Packing

[alfredo_buscatti]

Uncle!

Since I picked up the pipe two months ago every bowl I pack, whether that be shag or flake, and everything in between, my packing results in an obstructed draw, and none of my old techniques are to any avail. I'm packing just as I used to 18 months ago, which at times was obstructed but yielded to 1) a fluffy cleaner passed into the bowl 2) lifting the tobacco off the bottom of the bowl with the rod from a pipe tool or 3) stiff draws to suck any particles in the airway, and combinations of the above. I've been persistent with the fluffy cleaner and the rod throughout the smoke, but yet again as soon as I light it, obstruction recurs.

When I say "plugged" I mean that I'm getting 50-70% occlusion; I can smoke it as is but the draw is not open.

I pack flake with a fold and stuff, ribbon or diced plug by gravity with only the slightest pressure from my little finger on the layers.

Although the draw is fine after packing, as soon as it swells from the flame, it plugs again. With flake I've tried packing a smaller amount that has been moderately rubbed out, that leaves quite a good amount of room in the bowl, but with the same plugged result.

I've read all of the threads on packing on this Board but haven't tried the more exotic preparation such as the Frank method.

Any suggestions would be welcomed.

 

[12toneman]

going out on limb here. maybe it's not the packing: When there isn't any tobacco in the bowl of the pipe, how is the draw?

cake can form around the hole in the bowl and constrict the draw. Every once in a while I'll use a 3/16" drill bit to VERY GENTLY clear the carbon buildup from the hole. (I don't use a drill, just holding it with my fingers)

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

Thanks but no, it happens in all my pipes.

 

[Airborne]

I had the same problem with a couple of my pipes that had narrow draft holes (I know, you said it was happening to all your pipes). Like you, I had to use a pipe cleaner or the rod from my pipe tool constantly. The cut of the tobacco made no difference. It was too much work so I stopped smoking them completely. After a few months, I decided to give them another try because I did (and do) like the pipes very much. I had to do something differently so I began packing those pipes really lightly, exaggerating so, up until the very top when I then pressed the last tobacco down very firmly. So it was packed 95% lightly and 5% firmly. That did the trick. I can’t explain why but I no longer have that problem with those two pipes and they smoke wonderfully well.

Good luck.

 

[MisterE]

Hate it when that happens! :evil:

I smoke mostly flakes. What I do is tear off a full length strip approx 1/4" wide to start, and then ball it up loosely. Put that in the bowl first. Then there are no small loose pieces to clog the hole. It serves as a bed/screen for the rest of the tobacco. Should there be blockage, it's easier to dump and reposition it than if the bowl is full. I especially do this if I'm at the bottom of a tin and there is a lot of dust/scraps/small pieces.

Lately I've been cubing my flakes so little pieces will get into the draught hole from time to time. I just do as you do and fix it with a cleaner or by a forceful draw to suck it out. No miracle solution here.

 

[shootist51]

I smoke flakes almost exclusively and sometimes cut them into square cut. I have found that when packing it is best to only gravity feed the bowl and lightly tap the side to settle the tobacco before the match.
I find that though the draw is very smooth, I use quite a few matches to finish a bowl. This is part of the price one pays for the enjoyment of flake tobacco, I guess.

While smoking, My tamping consists of using the weight of the tamper to settle the ash, NO PRESSURE, and if it gets to the point that the bowl will no longer take a light due to the layer of ash, then some is dumped.

I find that at the beginning of the bowl I have a few relights before the flake settles into a long stretch of un interrupted smoking and then again as I near about the bottom 1/5 of the bowl I will have a few relights.This usually yields about an hour +/- of great smoking from first light to the bottom of the bowl.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

It this happens in all of your pipes? How odd. I have a couple that the draught hole is a angled a little more upward, so inevitably, the tobacco winds up plugging the hole. It has to be your tobacco preference (cut?) or some practice you're doing that you don't realize.

 

[tiltjlp]

I had the same problem with a couple of my pipes that had narrow draft holes (I know, you said it was happening to all your pipes). Like you, I had to use a pipe cleaner or the rod from my pipe tool constantly. The cut of the tobacco made no difference. It was too much work so I stopped smoking them completely. After a few months, I decided to give them another try because I did (and do) like the pipes very much. I had to do something differently so I began packing those pipes really lightly, exaggerating so, up until the very top when I then pressed the last tobacco down very firmly. So it was packed 95% lightly and 5% firmly. That did the trick. I can’t explain why but I no longer have that problem with those two pipes and they smoke wonderfully well.

Good luck.

Yes, that's the problem. If you do better with lists, here's the advice my dad gave me when I started smoking:


Dry your tobacco more than you think you need to.
Pack it looser than you think you need to.
Smoke it slower than you think you need to.
Tamp it less , and more lightly, than you think you need to.
Clean your pipes after every smoke, using pipe spirits of some
sort.
Don’t worry if you have a few relights.