Solani Aged Burley Flake-Fold or Rub

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MC

MC

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Should I roll and stuff or rub it out?
 
It's pretty dense, haven't had much luck just fold-n-stuffing ABF. It expands a LOT when under fire. Blocked up the chamber my pipe a few times. :lol:

Try cubing it or rubbing it out to get a feel for it, then a fold-n-stuff if you're feelin' lucky.

8)
 
Fold and stuff for the most part is a no go with ABF. You'll be constantly at it with your lighter or matches. It's perfect when rubbed out or cubed. Also right out of a just opened tin, it's deceptively moist.
 
Broken flake with a topping of well rubbed out to get her going, bloomin marvellous, was given a small sample a while back, astonishing smoke. :)
 
I use the folding technique as explained in the Mac Baren web site. No matter what flake it is, the key of the method resides in knowing how much flake to use in each pipe. Anyway, that what works for me.
 
Wet Dottle":nhpnjjrl said:
I use the folding technique as explained in the Mac Baren web site. No matter what flake it is, the key of the method resides in knowing how much flake to use in each pipe. Anyway, that what works for me.
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Me too I prefer the fold 'n stuff method. I use to prepare a small cigar with the enrolled flake. I don't use matches with flakes but my faithful Corona Old Boy (the one with engraved shapes). It works like a charm with flakes, ropes, etc.
 
Fold'n'stuff is a learned technique. If you haven't begun the journey, it's advisable to forget almost everything you know when you start experimenting with that method. :lol: Mac B's suggestions were where I started, too, but I was ending up determined to make it work with many tobaccos, and was getting a lot of awful results. The tobacco is very dependent on how it is cut, how much it was pressed, how much casing was used, how moist it is, and yes, ultimately, how much is put into the bowl. The tobacco morphs how it wants to in the end, once fire is put to it. Some dabbling with loosely rolling certain tobaccos and putting them in spiral-side down, helped with a few.

I largely abandoned folf'n'stuff simply due to the fact I wanted to get on with smoking, and was only curious about the process. After fiver or six tries with five or six tobaccos (one of them ABF) I figured I was blessed to have discovered cubing, chunky-rub, and full-rub and getting great results.

One constant I did learn is the lighter in color the flake, the better it seems to work first-shot. More matured, pressed and/or aged tobacco seems to get more dense, brittle and difficult to get just right. Union Square, Mac B's Navy Flake and even SG's BBF worked okay with fold'n'stuff (dried a little, of course). The problem came when I would expect yesterday's awesome smoke to replicate itself with the same approach, tobacco but a different pipe...and it wasn't. I'm into reducing variables rather than chasing them--when I had yet to be oh-wow impressed with pipes, I had higher motivation to trial-n-error.

Good luck, and good smoking.

8)
 
IMO, flakes that start as plugs benefit little from fold and stuff. These flakes, BBF, FVF, WBCDF, Germain Brown Flake, are the result of a process, not just compression. I think you're not really missing any of what they have to offer if you rub them out to a manageable consistency, because the process has imbued the tobacco completely, compared to less dense continental flakes. IMO.
 
I suppose, but if you've seen pictures of Dan and K&K flake processing it doesn't resemble the ones I mentioned.
 
I have not see such pictures. Post them--I'm curious. Always love lookin' at 'bacca being processed.
 
They're out there. I have the time to tell you to go Google it, but not the time to do it for you ;)
 
Oh. Well, I have the time to look at them, but not track them down.

Viva la laziness! :D
 
Kyle Weiss":ie6u3x7d said:
...cubing, chunky-rub, and full-rub and getting great results...
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There is a lot to say about using all these different techniques: they produce different flavors and smoking experiences, and are all worth a try. I don't use the fold & stuff method 100% of the time, because sometimes I like to vary and change things a bit. But this is my favorite method, the one that gives me the best flavor, therefore the one I use the most. However, it doesn't seem to work very well with some flakes, such as the ones from C&D, which start desintegrating as soon as they're removed from the tin. I've just been experimenting with Exhausted Rooster (got that suggestion from the "What's your Favorite C&D Blend?" thread) and realized that the only way this blend works for me is fully rubbed. The same for C&D After Hours flake.
 
MC":yaz64507 said:
Should I roll and stuff or rub it out?
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Yes. That is, it is good either way.

The trick with fold and stuff is to add a step: fold, twist to break up the flake, then stuff.

The denser the flake the more you have to twist it to get it broken up enough to burn properly.

Todd
 
One method I have used that's curious, developed by something I read about how Mark Twain loaded his pipes, was to take a flake (sized appropriately), using palms to make a rough-ball about the size of the tobacco chamber, and load it...adding another ball on top until the pipe was loaded. Sort of a hybrid between made-up ingenuity on my part and what I gleaned from unproven methods attributed to Mr. Clemens.

This is about as close to "fold'n'stuff" as I get. Works pretty good. I called it the "ball'n'stuff," but that, of course, encouraged sophomoric snickering. :)

8)
 
Tried the fold in half length wise, then in half again and stuff method. The tobacco stayed lit much better and the flavors came out really well. In the past flake tobacco had always smoked hot for me because of improper packing.

Then the real eye opener happened.........I rubbed out a flake completely and then left it alone to dry for thirty minutes. This is when Solani ABF became a tobacco that I will smoke more often because I now know how to enjoy "Flake Tobacco"

Thanks for all the reply's everyone
 
MC":8fx5wzv0 said:
Tried the fold in half length wise, then in half again and stuff method. The tobacco stayed lit much better and the flavors came out really well. In the past flake tobacco had always smoked hot for me because of improper packing.

Then the real eye opener happened.........I rubbed out a flake completely and then left it alone to dry for thirty minutes. This is when Solani ABF became a tobacco that I will smoke more often because I now know how to enjoy "Flake Tobacco"

Thanks for all the reply's everyone
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Has been my experience with Flakes, Plugs and Coins as well. Have tried many of the other methods of prep for these 'bacs, but have found that for me, and my pipes rubbed out completely and dried well seems to give me the best smoke. :p
 
beetlejazz":68gzrzze said:
Cubed for me!
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Cubed for me too. Most flakes I smoke these days (which is most of what I smoke) I cut with a scissors perpendicular to the length of the flake (i.e. against the grain) so they crumble into nicely uniform little cubes. Gravity packed with a light push on the top layer gives a perfect (for me) draw.

Natch
 
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