Dark Star

[mortonbriar]

Dark star came up in the penny farthing thread, and I was thinking about this open tin I have with most of 100g left and how I could smoke through the whole lot just trying to figure out the best way to handle this strange beast and then have no ability to order more....

Or I could ask all of you opinionated bastards kind folk how it is that you prepare/pack/smoke this blend and maybe get a little more out of this tin than I otherwise would have.

cheers
Isaac

 

[alaskanpiper]

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Luckily, I still have quite a few tins also. I cube cut it as soon as I pop the tin. Dry it, then put the tin’s top on it, and let it set for another week, to equalize the remaining moisture.

I then gravity feed it into the chamber, and crush up a pinch of the cubes to make a layer of kindling to get it started. Mmmmm… sweet…

 

[mortonbriar]

Luckily, I still have quite a few tins also. I cube cut it as soon as I pop the tin. Dry it, then put the tin’s top on it, and let it set for another week, to equalize the remaining moisture.

I then gravity feed it into the chamber, and crush up a pinch of the cubes to make a layer of kindling to get it started. Mmmmm… sweet…

Sounds sensible, and more appropriate to scale than how its being handled in Alaska!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Sounds sensible, and more appropriate to scale than how its being handled in Alaska!

They do things on a bigger scale up thar!

 

[Dublin Old Man]

Dark star came up in the penny farthing thread, and I was thinking about this open tin I have with most of 100g left and how I could smoke through the whole lot just trying to figure out the best way to handle this strange beast and then have no ability to order more....

Or I could ask all of you opinionated bastards kind folk how it is that you prepare/pack/smoke this blend and maybe get a little more out of this tin than I otherwise would have.

cheers
Isaac

I gave up trying to get it to burn. I like many of the other McClelland flakes. Maybe try mixing it with another tobacco that could help with the combustion.

 

[alaskanpiper]

In all seriousness, massive amount of drying time make it a lot easier, but it just breaks up too chunky to really burn well. You just have to resign yourself to a lot of relighting and go in with that expectations. However, Cosmic's cube + dry method sounds intriguing though, I'll have to give that a shot.

 

[mingc]

I was smoking a bow of Peretti Royal the other day and stuck in it was a small piece of flake that I'm pretty sure could only have been Dark Star or some other McClelland fire-proof whatever. I swear everything in the bowl burned to white ash except for that piece of flake. It remained intact through the whole process. That's when I knew it was a McClelland Special.

 

[alaskanpiper]

I was smoking a bow of Peretti Royal the other day and stuck in it was a small piece of flake that I'm pretty sure could only have been Dark Star or some other McClelland fire-proof whatever. I swear everything in the bowl burned to white ash except for that piece of flake. It remained intact through the whole process. That's when I knew it was a McClelland Special.

I haven't had any trouble with any of their flakes as long as they are rubbed out as much as entirely possible and air dried for hours (at least). Dark Star, however, (and Butera Dark Stoved for that matter) are just on another level. It's like petrified flakes.

 

[Chasing Embers]

A coffee grinder is your friend with Dark Star.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Dark Star was the only McClelland flake that gave me problems. It’s like a piece of fake rubber bark, imitation jerky chunks… Very… unique. But, it’s so sweet. Don’t expect a meaty taste. The smoke is like sugar water.

I’ve used a coffee grinder too. It’s a good method too. But, you may still want to cube it first. Those rubber barks could kill a coffee grinder.

 

[sablebrush52]

Cube cut and set out to dry, book a vacation to the South of France for a month, when you return it should be dry enough to smoke.

 

[Ahi Ka]

This thread reminded me of the sample @mortonbriar gave me when he popped the aforementioned tin over a year ago. Petrified by its burn proof nature, I let the flakes sit out to dry overnight in the workshop and half of it was eaten by what I can only imagine to be a rat…

 

[sablebrush52]

This thread reminded me of the sample @mortonbriar gave me when he popped the aforementioned tin over a year ago. Petrified by its burn proof nature, I let the flakes sit out to dry overnight in the workshop and half of it was eaten by what I can only imagine to be a rat…

No doubt, the Giant Rat of Sumatra.

 

[stogie37]

Much like the coffee grinder recommendation, I picked up an herb grinder on Amazon for the likes of Dark Star, Butera Dark Stoved and lately; S&G Sam’s Flake. I like that I have total control on the grind, and other than the “herb” related ad content that now pops up in my “recommended for you” section, the investment will last a lifetime ?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Cube cut and dry is the only thing I found that worked at all. The blend was a PITA and not worth it to me considering all the other great McClelland Virginia blends.

 

[drrock]

Dark star came up in the penny farthing thread, and I was thinking about this open tin I have with most of 100g left and how I could smoke through the whole lot just trying to figure out the best way to handle this strange beast and then have no ability to order more....

Or I could ask all of you opinionated bastards kind folk how it is that you prepare/pack/smoke this blend and maybe get a little more out of this tin than I otherwise would have.

cheers
Isaac

"Strange beast" is a great way to describe McClelland Dark Star, the most asbestos-like pipe tobacco I've ever encountered.

I've tried many methods of prepping it. Either the small cube-cut-with-a-scissors or a few pulses of the coffee grinder followed by significant drying time & gravity filling gave it the best chance of actually accepting flame.

If you can get it to burn it's an absolutely delicious sweet Virginia treat. Very frequent relights are definitely the norm. Mixing it with tobaccos that burn easily like Carter Hall or Prince Albert helped a bit.

Smoking a pipe shouldn't have to be that much work, even if Dark Star is damn good stuff.
I finally gave up & eventually traded 2 100gm. tins for something that was more user friendly.

 

[mso489]

I've dreaded opening my one tin of Dark Star for years now. Among tobaccos, it has a reputation of being no fun at all. Tobacco that won't burn. I keep planning what I might do with it. My current plan is to use a hand grater to reduce it as much as possible from pieces small enough to grate, if not neat cubes. It just sounds like a chore rather than a restful restorative smoke. It seems to be the one clunker in the McClelland repertoire.

 

[solideogloria86]

I've had good experience with fully rubbing it out/meticulously breaking it apart and then zapping in the microwave for 10 seconds.

 

[solideogloria86]

I've had good experience with fully rubbing it out/meticulously breaking it apart and then zapping in the microwave for 10 seconds.

After the microwave you still need to let it dry some tho. Nuking it seems to speed up the moisture release process.