Help with flakes

Dry it until you think it's completely and thoroughly dry. Then dry it some more. If it's not bone dry the excess moisture will turn to steam and blow-torch your tongue. The thicker the flake the more drying it will need. For instance I leave Full Virginia Flake out overnight or at least eight hours if I don't microwave it first for 5-10 seconds. There may be some flakes that don't need drying but I've tried close to a dozen in the last couple of years and every last one was way too wet to smoke straight out of a fresh tin.

If you fold and stuff - 1 flake = 1 bowl in most cases. I agree with the above....they need to be dried very thoroughly. A flake retains moisture extremely well....so even if the outside feels crispy the inside of the flake is still wet. You might want to try drying for several hours, folding and stuffing the flake and then setting the packed pipe aside overnight - this ensures that the top 1/3 of the bowl is well dried to help with lighting. Also, when stuffing the flake into the pipe leave roughly 1/3 of the flake sticking out of the pipe and rubbing your palm across the top of the bowl to help loosen the top portion of the folded flake....then press it the rest of the way into the pipe.
Another trick is once you have folded the flake give it a twist between your fingers and then slightly screw it into the pipe.
Each blend needs to be experimented to determine what works for that flake. Depending on the size of the flake, thickness, etc. You may need different tactics for each.
The effort it worth it. Finally, you might also want to try cube cutting as well. I find the cube method extremely helpful for thick flakes like many of the Samuel Gawith's.
Lastly...when smoking a folded flake I rarely tamp.

Finally, you might also want to try cube cutting as well. I find the cube method extremely helpful...

Click to expand...

Now, this would be my 1st choice. In the left hand column of this page, scroll down to the list of "Featured Articles".

Among them is a tutorial on Flake Pipe Tobacco Preparation. I think you should cut the whole, intact flake across the grain,

and let it fall apart into "cubes". Here, Bob first cuts the flake into strips, which I don't think is very convenient.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpQ9EqPuB2Y&feature=player_embedded

Flakes gave me troubles for the better part of a year. I tried fold and stuff, cub cut, loosely breaking it up. I finally gave in and rubbed them out and now that's all I do. I know that is sacrilege to some but it works for me and I still get the long burning, flavourful smoke of the flake without bite and having to relight 700 times.

Brian, you do know the ONLY right way is the way that works for you. I rub out most McClelland's since they are more of a mottled flake, but to each his own
For true flakes I have to agree with all of the above. I almost pull them apart sideways, like an accordion, but don't totally rip them up. Once they seem dry enough I push the flake back together and perform the z fold method. Like stated above, one flake per bowl (and then I rub some out for kindling) and this method has worked pretty well for me.
Good luck and keep on trying.

I started with Orliks Golden Sliced, frankly thinking it was a lot of unnecessary work, but it was love at first puff.

It took a little tinkering to get it just right, and I mostly just clumsily rubbed it out to smokeable consistency, but

the blend was so subtle and smooth, yet fully flavorful, it drew me right in. Now flake and cubes are a regular part

of the program, with a little coaching on slicing cubes from Forums members. I still love loose tobacco -- right

now especially these burley forward blends from C&D -- but flake and cube are an experience not to be missed.

Persist and you will prevail.

You are not the first to struggle with flake tobacco. As noted, you may need to let it dry a little -- it takes longer than for ribbon cut. Beyond that, if you want to Z fold and stuff, it will take some trial and error to get it right. Once you get the feel, it becomes almost automatic. After folding, I sort of screw the tobacco into the bowl, but only a quarter or half turn or so. Then I press down the top to even it out with my thumb. Hang in there, with some trial and error you'll get the hang of it.

I usually have no more of a problem packing flake than I do with loose tobacco. I use the Per Jensen method (fold and stuff) but I rub it out just a bit more on the top than he does. I screw it in the bowl, pack it down from the outside of the bowl in (rolling my thumb in towards the center) and I am left with what is effectively an "air pocket" packing.
As an aside, I had been a cigar smoker for a long time, and since getting the hang of smoking a pipe, I have no desire to go back to cigars. There is something more visceral about pipe smoking; I feel more of a connection to leaf, the tools, the smoke. Flake has become a large part of the process for me.
Keep trying!

I suppose moisture is important to the smoke, but for me it needs to be roughly 12% so that it has the necessary volume to pack correctly. Drying tobacco down has never been my practice. My take on loading flake is to rub it thoroughly, and then pack it with the slight pressure that you would ribbon. When I've tried smoking it more or less as fold and stuff I have to relight dozens of times and get a sore mouth.