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Post by Legend Lover on Apr 18, 2018 3:24:36 GMT -5
So, I've got a few flakes to try. Previously, I had 1 sample flake of Ennerdale which I rubbed out and it 3/4 filled my pipe. My question is this...
How do you know how much to rub out? And if you rub too much out do you keep it in the pouch / jar / tin until the next bowl? Is it OK to rub too much out - does that affect anything? Or is it best just to smoke 1 flake at a time and just not have as full a bowl?
I'm probably overthinking as I normally do, but some guidance would be appreciated.
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Post by Stanhill on Apr 18, 2018 3:32:11 GMT -5
I usually rub out a couple of flakes and the left-overs, I just bung back in the tin/glass jar. Sometimes, if I need some exercise, I rub out a whole tin and in ye glass jar it goeth. Other times, I use the fold-and-stuff method.  |
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Post by Legend Lover on Apr 18, 2018 4:30:42 GMT -5
OK, so i'm over thinking it. Cheers.
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Post by haebar on Apr 18, 2018 10:23:21 GMT -5
I estimate by sight, keeping in mind that the flakes will take up more space when rubbed out. I usually rub out a little too much for one bowl and end up putting it back in the jar.
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Post by cigrmaster on Apr 18, 2018 11:01:28 GMT -5
I never rub out my flakes or plugs. I either fold and stuff or cube cut them. You may as well just buy a ribbon cut if you are going to rub them out. It completely defeats the purpose of buying flakes when you rub them out.
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Post by Stanhill on Apr 18, 2018 11:13:43 GMT -5
OK, so i'm over thinking it. Cheers. Eventually you'll get to the point where... 'Aww, what the hell' and just bung the tobacco in, fire up and puff away. My father taught me some very simple rules when I started out all those years ago; how to pack a pipe, first with a child's hand, then a woman's hand and finally, a man's hand. Always clean your pipes with a pipe cleaner after use; never knock the pipe out against any hard surface and lastly, always smoke good tobaccos. Few and simple rules and they work for me. Learn to pack the pipe properly, not too loose and not too hard, once you master that, it's like riding a bicycle, you never forget. I never use that charring-/initial light method. I light up and puff away and should the pipe go out, I tamper down lightly and relight and I don't believe those who try to tell me that pipe smoking is an art form. Please forgive my rantings, I just got carried away. |
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Post by zambini on Apr 18, 2018 11:39:31 GMT -5
1 flake = 1 bowl to my mind.
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Post by rblood on Apr 18, 2018 11:56:08 GMT -5
I never rub out my flakes or plugs. I either fold and stuff or cube cut them. You may as well just buy a ribbon cut if you are going to rub them out. It completely defeats the purpose of buying flakes when you rub them out. I would have to disagree with this. By this logic a rubbed out flake would taste just like it's ready rubbed version, and I have never found that to be my experience. |
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Post by Legend Lover on Apr 18, 2018 12:24:26 GMT -5
Interesting takes. I think I'll maybe try folding and stuffing 1 flake at a time and see where that takes me.
That said, with my ennerdale, I ordered the ennerdale mixture which looks like flakes but just not as compressed, but they are LONG flakes.
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Post by slowroll on Apr 18, 2018 12:25:01 GMT -5
I find the taste the same whether I rub them out or stuff them. But rubbing out makes them light and smoke better for me.
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Post by Baboo on Apr 18, 2018 13:01:12 GMT -5
Grinding down flakes with the heel of my shoe is my fallback method of choice, right behind my most favored method of giving a plug to my cat and having him claw at it for a good half- hour or so and then sweeping up the shrapnel and jarring it.
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Post by cigrmaster on Apr 18, 2018 13:38:23 GMT -5
I never rub out my flakes or plugs. I either fold and stuff or cube cut them. You may as well just buy a ribbon cut if you are going to rub them out. It completely defeats the purpose of buying flakes when you rub them out. I would have to disagree with this. By this logic a rubbed out flake would taste just like it's ready rubbed version, and I have never found that to be my experience. I have never smoked a ready rubbed version of any of my flakes so I cannot comment on that. The purpose of smoking flakes whole is that they burn cooler and longer than a rubbed out version. Even a good size cube cut will burn cooler and longer than a rubbed out version. |
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Post by Stanhill on Apr 18, 2018 13:48:09 GMT -5
1 flake = 1 bowl to my mind. ...and to mine. On the 'Old English' tins it says : "a slice to a pipeful" and that is usually the case in my experience, unless the pipe in question is either the size of a thimble or a bathtub. |
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Post by Stanhill on Apr 18, 2018 13:54:22 GMT -5
Grinding down flakes with the heel of my shoe is my fallback method of choice, right behind my most favored method of giving a plug to my cat and having him claw at it for a good half- hour or so and then sweeping up the shrapnel and jarring it. I'll have to teach the fur-clad Panzer that trick. Then again, if I know him right, he'll probably eat it. |
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Post by Legend Lover on Apr 18, 2018 13:54:31 GMT -5
1 flake = 1 bowl to my mind. ...and to mine. On the 'Old English' tins it says : "a slice to a pipeful" and that is usually the case in my experience, unless the pipe in question is either the size of a thimble or a bathtub. I accidentally bought one the size of a thimble the other day from ebay. |
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Post by Stanhill on Apr 18, 2018 14:05:14 GMT -5
I find the taste the same whether I rub them out or stuff them. But rubbing out makes them light and smoke better for me. Exactly the same here. The only tobacco where I thought that I detected a difference, was St. Bruno Flake vs the Ready Rubbed version. Then again, it might just be my imagination. |
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Post by Stanhill on Apr 18, 2018 14:07:34 GMT -5
...and to mine. On the 'Old English' tins it says : "a slice to a pipeful" and that is usually the case in my experience, unless the pipe in question is either the size of a thimble or a bathtub. I accidentally bought one the size of a thimble the other day from ebay. ...and it's not even cheaper tobacco-wise. You'll just smoke ten bowls in a row instead of just one. |
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Post by crapgame on Apr 18, 2018 14:14:04 GMT -5
Grinding down flakes with the heel of my shoe is my fallback method of choice, right behind my most favored method of giving a plug to my cat and having him claw at it for a good half- hour or so and then sweeping up the shrapnel and jarring it. I like the method of giving tobacco flakes to a 6 to 9 year child and saying to them..."don't break this!" ... instant readyrubbed tobacco! |
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Post by cigrmaster on Apr 18, 2018 14:46:52 GMT -5
Just so people don't think I came up with my take on flakes on my own, I didn't. I learned by experience and from people with much more experience than I had at the time. I read about preparing flakes years ago from a guy named Tarek something or other from Synjeco who wrote a good article about flakes. I have read other articles and have watched professional pipe men on video prepare flakes.
To a man they all say the fold and stuff is the way to go as that is where the flavors shine because the tobacco smokes cooler than any other cut. I normally only cube cut the thick dense flakes like Samuel Gawith and Old Dark Fired. If you look for some video on how to fold and stuff you might really enjoy it.
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Post by herbinedave on Apr 18, 2018 16:23:59 GMT -5
Opinel knife, trusty wood cutting board and cube it!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2018 16:27:13 GMT -5
OK, so i'm over thinking it. Cheers. Did someone mention overthinking something? Never fear! Captain Overthinking Man is here! May the Smoke be with you |
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Post by Legend Lover on Apr 18, 2018 17:05:56 GMT -5
Grinding down flakes with the heel of my shoe is my fallback method of choice, right behind my most favored method of giving a plug to my cat and having him claw at it for a good half- hour or so and then sweeping up the shrapnel and jarring it. I like the method of giving tobacco flakes to a 6 to 9 year child and saying to them..."don't break this!" ... instant readyrubbed tobacco! Brilliant |
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Post by PhantomWolf on Apr 18, 2018 18:02:49 GMT -5
OK, so i'm over thinking it. Cheers. It has been my experience that everything having to do with pipesmoking is just overthinking until it becomes a natural, thoughtless process. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2018 18:31:49 GMT -5
Are you folding the flake and breaking it into strands? Or do you go a bit further and break the strands into chunks? Or are you going even further and rubbing the tobacco into finer pieces?
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Post by Legend Lover on Apr 19, 2018 1:43:48 GMT -5
Are you folding the flake and breaking it into strands? Or do you go a bit further and break the strands into chunks? Or are you going even further and rubbing the tobacco into finer pieces? I only did it once, but I fully rubbed it out into something like a ribbon cut. |
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Post by Stanhill on Apr 19, 2018 2:48:24 GMT -5
I like the method of giving tobacco flakes to a 6 to 9 year child and saying to them..."don't break this!" ... instant readyrubbed tobacco!  ...and those children grow up to be demolition experts. |
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Post by Legend Lover on Apr 19, 2018 5:53:39 GMT -5
I never rub out my flakes or plugs. I either fold and stuff or cube cut them. You may as well just buy a ribbon cut if you are going to rub them out. It completely defeats the purpose of buying flakes when you rub them out. Another question, if I may... If you're folding and stuffing is there any point in drying the flake? I'm assuming any moisture will evaporate from the surface of the flake, but the inside won't change much. |
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Post by Baboo on Apr 19, 2018 7:38:34 GMT -5
I never rub out my flakes or plugs. I either fold and stuff or cube cut them. You may as well just buy a ribbon cut if you are going to rub them out. It completely defeats the purpose of buying flakes when you rub them out. Another question, if I may... If you're folding and stuffing is there any point in drying the flake? I'm assuming any moisture will evaporate from the surface of the flake, but the inside won't change much. I don't often fold n stuff, but when I do I make it a point to let a fresh moist flake dry out a bit and stabilize it's shape and distribution while in the bowl. A folded stuffed flake too high in moisture I find to be more trouble than it's worth in relights, frustration, and poor taste performance. Important not to pack tight so as to leave room for expansion while drying in the bowl and first lights. |
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Post by Legend Lover on Apr 19, 2018 7:42:43 GMT -5
Another question, if I may... If you're folding and stuffing is there any point in drying the flake? I'm assuming any moisture will evaporate from the surface of the flake, but the inside won't change much. I don't often fold n stuff, but when I do I make it a point to let a fresh moist flake dry out a bit and stabilize it's shape and distribution while in the bowl. A folded stuffed flake too high in moisture I find to be more trouble than it's worth in relights, frustration, and poor taste performance. Important not to pack tight so as to leave room for expansion while drying in the bowl and first lights. Thank you |
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Post by toshtego on Apr 19, 2018 10:50:40 GMT -5
Fold and stuff.
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