I know, I know, I know... You take a flake that's been sitting out drying on a paper towel for 364 days, fold it in half, stuff it in your pipe, and then you light it with one of these....
...everything erupts into a glorious ball of flame, the briar wood is now charcoal, the stem melted and slowly dripping on the floor like some weird black cheese, the flake tobacco appears to be miraculously untouched. :?
You come on a forum such as this seeking help, after browsing smokingpipes.com for a new pipe to replace the one that just went defcon 1, seeking help and or divine intervention... the pipe gods seem to have frowned upon you. You are answered with pipe chamber sizes, drying times, and basically every alternative to the fold and stuff technique. You've heard it all before, and a lot of it is entirely correct... but you shouldn't have to give up the fold and stuff technique. I've discovered it's actually quite simple and I enjoy flakes regularly now, folded and stuffed in multiple different pipes. I'm actually enjoying some flake right now in a chamber some would consider too wide for flake.
To me (and perhaps your mileage may vary) the most important thing is flake size to chamber size comparison. Some pipes may take two flakes, some may only take one, and with the difference in flake sizes you may need to adjust the size of the flake to fit your pipe of choice.
For the meerschaum I'm smoking right now I took two full flakes of John Aylesbury Dragon Flake and tore off a small strip from the side of both, folded them in half and stuffed them into my pipe. That extra little bit can be rubbed out and replace in the tin to use for kindling later. The folded side of the flake tends to break apart a little and when I place them in the pipe that side goes up. I'll take my pipe tool and lightly scrape the top to break it apart just a bit more. Light, let go out, scrape it lightly again, lightly tap it with the tamper and light it again. After this my flake tends to burn as well as any other blend, and sometimes better. Dragon Flake by the way is an aromatic flake.
It's as simple as that. Let the flake dry a bit, match the flake size to the pipe and adjust as necessary (a little trial and error, but you'll get it), fold, stuff, break apart the top just a bit, light well, scape the top again a bit, light tap, light well and enjoy. ::
Note: After doing some research, I discovered the squirrel in the photo above, was a WWII hero, saving the lives of many allied forces during the battle for Iwo Jima. He helped raise the flag in the iconic photo but is hidden behind a marine's boots.
...he's in there somewhere. Perhaps behind the second marine's boot?
...everything erupts into a glorious ball of flame, the briar wood is now charcoal, the stem melted and slowly dripping on the floor like some weird black cheese, the flake tobacco appears to be miraculously untouched. :?
You come on a forum such as this seeking help, after browsing smokingpipes.com for a new pipe to replace the one that just went defcon 1, seeking help and or divine intervention... the pipe gods seem to have frowned upon you. You are answered with pipe chamber sizes, drying times, and basically every alternative to the fold and stuff technique. You've heard it all before, and a lot of it is entirely correct... but you shouldn't have to give up the fold and stuff technique. I've discovered it's actually quite simple and I enjoy flakes regularly now, folded and stuffed in multiple different pipes. I'm actually enjoying some flake right now in a chamber some would consider too wide for flake.
To me (and perhaps your mileage may vary) the most important thing is flake size to chamber size comparison. Some pipes may take two flakes, some may only take one, and with the difference in flake sizes you may need to adjust the size of the flake to fit your pipe of choice.
For the meerschaum I'm smoking right now I took two full flakes of John Aylesbury Dragon Flake and tore off a small strip from the side of both, folded them in half and stuffed them into my pipe. That extra little bit can be rubbed out and replace in the tin to use for kindling later. The folded side of the flake tends to break apart a little and when I place them in the pipe that side goes up. I'll take my pipe tool and lightly scrape the top to break it apart just a bit more. Light, let go out, scrape it lightly again, lightly tap it with the tamper and light it again. After this my flake tends to burn as well as any other blend, and sometimes better. Dragon Flake by the way is an aromatic flake.
It's as simple as that. Let the flake dry a bit, match the flake size to the pipe and adjust as necessary (a little trial and error, but you'll get it), fold, stuff, break apart the top just a bit, light well, scape the top again a bit, light tap, light well and enjoy. ::
Note: After doing some research, I discovered the squirrel in the photo above, was a WWII hero, saving the lives of many allied forces during the battle for Iwo Jima. He helped raise the flag in the iconic photo but is hidden behind a marine's boots.
...he's in there somewhere. Perhaps behind the second marine's boot?