Anyone Remember Or Use The Frank Method Of Pipe Packing?

[kcghost]

No, I don't. Too much screwing around with the tobacco for me.

 

[LOREN]

Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn about the Frank method.

A line from the movie Gone with the Tobacco, Starring Clark Gravityfill?

(sorry, watched way too much Flintstones)

 

[jguss]

I tried the Frank method, as well as the various flanker brands he introduced: the Achim Method, The Achim Frank Method, The Original Rays Frank Method, The Improved Achim Frank Method, and even the short-lived AF Method (withdrawn from the market after it was crudely misinterpreted by Millennial pipesmokers).

 

[hawky454]

I fine tuned the Frank Method into something I could use, as detailed in THIS POST of yesteryear.


View attachment 41892

Hahaha! I love it! Sounds like you’ve totally got it down to a fine art! Bravo man, bravo!

 

[Country Bladesmith]

@halfdan could have a bowl smoked down to ash before you ever got one loaded up that way! ?
In all seriousness, seems like a long-winded, messy way to load up a pipe to me. But to each their own.

 

[Papamique]

I have tried it a few years back and it worked surprisingly well but it was a lot of fiddling around so I haven’t tried it in some time.

 

[username]

Codger scoop for me.

 

[ophiuchus]

I sometimes kind of use a modified version of that method, meaning I’ll occasionally pinch, cram, tamp, and light ... the actual Frank Method (and every weird damn version of it represented by its own youtube video) seems like too much fiddling. That little preliminary drizzle to the heel looks like a highway to gurgle. But some people like to play with their food; who the hell am I to judge?

That old burning bug thread was something else.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Wow, I didn't realize that was an actual thing. I've always thought it to be an in joke or urban myth. I just gravity fill everything these days.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Dumb name.

 

[rushx9]

I achieve a similar burn with a much quicker method. I codger cram the bowl full, poke a hole straight down the middle, then one easy tamp to make sure it's even. Burns straight down the middle everytime. Just don't overpack.

Also, this little spot of prose just made my day???:
--I google the blend I have lit and enjoy the soothing soliloquy of whatever illiterate ass-hat has a review of it up on YouTube.
Hope that helps... :mrgreen:

 

[americaman]

The general idea behind the Frank Method is great, and made my pipe smoking much better. It should be taught to all beginners. Before I learned about the Frank Method I was told, “Hand of a child, hand of a mother, then hand of a father.” This caused me to pack so tightly that I barely had any airflow.

 

[sablebrush52]

The general idea behind the Frank Method is great, and made my pipe smoking much better. It should be taught to all beginners. Before I learned about the Frank Method I was told, “Hand of a child, hand of a mother, then hand of a father.” This caused me to pack so tightly that I barely had any airflow.

Never heard that description before. No wonder it didn't work.

Personally I have nothing against the Frank method and have tried it. But my index finger pouch scooping gets the job done with less hassle. It's about knowing what density of packing works best for you.

 

[jpmcwjr]

The Frank method is fine until you learn the far superior Logs Method. Tobacco is shoveled into the bowl until you have as much as you feel like smoking and then you light it on fire with a Bic lighter and carry on with whatever you happen to be doing.

Hey! That's my method, and anyone is free to use it, with or without attribution. Only variance is I like refillable butane lighters.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I'll never use it, but I still find the physics of this method interesting. On one hand, beginners often need some sort of method, and on the other, it's neat to imagine the forces you are building while packing the tobacco. I never really thought about it, but the forces must be down and sideways, and this method actually considers that.

I think the easiest way to teach pipe packing is to explain the result, rather than the technique. You want the pressure even, top to bottom, but remember that the bottom gets tighter as you pack.

I think anyone with a functioning cerebellum can figure that out in whatever way by feel.

Pretty much!

But I question the need for even pressure throughout. With loading it all and pressing from the top a bit, it's looser at the bottom to start, a good thing. A tamp or two during the smoke evens out the tightness if needed.

Those who talk of using a pick to loosen the second half of the bowl might try this. (Or dry more before loading.)

 

[Spinkle]

I have heard of this method but never looked into it. Seems like its overcomplicated for a beginner, but to be honest I've never had any issues with lighting and keeping my tobacco lit since I started so I suppose it could be useful for those that are having issues.

 

[anotherbob]

it's basically pipe packing training wheels in my opinion. So yes everyone that says they use it I will look at you with the same jaundiced eye as I do adults that still have their training wheels on their bikes. Hey it's just how it is. It's functional but barely compared to just packing the pipe.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I guess I use the @logs method..


Who is frank anyway?

 

[jaytex1969]

Who is frank anyway?

 

[3rdguy]

Guys name was oddly enough...Frank. There is a video somewhere...he demonstrated it at a Chicgo Pipe Show years ago... or some show.