How do you prepare your plug tobacco?
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For about three years I was obsessed with smoking flake whole, or at least in pieces. What I was most successful was matchsticks stacked vertically. But I struggled with relights with this method, finally abandoning this entirely by rubbing it out. But once in awhile I read of or watch a video of some old guy who swears that, for instance, the MB famous fold and stuff preparation. The old smoker swears it works for him. He puffs contently and smiles.
How is this done? It would seem to me by smoking technique, which the gentleman obviously has. Puffing just right, in rhythm.
How is this done? It would seem to me by smoking technique, which the gentleman obviously has. Puffing just right, in rhythm.
I've been experimenting with Plugs for a bit since I was completely captivated by Jackknife Plug & Triple Play. My experiments show that body and flavour are dependant on the density of the burning components. I have also tried the ready rubbed version of JKP and was very disappointed that it behaved very differently than its Plug original.
Luck had it that I had a few exchanges with Greg Peas (glpease) about the topic here in the forum - Please refer to JackKnife Plug where he confirmed my density observation and discussed plug tobacco behaviour vs. other (i.e. ready rubbed).
What I do now and seems to produce consistently great smokes is to cut a thick-ish flake length wise with a very sharp straight edge knife then slice that same flake width wise into chunky cubes. I then lightly rub the cubes between my thumb, index, and middle fingers to simply make it a little more airy, I then gravity fill (which allows for cool even burns because of the pockets of air). This method gets a long smoke with very few relights if ever that bursts with flavour and body. The key is also not to tamp hard if you have to since over tamping will collapse the cubes together making it not very burn friendly.
Luck had it that I had a few exchanges with Greg Peas (glpease) about the topic here in the forum - Please refer to JackKnife Plug where he confirmed my density observation and discussed plug tobacco behaviour vs. other (i.e. ready rubbed).
What I do now and seems to produce consistently great smokes is to cut a thick-ish flake length wise with a very sharp straight edge knife then slice that same flake width wise into chunky cubes. I then lightly rub the cubes between my thumb, index, and middle fingers to simply make it a little more airy, I then gravity fill (which allows for cool even burns because of the pockets of air). This method gets a long smoke with very few relights if ever that bursts with flavour and body. The key is also not to tamp hard if you have to since over tamping will collapse the cubes together making it not very burn friendly.
atskywalker, than you so much for your plug preparation method. I'm going to start researching just what the old guys do in preparing plug and flake for another sally at smoking pressed tobacco more intact. Rubbing out is fine but pressed tobacco cries out to be smoked in a way that capitalizes on its density. I can smoke ribbon and other unpressed tobaccos anytime. It makes no sense to say that pressed tobacco has be similarly rendered. Yes, pressed tobacco is more easily managed during its distribution and carried into the activity of the day, but a slower burn amply compliments the contemplative rhythm of slow smoking.
So this is a stupid question... but:
Do you use a cutting board? And if so, do you have a dedicated cutting board for tobacco?
Somehow it seems unwise to use a kitchen cutting board for a substance that can be toxic if ingested.
I've been chopping up this Night Train on an old Macintosh computer, which seems to work pretty well.
Do you use a cutting board? And if so, do you have a dedicated cutting board for tobacco?
Somehow it seems unwise to use a kitchen cutting board for a substance that can be toxic if ingested.
I've been chopping up this Night Train on an old Macintosh computer, which seems to work pretty well.
I couldn't live without my Yankee Slicer,
that looks like this:
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/smokeybears-tobacco-journal-entry-and-review-petersons-3ps#post-664118
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:
that looks like this:
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/smokeybears-tobacco-journal-entry-and-review-petersons-3ps#post-664118
:
:
Yep, totally agree with MLC. After seeing his I finally picked up one and its nice. Mounted it on a board and you can go through a plug in just a few minutes. Slices very thin which are easy to rub out into a shag. Also does cube cutting very well. Prices on eBay vary but I have seen them go for the low $20's on up.
This one sold just the other day for $11!
:!:
Antique Cast Iron Tobacco or Cigar Cutter Made By Yankee "Slicer"
The blade would need serious attention,
but it's a real bargain to be such a great tool.
Built like a tank too.
:!:
Antique Cast Iron Tobacco or Cigar Cutter Made By Yankee "Slicer"
The blade would need serious attention,
but it's a real bargain to be such a great tool.
Built like a tank too.
I do the most obvious-- cut it across the grain of the plug so I am getting layers of all of the blend's tobaccos, then take the slices and any loose debris and rub it down to size, let it dry anywhere from two hours to a day, and pack the pipe. Some time when I'm not yearning for a smoke, I might try the slice and fold method, or the smoke in chunks method, but I'm not always patient enough for trial and error. Some blends that come cut in cubes don't burn well, which puts me off lighting up more solid pieces of tobacco, though I'm sure I could get the hang of them.
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