What Is A Good Flake Pipe Shape/s?

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PipeDragon

PipeDragon

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In the surprise TAD gift from my buddy were a couple tins of flake. I cracked the one and along with learning how to prep it for smoking, I was wondering what shape if any is good/better then others to smoke it in. (For example a pot shape or shape 55)

Thanks
 
If you rub it out enough, you can smoke your flake in just about anything. But if you're following the fold and stuff model, pick something with a tall, narrow bowl to expedite burning. Pots are not suited to the latter approach imho.
 
PipeDragon":riktkdn2 said:
In the surprise TAD gift from my buddy were a couple tins of flake. I cracked the one and along with learning how to prep it for smoking, I was wondering what shape if any is good/better then others to smoke it in. (For example a pot shape or shape 55)

Thanks
Click to expand...
First off there is NO better shape to smoke Flakes in. For every Flake smoker you will find a different answer depending on THEIR prefered mehod of flake prep and smoking. Smoker 'A' says one shape. smoker 'B' says one shape and on and on it goes regardless what anyone says.
I can tell you what I PREFER and smoke mine in and as it was pointed out much of this depends on ones prefered method of preparation of the flakes for smoking. Myself, I rub-out ALL my flakes and prefer a pot first, then a bent bulldog, then a nice wide apple. But this is MY preferences and should be taken as such. NOT anything in a hard and fast "way'. If you are just entering the marvelous world of Flakes, give many different methods of prep and sizes and types of bowl shapes to find which works best for YOU :p
 
There is a set of parameters that flakes perform best in.

Chambers around 18-19 mm. wide and equally deep are ideal. That translates into (by modern standards) smallish apples, bent bulldogs, princes & the like. With Virginia flakes, you're looking at about a one-hour smoke here.

Bigger may or may not be better in Mumbles' everything-is-relative view. But bigger, with flakes, certainly means longer elapsed times, and wider = much greater difficulty with keeping your flakes from burning down the center, leaving the periphery just toasted.

Having the chamber deeper than it is wide can prolong a nice time, but you can more easily run into difficulties with moisture in them.

The fact that you're asking pretty much implies you'd be best off starting with a shape & size that's easiest to manage. Which is what experience, and the example of the golden age British pipemakers has pretty conclusively established.

Once you've got the basics down, it's easy to go from there, because you've only got one variable at a time to play with.

Then, if you want to put whipped cream on your scrambled eggs, go for it.

FWIW

:face:
 
+1 to what Yak said.

For me, Flake + Bent Bulldog = Great Smoke.
 
Hmmmm...lots to think about and experiment with :lol:

Thanks for the input!

 
Just remember what Yuk says is what works for HIM, it's Not neccessarily absolute FACT. :twisted: I've never had ANY problem getting an even smoke in ANY of my pots with flakes. They smoke evenly ALL ACROSS for me. They don't for Yuk. Everyone has DIFFERNT experiences. No hard and fast about it :twisted:
 
Reasons don't count -- apparently. :evil:

This is modern-day elementary school. EVERYBODY's right ! :lol!:

:face:
 
Yak":xrdbmlq6 said:
Reasons don't count -- apparently. :evil:

This is modern-day elementary school. EVERYBODY's right ! :lol!:

:face:
Click to expand...
Could be, It is the 21st century :twisted:
 
One of my finest flake pipes is this one:



It's a group 3, but with a shorter bowl than on a billiard. It's great because the whole surface burns evenly all the way down. It hosts Irish Flake on a regular basis. 8)

 
Though I would grant that the same tobacco's combustion will change in different size/shapes of chambers, any assertion that this translates to taste is at best specious and at worst pipe lore hogwash. What does affect taste is the cut of the tobacco, loose, flake and plug. Different cuts sufficiently change combustion such that taste changes. Given that you have entered the hallowed halls of flakes, fold and stuff and rubbed out flake will affect taste, though subtly.

The more intact the flake is the slower the burn but also the more relights; in theory I love the charm of smoking flake intact, but in practice this wears out my tongue.
 
In starting out with flakes, a smaller and narrower bowl is probably the easiest to learn with. Yes - there is a learning curve with flakes.

Of course this is only what was recommended to me years ago - and worked well. Monbla and Yak (and others) may all have different opinions and/or methods, but that is what works for them. All I can tell you is what works for me.

What works for one person doesn't necessarily mean 100% success for the next, but it's a good guideline to experiment with until you get your own system down.

Oh yeah - another vote for a Bent Bulldog. 8)
 
Rob_In_MO":njkxuya6 said:
In starting out with flakes, a smaller and narrower bowl is probably the easiest to learn with. Yes - there is a learning curve with flakes.

Of course this is only what was recommended to me years ago - and worked well. Monbla and Yak (and others) may all have different opinions and/or methods, but that is what works for them. All I can tell you is what works for me.

What works for one person doesn't necessarily mean 100% success for the next, but it's a good guideline to experiment with until you get your own system down.

Oh yeah - another vote for a Bent Bulldog. 8)
Click to expand...

Mine is for a bent Rhodesian with a square shank.
 
Something with thick walls, of any shape, with a chamber that's around 13/16" wide by
1 1/2" deep should do nicely.
Something like this, maybe:
 
Great minds are obviously running in the same channels here :lol:

:face:
BUT THEN AGAIN, SEWER PIPES DO THAT TOO
 
Princes, small-ish apples, Lovats, Cuttys and Zulus. Authors somewhere in there too.

I'd say a group 3 lovat is my single favorite flake pipe.
 
Thanks everyone, after reading more, I can def relate/understand about why a smaller bowl would be good to start off with.

I first tried it in a semi-wide bowl and the lighting process made me wish for a blow torch! Not to mention I was getting uneven burn down the center and not the edges :shock:

I also found that drying it out some helped too (this may change in a smaller bowl).

Which brings me to another question....it may have been asked somewhere else (so I apologize up front if I missed it) but when you rub it out, am I "assuming" that this is taking the flake and "twisting" it between your thumbs and forefingers to separate it into "strands" that resemble smaller forms of the original flake form. I.E. the flake I have resembles beef jerky (oddly it smells like it too Yummy :D ).

When I twist/rub it, it separates into mini versions which I then pack into the bowl and then light. I found that packing is a little different too (still working on that)
 
https://www.brothersofbriar.com/t21276-packing-and-lighting-flake-tobacco

:face:
 
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