Can Constant Relights Cause Premature Bowl Charring?

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coys

Can't Leave
Feb 15, 2022
337
786
Missouri
I must never ever have my tobacco dry enough no matter what Im smoking. To say that I've had anything burn down to the bottom with little effort would be a lie.

it seems like only the burley heavy blends will burn unattended for me. The rest require some relights, some need a fair number of relights.

The folks here impressed on me that some relights are pretty normal but drying time will help but not eliminate them with certain blends
 

AJL67

Lifer
May 26, 2022
5,215
26,995
Florida - Space Coast
I have many years of SJF, this from 2008 is like leathery bacon strips and is used to drive me up the walls, it i dried it too much it would just turn into charcoal in the bowl, found that a super small cube cut was perfect for it, i might try grating a bit to see how that works, amazing stuff when it burns well. I’ve found using cigar scissors to cut it up works great.

B830A68E-4140-4C27-B706-A1556E97FDBD.jpeg
 
Last edited:

gervais

Lifer
Sep 4, 2019
2,079
6,983
40
Ontario
I have many years of SJF, this from 2008 is like leathery bacon strips and is used to drive me up the walls, it i dried it too much it would just turn into charcoal in the bowl, found that a super small cube cut was perfect for it, i might try grating a bit to see how that works, amazing stuff when it burns well.

View attachment 187224
That stuff looks amazing. Mine was cut alot thicker it seems. I wish mine was nice and thin like yours
 

Papamique

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 11, 2020
791
3,962
FVF is just as stubborn for me

I was traveling last night and tried to load a bowl of FVF and smoke it all while driving. Not fun. Couldn’t keep it lit, tasted like burnt garbage, scorched my tongue and almost went off the road fiddling around with it. Worse than texting and driving and frustrating to boot. Dumped the whole bowl out the window and grabbed some HH Dark Fired Kentucky. FVF is one for the house only when I have the time to break it up/load it proper. Then it is sublime!
 
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TheWhale13

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 12, 2021
803
3,421
Sweden
I've only tried Saint James Flake once, but it was amazing. I just rubbed it out and left it to dry for an hour or so. It burned very slow, but just needed some relights.
 
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Ok guys, the trick to getting a great smoke from these English made tobaccos is sort of complex. This is not my discovery, but one Peck made and posted a few years ago, but it works well for me with a few small revisions that I added.

  1. Just cube cut the flakes,
  2. and let them dry out to touch. I have to use a coffee mug warmer in humid Alabama, so just take your area into account on how you dry yours.
  3. Put it all back into a jar for a month. This allows the moisture set deeper into the cubes/flakes to even out. Remember SG and GH&co drench this shit with water.
  4. I then try a bowl, and check to see if it smokes better, for most of you it will. You will notice that it feels moist to the touch again. But for me...
  5. I let the tobacco dry out on the coffee mug warmed for an hour or so, to be at the right humidity for my liking.
  6. Then I seal mine back up in the jar, because atmospheric humidity will re-moisten my perfectly dry tobacco, and I don't want that.
YMMV
 

gervais

Lifer
Sep 4, 2019
2,079
6,983
40
Ontario
Ok guys, the trick to getting a great smoke from these English made tobaccos is sort of complex. This is not my discovery, but one Peck made and posted a few years ago, but it works well for me with a few small revisions that I added.

  1. Just cube cut the flakes,
  2. and let them dry out to touch. I have to use a coffee mug warmer in humid Alabama, so just take your area into account on how you dry yours.
  3. Put it all back into a jar for a month. This allows the moisture set deeper into the cubes/flakes to even out. Remember SG and GH&co drench this shit with water.
  4. I then try a bowl, and check to see if it smokes better, for most of you it will. You will notice that it feels moist to the touch again. But for me...
  5. I let the tobacco dry out on the coffee mug warmed for an hour or so, to be at the right humidity for my liking.
  6. Then I seal mine back up in the jar, because atmospheric humidity will re-moisten my perfectly dry tobacco, and I don't want that.
YMMV
Gonna give this a shot Cosmic. Super low humidity this time of year so I at least have that on my side
 
Gonna give this a shot Cosmic. Super low humidity this time of year so I at least have that on my side
So far, it hasn't gotten below 70F inside my house yet this year, but when I do have to turn on the heater, all of the picture frames on the wall will condensate for the first few days. I love how warm it is here, because I just don't care for the arthritic cold of winter, but it has it's drawbacks. This is why all construction and materials used down here are different from most other building codes in the US. I guarantee that all older homes in this state all have some sort of fungus that is dangerous in them.
 

gervais

Lifer
Sep 4, 2019
2,079
6,983
40
Ontario
So far, it hasn't gotten below 70F inside my house yet this year, but when I do have to turn on the heater, all of the picture frames on the wall will condensate for the first few days. I love how warm it is here, because I just don't care for the arthritic cold of winter, but it has it's drawbacks. This is why all construction and materials used down here are different from most other building codes in the US. I guarantee that all older homes in this state all have some sort of fungus that is dangerous in them.
I find it absolutely hilarious that, at least here in Canada, we are moving more and more towards building houses that are 100% sealed to the tits with plastic and spray foam. Then we frame it all up with wood that is wetter than a dog that rolled around in a puddle. And how is all the moisture suppose to come out of this lumber after its all sealed with plastic??? Mold and mildew disasters, I'll bet
 

Winnipeger

Lifer
Sep 9, 2022
1,288
9,683
Winnipeg
Ok guys, the trick to getting a great smoke from these English made tobaccos is sort of complex. This is not my discovery, but one Peck made and posted a few years ago, but it works well for me with a few small revisions that I added.

  1. Just cube cut the flakes,
  2. and let them dry out to touch. I have to use a coffee mug warmer in humid Alabama, so just take your area into account on how you dry yours.
  3. Put it all back into a jar for a month. This allows the moisture set deeper into the cubes/flakes to even out. Remember SG and GH&co drench this shit with water.
  4. I then try a bowl, and check to see if it smokes better, for most of you it will. You will notice that it feels moist to the touch again. But for me...
  5. I let the tobacco dry out on the coffee mug warmed for an hour or so, to be at the right humidity for my liking.
  6. Then I seal mine back up in the jar, because atmospheric humidity will re-moisten my perfectly dry tobacco, and I don't want that.
YMMV
That's very similar to what I do, without cube cutting the flakes first. The KEY is number 3.: putting it all back into a jar for a month to even out the moisture.

Dry first, then jar.

That way your tobacco is nearly ready to smoke when you reach for it. I used to make the mistake of opening a tin and jarring it right away. Depending on the moisture, the tobacco might not be ready to jar for a few days, up to a month depending on how you store it. You can dry it slowly in the open tin with the lid on, or take the lid off to dry it out quicker. Bottom line is, you can't pop a tin of SG flake and light it up right away, expecting a great smoke. It takes more patience one way or another. This goes double for plugs and especially ropes in my experience. YMMV
 

Briar’s Echo

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 15, 2022
160
269
Lancaster County PA
This is great information. I have one question regarding grinding tobacco. A few have mention like a coffee grinder or herb grinder, but is this something that is often done? And what would be the best type of grinder for tobacco? Thanks.