How to Smoke Stonehenge Flake?

[nevadablue]

Or, any flake for that matter.
I tried the Stonehenge flake again today. Last time, I did the 'fold and stuff' and that did not work well for me. Too much waste and the stuff is too wet and sticky to smoke out of the tin, at least for me. So, this time, I cubed some and rubbed out some. I microwaved it for 20 seconds and then fluffed up the stuff. The 'cubes' were sticky balls, before and after microwave treatment. The rubbed stuff was perfect, I think. Nice fluffy shredded tobacco.

The pipe does NOT like cubed tobacco apparently. It is a meerschaum lined Kaywoodie bent bulldog. It smoked fine for the first third or so of the bowl and then plugged up. I fought it for a while and finally dumped it out and looked at the tobacco. Seems the airway in this pipe eats the lumpy 'cubes' and chokes on them. I won't cube any of this precious stuff from now on. Rubbing out the flakes works it seems. I cleaned the pipe and reloaded the tobacco and the rest smoked fine.
So, ideas, suggestions? How do you prepare the flake tobacco and this one in particular. I found my tin to be very sticky. I had trouble separating the flakes. I think I will carefully separate the rest of the flakes and dry them some before putting them back in the tin.

 

[mackeson]

I rub it out roughly - leave some larger chunks. Seems to strike the balance of flavor and smokability for me with most flakes.

 

[johnbarleycorn]

^ What he said. Rough run out. Cubes have never worked for me. Exactly as you described. Fold and stuff works ok with dryer flakes but I prefer the rub out.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Depends on how long I want to smoke.
Very Long - Fold and Pack
Not So Long - Cube Cut
Quick Smoke - Fully Rubbed

 

[uncleblackie]

Do you have a toaster oven?
I use a toaster oven to dry my too-wet tobaccos. Might take some experimentation but roughly 200 degrees for a few minutes in the toaster oven with the door open does the trick for me. Warm, dry air works better than the microwave, in my experience. Cube cut, then “toast”.
A pipe cleaner should take care of any potential clogged airways.

 

[nevadablue]

Thanks Unc. Our toaster oven is still in storage. This was a tough clog, needed draino. I had to dump the pipe to get it out. That was a first for me.

 

[btwes7]

If I smoke anything cube cut (crooner) or otherwise, I put a small bit of something in the bottom of the bowl like 5100 - not much. Acts like a screen that keeps the cubes from plugging up my pipe. Really works nice for me.

 

[dmcmtk]

I'm going to go with...try a different pipe. :wink:

 

[newbroom]

Try it in a pipe w/o a stinger.

Clogs in any pipe are not uncommon and can be remedied w/o losing the contents, sometimes.

Many a time I've found I've got very little draw, for instance, and I've used the poker on my Czech tool to punch a draft hole right in the middle of the bowl to the bottom which gave me what I needed.
On your pipe, you might just unscrew it and put a cleaner in through the shank, and while you've got it apart, one through the stem.

If it's the pack that's clogging, dump and re-pack if the poker tool doesn't clear your airway.

 

[admiral]

For tricky VA/VaPer flakes I usually do the following - break it on pieces, rub it a bit, let it sit and dry on a piece of paper for some time (hours), rub again, let it sit again for some time to dry further and rub again.

Usually at this point is relatively well rubbed and dried out to be ready for smoking.
I know it sounds too time and effort consuming but .... works perfectly. In order not to plan such smokes from the precious day, I do prepare at least half a tin like this and jar it.
Cubed or fold/pack methods usually are total failure for me.

 

[64alex]

First I dry the flake to near bone dry leaving the flake open in the air sometimes even for 5-6 hours. I find this way a more natural and controllable way of drying than using oven or microwave. Then I rub the flake to relatively big chunks and load relatively loose without packing tight.

One trick I use, particularly with my Lepeltier clay pipe (which I love) and which has the draft hole in the center of the bottom of the bowl, which can get clogged easily, is using a brass screen. It works very well not only avoiding the clogging but leaving a small pocket of air at the bottom of the bowl which facilitates the combustion. You might find people raising eyebrows saying screens are not for tobacco but for other kinds of smoking but it actually works very well also with tobacco.

 

[mawnansmiff]

I would suggest leaving the baccy alone for a few moments after you microwave it. This allows more steam to escape which is why I think you are getting 'sticky' tobacco, more so if it is cube cut.
One thing. I have noticed about Stonehenge Flake is after a few hours airing (I've never nuked this one) the already mild Lakeland essence virtually disappears. Some may prefer it that way but to be honest it's so lightly applied it hardly matters.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[nevadablue]

Thanks guys. So, I won't smoke this tobacco in this pipe again. The stinger was part of the problem for sure. I did use the poker to loosen the tobacco and that helped once. The plug was in the draft hole after that. I did run a pipe cleaner through, but couldn't get the hole open without dumping.
I will dry this stuff early from now on. It is too good to waste with issues that aren't resolved.