Flake Pipe Myth Or Real?

[pipetongue1]

I have many pipes sized to Grp1 thru Magnum and certainaly have smoked many , many blends throughout the gamut of of the tabac world over a period of years[50+] and I have never, I repeat never tasted an intenseification of the weed just because I'm smoking it in a smaller bowled pipe!
Then we must look at our perception as we smoke the bowl down, whatever tabac is the same, the pipe is the same, then what changes, nothing! How can the tabac be made more intense just by smoking it a small pipe?
For me it can't I think it's just a marketing ploy! What do you say??? Ken :tongue:
Pacem en Puffing! :tongue:

 

[jhuggett]

I'm inclined to agree with you Ken. Where I think it may have come from is if you use the fold and stuff method of packing pipes it usually tends to be a longer smoke because of the density of the tobacco. Then people may want a smaller pipe. I however almost always rub out flakes so it's basically just a ribbon cut when I'm finished. Then how could it matter what pipe you put it in?

 

[DoverPipes]

. I however almost always rub out flakes so it's basically just a ribbon cut when I'm finished. Then how could it matter what pipe you put it in?

Ditto. I shred my flakes also and gravity fill w/ light tamps. Never made a difference to me what pipe I smoked from. Always tastes good to me.......

 

[Wet Dottle]

Ken, I don't know about flavor intensification in smaller bowls and whatnot. But according to my tastebuds, there are certain blends that smoke much better (i.e., with better flavor) in smaller pipes, while others seem to prefer bigger pipes. I don't know why, but it seems reasonable to think that different sized bowls will have different burning characteristics... :?:

 

[Hunter5117]

I mostly fold and roll my flake tobaccos, pack loose and try to smoke them quite slow. In these circumstances, I find that a small heavy bowled pipe (dublin is my favorite for this) helps build and hold the heat better than some other shapes. This helps maintain a higher temperature without puffing the tobacco, which seems to help improve the flavor.

I agree, when I used to fully rub out all my flakes, I smoked them in whichever pipe I grabbed and never found much difference. Now that I almost always fold, roll and stuff then the pipe size and shape do seem to make a difference.

 

[Sasquatch]

Flake or no, a smaller pipe will muddle the flavors and subtleties less than a great huge bowl will. This can be good or bad, depending on the weed.

 

[Jack Straw]

Yeah I prefer my flakes in thinner bowls, but that's just because I prefer thinner bowls in general. I think the one thing a "flake" size pipe has going for it is that it's a good size to fit a flake folded in. Too wide and the flake isn't big enough to fill it, too small and you have to tear some off, too short, and you have to send the flake to the barber's.

 

[Dmntd_1]

Well Ken, I don’t and never have smoked flake style tobacco, so I can’t speak to the “Flake Pipe” question, though I have a feeling it might fall into the same category as “Longer pipes smoke cooler”, “Area 51” and the “Nine foot tall primate running around the Pacific North West”.

I have smoked English Mixtures since 1982, and am convinced larger bowls/tobacco chambers allow for more flavor with these blends. I do believe the real difference in how a blend taste from one pipe to another comes down to how the pipe is filled with the tobacco, how it burns based on method of filling, and finally pace and cadence of the smoker. Pace and cadence are effected at least in part by the how the bowl has been filled and the tobacco.

For example; a large chambered pipe is easily gravity filled with GLP Westminster, simply sprinkle, tamp and repeat until the chamber is full, then light. This gives the best possible tension in the bowl, resistance to draw and an even, moderate burn rate, resulting in optimum flavor. The same method just doesn’t work as well in a smaller bowl with the cut of this tobacco (for me at least), the result if more often than not, a tighter draw, a pipe that doesn’t want to burn and the flavor, just isn’t the same, lacks the depth and character .

Ultimately, it comes down to what works best for the individual, whether they understand why or not.

 

[Dakki]

“Nine foot tall primate running around the Pacific North West”.

I know that guy. He does IT for our company.

What exactly defines a pipe as a flake pipe? Is it a given volume in the bowl, a certain geometry (deep and narrow vs squat and wide)? Other characteristics, like the thickness of the bowl?

 

[acaciavet]

I have three old filter pipes that I have removed the filter.These are my flake pipes large bore great draw. Cheers mates

 

[Trout Bum]

Great thread, Pipetongue!

 

[Anonymous]

. I however almost always rub out flakes so it's basically just a ribbon cut when I'm finished. Then how could it matter what pipe you put it in?

Ditto. I shred my flakes also and gravity fill w/ light tamps. Never made a difference to me what pipe I smoked from. Always tastes good to me.......

Ditto for me here too.
Been smoking a lot of Macb Navy Flake this week. Dried and well rubbed.
I do prefer smaller fat walled pipes tho', maybe it is because in my experience I find VA flakes to smoke a little hotter, then again, I could be wrong!

 

[piperguckert]

Ken,

I think we had a conversation about this one tiem at pipe club. I came to the realization of that becouse i smale flakes and (DO NOT) rub them out ( you losse something when you rub them out) that i need a small bowl. If i smoke something like Irish Flake in a large pipe it will not burn even. Center will burn or the back side will burn and it would light or burn right. Unless its being burnt together and evenley and slowley you wont get the deep full complexed flavor off a flake.

Derek-

 

[Anonymous]

I have a small diameter bowled pipe (an Akropolis Amadeus #346) that I find smokes flakes much better then others I have with larger diameters. It doesent seem to matter if I fold & stuff, rub out, cube cut, or whatever method, the flakes just seem to burn much more evenly, and there are fewer relights, these things combined IMO make for a more flavorful and relaxing experience overall, which is the goal right?
I have noted that the briar on this pipe seemes much more dense, it's thick at the base as well, so it seems to disperse the heat much better.

 

[shootist51]

I think, we as a group, tend to overthink the whole process. I'm not saying anyone is wrong, but I believe there are so many variables involved in smoking a bowl of tobacco that it is virtually impossible to pinpoint any one of them as being the determining factor in a "great" smoke.

I find that, as a flake smoker, I tend to prefer my tobacco cubed and yet have experienced "great" smokes using the rubbed out method as well as the fold and stuff. That being said, I have also experienced a "so so" smoke using all methods and the same pipes.

I think the best we can ever actually do is to keep our pipes clean and our tobacco fresh, everything else is just a crapshoot.

 

[greasemunki85]

Hell, I rubbed out some University Flake into my new Sav. last night - ..didn't really notice any a difference (1" bowl diameter), than I did on a corn cob. (maybe 3/4" or 11/16" diameter?), other than the fact that it was overall a better smoke, but the intensity of the baccy was no different to me. If that was a case people would by more King Cross pipes . (to clarify, nothing wrong w/ king cross pipes)

 

[mark]

just a matter of smoking time for me,,,folded flake in my little Cavicchi squat tomato burns over an hour,,,just right,,,but then you could argue filling a bigger bowl half way acomplishes the same thing,,,but the thicker briar of my flake pipe handles the heat better than a thin walled pipe,,,well then load a large bodied Rhodesian half way,,,whatever works,,,

 

[Anonymous]

just a matter of smoking time for me,,,folded flake in my little Cavicchi squat tomato burns over an hour,,,just right,,,but then you could argue filling a bigger bowl half way acomplishes the same thing,,,but the thicker briar of my flake pipe handles the heat better than a thin walled pipe,,,well then load a large bodied Rhodesian half way,,,whatever works,,,

Ditto, :cheers:
Well said Mark!

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

I have no opinion on this matter but I do notice a difference in taste when I fold and stuff University Flake as compared to tearing the flakes into chunks. The UF has had an undercurrent of creaminess during the second half of the bowl. I've been smoking UF for eight years and this has never happened before.

So I am in agreement with shootist151 that there are too many variables to control to answer this question, and all we can do is rely on a clean, well-rested pipe, good smoking technique and well-maintained tobacco.

 

[Anonymous]

I like the way you are thinking AB, your opinion is always valid on the board........ pay attention here boys, lots of experience here!!! :cheers: