More Frustration W/SG Flakes

[cshubhra]

I will repeat the same thing, I have been saying in all wet/ dry conversations.

1. I prefer my tobacco dry
2. However, I don’t plan my smokes, so many times I smoke at whatever moisture it came with
3. I have smoked Full Virginia Flake and Saint James Flake, directly out of the tin/jar. Did not find any major problems
4. I have seen that there is inconsistency between batches in terms of moisture
5. For these, I still prefer to rub out and if possible dry for 15 minutes
6. I would sometimes rub out a lot, and next time smoke the rubbed out tobacco directly. It is still wet, but a little drier than flakes fresh out of the tin

 

[didimauw]

Maybe next time, take the dry cubes and break them up more before packing.

But yes I break up my flakes with my fingers first, and kind of "fluff" the tobacco. Then I let it sit for a while to dry.

 

[condorlover1]

I have never had issues with the flakes. One or two S&G plugs can be a little on the 'fire proof' side but on the whole most burn fair well. Moisture will always be an issue, but if you are a wet smoker like myself you sort of get used to water and it does help color a meerschaum pipe.

 

[ThermionicScott]

Despite being a pipe smoker for over 20 years, it's only now that flakes are starting to click for me. One of the big lessons is that there are many ways to speed up or slow down combustion, and you have to learn what works best for yourself. It occurs to me that using fold-and-stuff or cube-cutting a flake is what you do when you want to slow down combustion for more flavor. But some of these flakes need no encouragement to burn slower, so rubbing them out as thoroughly as possible and then not packing too tight or tamping too hard helps them to burn. And then you can relax, which always seems to help with flavor...

To a pyro like me, it's just like building a campfire. Use logs if you want a slow burn (but they're harder to get started), use sticks and give them plenty of air if you want a bright, lively fire.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

I've never had problems with SG flakes or any other flakes other than maybe a few more relights than the ribbon/course cut tobaccos. If I plan to smoke a flake, I'll lay out a few flakes on my tobacco plate and let them sit out for about 30 minutes to an hour depending on the moisture level when I remove them from my mason jar. I then break the flake up into a broken flake and gravity fill the bowl and then tamp it down a bit. I'll then take small pieces and put them on top of the bowl to help light the tobacco.

As noted in the previous post; think of it as making a campfire. You need to start off with kindling to get the fire going before you can get the logs going. The small, tiny pieces of broken up flake will work like kindling to help get the pipe going. Maybe this will help you enjoy your flakes more. Good luck!

 

[sablebrush52]

The first time I tried smoking FVF I found it disgusting, just flavorless, difficult to keep lit, tasting more like stable hay after the horse had shit in it. A member here advised me to give it about 5 hours of drying time, which a did, and the difference was amazing.

These days I look for a "feel" to a tobacco rather than to a specific dry time, and these flakes are extremely moist out of the tin. What I generally look for is dry to the touch when squeezed, no feeling of moisture against my skin, but not dry as dust. I find that tobaccos that are dry as dust will still have flavor, but will often lose a little something. I don't cube cut FVF, I just lightly break it apart and let it dry until it feels right.

Another approach you could try is to fold and stuff a flake into the bowl, reserving a little bit to rub out into a fine crumble to use as kindling over the top, let the flake dry in the pipe overnight, and then sprinkle the top with the kindling and light it up.

 

[ADKPiper]

Just to eliminate the possibility that it could be an issue of technique..
You are tamping it after an initial toasting light?
If you just pack it in and light it it won't stay lit. Toast it and tamp it and relight. Do that once or twice.
If that isn't working then I'm stumped.

 

[milk]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I think it all helps. I will start over with this trying the methods suggested in the last few comments. I let some of it get dry as dust which is no good I think. But I have most in a jar so I’ll star over. I appreciate the help very much.

 

[NomadOrb]

I go the nuclear option for SG or GH level of moisture in the flakes. Around 10 seconds in the microwave has been working for me when the flakes are super moist.

I don't like to wait for drying time, I don't really plan my smokes in advance.

 

[milk]

I go the nuclear option for SG or GH level of moisture in the flakes. Around 10 seconds in the microwave has been working for me when the flakes are super moist.

I don't like to wait for drying time, I don't really plan my smokes in advance.

I might try that some time. I didn’t like how hard SG flakes got, especially Bothy. But I think I went too far and crumbled them too much. FVF and Best Brown don’t get quite so hard but still get dusty. Peterson Flakes, by comparison, remain normal/soft with some drying - like normal tobacco. Maybe I just did something wrong. I’m going to start over out of the jar, not dry them too much but still dry them. I might try the microwave or just dry them out a bit without letting them get too dry. If they get too dry, it’s hard to tamp them. Maybe 10 seconds in the microwave is a better option. I really do appreciate everyone’s advice. I smoked a pipe years ago and then quit and recently started again. I remember loving SG’s FVF but I don’t remember how in the hell I smoked them!

 

[rmbittner]

I might try that some time. I didn’t like how hard SG flakes got, especially Bothy. But I think I went too far and crumbled them too much. FVF and Best Brown don’t get quite so hard but still get dusty. Peterson Flakes, by comparison, remain normal/soft with some drying - like normal tobacco. Maybe I just did something wrong. I’m going to start over out of the jar, not dry them too much but still dry them. I might try the microwave or just dry them out a bit without letting them get too dry. If they get too dry, it’s hard to tamp them. Maybe 10 seconds in the microwave is a better option. I really do appreciate everyone’s advice. I smoked a pipe years ago and then quit and recently started again. I remember loving SG’s FVF but I don’t remember how in the hell I smoked them!

Just one comment that I don’t expect to be popular in this thread: SG flakes do not come with instructions because they are not meant to be complicated. The tobacco is meant to be removed from the tin, broken/folded/stuffed as the smoker prefers, and lit. Period.

I can’t help feeling that you are grossly overcomplicating what should be a very simple act. Hence: Frustration.

So before you resort to kitchen appliances, I’d recommend first just trying to smoke these flakes the way they were meant to be smoked. See what that experience is like before making any adjustments in terms of drying, cutting, freeze-drying, sous vide-ing, zapping, etc.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Just one comment that I don’t expect to be popular in this thread: SG flakes do not come with instructions because they are not meant to be complicated. The tobacco is meant to be removed from the tin, broken/folded/stuffed as the smoker prefers, and lit. Period.

I can’t help feeling that you are grossly overcomplicating what should be a very simple act. Hence: Frustration.

So before you resort to kitchen appliances, I’d recommend first just trying to smoke these flakes the way they were meant to be smoked. See what that experience is like before making any adjustments in terms of drying, cutting, freeze-drying, sous vide-ing, zapping, etc.

While I don’t disagree with the first part of what you wrote, he has tried smoking the flakes “as intended,” and can’t keep them lit, hence the variety of suggestions that followed. It would seem to me we’re already past the “as intended” stage.

 

[milk]

Just one comment that I don’t expect to be popular in this thread: SG flakes do not come with instructions because they are not meant to be complicated. The tobacco is meant to be removed from the tin, broken/folded/stuffed as the smoker prefers, and lit. Period.

I can’t help feeling that you are grossly overcomplicating what should be a very simple act. Hence: Frustration.

So before you resort to kitchen appliances, I’d recommend first just trying to smoke these flakes the way they were meant to be smoked. See what that experience is like before making any adjustments in terms of drying, cutting, freeze-drying, sous vide-ing, zapping, etc.

I'm going to start over and do less I think.

 

[milk]

While I don’t disagree with the first part of what you wrote, he has tried smoking the flakes “as intended,” and can’t keep them lit, hence the variety of suggestions that followed. It would seem to me we’re already past the “as intended” stage.

I think I dried them too much. Bothy flake is especially dusty when dried. But I have Best Brown and Full Virginia Flake as well. I think I over-did the drying. I may try to start over. I do want to dry them a bit but I might have gone overboard.

 

[kg.legat0]

My recent fixation w Drexel VIII has made me a lot less afraid to take my tobacco to the crispy zone - at least for Virginias, VaPers, flakes, etc. FVF is definitely no exception, imo.

 

[AJL67]

For some flakes if I rub one out and pinch It and it clumps it's not dry enough.

 

[ThermionicScott]

It's hard to imagine that too dry could make it harder to light, but perhaps it's possible...

Are you using matches, or a lighter of some kind? I'm still trying to figure out why, but matches seem to work better for me. I suspect a lighter allows me to apply the flame for too long, and so too much moisture builds up from the combustion and it actually starts to get too wet again. I've had SG tobacco refuse to light AND start to sizzle! So if a match doesn't get it going somewhat easily, I set the pipe down and give it more time to dry out.

I'll re-iterate, make sure you aren't tamping it too hard. Maybe even put away the tamper and use your pinky for a while to make sure you're doing no more than touching the ash from time to time. Looser is probably better until you find the right balance with this stuff.

 

[sablebrush52]

Just one comment that I don’t expect to be popular in this thread: SG flakes do not come with instructions because they are not meant to be complicated. The tobacco is meant to be removed from the tin, broken/folded/stuffed as the smoker prefers, and lit. Period.

I can’t help feeling that you are grossly overcomplicating what should be a very simple act. Hence: Frustration.

So before you resort to kitchen appliances, I’d recommend first just trying to smoke these flakes the way they were meant to be smoked. See what that experience is like before making any adjustments in terms of drying, cutting, freeze-drying, sous vide-ing, zapping, etc.

I agree with keeping it simple. Rocket science this isn't. And as far as I can tell, all of the suggestions given by people pretty much amount to, "removed from the tin, broken/folded/stuffed as the smoker prefers, and lit. Period."

But the "meant" to be smoked is your opinion, not any kind of fact, just an assumption and a dogmatically delivered one one at that. And a lot of us, me included HAVE tried the straight out of the tin experience for this blend and moved on to something that works much better for us. How do you know how something was MEANT to be smoked? Do you really think that everyone here with literal CENTURIES of smoking practice and experience are somehow completely clueless?

Not every maker tins at a moisture level "meant" to be smoked. A few do, but again, NOT all. I assume from your position on how tobaccos are "meant" to be smoked that you neither cellar, nor age tobaccos. After all, that's NOT how they're "meant" to be smoked. They're "meant" to be smoked right off the shelf, at least according to Robert Germain who said the blends were ready to be consumed on delivery and to "Stop faffing about". So if you're aging anything you are not smoking your tobacco as it was "meant" to be smoked. Better toss all that out and start from scratch. right?

I do have a personal definition for how tobacco is "meant" to be smoked, and it's not complex. Tobacco is meant to be smoked in whatever manner the experience provides the greatest pleasure and satisfaction. Period.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

The first time I tried smoking FVF I found it disgusting, just flavorless, difficult to keep lit, tasting more like stable hay after the horse had shit in it. A member here advised me to give it about 5 hours of drying time, which a did, and the difference was amazing.

When I first got going with a pipe smoking, someone suggested SG FVF and gifted me a tin. I brought it home and loaded up a bowl. It was a disaster, because I had no idea about flake tobaccos. Once I finally got the pipe going well it was just awful. I thought it had to be the worst tasting tobacco ever. Nope, figured out later there were definitely tobaccos I disliked more. That was 11 years ago, and I haven't smoked FVF since. I've thought about trying it again, but the memories are painful, and I'd hate to re-live those.

 

[NomadOrb]

When I first got going with a pipe smoking, someone suggested SG FVF and gifted me a tin. I brought it home and loaded up a bowl. It was a disaster, because I had no idea about flake tobaccos. Once I finally got the pipe going well it was just awful. I thought it had to be the worst tasting tobacco ever. Nope, figured out later there were definitely tobaccos I disliked more. That was 11 years ago, and I haven't smoked FVF since. I've thought about trying it again, but the memories are painful, and I'd hate to re-live those.

New youtube video idea?