Modifying the Cut of a Blend

[Lumbridge]

I've got a day off today and no obligations, so naturally, I've been sitting out on the deck, watching the trees and the rain, and indulging in several pipefuls. For months, I've been slowly working my way through a tin of C&D Da Vinci, a LatVaBur mixture of long ribbon blended with chunks and bits of flake. I didn't care for the cut of this blend, so I dumped the contents of the jar out on a clean plate and set to work, pinching up clumps of tobacco and tearing them apart with my fingers until I got a consistent, finer cut. It's a crude method, but it worked quite well. I find the result to be easier to load into a narrower bowl and easier to light. Sprinkled into my unfinished Balandis No. 15, it lit more easily and seemed to have a more consistent burn and flavor.

I have also tried this with chunky ready rubbed blends with some success, resulting in something slightly thicker than the typical cross cut.

I've always tended to gravitate towards blends with a cross cut or rough cut for their ease of loading and lighting. Breaking apart thick ribbons gives me the opportunity to enjoy a wider variety of blends in a format that I prefer. I'm sure some might make the argument that tobacco blending is an artform, so it should be enjoyed the way the blender intended, blah blah blah - and I've seen the same said about drying blends versus smoking them at package moisture levels - but in the end, tobacco is a consumer product, and it is up to the individual consumer to decide how to best enjoy it.

Who else modifies the cut of their blends? Of course, this is often done with flakes, ropes, and plugs out of necessity, but I'm specifically taking about blends in a ribbon cut, ready rub, or similar cut which is intended to be ready to load and smoke.

 

[gamzultovah]

I do this all the time. I have no talent with long, stringy ribbon cut tobacco, so I dry it out and crush it finer. I can then gravity load and enjoy.

 

[Tate]

I forgot what blend it is but there is a GL Pease blend I want to do the same thing to. There are chunks of Flake in it? I also want to ready rub the Key Largo. I prefer the ready to go blends because I smoke on the go pretty often. I enjoy the bends but if I can't easily pack it on a break I won't grab for it during the work week basically.

 

[anotherbob]

Sometimes the bottom of a tin ends up doing this to it's self. Sometimes it's better then the original but normally I find I like the blend cut as it is. Love chunky over finer cut, though also love shag so maybe I am just easy to please.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Whatever it takes to get it to smoke to your satisfaction.

 

[Sobrbiker]

Just finished a couple ounces of collected Va flake droppings from jarring up bulks a while back.
Dried up, crumbly and smoked wonderfully.

I also chop flakes into 1/4” or so child cross grain after push/twisting to loosen, then rub out en masse and put in portable containers to load easier at work.

Thinking of getting a “spice grinder” from scamazon for processing stubborn rubbers.

 

[Lumbridge]

Just finished a couple ounces of collected Va flake droppings from jarring up bulks a while back.
Dried up, crumbly and smoked wonderfully.

I also chop flakes into 1/4” or so child cross grain after push/twisting to loosen, then rub out en masse and put in portable containers to load easier at work.

Thinking of getting a “spice grinder” from scamazon for processing stubborn rubbers.

You know, I hadn't thought of using a grinder, but that might actually be a good idea. Worth trying out, at least. Maybe I'll pick one up and run some Newminster 400 through it just to see what happens.

 

[Tate]

You know, I hadn't thought of using a grinder, but that might actually be a good idea. Worth trying out, at least. Maybe I'll pick one up and run some Newminster 400 through it just to see what happens.

Keep us posted on how it goes!

 

[Lumbridge]

Sometimes the bottom of a tin ends up doing this to it's self. Sometimes it's better then the original but normally I find I like the blend cut as it is. Love chunky over finer cut, though also love shag so maybe I am just easy to please.

Though I usually like the finer cuts, I also find that I like ready rubbed blends, and sometimes I'll fold and stuff a well-aired flake. IMO, the thicker the cut, the drier it needs to be.
The blends I most despise dealing with are overly moist aromatics that come as a sticky, thick ribbon. They only pack and light decently well in a wide chamber with a gravity fill, which is the only way I've found that I can enjoy those blends as they come out of the pouch/tin.

 

[Lumbridge]

Whatever it takes to get it to smoke to your satisfaction.

I've been smoking more aromatics lately in a larger pipe and gravity filling the chamber, as per a recommendation you made to me a while back, and I've been having more success with them, so thanks for that!

 

[Chasing Embers]

I've been smoking more aromatics lately in a larger pipe and gravity filling the chamber, as per a recommendation you made to me a while back, and I've been having more success with them, so thanks for that!

Very welcome.

 

[OzPiper]

Thinking of getting a “spice grinder” from scamazon for processing stubborn rubbers.

You know, I hadn't thought of using a grinder, but that might actually be a good idea.

Steve (@pipestud) has mentioned using a spice/coffee grinder in a few of his tobacco reviews

I haven’t tried using one - don’t wish to be banned from the kitchen by the wife

I don’t find it too much of a chore to rub out or tear longer strands up.
Esp if they have been dried well enough

 

[Lumbridge]

Steve (@pipestud) has mentioned using a spice/coffee grinder in a few of his tobacco reviews

I haven’t tried using one - don’t wish to be banned from the kitchen by the wife

I don’t find it too much of a chore to rub out or tear longer strands up.
Esp if they have been dried well enough

I was thinking of one of the little manually operated ones, the type typically used for "herbs". Doing a quick search, I came across one that even fits over the mouth of a mason jar so one can grind directly into the jar. I see no reason not to give it a shot for tobacco. Just drop some broken flake in and twist.

 

[kcghost]

I don't much care to mix blends, but you are certainly welcome to try.

 

[anotherbob]

Though I usually like the finer cuts, I also find that I like ready rubbed blends, and sometimes I'll fold and stuff a well-aired flake. IMO, the thicker the cut, the drier it needs to be.
The blends I most despise dealing with are overly moist aromatics that come as a sticky, thick ribbon. They only pack and light decently well in a wide chamber with a gravity fill, which is the only way I've found that I can enjoy those blends as they come out of the pouch/tin.

the most important thing is knowing how to handle the cut, whatever it is.

 

[gamzultovah]

Also, I use different bores for different cuts of tobacco. I use a tapered bore for dense flakes and straight bore (what I call a pot shape bore) for ribbons. I find the mechanics work best for me when I do this.

 

[Egg Shen]

I keep cuticle scissors on my tray for the occasional adjustment to how a blend is cut.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Not often, but every now and then, I will use one of these.

 

[Ash Cooper]

In my UNrefined approach, I delicately press my ribbons, allowing them to luxuriate within the confines of a press for an entire week. The result? A smoking experience akin to indulging in a delectable crumble cake—far surpassing in flavor sophistication.

 

[Lumbridge]

Also, I use different bores for different cuts of tobacco. I use a tapered bore for dense flakes and straight bore (what I call a pot shape bore) for ribbons. I find the mechanics work best for me when I do this.

I have noticed that different bowl shapes and dimensions can work better for different cuts, yes. Wide bowls definitely make long, thick ribbon cut easier to load, and I like a narrower bowl for rubbed flakes (narrow and tall for folded flakes). Cross cuts work well in any bowl, which is part of why I like them so much.