How To Save A Bad Bowl

[rfernand]

I used to fold and stuff but gave up. First, I find that for a Group 3 or 4 pipe, half a flake is more than enough. Rubbing is much better!

 

[pipesinperu]

Try experimenting with packing looser or using less "flake" than you think you need when folding and stuffing. For a bowl up to .76-.77 in diameter, one flake of Irish Flake is plenty. Also maybe try the "z-fold" method...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlx3T-isujQ
Another good trick for getting the air flow right--which I learned on this forum quite a while ago and which has really made a difference for me (more so when loading ribbon, but I do it no matter the cut, pipe, etc.)--is to run a pipe cleaner through the stem to the bottom of the bowl and leave it there while you pack. That leaves a little "tunnel" under the tobacco and you should be good to go so long as you don't over-tamp while smoking.

 

[stickframer]

@dublin- I think I might try that. A few times I've run a pipe cleaner through the stem (and into the bowl) mid-smoke to loosen the draw and have had good results.

 

[joshb83]

The toughest thing I find with flake is the packing. You can't really layer and pack as you would a normal ribbon style cut. However, as any have said, all is not lost. If you want to take the extra time you can rub it out and pack as a ribbon or use the pipe tool pick or spoon to create better airflow, but the best tip on air is to take a grad and if it doesn't feel like your drinking out of a straw it's too tightly packed... Start again, it's all a process enjoy it!

 

[griffonwing]

There are times I go through a quarter of a bowl and realize that I'm not getting enough airflow. I'll dump the ash, scrape a bit of the char off, use the pick like a butter-churn to loosen the tobacco, then press with my thumb to get it packed a bit again. By this time, most of the tobacco has already acclimated to the heat so it wont expand to a plug again, and you don't lose the whole bowl.

 

[cossackjack]

I fold, stuff, & twist into a bowl tall enough to allow an air pocket in the heel, then crumble a little "kindling" on the top. I usually put a windcap on to control drying overnight. This leaves the top of the tobacco dry enough to easily light & the remaining flake at the ideal moisture for me, needing few or no relights.

Since I also smoke only outdoors, usually while working, I use windcaps, even when it is not windy (any stray ember or spark in our "Red Flag Zone" could result in a disastrous wildland fire).

 

[newbroom]

I have heard that Boswell Pipes are big and also Moretti?...Are they big enough for me to smoke my G.L.Pease JackKnifePlug in one? I don't have a pipe big enough, right now.

 

[jdhayes]

I think everyone here has it covered. The only thing I can add that I have learned, and it depends on the pipe you use. If you have a screw in stem, like a Kaywoodie, you can unscrew it and use your pick to go in through the shank. I have tried to go in from the top of the bowl and just ended up pushing compressed tobacco into the draft hole. But like I said, I would only do it with a screw in stem.

 

[shutterbugg]

Packing different cuts takes experience, not practice. Practice is merely the act of repetition. Experience is paying attention to what you did, analyzing the results, and effecting a change in methodology the next time.

 

[cigrmaster]

I have had fold and stuff expand too much on me and I clear it almost every time with a pipe cleaner. Sometimes I might need to use a bristled one but that is very rarely. I fold and stuff softer flakes and cube cut more dense flakes like Irish Flake, Old Dark Fired and Samuel Gawith bulk flakes as those are like beef jerky.

 

[puff]

Regarding packing: Try not actually packing the pipe, but merely filling it.

There is no prize for getting as much tobacco in the bowl as possible anyway.

If you do the 3 pinch method, try for a while just to do the first step: stuff

it like a babe, then light it, tamp it ever so lightly (the burnt tobacco may

compress quite a bit), then relight. You'll get a pleasant, cool, delicious smoke that

will burn all the way to the bottom.
As for rescuing an over-tight bowl, if you smoke without filter/stinger try as

stickframer said, to poke a pipe-cleaner through the stem, or alternatively if

you're still in the beginning of your smoke and your pipe isn't warm yet (say

just after you attempted and failed to light it), remove the stem and poke your

Czech tool through to the bowl. Most often the trouble with an overly tight

bowl is not that the bowl is in fact overly tight, but that the draw hole has

become plugged, and that drawing on it only pulls the plug tighter.
Best of luck with your puffing, music4cash!
/Puff