Smoking Flakes In Small Pipes

[shanez]

This thread and the responses have been very enlightening to read. A good reminder that every blend, every pipe, and every smoker is different. There really is no wrong or right.

I hadn't thought about it but as some have noted a really long smoke can get boring and/or tiresome. On the other hand, I can't seem to find a pipe big enough for CH&C Scotch Flake. If it starts to get a little bland while smoking I simply dump the ash off the top, tamp at an angle/scrape down the sides into a mound again, relight, and it's off to the races all over again. This blend does really well with this and its chocolatey goodness never gets tiring to me (at least not in a single smoking session).

 

[krizzose]

Like a couple others, I like a .75" - .80" inner diameter for flakes (assuming fold and stuff). That ID also works best for me with cube cut blends.

 

[musicman]

When I do fold and stuff, I to tend to prefer narrower bowl dimensions, as with a fatter bowl I tend to overstuff the flake which can lead to a plugged pipe when the flake lights and expands.

However, 90 percent of the time I fully rub my flakes out, which I've found leads to more consistently dried tobacco, and hence more consistent burning. I think part of my growth as a pipe smoker in 2021 will be learning how to fold and stuff more consistently, as I have found that with some flakes, if I fold and stuff, I get a richer, more flavorful smoke.

 

[Lyle b]

For those of us who prefer small pipes, do you smoke flakes in them or do you save the flakes for larger pipes?

When I smoke a flake in one of my small pipes I usually cut it in half and stuff half in while rubbing out the other half to use as kindling. Sometimes I only end up using about half a flake total because the chamber just won't fit a whole flake.

Smaller pipes make up the greater portion of my pipe rotation , my little petes are just for flake , fold and stuff but not to tight , equals a nice slow sipped bowl of flovoursom goodness

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

We used to have a member and pipemaker, Ryan Alden (or was it Walt Cannoy?) who used to demonstrate how chamber size and how much tobacco packed are affected by the chamber dimensions. He would pack the chamber with clay or maybe it was wax, and then pull it out to show the dimensions. It is eye-opening how the chamber and stummel can be misleading on the amount of tobacco can be consumed in it.

And, a .5" x 1" chamber smokes for exactly the same ratio of time as a .8" x 1.6" pipe, because the ratios are exact. I like to nerd out on stuff like this. Plus, it helped me understand why my Pumas smoked for the same length of time as some of my giant pipes.

I don't there is a perfect linear relationship so exactly may be a stretch. But I see where your reasoning is sound so similar makes sense.