Yesterday I opened a tin of 2012 Rotary Cut(been discontinued for years) and I grabbed a flake, folded it and stuffed it in one shot into a pipe that I know can take a whole flake with no issues.
The tobacco burned slow and cool and the flavors were great as expected. The only flakes I have to dry before smoking are Samuel Gawiths.
Capstan Blue Flake is perfect out of the tin, Wessex Brown Virginia and Gold Virginia, Campaign Brigade, Fribourg & Treyer Cut Virginia Plug, Special Brown Flake, Vintage Flake and many more.
I don't care for dry tobacco as for me it just doesn't burn as cool as I enjoy and I lose flavors. A standard group 4- 5 pipe sized pipe with one flake generally burns 1-1.5 hours for me. I have 2 group 6' pipes that can smoke over 2.0 hours plus. They are a tad heavy at 62 grams or so but I hold and clench and I have my system. I had to learn over the years what pipes smoked my flakes the best. When I look at a new pipe, the first thing I ask is how well will it smoke my flakes and plugs.
My criteria is very strict and I have found my best pipes are the ones where I dissected every dimension on the pipe.
Pipe length 5"-6.5"
Bowl Height 1.90"-2.25
Inside Bowl depth 1.4"- 1.75"
Inside bowl width 13-16 , .75 or 7/8"
Wall thickness. I don't know the number I go by look which works fine for me.
Weight 40-55 grams except for 2 pipes.
Now if the pipe isn't a shape I collect or have a hand cut stem from German Vulcanite or doesn't appeal to me I don't buy it even if all of my strict criteria are met. I still have to really like the looks of the pipe.
My system didn't happen over night, it probably took my first decade
.before I came up with my plan. I had to experiment a great deal, but once I had it down, buying a new pipe became much easier.
When I am looking at pipe all the time I will see a pipe I really like, but if the weight is 70 grams I pass. If I see a pipe I like but it has an inside bowl depth of 1.3 I pass. It is not easy finding pipes that meet my strict criteria, but when it does happen, I grab it without a second thought.
it is interesting how different we like the humidity of our tobacco. There is no right or wrong in this, you do what works for you. Experiment and find your sweet spot and eventually you will get what works for you. I think people should consider what pipes they buy and compare it to the tobacco they smoke and try to find the right pipe.
When I smoked Latakia blends I wanted pipes that were bigger and had large inside chambers as English blends with their multitude of components smoke better in bigger pipes for my tastes. It is why I collected Castello, hand made Winslows, and other types. That was well over a decade ago as I lost my taste for English blends a long time ago.
