Preference: Rubbed or Doubled?

[JOHN72]

I have wanted to start this thread, many times, and in the end forgot. After several years of smoking pipe tobacco, trying, learning, and spitting tobacco. I have to say, that I like to put the bent tobacco in better, and not rubbed. The bent tobacco, gives me more concentration of aroma, more complete, more satisfaction in general. I try to give it a point of humidity, and the truth is, it's wonderful. And you, how do you prefer it?

 

[Sigmund]

Almost everything I smoke is ready rubbed or cake (HU and various latakia blends). I will give it a try to see the difference on the few I have in flake. I tend to have a battle folding flakes and getting a good light. Probably becuase I dont do it much.

 

[DKpiper]

Now I always smoke my flakes rubbed out.
I've tried fold and stuff many times, but it didn't do anything good for me.
I rub out a tin, when I open it (50 or 100 gr.) and keep it in my jars. That makes it easy to grab the jar and load the pipe.

 

[BingBong]

Folded flakes, slightly moist, for a longer tastier smoke. Samuel Gawith flakes are a challenge to get lit, but are also very tasty.

Not all pipes are good for flake, though.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I am not the type of smoker who always smokes the same way every time. I like to switch it up from time to time. My first pipe this morning, I folded and stuffed an Astleys 44 flake, and was thinking about whether I preferred it stuffed or rubbed out. Maybe a little slower burning, maybe a tad more flavor, but having to constantly fiddle with the flakes as they burn is the turn off for me. So for me, the trade off for being able to just smoke the bowl without having to tamp but maybe once or twice makes rubbed out my favorite. But, I will will still fold and stuff from time to time, especially if my hands are free and I'm not having to do something complicated while smoking.

 

[OzPiper]

Another one here who has difficulty with folding and stuffing
Best results fully rubbed out or cube cut and gravity fed.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Another one here who has difficulty with folding and stuffing.
Best results fully rubbed out or cube cut and gravity fed.

Raising hand here!

I've had good success with folding a few times but when it's as dry as I want, it seems to turn into a bit of a mess, lol, and I just haven't for a long time. I've taken to just rolling between the palms a bit and go from there.

 

[telescopes]

It depends on how lazy I am feeling on any particular day. Maybe a better taste does exist with a folded wad, but I don’t like the number of relights that tend to come with folding.

 

[Mrs. Pickles]

Fold-and-stuff is some advanced wizardry that I wish I could reliably do. I seem to have more luck folding C&D flakes (maybe because they can’t help but fragment as they fold.) But generally it’s cube cut and gravity fill for me.

 

[didimauw]

I enjoy some flakes. But only after they are dried to a crisp, and obliterated first.

 

[kcghost]

The only coin tobacco I smoke is Escudo and I fold-and-stuff it. Work marvelously for me. Other tobaccos I break apart according to what it is. Just about everything else I smoke is a flake, so I just break it apart and load the pipe.

 

[Hillcrest]

I prefer fold and stuff for slower burning more flavorful smoke. I usually fold twice, stuff then tamp any loose top flakes. Occasionally I try to put too much tobacco in the bowl and have to back off and trim the excess. Whatever works for you is the best way.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I dry heck out of the flakes and shove 'em in the pipe. I wouldnt even call it folding.

 

[KruegerFlap]

I prefer to rub out flakes more often then fold and stuff. I like the fewer relights when it's rubbed out. I use the fold and stuff method with coins more often than rubbing them out just because they tend to burn ok with either method as long as the moisture level isn't too high. I try not to dry flakes and coins out too much because I have noticed more pronounced flavor loss than with tobacco that's already rubbed or ribbon cut.

 

[simong]

Fold & stuff for me, John.

 

[olkofri]

Rubbed out. I've always failed to keep folded tobacco lit.

 

[krizzose]

I fold and stuff anything of German or Danish manufacture. C&D made flakes just fall apart into a ready-rubbed consistency, so that’s good enough for me. McClelland and Gawith I usually cube cut.

 

[Roach1]

Tried to fold flake several times and only worked once.

 

[WirelessSmoke]

I do both, but I think I prefer rubbing out my flakes as I was advised to early on in my pipe journey. There is something satisfying about rubbing out a couple tins, and jarring them on a lazy afternoon. Then setting a little bit aside for a smoke afterwards of course.

 

[Sobrbiker]

Most of the time: rubbed out.
Thin, uniform flakes I now usually cut in half, rub lengthwise to loosen, then rub circularly between palms to turn into skinny ribbon-ish type.
Big jerky type flakes (Gawith type stuff) I’ll cut about and inch long and do the same.