Beginner's question about flakes

Hi Janosh,

I like flakes a lot and I have found out that preparation depends a lot on what flake you have.

University flake is an easy one that I have tried recently and I liked a lot.

Usually I was leaving the flake to dry out for an hour and then I was rubbing it out.

I also found that it tasted better after leaving it in a jar for a couple of weeks.

I have also tried to rub it out and then leave it dry. In that way it dries faster (~15 mins is enough).
For flakes like Samuel Gawith, that have much much more moisture this procedure isn't working. You need to dry them for much more time. These I dry for several hours and then I cut them with scissors in cubes.

UF doesn't need that.
By the way a similar flake to UF is MacBarren's NAvy Flake. I find MB NF better actually. Both are burley based.

Welcome to the forums! :clap:

Article with video on flake preparation.

It is common to use too much tobacco when stuffing it into the bowl.

The last half of the bowl then becomes too tightly packed.

I'm far from expert on flakes, and I'm sure you'll get some good advice from some of the more experienced flakes. For me, it has been like learning to smoke a pipe all over again. I'll add that coins (Luxury Bullseye Flake and Escudo) have been much easier than other flakes that I've tried. In addition to being delicious, they seem more forgiving.
Some will recommend cube cutting, others might recommend rubbing out the flakes. I'm sure that both of these work but, for me, I just want to fold and stuff. Some probably enjoy the ritual. I'm just impatient.
Clearly, you are packing too much tobacco into the bowl, so maybe you should try a single flake instead of one and a half. Fold the tobacco, usually in half for me. I've seen others recommend thirds but I've not had any luck with that. Then I put the tobacco into the bowl. The wad of tobacco will be too tall and will be a loose fit in the bowl. Then, twist it a bit while pushing down on the top to get it all in. The idea, and hope, is that I wind up with a looser pack at the bottom and a firmer pack at the top. You need to have it fit loosely at the start. If the wad of folded tobacco scarcely fits into the bowl at the start, it will be too dense. For packing any tobacco, the goal is never to cram as much tobacco as possible into the bowl.
Experiment a bit. Good luck, and hang in there. You'll figure out something that works for you.

It is common to use too much tobacco when stuffing it into the bowl.
Guilty as charged. When I first started smoking flakes I had a monster pipe and loaded it up with way to big a fold. It took more time to smoke than I had, was murder to light, and was hard to keep lit.

Janosh, it will take a bit of practice before you become unconsciously competent but it will occur. I would suggest mastering rubbing out or cube cutting first, then maybe try fold and stuff. Always test the draw on your packing. If it is too tight, (are you pursing your lips like you're sucking on a lemon) dump and start again. From my experience, the packing method doesn't matter that much, as long as you end up with the correct draw. JMO - Pax

I've not had much luck with folding flakes--I rub-em out. Works fine every time.

@ Janosh

yes I leave it to dry for ~15 mins, but after I have rubbed it out completely. I put it on a paper towel with lots of space between the broken flake pieces. (of course this depends on the relative humidity of the air how fast it dries)

But this will fail if I do it just out of the tin. I leave in a jar for several weeks the flakes before I smoke them.

Now that I think my jar may be not be keeping humidity very well.
In general if I don't rub out the flakes I leave them out much longer.

Welcome aboard Janosh.
Here is a thread that I started last year and had some positive feedback.