Getting Consistently Good Experiences With FVF

[karam]

I think the fact that its such a pain in the ass is the reason its so popular. If it was a nice easy smoke nobody would ever talk about it or make posts trying to figure out the best way to smoke it.
Like the saying goes, any press is good press.

Maybe it's because it's those of us who CAN'T get consistent results from FVF and StJF, but want to keep trying to reach the lofty heights of the members who can. I'm not being sarcastic at all, there's a real fear of missing out I fall into sometimes, and suspect I'm not alone in that. You know, the bugging feeling of "I'm sure I can have what he's having too from this XYZ".

Some months ago I posted a thread with my frustration with StJF, called it a "pain in the ass flake" in the end: Samuel Gawith St James Flake - An Exercise in Frustration :: Pipe Tobacco Reviews - https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/samuel-gawith-st-james-flake-an-exercise-in-frustration.78688/

Re-reading my thread, how can me and other smokers with less years under our belt not want to crack these tobaccos when we read for several members "best Virginia flake on the planet", "best VaPer there is" etc?

 

[Fiddlepiper]

I don’t have any issues with either Full Virgina Flake or St James. I rub it out and leave it for a couple of hours as others suggest. Sometimes they require a few extra relights than other blends but the flavour is worth it in my opinion.

St James is definitely my favourite of the two though.

 

[autumnfog]

I rub it out and let it dry, but foremost I expect it to come with some hassle.
Negative thinking, works for me.

 

[simong]

Although it's a great flake on it's own, I've found the best thing to do to FVF is mix it 50/50 with Gawiths BBF. Much better smoke all round!

 

[ofafeather]

What the hell is FVF?

Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake

 

[Jaylotw]

Man...the longest I’ve ever dried FVF is overnight, and it was too dry for me. I just deal with re-lights and occasional gurgles, because to me the flavor is better when it still has a good bit of moisture. Not as much as in the tin, but still real...moist.

Getting a good initial light is really important as it keeps the ember alive longer, which is why I take the time to get some really finely rubbed stuff on top. It dries crispier and takes the flame easily, makes a nice bed of embers. Try that @vink

 

[matocman]

I like to let the flake dry quite a bit then rub it out and fill loosely. Prefer a smaller bowl, and find it behaves better with some age. I also like the bulk better than the tin version. Of course, I havent bought any since 2009 so am not sure what the current version is like.

 

[briarbuck]

ppg is my guess as to why FVF can be finicky.

 

[pantsBoots]

Title says it all. I read many threads on the subject without any good answer. FvF is sometimes wonderful but many times awful. I’ve been cube cutting it, let it dry for 24-30 hours and sometimes it’s good sometimes it does not stay lit. and taste like crap. Any tips on how to get it to behave? Read that some microwave it but not sure about that.

I have good luck with all of the Sam Gawith blends. In drying it, what are your ambient conditions? If you're setting this tobacco out in a Yucatec jungle, it will not dry. If you set this out in the high desert outside Los Angeles, it should dry very quickly.

I advise fully rubbing out, as well, but I'm not a fold and stuff guy with any blend. Finally, this blend absolutely responds well to age - I like the 3 year old tins I have way better than the new stuff. The 10 year old tins I've been running through are the best of the bunch.

FVF is my favorite Virginia tobacco, bar none. Best Brown Flake is another good one, but seems to require age even more than FVF before it begins to shine.

Best of luck!

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

Frapuccino, Vodka, Firearms. Basic staples of life, if you ask me.

Full Virginia Flake

 

[cosmicfolklore]

@peckinpahhombre posted a thread about how he preps it many moons ago, which I found works best for me. Cube cut the whole thing. Let it dry for 24 hours or so. Then put it in a jar. The areas inside the cubes will equalize in moisture with the dry outer area. Leave it for maybe a week, then open the jar and enjoy. Gravity fill and light. You get the slow smoke of a flake without the fiddling that goes along with having to tamp the sides down while smoking. Win win

 

[cosmicfolklore]

FVF used to come a lot wetter than it does now. I remember actually seeing water in the tins, and you could actually squeeze the water out of it.
It still comes moist, but not as moist as it used to.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

FVF and SJF are walks in the park prep wise compared to Dark Star. I used to use a blade coffee grinder for that and 2035. Never felt the need to go that far with any SG or GH flake.

 

[maduromadness]

Man...the longest I’ve ever dried FVF is overnight, and it was too dry for me. I just deal with re-lights and occasional gurgles, because to me the flavor is better when it still has a good bit of moisture. Not as much as in the tin, but still real...moist.

Getting a good initial light is really important as it keeps the ember alive longer, which is why I take the time to get some really finely rubbed stuff on top. It dries crispier and takes the flame easily, makes a nice bed of embers. Try that @vink

That's been part of the frustration for me. I prefer moisture in my tobaccos for the flavors I get. I hate drying tobacco when I could grab any number of equal or better tobaccos and shove them straight in my bowl. Don't get me wrong I've had good smokes with FVF but it's a damn science. I should revisit it because it's been over a year since I've smoked any.

 

[cigrmaster]

There is no doubt FVF is one of the most finicky flake in my cellar. In the beginning I would cube cut it and let it dry a good long time around 3-4 hours. I got some good smokes but I wanted to be able to fold and stuff this like the rest of my flakes. I put some flakes out and let them dry a good 7 hours or so and then I would rub some out for kindling and it worked. I now fold and stuff it and I am getting some great smokes from some 2004 tins and some 2012 bulks. I will admit this stuff can be a bitch, but when you get it right it is worth the effort.

I recently opened a tin of Butera Royal Vintage: Dark Stoved. It was a 2017 and I knew it was going to be a bitch to smoke. I was right as this stuff is fireproof. I will try again in another 5 plus years as I don't think anything less will make this blend smokeable. I do however think it will be worth the wait. I got some great flavors at times but it was a major pain in the ass.

 

[musicman]

Had a similar experience with St James Flake, now I got a sample of FVF on order to see what it's like. Didn't buy more of St James Flake though because the effort to result ration is not in its favour. There are many many more VaPers I have at hand, or on order which work consistently better.

I have never had a bad smoke with SJF, but that's also because I figured out the best way to prepare FVF before I even had a chance to try SJF. I think good preparation of either results in one of the best smokes in their respective genres, and is well worth the effort. I have plenty of VaPers and Straight Vas that don't require as much effort, but I have never been disappointed by SJF or FVF as long as I took the time to prepare them (and I've had pretty darn good results with the microwave as well).

 

[garageboy]

I found a "tobacco shop" that had 5-6 year old tins of fvf. Smoked it fine and was so good.

Bought a box and used up a lot trying to get it to burn... How fine do you have to rub it out? I feel like it's chunky and doesn't compress together well leaving me with air pockets that don't stay lit

 

[dcicero]

From what I can tell from these posts, rubbing it out is the first step to become a master of fvf.

 

[irishearl]

Although it's a great flake on it's own, I've found the best thing to do to FVF is mix it 50/50 with Gawiths BBF. Much better smoke all round!

Back years ago when I was buying Gawith I liked BBF better than FVF.

 

[cigrmaster]

Back years ago when I was buying Gawith I liked BBF better than FVF.

I have a batch of 2006 Best Brown that is as good as any of my aged FVF. I love aged Best Brown as much as my aged FVF. It has always been easier to smoke for me.