I'm back with a straight Virginia question

paulwansing

I have decided to try some straight Virginia's for the first time.  I have had some Virginias in various blends I like such as red virginias in C&D bayou morning, Virginias in Delta Days from hearth and home, and a few other blends but never have I smoked pure virginia tobaccos because it seems there is a bit of an art to it, and I don't know what that art is.  I am hoping to get some tips from all of you on what type and size pipe to use and how long it "should" take to smoke it - for instance I have capstan gold and dunhill flake in my cellar I also have some orlick golden sliced to try out.  If this goes well I plan to figure out what the navy flake and bullseye blends are all about down the road a bit.  Thanks in advance for any advise you may have.

xDutchx

Paul, some folks will always say that the geometry of a 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 ratio bowl will be well suited to Virginia based blends, wide squat bowls for Latakia/English blends, and conical shaped bowls for Balkans. While I agree that those are good general guidelines that provide a place to start, the best approach is experimentation to some degree.

Typically, the best flake pipes are on the smallish lightweight side. Mostly because flakes hold so much moisture, that a deeper bowled pipe that provides more capacity, will leave a pipe smoker with a difficult to keep lit pipe, in the latter half of the smoke.

Straight Virginias tend to be bitey, so putting at least 5 years of age on a tin is preferable. This is one advantage of VaPer blends, in that the addition of Perique doesn't require as much age to knock off that bite.

One strategy that some folks use, is to stove their young Virginias to knock off the bite. I have used Dr. Fred Hanna's method of stoving at 180 degrees for 5 hours with good results. Keep in mind though, that once you stove a tobacco, you won't be able to get much additional benefits from aging.

The "art" to smoking flake tobacco, is the same as any other tobacco. Smoke it slowly, keep your pipe cool, and never be ashamed to relight. The tightly pressed flake and higher moisture content, are what most pipe smokers find more of a challenge with flake tobacco.

I think the Orlik Golden sliced is a good place to start with flake tobacco, however it is not a straight Virginia, so it won't be as challenging to smoke. When you get into the Sam Gawith flakes, you will start to run into a few challenges, but IMO they are worth the tradeoff's. Just as you have learned to adapt to the initial challenges of pipe smoking in general, smoking flakes will eventually become second nature.

Here are a few of my pipes I have dedicated to specific flake blends, simply because they have proven to smoke extremely well with a particular blend or cut of tobacco.

This little Jeantet Apple  with a U shaped bowl seems to pair perfectly with Christmas Cheer.....

This Moretti Noir Bamboo Apple I have dedicated to Blackwoods Flake. Note that it has a conical shaped bowl.....

Here is an Il Duca Olivewood Apple, that I have dedicated to Full Virginia Flake. A combination that is extremely susceptible to burnout, because of the wood/tobacco combination. The pipe is in great shape, simply because I don't hesitate to rest it, anytime I feel it needs to cool to room temperature.