How to Prepare Flake Pipe Tobacco for Smoking
Flake tobacco is one type of tobacco for pipe smoking. It's made by pressing harvested tobacco together until it forms a cube, which is then cut into slices or "flakes." To smoke flake tobacco you have to prepare it first. Three of the ways to prepare it are by using the "fold and stuff method," the "roll and stuff method," or the "rubbing out method." Keep in mind when you are preparing the flake tobacco that the tobacco taste will be stronger and the flake will be more difficult to burn the larger the flake.
Instructions
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Fold and Stuff Method
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1
Fold the piece of flake tobacco in half, going against the grain. Fold the flake again, but with the grain. The flake should be in a square shape at this point.
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2
Stuff the square piece of flake into the pipe's bowl. Do this gently to ensure you don't damage your pipe or lose any tobacco. Trim any tobacco that is sticking out of the bowl of the pipe so that small space is left between the bowl's rim and the tobacco. If you have to trim the tobacco, take it out of the bowl.
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3
Push the tobacco firmly into the pipe's bowl. Light the tobacco. Because the flake is in its whole form, you might find it difficult to light the tobacco and keep it lit. Keep lighting the tobacco until it remains lit.
Roll and Stuff Method
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4
Lie the flake of tobacco on a flat surface and roll roll it with your hand lengthwise, against the flake's grain. When you're finished, you should have a tight tube of tobacco. Some flakes will be easier to roll than others depending on how loose or thick the flake is.
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5
Insert the tobacco into the bowl, packing it in firmly and making sure it is level across the top of the bowl. Like in the fold and stuff method, make sure you leave a small space between the rim of the bowl and the top of the tobacco.
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6
Trim off any tobacco that sticks out of the bowl to ensure you don't damage the pipe when you light the tobacco. Put the tobacco back into the pipe and light the tobacco. Again, because you are using a whole piece of tobacco, it might be difficult to light at first. Be persistent until you get it lit.
Rubbing Out Method
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7
Fold the piece of tobacco in half. You should see that the flake is breaking apart. Take all of the tobacco between your hands and rub it back and forth or in circles until the flake breaks apart. Unlike the roll and stuff method or the fold and stuff method, with the rubbing out method you can control how large or small you want the pieces of tobacco to be.
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8
Load the tobacco pieces into the pipe's bowl. Load your larger pieces into the bottom of the bowl first so you avoid sucking up any pieces that are small enough to get up the stem of the pipe. Gradually insert the smaller chunks of tobacco into the pipe until you have your smallest pieces at the top. You want to have the smallest pieces at the top because they are the easiest to light. Tap the side of the bowl as you're inserting the tobacco so that the tobacco settles.
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9
Push down lightly on the tobacco in the bowl until you have a small space between the rim of the bowl and the top of the tobacco. You don't want to push too hard because the pieces of flake could get into the stem of the pipe.
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Tips & Warnings
Inhaling the smoke from lit tobacco can be extremely dangerous to your health and addictive.
Don't leave lit tobacco products unattended.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit smoking pipe image by Photosani from Fotolia.com
