Cube cutting Escudo

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deathandtaxes

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 29, 2014
218
1
Indianapolis IN
After reading a post earlier today I decided to "cube cut" the tobacco for my afternoon pipe. In the past I have always just grabbed a flake of the tobacco that I wanted to smoke and did what I can best describe as a rub out, fold and stuff hybrid method of loading my pipe. It has always worked decent for me so I had never considered putting any more effort into it. I was reading a post earlier today about a fella that was having some difficulty smoking flake tobacco. Cortez posted a video on the subject of cube cutting flake tobacco. Looked simple enough and apparently from previous posts I've read, several members swear by this method, so I figured "What the hell, why not." I laid a few Escudo disks of tobacco and let them dry a bit, busted out the kitchen shears, and proceeded to cut the Escudo into ~.25 inch "cubes". I then loosely loaded my pipe with all of the little cubes of goodness, gave it a light tamp, and fired her up. All I can say is what a difference a little effort makes! The pipe smoked much cooler, I only had to relight it once after the true light, and the flavor of that Escudo cube cut was spectacular! I highly recommend this method to anyone who hasn't tried it before. It is definitely worth the extra minute of prep time. :puffy:

 
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huntertrw

Lifer
Jul 23, 2014
5,219
5,338
The Lower Forty of Hill Country
deathandtaxes:
Thank-you for this suggestion. In my cellar I have a tin of Escudo which I purchased a number of years ago from McCranie's in Charlotte, North Caroliha. I'm going to break out my Fiskars and try my own hand at cube-cutting those marvelous disks. Wish me luck!

 

cortezattic

Lifer
Nov 19, 2009
15,147
7,637
Chicago, IL
Scissors work well for cutting a flake across the grain, but the chips can fly around the desk top every now and then.

In recent years my arthritis has made it difficult, or at least awkward, to hold a flake and snip it with scissors too,

so I use this rotary cutting tool that Mrs. Cortez (aka. Shoe Lady) uses for cutting fabric. It works great! Like a pizza cutter.

Even better if you have a cutting pad on which to work.



 

macabra11

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 14, 2014
294
0
Boise, ID
I saw that thread/video yesterday as well and wanted to try it out. I don't have Escudo, but I did just receive some Comoys Cask #4 and wanted to give it a shot. I cube cut and gravity fed into my pipe, but I don't think the tobacco was dry enough. It was rather pliable before cutting and was a pain in the butt to light and smoke. I had like a billion relights.
Not to hijack the thread, but when cube cutting, should I cut the tobacco when moist or let it dry out first? I'd get more even cubes when moist rather than shards of baccy flying everywhere when dry. I suppose I could cut and either let sit out to dry or microwave for a few seconds.

 

macabra11

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 14, 2014
294
0
Boise, ID
almost had a seizure watching that video...........watching him cut dry flakes and trying to be consistent
Exactly! "And this is how you reduce 4 grams of tobacco to 2 grams"
I will cube cut some more and let it get nice and dry, then see if that works better. Thanks!

 

pipesinperu

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 21, 2014
189
9
@macabra11 I've seen people recommend cube cutting (or rubbing out) a flake before letting it dry, that way it has more surface area to air out and it will dry better and more evenly. I've followed that advice and it works for me. I only leave a whole flake out to dry if I'm going to fold and stuff.

 

deathandtaxes

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 29, 2014
218
1
Indianapolis IN
The Escudo disks ,that I cube cut, I let dry for about 30 minutes before cutting them. I did not experience any lost tobacco as it was not "bone dry" and I cut it over a piece of paper. I then folded the piece of paper a bit and the for the most part dumped the cubes into the pipe. What didn't fit into the pipe (which was very loosely filled), I put into my own "Special Blend" jar for later use :puffy:.

 

edgreen

Lifer
Aug 28, 2013
3,581
15
You may want to try Daughter and Ryan's Rimboche' SJ. Already cut, already about as dry as tobacco gets.

 

allan

Lifer
Dec 5, 2012
2,429
7
Bronx, NY
Since I originally was informed about the benefits of cube cutting, I take the entire tin of tobacco and cube cut in one sitting and store it in a mason jar. Coins or flakes. Doesn't matter.
If the tobacco is moist, it takes some effort and one's wrist can get a bit crampy. Still, its worth the effort in a one shot deal instead of looking for scissors each and every time.
Works for me.

 
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