For my Ribbon cut, Shag cut or whatever you want to call it the three step has worked pretty well for me. When I first started smoking I would pack it really big and really tight.
For my Flakes I roll it into a ball and utilize the air pocket technique.
I recently bought the Bent Washington corn cob pipe it smokes really good. It is all I have been smoking out of recently. I broke the stem on my other bent corn cob and gave away the other cob to a friend.
Give Full Virginia Flake a try there is no Latakia in it. Real smooth cool smoking straight Virginia. And Best Brown Flake tastes similar to FVF but it is Creamy a little more fuller of a smoke and Bites like a mad dog.