I Love Flakes. I Also Hate Them.

[python]

The pieces are pretty large after cube cutting

When you cube cut, the pieces should be about the size of a "BB" or slightly smaller. Anything larger will be a problem with combustion

 

[irishearl]

While the flavor of flakes seems more intense and have smoked my share of them over the years, must say I prefer the ease of ribbon cut.

 

[pruss]

I am still committed to cube cutting flakes, although I do rub out coins. Regardless of prep method, I do lay my tobacco out in a wood plate for a bit before loading the bowl to help dry it out.

— pruss

 

[Spa32]

I love the idea of fold and stuff. I've tried a number of times with poor results. I end up packing too tight. My current method is to fold them and pull them apart until the pieces are small enough. This seems to work well for me. I want to try cube cutting at some point.

 

[seldom]

I'll echo what others write as far as some flakes being more challenging than others with FVF being particularly difficult. On the easy side of the spectrum is Mac Baren Navy Flake. That one is pretty easy to fold and stuff and keep going when lit.

 

[luigi]

I dry flakes completely, using a heat gun. Air drying doesn't do the job in my humid environment. Once bone dry I force them in the chamber, they of course break several times and crack loudly all the way down. But they burn fine.

 

[gervais]

I dry flakes completely, using a heat gun. Air drying doesn't do the job in my humid environment. Once bone dry I force them in the chamber, they of course break several times and crack loudly all the way down. But they burn fine.

Heat gun, eh? That's actually not a bad idea. I'm going to try this next attempt.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I like to set my tins on a coffee mug warmer for a few hours after I open them... sometimes for a full day. Sometimes I will just set a few on a coffee filter and then set it on the coffee mug warmer. And, in a pinch 8 seconds in the microwave is the fast easy way.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Can't stop wondering how did those sailors back in the days prepare them flakes&ropes while they were at the sea guess conditions out there were far from being ideal,humide climat ,wooden vessels,bad food ecetera,,

 

[voorhees]

After some time with flakes, you'll develop a method that just works. I did.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Can't stop wondering how did those sailors back in the days prepare them flakes&ropes while they were at the sea

Since we keep hearing that the reason the sailors pressed tobacco was for space, I will lay money on them rubbing out all of their flakes.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

@cosmicfolklore ,Thanks Mike for the added infomakes sense

 

[bnichols23]

I'll echo what others write as far as some flakes being more challenging than others with FVF being particularly difficult. On the easy side of the spectrum is Mac Baren Navy Flake. That one is pretty easy to fold and stuff and keep going when lit.

Def concur, seldom. McB's NF is my go-to flake nearly always.

 

[shanez]

I dry flakes completely, using a heat gun. Air drying doesn't do the job in my humid environment. Once bone dry I force them in the chamber, they of course break several times and crack loudly all the way down. But they burn fine.

I've smoked some fairly crispy flakes that still had more than enough moisture to expand and almost plug the chamber. This expansion is, to me, what makes flakes difficult. Always packing looser than I think necessary helps tremendously.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Always packing looser than I think necessary helps tremendously.

+1

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

As I've gotten more experience with flakes, I don't worry as much about drying them out completely. I find I can fold and stuff most flakes fresh out of the tin (not SG) and still make it work. What I generally do is pop a tin and let it sit for awhile before starting on it. That seems to dry it out sufficiently for it to work well. Without question, loose is best. It may not be a big deal, or it could be, but the bowl ID of my flake pipes are all less than .80. I think packing flake correctly in larger bowl ID's would be a bit more challenging.

 

[krizzose]

FWIW i get the best results when folding and stuffing when the plug fits in the chamber snugly, but without the need for shoving it in.

And I’ll give the obligatory response: “that’s what she said”

 

[Worknman]

I know what you're saying with FVF. I did the exact same thing, cube cut it and let it dry for 36 hours and it was still a pain in the ass to smoke.

 

[cigrmaster]

For a long time FVF was my most finicky flake(I smoke flakes 99% of the time). My first success came when I cube cut it into very small cubes and then let it dry for a couple of hours. Fast forward a bunch of years and I now just fold and stuff it as I found the right system of drying and stuffing..

 

[anotherbob]

If you can't keep it lit more than a minute I'm guessing you never really got it lit well to begin with. This is a common problem because folks fear overheating the bowl. Get that thing cherry red, then let it calm for a bit, now you're on easy street.

precisely what I was going to say. Really get the flake going big and red. It will calm down quickly and then stay lit easily.