my high grades, i find falcons perfect for smoking flakes... they have smaller bowls and the goo trap really does a great job of getting rid of all the other moisture that can often be present in a flake. personally, i believe that rubbing out too much can make a flake behave too much like a mixture, and as a result, lose some of the flavor dynamics and slow burn qualities that a flake is famous for. |