How Can I Make Flakes Burn More Evenly?

[timt]

On thicker cut flakes, whether I cube cut or rub out, I always leave a 1/4 inch or so below the rim to allow for expansion and not scorch the rim. Once I get a char, I just smear the ash around without pressing down and really just keep this up until it gets good and going.

 

[sablebrush52]

Some smokers swear by the stuff and fold method and others swear at it. I've done stuff and fold, but much prefer either to cube cut or rub out the flake.

When cube cutting, I cut between 1/4 and 1/8th inch cubes, then leave to dry until it's nearly but not quite, bone dry. When I gravity feed, I tap the pipe and will also lightly tamp. I fill to about 1/4 inch from the rim.
When rubbing out the flake, it all depends on how fast I want the burn rate to be. Generally I'll take the rubbing out past the toothpick stage, sort of to the long grained rice stage. Dry, gravity feed, tapping lightly and a very light tamp at the end of filling the pipe.
I'm happy with the result.

 

[workman]

The easiest way to smoke flakes is to rub them out. I do it with a spice grater(is that the word?). It works well. Gravity feed and smoke. Tamp as little as possible. It still lasts way longer than ribbon cut and needs more relights. Sometimes I'll fill a bowl half-full to avoid a two-hour smoke. Also, I think flakes are more prone to collect moisture and give tongue burn.

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

I don't care so much about the intent of the blender as much as I want to see what their intent was, more so out of curiosity. Maybe I won't ever adhere to it, but maybe it tastes or smokes better by following their intentions than by doing it my way. I'm just going to smoke it however I feel it smokes best, but I always like to follow intent at least a few times just to see if there's a difference or not. Maybe one day, I just won't care, but I enjoy attempting to follow the intentions of a blend, or at least smoking one the way the blender envisioned it working. If I don't like it, I'll change the way I smoke it, but that's just me.
Okay, I just cut up some more ODF like you mentioned, Sable, and I've got it drying on a plate nearby. I'll give the better part of the afternoon and see how she's drying. Maybe I'll like it better this way. Cube cutting it while somewhat moist was a lot easier than the drier flakes I tried before.
When I'm ready to smoke it, I'll leave the 1/4" space and try that to see if that give me enough room. The last time I know I had too much in there as the ash was attempting a mad scramble over the side of my bowl.
I don't own a spice grinder/grater, but I imagine of the shops around me that sells one of those things for the "green leaf" might work just as well, and they seem pretty cheap. I could give that a shot in the future as well, but I've just been balling up the flake in my hand and smashing into it with my other and swirling them around to rub out the flake. Just seemed to work best for me. Always up for trying something new.

 

[donjgiles]

With Bullseye Flake, I pop out the center, fold the coin in half and cut it into chunks with scissors. Then I cut the bullseye into smaller bits and mix it in. Scissors are becoming a very valuable part of pipe enjoyment in my camp.
Don

 

[cigrmaster]

Carolina,

Then I dump the middle ash, scrape the sides and relight and it works great again.

That is how a fold and stuff works. I fold and stuff almost exclusively now where as before I used to cube cut most of my flakes. A soft flake such as Capstan Blue is perfect for fold and stuff. It comes at the perfect moisture level. Old Dark Fired needs a bit of dry time as the flake itself is thicker and denser than a Capstan type. I only cube cut my Samuel Gawith flakes as those need a ton of dry time and when cubed they dry faster.
One thing I never do is rub out my flakes. For my tastes it burns too quickly.

 

[unadoptedlamp]

Carolina- If you are curious about what the blender intended, here is Mac Baren's take on the flake and why they make it: Mac Baren flake explanation
The blender, maybe - probably, chose the flake for the specific qualities it has when burned. What you are tasting when leaving the flake unmolested by rubbing out is what the blender was thinking of when they thought you might like it too.
If you like it rubbed out, then who cares?
Personally, I leave all my flakes as is and after some disastrous results, can now load any flake, including FVF in the fold and stuff method and have great results. To my tastes, it is very different from rubbed out. The heat of the smoke, the intensity of the flavours, the burn time. It's all very different to me than a ribbon cut or rubbed out flake. It just takes a good amount of practice to get a consistent burn and draw. It can be done.
Whether you want to spend the time getting there is another story. And when you do, you might find you like it rubbed out anyway.

 

[robcapp]

Personally, I don't mind at all having to dump some ash, scrape the sides and tamp gently.

It's like being around the campfire and having to tend to it, and keep it burning with the pace and vigor you want.... I actually find it quite relaxing and a bit of the pipe smokers ritual that I enjoy..... delicate prods and pokes to achieve the desired smoking experience.

 

[crashthegrey]

It is not a moisture issue. Flakes stuffed lengthwise into a bowl burn like this, leaving some flakes standing toward the outside of the bowl. I just fold those in once in awhile as I am smoking and they burn right along with the center. I don't find it to be too annoying. Just fold a small area of outside flake in here and there throughout the bowl and no need to relight.

 

[cajomu]

I use both the fold & stuff and rub out methods with flakes, depending on the moisture level of the flake and my mood. Fold & stuff requires a fairly dry tobacco, especially if you want to pack the bowl tight. Rubbing out works best on a flake that isn't too dry or you will end up with a lot of tobacco dust. Packed properly and tended carefully, a given amount of tobacco will burn a lot longer and cooler if folded rather than rubbed out. If I want an extra long smoke, I'll pack two folded flakes, one of top of the other, in a tall cob like a MM General. I can keep that baby burning for what seems like forever. When rubbing out, I simply roll it between the palms of my hand until I get the consistency I want. Never had a problem with that, even when the tobacco was very moist -- just let it dry out for a couple of minutes before putting it in the pipe. Using the rubbing technique, if the tobacco is moist enough, you can even rub out a flake to its individual threads and use the result to roll a cigarette.
Maybe it helps to have been a Boy Scout, but most of this is common sense and what isn't is readily acquired with a bit of experience and practice. Frankly, I think that a lot of pipe smokers, for whatever reason, like to make the hobby sound more complicated than it is. It isn't brain surgery. However you put the tobacco in the pipe and light it, as long as you don't pack it too tight and the pipe draws well, it will burn. If you have trouble keeping your pipe lit, pack is a little looser next time. If it burns too fast, pack it a little tighter. And don't be afraid to experiment. That's how you learn what works best and what you like best.

 

[panamacharlie]

Why bother to buy flakes if you are going to cut or grate them into tiny bits, just buy tobacco that is already prepared to your liking. I fold and stuff, or gently roll them in my fingers, pack loosely, and puff for up to 2 hours.

 

[sablebrush52]

Why bother to buy flakes if you are going to cut or grate them into tiny bits, just buy tobacco that is already prepared to your liking.

Because it's the process of marrying different components under pressure that creates the flavors that flakes develop. Once it's fired up, it's just burning tobacco. There's no magic to any one of these methods.
Flakes and plugs were developed as a convenient way to carry around tobacco. There's no magic to keeping a flake intact. Cube it, rub it out, stuff and fold, whatever. They all work to burn tobacco.
Getting the most flavor out of the blend? That's another story, and I yet to experience taking a flake straight from the tin, stuffing and folding it and then setting it afire, to provide the depth of flavor available when the flake is brought to a drier, sometimes much drier, moisture level.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Was composing a reply that reflects the first sentence above, but lost it. Jesse's reply is much more thorough, anyhow.

 

[krizzose]

One thing I try to do after it’s been a lit a minute or two is to gently tamp down the outer edge so the middle of the tobacco is just a bit higher. It doesn’t eliminate a burn cone, but does seem to mitigate it a bit. At the very least, I’ve convinced myself that this is true, so it’s pretty much gospel.

 

[georgebmcclelland]

Flakes and plugs were developed as a convenient way to carry around tobacco. There's no magic to keeping a flake intact. Cube it, rub it out, stuff and fold, whatever. They all work to burn tobacco.

I'm with sablebrush all the way on this one. I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter how you put it in the pipe; it's the same tobacco. Folding and stuffing it is just a quicker way of getting it in the pipe. Cutting it up into cubes or rubbing it out doesn't reverse anything about the process (the pressed tobaccos won't transform back to their original individual components), it's just smaller pieces of the same thing. Rubbing out a flake won't give you ribbon cut, it's just a rubbed out flake. I feel like the lovely marriage of the tobaccos, the longevity of freshness, and the ability to just throw it in your pocket and go sailing 'round the roaring seas are what flakes and plugs are all about. I sincerely doubt that there's a single blender out there loosing any sleep over how you smoke it.

 

[tennsmoker]

I have stuffed and folded, folded the flake into a kind of Z shape before rolling the thing up and stuffing. I have cube cut, rubbed out and finally placed the flake into an old time coffee bean burr cut and let 'er rip for a couple of seconds.
If you are confused by all these shenanigans, then guess what I am?
So, today, I fold it, stuff it. It if it too wet to plow, I let the pipe and stuffed tobacco sit a spell all on its lonesome whilest I smoke another pipe. I return to said dried fold and stuffed and light 'er up.
I'm not sure where I was going with this, but there you have the saga of fold and stuff from my little postage stamp of terra firma.

 

[mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast]

A folded stuffed flake always burns from the inside out for me. Tamp the center, scrape the sides, even it out and relight. It evens out about halfway and lasts forever, no tamping, and great flavor; but be prepared to relight every now and again. ::

 

[cajomu]

How you prepare a tobacco for smoking affects its burn rate and that affects its flavor. A folded and stuffed flake will burn slower than one that has been well rubbed out, and that can deepen the flavor. As to the proper degree of drying, that depends to some extent on how you wish to prepare it. I agree that, if folding and stuffing, dryer is better than moister but, if rubbing out, the opposite is true.

 

[sablebrush52]

I agree that, if folding and stuffing, dryer is better than moister but, if rubbing out, the opposite is true.

Not my experience at all. Regardless of the prep, drier tobacco delivers more flavor to me. As for the burn rate, I can smoke the same flake, whole, cubed, or rubbed out, and make a nice long, long smoke out of it. At the WCPS, one of our group gave jiminks a gift of a vintage tin of Edgeworth flake. Jim offered me some and I gladly accepted it, rubbed it out, and was still slowly smoking that bowl for a good 45 minutes after everyone else had finished theirs, and mine was a medium sized bowl. I probably got a good 1 3/4 hour smoke out of that small bit of rubbed out flake. It burned beautifully, tasted great, and was a joy to smoke.

 

[unkleyoda]

The best results I've had is. Fold into a U shape, then twist the flake so the middle is narrower than the top and bottom, stuff into pipe, making sure it's not too tight. Light, and smoke. I get the least amount of 'tobacco not burning near the walls' affect with the fold/twist/stuff method.