Flakes Really Aren't As Difficult As You May Think

[carolinachurchwarden]

Okay, so what happens if you have a um....friend...yeah, that uh, accidentally lost a small baggie of some ODF he was gifted a number of months ago and uh....it was just found. My friend, see, he pulled out a flake and picked a pipe, but when he tried to fold it, it uh, just kind of broke all over the place and he had to hold it with two hands to keep it together. You see, it had, uh....dried a tinsy, tiny amount more that it probably should have been and instead of being somewhat pliant, it kind of...practically snapped like a dried twig. I'm not talking about a fresh-ish twig from last week, I'm talking more like a 15 year old twig that somehow didn't rot.
What should my friend do then? Just go on ahead and rub it out?

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

What should my friend do then?

:rofl: If I were your "friend," I would just rub it out in that case. Or you could jar it up with a paper towel dampened with distilled water and attempt to re-hydrate it.

 

[workman]

Rehydrating is soooo last year. Now everyone smokes stuff bone dry.

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

Rehydrating is soooo last year. Now everyone smokes stuff bone dry.

That's what I heard, I reckon I've been....I mean uh...my friend's been hip and trendy this whole time and didn't know any better! :rofl:

:rofl: If I were your "friend," I would just rub it out in that case. Or you could jar it up with a paper towel dampened with distilled water and attempt to re-hydrate it.

Thanks! I'll...I mean uh...I'll tell my friend to just break it up from now on, there's not enough to try to re-hydrate, I wouldn't think, so I should, I mean HE should be okay to just rub them out until it's gone.

 

[ricebiscuit]

This got me thinking about curly cuts like Three nuns or Cabbies mixture -- Would be curious to hear how you guys smoke curly cuts: rubbed out, stuff straight from the tin, or somewhere in between....
I have always rubbed these out and never really considered any other way.
Trey

 

[lawdawg]

Rehydrating is soooo last year. Now everyone smokes stuff bone dry.

Back when I joined this board a couple years ago, everyone rotated / rested their pipes, and cleaned them on occasion with alcohol!
I am on board with drying my tobacco until its a couple hairs short of crispy. I am also willing to give a hot water rinse a try for cleaning purposes, and admit that there seems to be a scientific basis for the concern about alcohol's effect on a pipe's structure (silicates / molecular level stuff). However, refusing to rest your pipes is a step too far! ::

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Rehydrating is soooo last year. Now everyone smokes stuff bone dry.

I realize it was a joke, but I don't think all of us do the same things at all concerning our pipes. We seem to have well blended forum of diversity when it comes to what we do with our pipes. And, if it proves anything, it proves that you don't have to do the same thing as anyone else to get the most enjoyment from your pipes.

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

I realize it was a joke, but I don't think all of us do the same things at all concerning our pipes. We seem to have well blended forum of diversity when it comes to what we do with our pipes. And, if it proves anything, it proves that you don't have to do the same thing as anyone else to get the most enjoyment from your pipes.

Exactly. I mean, this forum has helped me a lot since I picked the pipe back up and getting all those suggestions from pipe smokers that do all sorts of things differently, can give a new pipe smoker the opportunity to try it all and keep what he likes, kick what he don't, and maybe find his own way by weaving different techniques or philosophies from everywhere and coming up with what works for him. Without this forum and other online resources, however, a new smoker might not find his way quite as quickly and be on his way to enjoying the full range of tobacco and pipe possibilities. It takes all kinds and all sorts of methods that are put forth to us here to try before we find OUR path, OUR way of doing things. You gotta start somewhere, and this place is one of the best to start.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

different techniques or philosophies

Philosophies, Pfffft, I don't believe in philosophies. They are all bunk. That is my rationalization, anyways. ::

 

[cigrmaster]

Soft flakes like Dragon are easy to fold and stuff. In my opinion Dragon is the perfect humidity right out of the tin. Denser flakes like Old Dark Fired and my bulk Samuel Gawith Flakes I will cube cut and then dry for as long as needed. The cube cut still gives a nice slow burn which adds to the flavors. I never rub out a flake.
Coins like Cabbies Mixture, Escudo and Dunhill Navy Rolls I just fold and stuff. I always make sure I leave enough space for the tobacco to expand, that is crucial with fold and stuff.

 

[dottiewarden]

Rubbing out still brings out the most flavor for me, however when I'm lazy I just fold and stuff.

 

[jrenko]

I always rub out my flakes, i tried fold and stuff and i failed miserably :roll:

 

[bluegrasspipe]

Nice post Anthony! I need one of those chipmunks with the cute little blow torch. That must be dangerous I wonder if their life expectancy is under 10 minutes like a WW2 soldier?!

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Nice post Anthony! I need one of those chipmunks with the cute little blow torch. That must be dangerous I wonder if their life expectancy is under 10 minutes like a WW2 soldier?!

I'm not certain. That little guy made it though. After the war he started a nice little family in Oregon, and became a nut farmer.

 

[901blends]

A tall narrow bowl smokes flake brilliantly. Instead of "fold and stuff", I just wad up flakes like MegaMillions tickets I am throwing away after my billion dollar dreams are crushed.
Everyone gets so fancy with their packing techniques, I just let the narrow bowl keep the wadded up flake or broken flake taut.
I have a Kaywoodie Unique that no matter what I stuff in it, I rarely even need to relight. Including those Sutliff Mocha Strips.

 

[craiginthecorn]

Thanks for sharing this method. It’s working much better for me than other methods I’ve tried previously. It works great, too, for certain broken flakes that are packaged neatly. For example, I’m smoking Sixpence as I type. I just pinched a bit of it, holding it together in a small, loose log and stuffed it in my Peterson system pipe. Cool, slow-burning, easy to keep lit, and flavorful. Perfect!

 

[ugh457]

Well after a few more attempts....
Success more than less
Patience to let the damn tobacco dry seemed to be my biggest problem.
Thanks for the tips, now back to my pipe and ODF.....mmmmmmmmm

:puffpipe:

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Patience to let the damn tobacco dry seemed to be my biggest problem.

I'll sometimes set a couple of flakes out on a paper towel before I leave for work, to smoke when I get home... especially on humid days. I have a flake of John Aylesbury Dragon Flake already folded and stuffed into a Peterson 106 for when I get home from work tonight. I think it will be good to go by then. It often depends on the flake itself. Some are more moist than others, some are thicker than others, and that all determines dry times, especially on humid days. Good to know you had some success! :clap:

 

[olkofri]

Can't say I like flakes.
A week ago I pulled some Dan's Choo Choo Train out of the jar, rubbed it out as thoroughly as I could, left it out for ~30 min to dry, packed it.... total disaster. Damn thing just couldn't stay lit for more than 15 seconds. Light, puff, relight, puff, relight, puff, relight got old really fast. I ended up tossing out ~1/4 to 1/3 of the bowl, and my tongue was already complaining.
Damn shame, because there was good flavour there, when I could taste it that is.

 

[irishearl]

While flakes take more lights to keep going than ribbons for me, I don't have inordinate difficulty with them. I'll tear of pieces of them and stuff in the bowl. It's only when the flakes have been thick where I had real trouble. Seems as I recall-it's been years since I had it-that FVF was such.