Issue Smoking Flakes

[OzPiper]

Try cube cutting and a gravity fill. Rubbing out a flake seems a shame,you miss so much that way.

I cube cut and gravity fill

But I also use meer chips or Nording Keystones

This results in an air layer under the tobacco mass which keeps it drier and allows better air circulation and combustion

I get some dottle occasionally. But mostly burn down to ash with minimal dottle.

Some might think meer chips or Keystones is an unnecessary expense.
But given the high cost of tobacco in Oz, it’s money well spent - a much, much more enjoyable smoke, less relights and minimal wastage of very expensive and difficult-to-source tobacco

 

[Lou__ee]

I’m a newbie piper here, and I’m struggling in the same exact way you are. It’s always at the half way point as you mentioned. I tend to let my cool off then come back to it because I can’t keep it lit and get too hot.

But I found this new video from C&D about packing flake. I’m gonna test it tonight. Thought I’d share it here.

 

[anotherbob]

You might also try when you start getting close to that midpoint, gently dump out any ash that has built up, then take a pic and just poke it in a few times, maybe even stir it up a little and re-tamp (draw on it intermittently through this process).

Goal is just to loosen it up a bit because what can happen is you get a thin layer of pieces that are "cooked" and they don't burn as easily, getting those pieces mixed in with "uncooked" pieces that burn easier will cause the cooked ones to burn.

dump the ash I agree. It seems to suffocate the ember if you don't.
Other thing pack it loose. And just don't worry about the relights. Part of the charm. I don't rub out flakes I pull it into a ready rub situation. Loosely stuff those in and find tends to not need many relights.

 

[SourShank]

I prepared a bowl of SG Ennerdale like a GL Pease flake which I find dryer than most brands regardless of the blend/cut. Big mistake, it was goopy. I then cut it up with scissors prior to rubbing it out. Big mistake, burned like a loony tunes gunpowder trail.

 

[anotherbob]

oh shot. I forgot a key thing. It requires a match, soft flame, or zippo to do this. But the initial light on a flake is going to be to create a bigger deeper brighter ember then I would normally do. To basically over light the flake. Seems to make the rest burn and relight so much easier. No idea why it works but it's what I've found key to enjoying flakes to the peak. As always Ymwv (your mileage will vary)

 

[bullet08]

Flakes. Dry first. Then don't pack them too tight. They expand and choke the airway. Fold, twist, and pack.

 

[burleybreath]

I don't know about the humidity where you guys live, but here in upstate New York's late summer I let the flakes dry for a day or so. A few minutes to me is worthless. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but that's how I roll...

 

[sardonicus87]

oh shot. I forgot a key thing. It requires a match, soft flame, or zippo to do this. But the initial light on a flake is going to be to create a bigger deeper brighter ember then I would normally do. To basically over light the flake. Seems to make the rest burn and relight so much easier. No idea why it works but it's what I've found key to enjoying flakes to the peak. As always Ymwv (your mileage will vary)

Flakes do take more to get going because each individual piece (when rubbed out) still has more density per surface area than say, a ribbon.

It definitely takes more effort to start a flake cut regardless of how you prepared it, but once it's going, I don't find it to be any more difficult than any other.

For what it's worth, I generally break them in halves or thirds short-ways, then rub them out somewhat loosely, to a point slightly more rubbed-out than ready rubbed, but not so far as it's like a ribbon.

After that, I pinch a pile and shove it in like a "codger scoop" just with no packing, and I generally don't have issues with flakes. I never dry them out or anything, just however they are in the tin is how they go into the pipe, and I don't need to relight flakes any more often than other types of cuts, and it's rare that I need to poke around in it to keep it going or restart it.

I don't know about the humidity where you guys live, but here in upstate New York's late summer I let the flakes dry for a day or so. A few minutes to me is worthless. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but that's how I roll...

I live in lower Alabama, it's extremely humid here and only smoke outdoors, and I don't dry anything.

 

[abecox]

It's finicky and a bit of extra work but I love to cube cut and gravity fill the pipe with flakes. Burns nice and cool and you get more flavor than if you rub it out to a ribbon in my opinion.

 

[anotherbob]

Flakes do take more to get going because each individual piece (when rubbed out) still has more density per surface area than say, a ribbon.

It definitely takes more effort to start a flake cut regardless of how you prepared it, but once it's going, I don't find it to be any more difficult than any other.

For what it's worth, I generally break them in halves or thirds short-ways, then rub them out somewhat loosely, to a point slightly more rubbed-out than ready rubbed, but not so far as it's like a ribbon.

After that, I pinch a pile and shove it in like a "codger scoop" just with no packing, and I generally don't have issues with flakes. I never dry them out or anything, just however they are in the tin is how they go into the pipe, and I don't need to relight flakes any more often than other types of cuts, and it's rare that I need to poke around in it to keep it going or restart it.


I live in lower Alabama, it's extremely humid here and only smoke outdoors, and I don't dry anything.

Oh I forgot I tamp a lot more with flakes. Totally agree on the scoop with no to minimal packing.
I also puff or drag harder and more frequently with flakes as well.

 

[Waning Embers]

They're more of a production cost cut than anything. Prepare them how you enjoy them without feeling pressure to do things as others do.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

oh shot. I forgot a key thing. It requires a match, soft flame, or zippo to do this. But the initial light on a flake is going to be to create a bigger deeper brighter ember then I would normally do. To basically over light the flake. Seems to make the rest burn and relight so much easier. No idea why it works but it's what I've found key to enjoying flakes to the peak. As always Ymwv (your mileage will vary)

Flame is the necessary evil of pipesmoking.

Smoking slowly is key to good flavor, but a good charring light goes a long way to avoiding relights and greatly improves my enjoyment of the bowl.

 

[orlandofurioso]

Single-speed food processor or blender ?

I kid you not; this is Steve from Pipestuds method.

 

[Indygrap]

I’m a newbie piper here, and I’m struggling in the same exact way you are. It’s always at the half way point as you mentioned. I tend to let my cool off then come back to it because I can’t keep it lit and get too hot.

But I found this new video from C&D about packing flake. I’m gonna test it tonight. Thought I’d share it here.

I’ve given this method a try with a couple of bowls & it could be psychosomatic, but I’ve noticed a difference. I’m getting more flavor & a better burn.

 

[zanxion]

That's the only way I pack any tobacco. If it comes like flake or broken flake, I rub it just a bit with my fingers and pack it in my pipe lightly. If moist, it will take a few lights, but in general with dried flakes I had no issues.

 

[Christos D. Tsatsaronis]

Dry, dry, dry
and
rub, rub, rub.

It’ll work I believe.

 

[WVOldFart]

I use a inexpensive coffee grinder. When it is cut smaller it dries quicker, packs nicely and smokes great.

 

[Eireprof]

I don't know about the humidity where you guys live, but here in upstate New York's late summer I let the flakes dry for a day or so. A few minutes to me is worthless. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but that's how I roll...

Same in the Hudson Valley. In fact, I rub the flake out and then let it dry for at least a few hours.

 

[PApiper63]

I dry all of the tobacco that I smoke overnight. Usually, I'll take a decent quantity, maybe 3 ounces, lay it out on a couple of paper plates and in the morning I transfer it to a mylar bag. My personal preference is for extremely dry tobacco. It works well for me. Then, I do the three pinch method. With flakes, I will generally rub them out a bit

 

[dottlejockey]

I smoke flakes all the time and i love them. I rarely dry any tobacco, but that is a successful method if struggling to keep it lit. Typical method for me is to roll the flake like a burrito, fold it over, massage a little back and forth to break it up a bit, then very gently twist into the chamber. The key here is to make sure the diameter of the folded flakes are about the same as the smoking chamber. Anything that sticks up gets broken off and cannon balled on top. All the bits that hit the table from the folding, twisting and cannon balling becomes the fodder for the charring light and tinder to get the bowl going. If it's moist (like fresh out of the tin) i fill looser and pack lighter than normal. Tamp very lightly, only the ash, careful not to pack the unburnt tobacco any tighter in the chamber. Relight as necessary. Typical bowl for me is 2-3 relights for flake. Not that that really matters. Just sharing for the sake of info. Try it all, you'll find a method or combo thereof that works for yas.