Does anyone "process" their tobacco

Welcome to the forums.

I enjoy a few blend that I find benefits from a couple of spins in an herb grinder, especially Dark Star. I got the idea from a friend that grinds all of his tobaccos into dust before smoking them. His are all Balkans. But, I don't like all of my tobaccos done that way, and I don't always do Dark Star that way ...just when the notion hits me.

If the ribbons are long I will sometimes tear them up a bit. Usually, they are fine. Stems I pull out and discard.

I sometimes cube cut flakes with a small pair of scissors instead of rubbing them out.

Welcome aboard Cutter.

I've never smoked any of the frog morton series, but I'm definitely gonna try them some time. But according to tobaccorewiew.com all of them are ribbon cut while you say flake, so I'm a little confused here. However, if you are talking about flakes, whole or broken, as the term supposed to mean in the community, the way you "process" is probably the cube cut method. It's one of many methods to pack a flake, and one of the easiest way to light a flake and to keep it lit, as I see it. So it's not just you, a lot of people do it and enjoy doing it as part of their ritual about pipe smoking.

As rubbing tobacco, I do it occasionally as a way to test its humidity. But as I go and smoke that tin for a while, I stop doing it because I know that I'm gonna get. Some people claim that rubbing helps tobacco dry and some say rubbing has nothing to do with that at all. The only way you are going to find out is try it yourself. But what I find interesting is that when I watch the pipe smoking contest the candidates rub their tobacco like crazy. I've never been in a pipe show/club/contest EVER (I live in the dessert of pipe smoking community) so that's just my observation. Maybe someone who's actually been in a pipe club can explain why they do it.

The most important thing is, it's you who smokes the pipe and you should do whatever you see fit. Happy puffing.

Check out the article, Flake Tobacco Preparation. You will find other helpful articles listed in the left hand column of this page.

First, my Six Pence were full flakes when I opened mine. Maybe yours got shook up quite a bit. The reason most people smoke flakes is to get variation in how the tobacco is smoked. With flakes, I sometimes will fold and stuff them into the pipe, sometimes I will cube cut them, sometimes I will fully rub out the flake, and sometimes I will put them in a grinder and give it a couple of twist to break it up really fine. How the tobacco is packed affects the experience in smoking and taste. Think of it as you would a camp fire. The kindling ignites fast, burns fast, but burns at a higher temperature, which denser wood like a log, burns slow, smoulders, and burns more cool. Getting variation from a flake gives you options and different flavor profiles of the exact same tobacco.
jjarhead, although I've never competed with flakes, we usually spend the first ten minutes playing with a rubbing out the tobacco because we want it to dry out, and break down as small as possible. I will also put it on a sheet of paper and press it, trying to dry it out as much as possible. It also gives us ten minutes to delay packing the bowl, so that we can wait until that final moment to put match to leaf. Of course drier tobacco will be much less likely to go out, which is the fear of every competitor. Pack it dry, and smoke it on the verge of going out. At least that is my technique for slow smoking. But then again, I've yet to win one, ha ha. My goal is usually just not to be the first poor bloke to get outed. ::

The frogs are weird, a little broken flake and some ribbons. I like how the master blenders prep this one but try for yourself there's no proper way to enjoy your hobby.

"Does anyone "process" their tobacco"
Welcome, Sir!
I recall in prior posts by Forum member pipestud that he mentioned sometimes using a small food-type processor to condition tobaccos, although I do not remember if they were of the flake type. Perhaps he will see this thread and respond.

Thanks cosmic, that's what I thought. I don't bother to rub throughly because I'm too lazy and too clumsy haha.

I take a pair of scissors to all my tobacco before i pack it. Give it a few chops and get it uniform. I'll insert a pipe cleaner all the way till I can see it in the shank and then pack it up. I get the perfect pack this way every time. Never have to fuss with relights either.

I would be careful using scissors to cut up the frog, its a good way to ghost a good pair of scissors...

its a good way to ghost a good pair of scissors...

Click to expand...

:rofl:

Howdy Cutter,
Back in 1996, I read a terrific article in Pipes & Tobaccos Magazine by Michael Butera regarding the use of a one speed food processor to grind up one's blends. I went out and bought a 1-speed Black & Decker food processor and still use it all the time almost 20 years later. The advantage is that in addition to making the tobacco easier to load, it helps distribute the packing process more evenly, thus eliminating so many relights. Additionally, it mixes up the various components in a blend perfectly making for a tastier smoke. I even chop up Five Brothers a little bit (a fine, shag cut tobacco). Frankly, I don't think there is a blend out there that I smoke that doesn't first get the food processor treatment.
One word of advice; do not try it in a juice blender. You'll wind up with tobacco puree. And I'll never forget the morning after I ground up a Latakia blend with my wife's juicer. I must not have rinsed it out very well and the wife was a little miffed at me after starting her morning with a glass of orange juice and found out the pulp was actually Latakia.
Pipestud

I use a Slap Chop to process my flakes, kakes (sic), and broken flake type flakes.
Much more fun than a pair of scissors, or even a single sissor.

Based upon pipestud's description above, I just purchased via eBay a new one-and-one-half cup Black & Decker one-speed food processor for $14.95 plus shipping. I am looking forward to experimenting with it, as many of the tinned tobaccos which I purchase have a tendency to "lock leaves." Hopefully a brief ride in the processor will solve that problem.

I use a cheap coffee grinder (the bladed kind, solely used for tobacco) for my rope bits when I'm too lazy to do it by hand. I would really like to try one of those Ulu knives with the cupped cutting board, I'll bet that would be perfect.

I use scissors on some blending tobaccos that arrive in notably uneven sizes. However, leaving leaf

in some larger pieces slows down the burn sometimes and gives a longer smoke and a more varying

taste, more complexity, in my experience. This is part of the enjoyment of flakes and plugs. When

I get overly thrifty and pick up all the leavings and dusty bits in a blend, I don't find it improves the

smoke. I'm sure some smokers learn to do this, but the idea of chopping up a blend in a machine

sounds like a way to degrade a good smoke. I guess, don't knock it 'til you've tried it.

I smoke all the Frog morton blends and I don't cut them I smoke them as is. I would think that cutting up tobaccos would cause it to burn hotter. Maybe if you have a slow burning tobacco you could cut them up, but I just rub them out before I pack.