Ah, the old fold and stuff -less is more

[MC]

I have not had much luck with any of the flake tobaccos I smoke using the fold and stuff method. They are normally rubbed out and dried a few mins before packing. I was in a hurry to leave the house today grabbed a Burley Slice folded it put it in the pipe and left it alone. After first light and one lite tamp it was the most enjoyable smoke. Full of taste, stayed lite well. Smoked down to a nice grey ash while walking the dog in the woods

It appears I paid to much attention to the tobacco in the past fold and stuff attempts. Never could smoke more than half way through a bowl without having problems.


So, less is more

Leave it alone and smoke it.

 

[bentbulldog]

I've yet to figure out how to smoke a flake without rubbing it out. Nice going MC!

Did you find the taste was more concentrated, more flavorful, less bitey?

 

[williamcharles]

Here is my flake smoking progression over the last two years.

I used to avoid the fold and stuff because I couldn't get it to work well. I'm now getting consistently good smokes from thin sliced flakes like the Danish flakes (OGS, PSLNF, Marlin Flake...). I thought about it for awhile and decided that I should fold the flake end to end, give the bundle a twist or three to separate the strands of tobacco a bit and shove it vertically and loosely into the bowl using no pressure and with the folded end up. Why shove the fold into the heel where it's going to be hard to smoke? I like my flake to crack when folded but not to break completely. Those cracks make it easy to get a good light. Putting the fold at the top makes it burn a lot better than it will when its damp and tightly pressed at the heel.

It's the tamping that'll kill your smoke. Every thing else can be perfect and then one can easily blow it all with a bad tamp. Don't tamp hard enough to compress the tobacco. All you have to do is keep the ember in contact with the tobacco under it. Took me a while to figure than one out.

I got a great smoke from a flake of 1792 using this technique. I did it but I still don't believe it happened. I tried to repeat it and it didn't work as well. The flake used in the second attempt was thicker than that used in the first bowl and was hard to keep lit.
A guy on youtube told me to run it through an herb grinder. I've tried to smoke some 1792 that had been ground into small pellets. Could not make it burn and neither could two friends. I got a grinder of the type used by the heads to grind their weedajauna. Worked a treat. Didn't come out as cubes. Looked more like the old PA crimp cut. Works every time for me now. 1792 is the only flake that I use this on other than slicing Cob plug and doing it the same way.

Thick sliced British flakes I dry until they crack but stay together when folded (I like some moisture in my flake), fold end to end, roll into a bundle with tobac shreds parallel to each other and give it a few twists and then drop the tobac into my palm and pinch, poke and prod it with my fingers to get broken flake for outdoors. For indoors I rub it out after breaking it up.

I didn't realize that I was using three techniques to smoke flake until I typed and re-read this. Now I finally know why flakes are smoking better for me. Looks like over the last two years it all crept up on me and fell into place. For me. Who knows? It may not work for you. You have to figure out how to make a tobac burn and then find how it burns best for you.

It's a lot easier to just rub it all out. Coarsely rubbed for outside and finely rubbed for inside. Just smoke it slow and easy.

 

[utahpipeman]

I have not had much luck with any of the flake tobaccos I smoke using the fold and stuff method. They are normally rubbed out and dried a few mins before packing. I was in a hurry to leave the house today grabbed a Burley Slice folded it put it in the pipe and left it alone. After first light and one lite tamp it was the most enjoyable smoke. Full of taste, stayed lite well. Smoked down to a nice grey ash while walking the dog in the woods

It appears I paid to much attention to the tobacco in the past fold and stuff attempts. Never could smoke more than half way through a bowl without having problems.


So, less is more

Leave it alone and smoke it.

That's exactly how it was for me. Compared to my current techniques, when I first started, I tried too hard. I overpacked the bowl and I tamped too often and too hard. When I finally hit it right...Wow! If I could, I would smoke everything in flake form, but there isn't quite enough variety (I'm still dreaming about the Haddo's Delight Flake that was rumored to be in development).

 

[MC]

I think tobacco does have better flavor when flakes are left in flake form and smoked. If only it was that easy. Different cuts, thickness and dryness all make a difference in the way they smoke. Look forward to enough years of pipe smoking to get it rite every time.

 

[JPatrick]

I mostly rub out flakes, very seldom will I fold a flake. Folding does supply a long slow smoke though. What it comes down to, for me is what I'm in the mood for.

 

[Socrates]

It's the tamping that'll kill your smoke. Every thing else can be perfect and then one can easily blow it all with a bad tamp. Don't tamp hard enough to compress the tobacco. All you have to do is keep the ember in contact with the tobacco under it. Took me a while to figure than one out.

This needs to be a sticky.

 

[monbla256]

Rubb'd out was as was taught me by the "old timers" I learned to smoke from and it's been my method for a few decades now and I've not felt I've not gotten all the flavor from a flake 'bac doing it any other way. It works :twisted:

 

[Brewdude]

Had mixed results with fold & stuff. Not positive enough to pursue other than on an occasional basis.

Tried the cubing thing and it seems OK, but still prefer to rub out my flakes. Seems to produce the best results for me anyhow.

To each his/her own.


Cheers,

RR

 

[Anonymous]

vertically and loosely into the bowl using no pressure . . . Why shove . . . into the heel where it's going to be hard to smoke?

This is the way broken flakes work. It's got to be loose enough that it can swell from absorbing the moisture smoking it generates and still not clog. And it's got to be up off the very bottom.

Repeating previous : No tamping. If it's burning down the center at first (and it will), during the midway time-out, fold the crispy ends over toward the middle. And every (broken-) flake is different. Thinner flakes are way easier.

People keep finding that this way works.

:face:

 

[idbowman]

vertically and loosely into the bowl using no pressure . . . Why shove . . . into the heel where it's going to be hard to smoke?

This is the way broken flakes work. It's got to be loose enough that it can swell from absorbing the moisture smoking it generates and still not clog. And it's got to be up off the very bottom.

This.

Whenever I've had a bad flake experience, it's invariable because I didn't leave room for the tobacco to expand or I loaded the bowl all the way to the bottom of the tobacco chamber. Taking a bit of extra care and using a light hand when loading the bowl goes a loooooooong way towards a smoke that stays lit, burns evenly, and does create a bog in the heel of the bowl...in my opinion, anyway.

 

[Growley]

I just read this thread for the first time a few days ago, and I've had such great experiences with smoking flakes ever since. I've started using the fold and stuff approach, leaving room at the bottom, and not over filling, and the difference is great.

Good stuff...

 

[RDPipes]

I don't know, paint me stupid. I have always rubbed out my flake and it's always been just fine. Can't imagine a finer smoke nor how to shove a coin of Escudo into a bowl and get it to even smoke much less a ribbon of DF. I reckon it's one of those to each his own things.
I like tuna fish and jelly sandwiches and I bet many of you all wouldn't even think of trying it.8) 

 

[huffelpuff]

@ Cart. If you grew up in east Texas I bet your familiar with peanut butter and mayo sandwiches.

Jim

 

[monbla256]

I was introduced to flake tobacco by two British friends of mine years ago, both of whom smoked Players Navy Cut Medium. The only way they smoked it was fully rubbed out straight from the tin and that's the way I've always done it and found that all the flakes I've tried did just as well rubbed out as any other way, taste wise for me. It's the easiest way to prep and light it  so why get esoteric about it ! If it was good enough for those old timers I knew, both of whom ONLY smoked that tobacco for longer that I had been alive, who was I to disagree :twisted:

 

[RDPipes]

@ Cart. If you grew up in east Texas I bet your familiar with peanut butter and mayo sandwiches.

Jim

I'm familiar sir but, YUCK!!!!
The two consistencies don't mix for me.

You'll find I don't always agree with what is suppose to be Texican.
In fact I see very little Texan within the individuals that are here in East Texas.
Most haven't even heard of Lone Star beer and think football is the only thing that matters.

 

[RDPipes]

I was introduced to flake tobacco by two British friends of mine years ago, both of whom smoked Players Navy Cut Medium. The only way they smoked it was fully rubbed out straight from the tin and that's the way I've always done it and found that all the flakes I've tried did just as well rubbed out as any other way, taste wise for me. It's the easiest way to prep and light it  so why get esoteric about it ! If it was good enough for those old timers I knew, both of whom ONLY smoked that tobacco for longer that I had been alive, who was I to disagree :twisted:

Monbla,I agree with much of what you have to say when I understand what you say.
I know Esoterica is a tobacco brand but, that's where that ends. Simple man, simple vocabulary. Yes, I did look it up, still made no sense.8) 

 

[Anonymous]

Fold and stuff is dead easy.  With PS Lux Navy Slices, it is a perfect fill (.75x1.5 bowl) with a slice.  Just fold it and compress a bit so the pieces are like match sticks.  Gives a longer smoke than rubbing out and there really isn't a big difference in taste.  If anything the fold is a bit stronger smoke and smokes longer.   If the bowl is a bit bigger then rubbing also fills the pipe and I do that with that pipe.  

I also fold smaller slices in thirds and fill with a opening at the bottom.  Only thing with that is it can be a bit hard to light.  But it gives a nice, cool smoke with excellent flavor.