A little dottle never hurt anyone.

[Anonymous]

VAs and Vapers I cannot. Those seem to get an ashy taste that collects dry on the back of my palete.

It's possible (not necessarily likely) that you're getting an ashy taste toward the end from drawing fine ash through the pipe along with the smoke. Ash seems to draw around/through flakes/broken flakes easier than through ribbon cuts.

I've found it a not bad idea to fluff the top ash with whatever's handy and tip it out periodically -- especially before a re-light further down.

FWIW

:face:

 

[bruins]

I've found it a not bad idea to fluff the top ash with whatever's handy and tip it out periodically -- especially before a re-light further down.

FWIW

:face:

thanks yak. i hate sucking ash but have been afraid to disturb the top ash. i'm going to fluff and tip now.

 

[thecrowdog]

I make a point to smoke my pipes to the bottom only if I am breaking them in. Other than that I usually leave a little tobacco unsmoked.

Same here. When breaking a pipe in, I'm very careful to gently smoke it all the way down. After that, often I think I *must* have smoked it all the way down to the cake only to find those toasty little crispies in the ash. But who am I kidding, usually I get about a third the way through a bowl and something interrupts my sacred "tobacco hour."

 

[Greenleaf]

Along the lines of fluffing and tipping before those relights, should I tamp before or after relighting beyond that point? I always light and then tamp to maximize the burn. I get the feeling I've asked a stupid question, quickly snicker and forgive if that's the case.

 

[bruins]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

no actually i'd like to hear the answer to that one.

 

[ZeroContent]

if it's proper or not I have no idea, but if the pipe is out I tamp, tip out what is loose, and light. Seems to work for me Also don't know if it's "correct" but if the pipe is still lit I find drawing on the pipe while tamping helps to not snuff out what's lit and rejuvenates the burn.

 

[Anonymous]

The only time I've ever found even a very light tamp in order is previous to a re-light (after extra ash is fluffed/poured out).

FWIW

:face:

 

[Smokntaz]

I've noticed that flakes seems ash much finer and packs on it's own. When I can't relight it anymore then I tip and tamp then light.

On the dottle however, I find when I near the bottom of the bowl the dottle is usually pretty moist and any hard attempt to relight leads to tongue burn. Sometimes I'll let it dry over night and smoke the rest in the morning but most of the time I'm too impatient and just move on to the next bowl

 

[Anonymous]

This stuff isn't really rocket science, Gents.

You pack flakes on that knife edge between being too loose to stay suspended over the bottom by pressing against the sides (it's going to swell as it absorbs moisture in smoking) and so tightly that, as it does, pipe misery ensues -- tongue bite, steam heating the bowl, condensation & the rest of it. Greed is the enemy ; scissors (to trim the extra protruding at the top) are invaluable.

This assumes that you're not "tamping" it subsequently (which you don't need to anyway), pushing it down to where you've got the bottom of the tobacco plug resting on (worse : squashed into) the bottom of the bowl, where it's going to create a soggy, steamy, foetid mess.

The ideal is attainable maybe one time out of twenty. That's no big deal. When you start sensing incipient tongue bite (which is around the same point you can feel the bowl starting to get past warm), just put it down until it's as cool to the touch as one of other other pipes is. Wanting to resume before it's ready is greed. Greed is the enemy.

This will happen especially at the beginning. Neither the char light nor the follow-up light will "set" it. Both times it will dwindle and disappear. Trying to force it to keep it going is greed. Greed is the enemy. Pipes and tobaccos are female. Take what they give you and enjoy it at its best.

Ribbon cuts (most English mixtures) are just a variation on the same theme -- keeping the tobacco up off the bottom of the bowl by enough to notice.

The easy way (because you can see what you're doing) is to gather a plug of tobac between four fingers (as you do with a flake) wide enough to stay suspended in the bowl by side pressure. Put this part way (maybe 2/3rds of the way to the bottom) in. But instead of trimming the top, hold the tamper at an angle and work the excess straight down around the circumference. It'll likely take from two to maybe four revolutions, depending on how moist the tobac is.

(All I can say here is that deliberately letting fresh, moist tobac [like GLP's] dry out some before smoking it is about like letting hot-from-the-bakery-oven glazed doughnuts sit around 'til the next day before eating them. De gustibus non diputandem maybe, but what a waste of flavor and scrumptiousness !).

Done this way, you've created the functional analogue of a cigar, but in reverse : a nice loose center with a firm pack around the periphery.

This will probably crown way up at the char light, so keep this brief, and let it settle for a minute or so before lighting it for real. It's about managing (dissipating) steam. It's always about letting steam dissipate. The heat is only consequential. Dry heat doesn't penetrate. Steam heat does. Smoking "hot" means, in practice, smoking damp.

As with the enjoyment of any other carnal pleasure, "fast & furious" is a sub-optimal approach.

Best I can do.

:face:

 

[bruins]

Pipes and tobaccos are female. Take what they give you and enjoy it at its best.

excellent 'how to' yak. but this quote was my favorite, and i'd say near 'profound', part of it. nicely done sir!

 

[Harlock999]

"Greed is the enemy"

Note to self : remember these words

 

[Roqsan]

This stuff isn't really rocket science, Gents.

You pack flakes on that knife edge between being too loose to stay suspended over the bottom by pressing against the sides (it's going to swell as it absorbs moisture in smoking) and so tightly that, as it does, pipe misery ensues -- tongue bite, steam heating the bowl, condensation & the rest of it. Greed is the enemy ; scissors (to trim the extra protruding at the top) are invaluable.

This assumes that you're not "tamping" it subsequently (which you don't need to anyway), pushing it down to where you've got the bottom of the tobacco plug resting on (worse : squashed into) the bottom of the bowl, where it's going to create a soggy, steamy, foetid mess.

The ideal is attainable maybe one time out of twenty. That's no big deal. When you start sensing incipient tongue bite (which is around the same point you can feel the bowl starting to get past warm), just put it down until it's as cool to the touch as one of other other pipes is. Wanting to resume before it's ready is greed. Greed is the enemy.

This will happen especially at the beginning. Neither the char light nor the follow-up light will "set" it. Both times it will dwindle and disappear. Trying to force it to keep it going is greed. Greed is the enemy. Pipes and tobaccos are female. Take what they give you and enjoy it at its best.

Ribbon cuts (most English mixtures) are just a variation on the same theme -- keeping the tobacco up off the bottom of the bowl by enough to notice.

The easy way (because you can see what you're doing) is to gather a plug of tobac between four fingers (as you do with a flake) wide enough to stay suspended in the bowl by side pressure. Put this part way (maybe 2/3rds of the way to the bottom) in. But instead of trimming the top, hold the tamper at an angle and work the excess straight down around the circumference. It'll likely take from two to maybe four revolutions, depending on how moist the tobac is.

(All I can say here is that deliberately letting fresh, moist tobac [like GLP's] dry out some before smoking it is about like letting hot-from-the-bakery-oven glazed doughnuts sit around 'til the next day before eating them. De gustibus non diputandem maybe, but what a waste of flavor and scrumptiousness !).

Done this way, you've created the functional analogue of a cigar, but in reverse : a nice loose center with a firm pack around the periphery.

This will probably crown way up at the char light, so keep this brief, and let it settle for a minute or so before lighting it for real. It's about managing (dissipating) steam. It's always about letting steam dissipate. The heat is only consequential. Dry heat doesn't penetrate. Steam heat does. Smoking "hot" means, in practice, smoking damp.

As with the enjoyment of any other carnal pleasure, "fast & furious" is a sub-optimal approach.

Best I can do.

:face:

This is about the best explanation of how to smoke flakes that I've seen. Really belongs in a FAQ (hint) rather than a post way down the bottom of thread. I often think that some of the reviewers on the tobacco review web site might have some problems with packing, particularly when they slate my favourite tobaccos... and why don't the tobacco manufacturers put some instructions on their web sites or even on the tins? - how many neophyte pipe smokers have given up after burning off the skin from their mouths?