Question About Jack Knife Plug

[bcharles123]

Just opened my first tin. The darker tobacco, presumed to be the Kentucky, is extremely tough. Tough to cut through and tough to break up the longer strands. Is this normal? Magical? I'm just drying a little and will soon know I guess.

 

[newbroom]

I put the plug on a cutting surface and cut along the long edge with my JACKknife, making a flake, until it's got so small I just cut it all up and mix it. It is quite tasty.

 

[badger]

Tough to cut through and tough to break up the longer strands. Is this normal? Magical?

Given the two options, I would say magical.

 

[prairiedruid]

There's always the chainsaw option.....cut and cubed at the same time!

 

[danhester]

I actually used a cigar cutter today. It worked really well! I saw the tip in this Smoking Pipes video:
Preparing plugs with a cigar cutter
I'd been using a kitchen knife, but I guess I just don't have one sharp enough

 

[bcharles123]

Thanks! I was thinking a serrated blade. Have a bit of a cold today, can't tell how much I will enjoy this little brick!

 

[mrenglish]

It gets much better with age.

 

[tinsel]

A really sharp knife, a cutting board, and some serious elbow grease is what's needed for JKP. The knife has to be SHARP. I even used a razor blade on several occasions.
As newbroom said, cut along the edge long ways.
I smoke a lot of JKP and got sick of the effort involved to slice it so I use the "easy button" now. I bought a cheap plug cutter. It isn't a really good one, and I can't get the same nice thin even slices I get when cutting by hand. So, I use the plug cutter to cut some thicker flakes (5/32 or 3/16 of an inch roughly) and then toss the resulting thick-cut flakes into an electric coffee grinder for a few quick pulses. Works great, smokes great.

 

[scrooge]

Very good baccy. Mixes extremely well with milder blends to kick them up a notch.