Yep, frustrating indeed! I'm still working on this technique also, refusing to give up. The few bowls pack'd whole which've "burn'd perfect" truly gave a grand experience, making up for my numerous failures where I'd get agitated and ask myself why I was trying this when it felt like the opposite of a "relaxing pipe"!!! :?
I think the drying factor as everyone mentioned is crucial. Getting the "proper feel" for the correct pack is crucial. Actual smoking mechanics are crucial.
All in all, even thru the frustration, it's helped me to become a better pipesmoker.
Here's a little ditty over at MacBaren, a step-by-step which is pretty basic, but it's really neat how the pictures are animated when you move the cursor across them...
Per Georg Jensen Flake Page
...and here's a bunch of quotes on the topic, please excuse the length, but some of this has help'd me greatly when I decided to go "whole flake"...all quotes from the excellent
Jason Newquist's A.S.P. compilation: Pipe Tobacco Aging, Storage, and Cellaring FAQ!
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"I find that the charm of flakes is that they are, well, flakes! I never rub them out. If I am in a rush, I will fold it up, but if I have time, I cut the flake into a size that is the diameter of the bowl I will be using, and stack them like pancakes."---Sonam Dosara, 2003-08-06
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"I used to rub out flakes until they were like a RYO shag, and then wondered why every flake smoked so damn hot, while Three Nuns always smoked cool and sweet. Just a lapse of reason, but one that lasted, what, 15 years?
As a result of this, I had avoided flakes over most of my smoking life. I'd smoke an occasional bowl of some well regarded flake, and think, "it would sure taste great if it didn't BBQ the surface of my tongue!" It was only after reading all the praise for flakes on this group that I, once again, decided to brave them in earnest, and really give some time and thought to the process. For some reason, this time, I filled a bowl a la the Nuns, thta is, the flakes barely broken, and was amazed by the experience. It wasn't a perfect bowl, and many re-lights were required, but the flavour was wonderful, and so I began to experiment with different techniques, but was reasonably convinced that I'd never rub out a flake again.
Now, when I smoke flakes, I get a lot of flavour, no bite at all, and it burns wonderfully. I must admit that the lighting takes some time, some care, but once the ember is established, I can puff slowly infrequently, and it stays lit perfectly. Finally, I can really enjoy some of these wonderful tobaccos."---GL Pease, 2000-06-06
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"It's a question of trial and error: sometimes the flake has been compressed so tightly that the individual tobaccos seem to have merged into one and then there is no option but to rub it out a bit. A smaller pipe and a bundle of flake inserted so that its 'grain' is vertical to the pipe bowl and the burn will sometimes work with recalcitrant individual types of flake, but some flakes are so dense they just won't burn unless rubbed a bit. One can always resort to scissors and cut the flake into little squares and then pack them either like pancakes or on edge. It's worth experimenting a bit with individual brands of flakes to try to smoke it in its least rubbed-out state: the flavor difference is often marked. If the difference is not subjectively significant, one can eliminate some of this additional hassle and rub the tobacco out fully. But in general the rule of thumb is to rub a flake out just enough to allow a burn."---Paul Szabady, 1999-08-29
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"Packing: flake allows rubbing out to the desired consistency, but rubbing out to the consistency of a mixture negates most of flake's wonders, so leaving it unrubbed or very slightly rubbed works best. 2 techniques that can help get it just right. One: cut the flakes into little squares with a pair of scissors just short of the size of the inner bowl, so that you can build up the pack like a layer cake or stack of pancakes. To make this even easier, rub out 2 of these squares fairly well: one gets placed at the absolute bottom to help form the dottle, the other on the top to make lighting easier. Two: rub each piece of flake between your palms lightly and roll it into a loose ball just smaller than the bowl diameter. Pack each of these marbles into the bowl, layering up as you go and pressing and expanding each marble to get a firm draw."---Paul Szabady, 2002-06-20
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"Another way I prepare flakes (only occasionally and depending on my mood) is by using a pair of scissors to cut each flake into little squares. This would provide a slower burning smoke, and is beautiful to feel between the fingers and look at. I go through it mainly to enjoy looking at the tobacco and fondling it! If you try this approach, you will probably realize there is nothing more to it than that."---Tarek Manadily, 2000-06-01
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"I have recently rediscovered the joy of cutting the flakes to the appropriate height for the bowl, rolling a cylinder that fits the bowl comfortably, and lightly pressing it in. The result is almost like a cigar, and once lit, the cylinder expands slightly, and smokes very easily, staying lit quite well between long pauses.
In general, I don't like to rub out flakes too much, as it seems to me to work slightly against the purpose of smoking a flake. I really like the slow burning and intensity of flavor I experience when it's either rolled or just broken-up enough to get a consistent density in the bowl, with just enough air to keep it smouldering."---GL Pease, 2000-06-02
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"At one time, I was pretty dedicated to the notion that the best way to smoke flakes was to roll little cigars for the pipe. I dropped that method as being entirely too complicated - if the "cigar" is a little too fat, once it swells, it becomes impossible to draw; too skinny, the burn is unpredictable. As a result, I started rubbing out flakes to varying textures, and finding amazing differences in the resulting smokes."---GL Pease, 2002-07-12
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"When I smoke flakes I always leave them unrubbed. I ball up sections of flake and drop them in the bowl one after the other and top with loose. This method really works well, it works so well that I won't even consider changing. Unrubbed flakes simply have more flavor, burn slower and cooler."---buck, 2004-11-19
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"What I was doing was perfectly satisfactory but what I am doing now is even better. My way of smoking flakes is to keep them as intact as possible maximizing flavor and burn time. I ball up a flake or section of flake and drop it into the bowl. I want the ball of flake to be small enough to go close to the bottom of the bowl without any pushing required, so as not to bust the flake up. I repeat this until the bowl is filled. Some bowls need three balls of flake some need two, etc. Because unrubbed flake is already pretty dense, to begin with, a small push is all that is needed to adjust the draw. Now, it might be hard to light. A small amount of tinder on top helps a lot.
The second method might be a little iffy without some practice and judgement. This method results in a smoke similar to the "Frank" method, if it is executed properly. With the second method I only use one larger ball of flake. The one larger ball of unrubbed flake can be manipulated in several ways. My prefered method is to orient the grains of the flake to optimise the burn. Place sections of flake or whole flake down on a surface, orient the flakes , radially, 90 degrees to one another, ball the entire thing up and push the ball into the bowl. Yes, there is no tobacco in the bottom of the bowl as in the Frank method, there is none necessary. This is a kind of plug. You will find with practise how large of a plug you want. It will work with a plug just large enough to stay in the upper part of the bowl to one that is quite tight. What you want is that happy medium. I swear this works great. It smokes up every piece of flake and seldom needs any tamping or lighting. Oh, it also works with ribbon cuts, too. I smoked a bowl of dried out Bohemian Scandal using this method and found that the flavors were actually enhanced."---buck, 2005-01-11
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"A & C Petersen's web-site shows an Escudo 'coin' folded up like a crepe and inserted into the pipe whole, and Three Nuns used to include a little flyer that recommended stacking their smaller coins like a layer cake, lightly 'teasing' the top coin to accept the flame. The 3N technique works fine, but I've had little success with whole-coin Escudo loading."---Paul Szabady, 1999-08-29
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"I've always had a preference for taking a few of the flakes, rubbing them between my palms until a ball of a certain, loose consistency that has worked out for me in the past, with adjustments allowed for if I'm smoking it in still air at home or howling winds out on the water.
Is there a best way to prepare a flake? I could be talked into believing that. What is it? Well, that depends on what you want out of it. There's a world of different ways you can prepare and cook an onion. It can turn out sharp, it come overwhelm you with sweetness, it can even be made sour or bitter... It's the same onion, but... it's the way that you use it that makes the difference. What you like the best is the way you probably ought to do it most. But it's fun to play with other techniques now and then see how you're evolving palate responds to the new things, or old things revisited.
Is there a definitively wrong way to prepare a flake? Shy of running it through a coffee grinder until it is ground into dust...if you enjoy it, it's a good smoke for you. That's a good thing, a thing that can only be enhanced by a good fire in the hearth in cold weather, a good fish at the end of your line in moderate weather and good air-conditioning and an engaging book when it's gawdawful hot."---Doc Elder, 2005-03-17
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