Prepping Sam Gawith's Full Virginia Flake

I know many cube cut it, I don't. I have been smoking Full Virginia Flake for more than ten years. I rub it out (not always an easy rub because it is often moist/sticky from the tin, less so in bulk). I rub it out and 'fluff it' on the prep board. I then leave it for up to an hour before carefully loading the bowl, not too tight nor too loose.
I rarely have any problems and need very few relights with this method. The same goes for Best Brown Flake, which can cause problems similar to those you describe if you use other methods.
These two tobaccos in my opinion are among the best in the world; they are not the easiest to prepare but I do not believe you need to suffer major difficulties.

FVF and SJF are great blends. They take a lot of heat from people because of the moisture content. Cubing is the best way to smoke them IMO, but here's what I found the best way and has never let me down. I take 4 or so 6" flakes, tins are 3" but it doesn't matter. I take my time and cut them up (2 at a time) into cubes a little over 1/8". I spread them over a glass plate and let them sit overnight. Different area humidity is going to be a factor in any tobacco drying. If it's not to humid, the next day they'll be hard and will "ting" when you drop them on the plate. They look dry but they're not. The centers because of the thickness still hold moisture. Most people will smoke it because it will fire up. I take an old tin and put the beauties in there for a day or two. When you open the tin they'll be moist again. The water is spreading out in the cube. So it's back on the plate for another night. The next day the "ting" again, but if you look real close the centers will be a little darker. I put it back in the tin for another day or so. Now when I open the tin, there comes the decision. They will be soft again, but are they soft enough to set out for 15 minutes and be a good smoke, not one where I'm smoking steam. If there still a little too wet its back on a plate again. Seems like a lot of work, but really you're preparing a large amount of tobacco that will last for weeks in the tin (or months - I smoke it up). They will smolder like nice briquettes. I tap fill a bowl and not smoking any steam, or having swelling issues. Have never had to relight just do a carburetor hit (finger over the bowl) and it will fire right up. Smokes down to ash with no doddle and because you've not smoked steam with the flake you get the entire true flavor from it.
You can always use a lamp or even microwave it. I find you lose some of the flavor and still end up with an internal moisture issue which means you're smoking steam with the tobacco. This thread will probably give you many ways to do it, and makes people happy. Try this one time and a guarantee you'll have a tin of great cubes and kindling for the top for many bowls.
Craig

I love FVF and I do not cube it or fold these flakes. I simply open the tin and jar these flakes. Before I smoke a bowl I lay the flakes on a paper towel for an hour or so and then simply tear the flakes apart to load my bowl. I have found that if I cube these wonderful robust flakes of FVF it loses a little flavor.
Do not be afraid to smoke FVF a little moist since it definitely will take longer to lite but once it is lit it should remain lit similar to other tobaccos. At least this has been my experience.
Many of S. Gawith's blends are moist. I also smoke a lot of Sam's Flake which is similar in moisture content to FVF.

I feel your pain. I get around this by setting out a few flakes the day before. Even if I don't smoke them the next day, they will keep exposed to air for one more day. I've yet to have a flake of FVF dry out to that crunchy state as I've seen other flakes do. And then, I like to rub them out completely. No ignition issues. Just touch a match to it and go.

Although, I am in total agreeance with Roth, once I have finished these last three tins, I will avoid FVF. It's way too wet.

I cube my FVF into very small cubes, much smaller than any of my other flakes. I then let it dry for normally 2 hours, sometimes more. I then smoke it in one of my group 4 Dublins as I have found that works best for me.
FVF is without a doubt my most finicky flake, but when it smokes right, the flavors are worth all the prep work for me. I have also found that even one year of aging makes a big difference with multiple years being optimum. I have a tin of 2008 that I am getting ready to crack.

...and I am anxiously/hesitantly waiting to break into a pre-teen aged can of Dark Star for reasons that I've read about here.

I suppose everyone has their own ways. Personally, the big improvement I have found with FVF is to buy the 250g boxes to start off with. The flakes in these boxes are twice the length of the tinned flakes but all flakes seem to be very evenly cut and have none of the thickness issues found in tins.
I cut the flakes in half and jar them up. When I need some, I open the jar I am using and fill an old tin with the flakes. This gives me about a week of smoking. I do the same with BBF. I smoke a lot of both blends. No special preparation, I just fold, twist and put in the pipe. Depending on the height of the pipe I am using I will either fold once or Z fold. I the give the flake a good twist which breaks up the fibres and also pull the fibres apart at the folds, then put it in the pipe and smoke it
At the start of the week it may take a few relights because of the higher moisture content (again the boxes are not as wet as the tins). This improves as the week goes on. I have even smoked it cornflake dry. To me every bowl of this tobacco is sublime in its own way. If it is really wet, 5 seconds in a microwave then 2 minutes sitting. I am too impatient for long preparation. If I want a pipe, I want it now and not in 2 hours or 3 days time......simple :D

I use essentially the same procedure as dragon does. I cube cut an entire tin at a time, spread it out on a plate, and give it several hours drying time. I then jar it up again and let the internal moisture equalize throughout the flakes. I then dry it again for several hours and then jar it up to let the mpisture equalization process resume.. Usually, the next time I open the jar, the stuff is perfectly ready to smoke.

Rubbing out or cube-cutting BEFORE drying is the key, methinks. You can dry those whole flakes all you want, but they will take much longer to get to a smokeable level than the smaller pieces. And don't go by time. Time is a magazine. Go by how dry the tobacco actually IS! Relative humidity, your preferred moisture level, the wattage of the light bulb you're drying it under-- all have an effect on the rate at which a blend will reach the proper humidity.
I have found FVF to be pretty darned cumbustable if cubed smallish and dried properly.

I just let the flakes dry on a plate for several hours. As I live in a semi-arid part of Kalifornia, baccy dries out quickly here.
I am amazed by all the methods I have read here, and am once again reminded of the immense amount of information and opinions we can find in forums.

Oh I should have added in for both FVF and SJF along with anything really VA. 1 year properly aged makes a HUGE difference in the smoke. BBF is the driest of the group and really you can get away with little dry time depending on flake thickness. BBF tends not to be as uniform in the plank size.
H&H LR is a big example. It's almost like two different blends. One very spicy a crisp from being young. After a year the blend mellows out, the VA darkens, sweetens and blends nice. The Perique lays back on the pepper the fruit more forward.
Paper towel drying I'm kind of against because your pulling out the oils with the water. Just a thought, don't think I'd dry any tobacco that way. I want all those wonderful flavors.
Craig

Struggled mightily with this flake until I went to the beach- let a flake dry on top of the tin in the sun for an hour, cubed it, and enjoyed!

flyguy, I would not let it get crunchy dry as it will burn hot. I over did the drying one time and I did not enjoy it. Better a tad moist than too dry has been my experience.
Next time I smoke it I am going to try a fold and stuff, for some reason I do not think I have ever tried FVF that way and I have fold and stuffed all my other flakes at one time or another. All my FVF( 10 pounds) except one tin, I bought as bulk. It sounds like Alan has it down to a science so I am going to try his method.

roth, us pipe smokers are by nature masochists so FVF is the perfect blend. lol