Im a relatively new piper, and I'm sure you're further along than me, but maybe this could help a bit or maybe someone else. I had this issue with a pipe of mine and this is what worked for me:
1. I put a "base" of a flake in the bottom of my bowl to "protect" the airway from clogs. I take a thin strip of a flake (maybe a mm or 2 and 3-4 inches or so long) and roll it like a cold cut lunch meat on a tray. There is air in the middle of the roll to prevent blocking and the structure of the flake gives protection from getting too compacted at the base. For the rest of the bowl, you can use cube cut, fold and stuff, or rubbed out whatever. If you are smoking flake, it's obviously easy to use the same tobacco. If you are using ribbon or whatever, you can use some pretty bland Virginia flakes to use as base, or even a flake similar to the type of ribbon cut you are smoking. I don't think it "adulterates" the taste much or at all, but some people would object to this I'm sure.
For these instances, I have also experimented for ribbon cuts by taking the biggest, chunkiest pieces of the blend and twisting them together, preserving some air flow, like in the cold cut. I put this in the bottom. It has worked okay if you don't want to add the flake base.
2. Also in general for this pipe and for flakes, I pack much less tobacco in and tamp much lighter.
I'm sure some of this is common knowledge and I may be overcomplicating things. "Just stuff the tobacco and light it ya bastard" I have been told. But I had problems with clogging and the tobacco not staying lit. "Don't mind the relights ya bastard" I was told hahahahah. These guys haven't had to burn through a can of butane in a day and refill a lighter twice during a smoke. 1 puff, relight, 1 puff, relight, 1 puff relight. It detracted from the experience for me some.
Hope it helps. Maybe just the pipe. Lot of variables.
