Tips for Lighting and Smoking McClelland Blends

[pinem]

I'm stumped. It seems that every McClelland blend I have tried is a bear to get lit without scorching your tongue. I find that even with a butane lighter, I have to puff almost 4 times as long as it takes to light any other tobacco. It takes forever to create an ash cap on the tobacco as well. It is like their tobaccos are almost immune to heat.
I also find that they all have a tendency to smoke wet, even when fully dried out. For some, even the microwave is of no help, the tobacco still stays "rubbery". This is especially the case for some 5100 red cake I have. Even in my best smokers, that smoke all other blends dry to the bottom of the bowl, I find I end up with a veritable swimming pool in the bottom of my pipe by the time I get to a 1/4 bowl.
Any tips on how to deal with these? Do I just need to dry them out to a crisp, stick them in the oven for a couple hours? I have tried packing them looser, but that doesn't seem to be of much help. I have been smoking a pipe for about 1.5 years, and have yet to figure these tobaccos out. Blends smoked include 5100, FMC, 3OS, Wilderness, pebblecut, and blackwoods flake.

 

[clickklick]

Here's what you do. Do a charting light. Tamp flat. Let the embers die, then light again, tamp flat. Set aside for a couple minutes. Come back, relight... enjoy! Works for me every time!

 

[mortonbriar]

Try smoking the 5100 in a clay, that's a good smoke I have found.

 

[scrooge]

+1 what clickklick says.

 

[woodsroad]

Let it dry. Dry until it feels too dry. Dry to just before it starts to crumble. It's water in there, not PG, so it will dry.

 

[hmhaines]

^^^
Poifect advice.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Whether night out of the tin or dried a little, I've never had an issue with McClelland blends... except Dark Star. Dark Star just needs a little more dry time and then run through my grinder.

 

[cossackjack]

Pack the pipe & allow it to rest overnight, then charring light & light tamping 3-4 times.

Works for me, even with Dark Star. Several relights are usually needed, but not a problem.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

All you need is a squirrel with a flame thrower.
squirrel with a flame thrower

:mrgreen:

 

[jabo]

As stated. Char light,maybe twice if needed for a good char. Tamp flat. Set aside for a few minutes. Works more often than it fails. ;-)

 

[oldtoby]

I'm with Cosmic on Dark Star. A different animal indeed.
Even with McC tinned and most bulks, they do indeed a bit of drying time for best results. IMHO, their flakes do not do well folded and stuffed like MacBarens or the like. Rub them out fully for the best burn, with a good char light and a few minutes DGT. Works wonders.

 

[johncorosz]

I buy mine in bulk. The flakes mostly for me but the RED is a must have and smokes fine without any special method needed. The flakes I generally cut with a scissors and let stand out on a plate for about 10-15 minutes. Drop them into the bowl and "char light" with a solid smoke anytime. This method works for me on all flakes I have purchased. In fact I also microwave the tobacco in a glass that I plan to smoke that evening. I then pull the tobacco from that cup until it's gone and if some of it is bone dry by the end of the night I just dump the bits back in the bag and try to find the "shake" (tiny pieces of broken flake) in the bottom of the bag and let that sit out for 15-20 minutes and smoke it.

 

[lavarockpuffer]

Has anyone tried putting a bowl or two out on a paper towel under a 60 watt light bulb?

I have done this on occasion for 5-10 mins at about 8-10 inches from bulb.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Can also microwave for about eight seconds.

 

[shutterbugg]

Samuel Gawith flakes are similar. I love Kendal Mayor's Chocolate Flake and Firedance, but the problem getting and keeping them lit relegates them to occasional smokes. I do as was suggested...light them, then let it sit for a half hour or so. Usually by then it lights and smokes fine. Why I don't just dry it out beforehand is, drying changes the flavor by evaporating the topping, so at least this way I get a few puffs at full-flavor.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Why I don't just dry it out beforehand is, drying changes the flavor by evaporating the topping

That is a sound point against drying. Since a lot of blends are probably topped to some degree that we don't even know about, lighting and then letting sit seems to be a good course of action. Like you said though, too much fuss puts me off. I usually want to smoke when I want to (and can) smoke, and planning ahead doesn't always sound appealing.
All that said, I've personally never had a problem with the McClelland I've smoked. I haven't opened any of my Dark Star yet, though.

 

[balkisobrains]

After trying all of the usual things, I think that I saw some improvement by baking a sealed tin of Wilderness at (supposed to have been) 220f for 2.5 hours, (my sealed tin ended up around 185f for 3+ hours, I never checked the actual tin temp until the end, and I forgot it was in there) and then letting it sit for three weeks and then cracking it open. I've only smoked one bowl of the baked stuff so far, but the flavors were not affected adversely, and it did not produce an unflavored cavendish-type flavor which I was worried about, and it seemed to burn a little more easily, which was my main goal. The blender recommends trying this as a flavor-enhancer, but the blend didn't really want to burn well for me either, and I usually intentionally carefully re-light a number of times throughout a smoke anyway, so you know it was bothering me. The idea of baking it is to try and convert starches to sugars. Some people have tried this with opened/bulk tobacco in a glass jar and wet paper towels over the top, but I have not tried that. I guess that it would work similarly. I usually let my tobacco sit out in dry air for up to a couple or three hours in any case, and the Wilderness was always tough to keep going. I'll smoke some more of it soon to be sure, but my first impression was that baking the sealed tin did help the burn to some degree.