Fold and Stuff: Who Does It ? What's The Trick ?

A pipe with a wide bowl helps. Also there is a tendency to check the draw and find it feels too free, making you pack too tight. I always fold the flake in half, then press it in the middle when I put it down in the bowl. I put more rubbed-out pieces on top of that and basically crumbs on top of that. If the draw feels a little too free, it's just right.

I have had trouble with the fold and stuff method my self. What I have ended up doing is put a little less tobacco in the chamber leaving ample room for expantion and as baron said, I put some crumbs on top to act as a combustion agent. Im still working out my bugs with the method but by doing this I have gotten better and not as fustrated during my smoke.

Mick, I have found that to really get the full benefits of fold and stuff, you need to dry the tobacco way more than when you rub it out. I have run into the same issues you have with relights if I don't. I will take a couple of flakes fold them into a little cigar like thing and stuff it into the pipe making sure there is plenty of air. Make sure the frayed ends are sticking up if you know what I mean. I will then break up a little for kindling and then fire it up.

Mick, I feel your frustration as I have experienced the same things that you mentioned. I guess maybe I need to dry my baccy out more as cigrmaster suggested. The thing that frustrates me more is that the ember burns down the center of the stack as I smoke leaving stiff unburnt tobacco around it making it very difficult to properly tamp.

+1 to what cigrmaster said. Sometimes I take the flakes and stretch them out width-wise, spreading the fibers a bit before making the little "cigar" things or rolls. I wish I was handy with a video cam as I'm packing a bowl of Mc Baren Navy Flake to go with late morning coffee as I type.
Squarish flakes like Stokkebye LTF get folded in quarters, then spread out a bit and packed loosely in the bowl with the frayed ends up.

Yep, frustrating indeed! I'm still working on this technique also, refusing to give up. The few bowls pack'd whole which've "burn'd perfect" truly gave a grand experience, making up for my numerous failures where I'd get agitated and ask myself why I was trying this when it felt like the opposite of a "relaxing pipe"!!! :?
I think the drying factor as everyone mentioned is crucial. Getting the "proper feel" for the correct pack is crucial. Actual smoking mechanics are crucial.
All in all, even thru the frustration, it's helped me to become a better pipesmoker.
Here's a little ditty over at MacBaren, a step-by-step which is pretty basic, but it's really neat how the pictures are animated when you move the cursor across them...

Per Georg Jensen Flake Page
...and here's a bunch of quotes on the topic, please excuse the length, but some of this has help'd me greatly when I decided to go "whole flake"...all quotes from the excellent Jason Newquist's A.S.P. compilation: Pipe Tobacco Aging, Storage, and Cellaring FAQ!

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"I find that the charm of flakes is that they are, well, flakes! I never rub them out. If I am in a rush, I will fold it up, but if I have time, I cut the flake into a size that is the diameter of the bowl I will be using, and stack them like pancakes."---Sonam Dosara, 2003-08-06

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"I used to rub out flakes until they were like a RYO shag, and then wondered why every flake smoked so damn hot, while Three Nuns always smoked cool and sweet. Just a lapse of reason, but one that lasted, what, 15 years?
As a result of this, I had avoided flakes over most of my smoking life. I'd smoke an occasional bowl of some well regarded flake, and think, "it would sure taste great if it didn't BBQ the surface of my tongue!" It was only after reading all the praise for flakes on this group that I, once again, decided to brave them in earnest, and really give some time and thought to the process. For some reason, this time, I filled a bowl a la the Nuns, thta is, the flakes barely broken, and was amazed by the experience. It wasn't a perfect bowl, and many re-lights were required, but the flavour was wonderful, and so I began to experiment with different techniques, but was reasonably convinced that I'd never rub out a flake again.
Now, when I smoke flakes, I get a lot of flavour, no bite at all, and it burns wonderfully. I must admit that the lighting takes some time, some care, but once the ember is established, I can puff slowly infrequently, and it stays lit perfectly. Finally, I can really enjoy some of these wonderful tobaccos."---GL Pease, 2000-06-06

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"It's a question of trial and error: sometimes the flake has been compressed so tightly that the individual tobaccos seem to have merged into one and then there is no option but to rub it out a bit. A smaller pipe and a bundle of flake inserted so that its 'grain' is vertical to the pipe bowl and the burn will sometimes work with recalcitrant individual types of flake, but some flakes are so dense they just won't burn unless rubbed a bit. One can always resort to scissors and cut the flake into little squares and then pack them either like pancakes or on edge. It's worth experimenting a bit with individual brands of flakes to try to smoke it in its least rubbed-out state: the flavor difference is often marked. If the difference is not subjectively significant, one can eliminate some of this additional hassle and rub the tobacco out fully. But in general the rule of thumb is to rub a flake out just enough to allow a burn."---Paul Szabady, 1999-08-29

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"Packing: flake allows rubbing out to the desired consistency, but rubbing out to the consistency of a mixture negates most of flake's wonders, so leaving it unrubbed or very slightly rubbed works best. 2 techniques that can help get it just right. One: cut the flakes into little squares with a pair of scissors just short of the size of the inner bowl, so that you can build up the pack like a layer cake or stack of pancakes. To make this even easier, rub out 2 of these squares fairly well: one gets placed at the absolute bottom to help form the dottle, the other on the top to make lighting easier. Two: rub each piece of flake between your palms lightly and roll it into a loose ball just smaller than the bowl diameter. Pack each of these marbles into the bowl, layering up as you go and pressing and expanding each marble to get a firm draw."---Paul Szabady, 2002-06-20

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"Another way I prepare flakes (only occasionally and depending on my mood) is by using a pair of scissors to cut each flake into little squares. This would provide a slower burning smoke, and is beautiful to feel between the fingers and look at. I go through it mainly to enjoy looking at the tobacco and fondling it! If you try this approach, you will probably realize there is nothing more to it than that."---Tarek Manadily, 2000-06-01

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"I have recently rediscovered the joy of cutting the flakes to the appropriate height for the bowl, rolling a cylinder that fits the bowl comfortably, and lightly pressing it in. The result is almost like a cigar, and once lit, the cylinder expands slightly, and smokes very easily, staying lit quite well between long pauses.
In general, I don't like to rub out flakes too much, as it seems to me to work slightly against the purpose of smoking a flake. I really like the slow burning and intensity of flavor I experience when it's either rolled or just broken-up enough to get a consistent density in the bowl, with just enough air to keep it smouldering."---GL Pease, 2000-06-02

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"At one time, I was pretty dedicated to the notion that the best way to smoke flakes was to roll little cigars for the pipe. I dropped that method as being entirely too complicated - if the "cigar" is a little too fat, once it swells, it becomes impossible to draw; too skinny, the burn is unpredictable. As a result, I started rubbing out flakes to varying textures, and finding amazing differences in the resulting smokes."---GL Pease, 2002-07-12

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"When I smoke flakes I always leave them unrubbed. I ball up sections of flake and drop them in the bowl one after the other and top with loose. This method really works well, it works so well that I won't even consider changing. Unrubbed flakes simply have more flavor, burn slower and cooler."---buck, 2004-11-19

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"What I was doing was perfectly satisfactory but what I am doing now is even better. My way of smoking flakes is to keep them as intact as possible maximizing flavor and burn time. I ball up a flake or section of flake and drop it into the bowl. I want the ball of flake to be small enough to go close to the bottom of the bowl without any pushing required, so as not to bust the flake up. I repeat this until the bowl is filled. Some bowls need three balls of flake some need two, etc. Because unrubbed flake is already pretty dense, to begin with, a small push is all that is needed to adjust the draw. Now, it might be hard to light. A small amount of tinder on top helps a lot.
The second method might be a little iffy without some practice and judgement. This method results in a smoke similar to the "Frank" method, if it is executed properly. With the second method I only use one larger ball of flake. The one larger ball of unrubbed flake can be manipulated in several ways. My prefered method is to orient the grains of the flake to optimise the burn. Place sections of flake or whole flake down on a surface, orient the flakes , radially, 90 degrees to one another, ball the entire thing up and push the ball into the bowl. Yes, there is no tobacco in the bottom of the bowl as in the Frank method, there is none necessary. This is a kind of plug. You will find with practise how large of a plug you want. It will work with a plug just large enough to stay in the upper part of the bowl to one that is quite tight. What you want is that happy medium. I swear this works great. It smokes up every piece of flake and seldom needs any tamping or lighting. Oh, it also works with ribbon cuts, too. I smoked a bowl of dried out Bohemian Scandal using this method and found that the flavors were actually enhanced."---buck, 2005-01-11

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"A & C Petersen's web-site shows an Escudo 'coin' folded up like a crepe and inserted into the pipe whole, and Three Nuns used to include a little flyer that recommended stacking their smaller coins like a layer cake, lightly 'teasing' the top coin to accept the flame. The 3N technique works fine, but I've had little success with whole-coin Escudo loading."---Paul Szabady, 1999-08-29

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"I've always had a preference for taking a few of the flakes, rubbing them between my palms until a ball of a certain, loose consistency that has worked out for me in the past, with adjustments allowed for if I'm smoking it in still air at home or howling winds out on the water.
Is there a best way to prepare a flake? I could be talked into believing that. What is it? Well, that depends on what you want out of it. There's a world of different ways you can prepare and cook an onion. It can turn out sharp, it come overwhelm you with sweetness, it can even be made sour or bitter... It's the same onion, but... it's the way that you use it that makes the difference. What you like the best is the way you probably ought to do it most. But it's fun to play with other techniques now and then see how you're evolving palate responds to the new things, or old things revisited.
Is there a definitively wrong way to prepare a flake? Shy of running it through a coffee grinder until it is ground into dust...if you enjoy it, it's a good smoke for you. That's a good thing, a thing that can only be enhanced by a good fire in the hearth in cold weather, a good fish at the end of your line in moderate weather and good air-conditioning and an engaging book when it's gawdawful hot."---Doc Elder, 2005-03-17

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I'm not necessarily sure I buy the idea of just drying it out. I have a tin of 1792 flake I bought in March that I still can't smoke with out having to re-light every couple puffs. Peterson Irish Flake, on the other hand, I have no problem with, even with a fresh tin. I can not explain it.
What works for me, as far as the Pete Irish Flake, is to fold the flake in half along the length of the flake (like a cigarette rolling paper or, if you rather, into a long, skinny rectangle) then fold it again so the rectangle is now in half and should be around the height of your bowl. It looks like there is too much room but there isn't. I also make sure to further fray the flake so the fire as a play to grab on. This works for me with Pete Irish Flake but still working on it for SG 1792.
Tamping: Tamping is tough because you drop the tamper in and you hear a crunch and it's not down as far as you know it should be. Temptation suggests to shove the tamper in like you're plunging a toilet. I use this disgusting metaphor for a reason. If you do this, your smoke will go to sh*t when you plug the draught hole. Again, what works for me is to gently tap/scrap on that hard ash until it evens out and then do a re-light because there is still delicious tobacco in that.

Mick, I should have added that certain blends are much easier for fold and stuff. Solani Silver Flake, Escudo, Astley's no. 44, F& T Cut Virginina Plug, Orlick Dark Strong Kentucky, Reiner Long Golden. They are all much drier out of the tin.

Well, ya got me. I'm gonna try the fold and stuff with some Dunhill flake. I left the flake out about an hour ago.

It's all about experimenting. I rarely use the fold and stuff method these days as I really don't find that much more enjoyment from my smoking experience when folding and stuffing as opposed to rubbing out. I used to fold the flake in such a manner that it formed a rectangle about the size of my tobacco chamber. I would then trim the ends with scissors so that I had created a little roughly cylindrical plug of tobacco that was slightly smaller in diameter than my tobacco chamber. Drop'er in cover with some dust for kindling, add flame to the whole thing and Bob's yer uncle. You definitely have to allow room for expansion or your bowl will quickly become a tight drawing super hot, mouth burning mess.

@misterlowercase - Great information! Thank you for posting that.

I am with Ohin3 on this one. By rubbing out my flakes, even slightly, I find I get a good smoke with no frustration and the flavor difference is not substantial, to me at least. Smoking a lightly rubbed out Petes UF right now to great enjoyment. Drying it slightly helps greatly though.

I've never had much luck with fold and stuff. But after reading this it has me wanting to give it another go. Will be giving it a try tonight with some UF and will see how it goes.

Even with drying it and doing it perfectly you will still have a few relights. When I am sitting down and want a really long bowl, I will fold and stuff, when I am on the go I rub out. When I rub it out, I only break it up into smaller chunks with my fingers, I never get it to the consistency of a ribbon cut.

Mick, I have a 999 Pete Aran and that guy is just not condusive for stuffing flakes. Pete-wise, either the 03 Apple or the 150 / 80s ( straight/bent Bulldog ) do the trick, these are my main flake smokers ( even though I don't own a 80s, I'm assuming the only difference between it and the 150 which I have is the bent stem ).