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Of all the different types of tobacco cut, which one is your favorite and why?. My favorite is coarse cut. Very easy to pack and blends with this cut have a distinctive flavor. Burns slow and I find flavors a bit deeper. I also like broad ribbon cut. More flakes than normal have been entering my stash lately. As said, I have no much experience with them.
Interesting question. I had to think about this for a bit. The cut can have quite a large impact on how a tobacco will smoke, not just in the mechanics, but also in how the flavors develop (and meld together in the blend prior to smoking).
I tend to match certain blends to certain pipes, or at least certain bowl sizes and airflow characteristics. Though certainly not the only reason, I think a large factor in why some blends smoke better in one pipe over another has to do with different cuts. Rough cuts in deeper, narrower bowls generally burn poorly for me, with little flavor and regular relighting. While narrower ribbons in wide bowls require more concentration than I want to give to keep them burning at a good pace and not too fast.
I can’t really think of any tobacco that I like that I would prefer to be in a different cut than it’s commonly made in. Also the cut doesn’t usually affect my decision to purchase a particular tobacco either. An example of one that is sold in different cuts where I have tried both is Haunted Bookshop. I bought the cake version when it first came out. I didn’t notice any substantial difference over the usual ribbon cut, but it changed which pipes I preferred it in.
The only time I pay attention to cuts is when I’m cutting ropes or true plugs. I tend to cut ropes into thin coins Mac Baren style and stack and fold them the same way. Plugs it depends on the blend, some into thinner ribbon and some I cube.
I tend to match certain blends to certain pipes, or at least certain bowl sizes and airflow characteristics. Though certainly not the only reason, I think a large factor in why some blends smoke better in one pipe over another has to do with different cuts. Rough cuts in deeper, narrower bowls generally burn poorly for me, with little flavor and regular relighting. While narrower ribbons in wide bowls require more concentration than I want to give to keep them burning at a good pace and not too fast.
This you say is very interesting and we all could learn a bit about it if you could explain us this a bit in deep. Which blends/cuts work best for the different bowl sizes?.
Sure, there is nothing scientific about my observations, just what I have noticed over the years when I would wonder why certain pipes smoked certain tobacco better.
I have noticed that common size pipe bowls handle the most common cuts the best, ribbon and coarse or rough cuts. I have found that rough cut tobaccos often open up a bit more in wider bowls, which I suppose makes sense since there would be more contact between the tobacco pieces while burning. In wide bowls, ribbons often burn faster and I’ve found require a little more care to not smoke them too hot and lose flavor.
I have found that deeper, common to narrower bowls handle flakes better when folded. With wider bowls it seems difficult to pack them in a way that doesn’t create larger air pockets, which make it very difficult to get a consistent, balanced burn. I have seen many people say that Virginia flakes smoke the best in deeper narrower bowls. I believe this may have more to do with the burning characteristics of flakes in general.
It does seem to me that tobacco blenders decide to use cuts that will burn well in the widest variety of pipes, which is likely why a blend of ribbon (or similarly broken flake) and rougher cut is the most common form tobacco is sold in. In the big picture, flakes, coins, plugs and fine ribbon or shag are specialty cuts and make up a relatively small part of the tobacco sold. They are also the most difficult for new smokers to smoke until they get some experience with them, but they have their particular charms that reward the effort. I think part of the difficulty in mastering the rarer cuts is pipe selection, although that is only rarely discussed.
Obviously there are a lot more factors to a pipe smoking well and matching a pipe to a tobacco, but this is a few things I have observed related to cuts.
I would also point out that I have a massive pipe collection with widely different bowl sizes and characteristics. I do realize that most smokers don’t have a wide selection of bowl sizes/depths in their pipes. The majority of pipes have pretty similar bowl sizes and so this discussion is a bit esoteric.
I will add two examples, though to be fair they are a bit of extremes. The first is a German meerschaum. The bowl is 2” by 2 1/4” deep. (Say 50mm x 58mm) I don’t smoke this pipe often, just because it’s a big time commitment, but when I do, I prefer rough cut blends, mostly gravity filled and settled by tapping. Smokes beautifully for hours. I have tried other cuts in it, but other than rough or rough/ribbon blend, only lightly rubbed out flakes where they still have decent chunks work.
Second is a Georg Jensen Gigant that I just got a short while ago but has become a favorite of mine for flakes. By the way, when I mention flakes I mean the thin cut European style ones, not what gets labeled a flake in the US. The bowl is under 3/4” by 2 1/2” deep. Say 17mm x 58mm.
This handles folded flakes like a dream. Also broken flakes that are lined up lengthwise. I haven’t even tried other cuts in it just based on prior experience with similar pipes. Could you smoke a rough cut in it? Of course, but it would need to be packed extremely carefully and I believe it would be an inferior smoke to a more common size bowl.
I like flakes and cakes more than ready rubbed. I find the flavour tends to be deeper and more intense. They require more preparation, but that’s all part of the enjoyable ritual 😊
I really like the feel of moist, medium- thick ribbon cut. It just feels good in my hand when I pull it out and pack a bowl. Somehow, it triggers something in my mind that this is how tobacco is supposed to feel. That is not based on logic or any real reason- just my own quirk. When I think about it, I am not sure that I have ever considered the cut when buying. My collection is full of more ribbon and crumble cake than anything else but I would never be deterred by any cut if the tobacco sounds goods.
I do prefer flakes. Even though i don´t break them apart, from flakes u can make cubes, u can rub everything, you can fold, i mean, with flakes you can reach good types of cut with a little effort.
Ted once again said something that i agree, i cannot think in a blend that i would prefer in a different cut than it is made.
I would also add that I preferred how a number of American tobaccos were cut prior to the 1990’s and the big push to define pipe tobacco as something different from tobacco that could also be rolled. I had one example handy so I thought I would post a comparison. This is Heine’s Blend from 1975 compared to fairly recent production. The 1975 is a medium to narrower ribbon cut. The current version Sutliff calls “cube cut”, I call it rough cut.
There are also differences in European tobaccos. The Dunhills from Murray era have a wider ribbon cut than the more recents made by STG.
Obviously there are a lot more factors to a pipe smoking well and matching a pipe to a tobacco, but this is a few things I have observed related to cuts.
I would also point out that I have a massive pipe collection with widely different bowl sizes and characteristics. I do realize that most smokers don’t have a wide selection of bowl sizes/depths in their pipes. The majority of pipes have pretty similar bowl sizes and so this discussion is a bit esoteric.
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Once again you have pointed out a very interesting question that could help us improve our smokes. Could you please explain us a bit about the factors that make a pipe smoking well matching a pipe to a tobacco apart from tobacco cut?.
In my pipe collection, there are just two sizes; squat bulldog 19/21mm wide 28/32mm deep and the rest 19/21mm wide 39/43mm deep. I have two pots 23/24mm wide and 33mm deep that I do not smoke anymore because it´s impossible to keep them smoking uniform. Squat bulldog is perfect in my opinion for latakia blends. I like that blend less in the deeper bowls. I don´t know why this happens.
I have the same experience as you with Latakia, I don’t like it as much in deeper bowls. I don’t think that has much to do with the cut, I think it is because as we light the pipe and smoke it in the beginning, the tobacco below the ember is getting steamed and toasted by the heat.
I find that with Virginias, the tobacco lower in the bowl only gets better from the heat, but with some aromatics and with Latakia, that heat and smoke being drawn across it can strip the flavors from the tobacco lower in the bowl while smoking. In a shallow or not very deep bowl, the tobacco stays a little cooler and isn’t subjected to heat for as long as it would in a deep bowl, so it tastes closer to how it does on lighting. Just my thoughts on why it is that way.
I love the rare cube cut. I find bowls of this last much longer, albeit are more difficult to get lit. For me it's the nice middle ground between cake and ribbon. It's less work but you still get some of the advantages of a flake or cake, such as a deeper flavour. I also love curly cut, but damn it's always so expensive. It's great to play around with the flavours like packing the bullseyes right in the middle, so your smoke changes up halfway through.
If i had unlimited money (or smoked a lot less), I would really focus on collecting flakes, cakes, curlys, and cubes; but you get way more bang for your buck with ribbon. The tobacco is drier so you get more by the weight.
Honestly, broken flake.
I don't have to rub it out myself. And it does create a longer lasting ember than ribbon cut. The best of all options for me.
My favorite to look at is messy coins like Three Nuns, Doblone D'Oro or Mac Baren Dark Twist.
I'd have to agree now that I think about it, some of my favourite blends are broken flake like HU's Lousiana Broken. I think my broken flake blends last the longest for me due to burning slower, but also not being so compressed or moist like a cake or a flake.
HU make some excellent blends. Pity I have to catch a train to Germany in order to enjoy them!
For me anything pressed. Cake, flake, plug, whatever. I kinda wiah Old Joe Krantz was cake...
Plug is the one i struggle more but only had 3P .... i have 2 tins of plug tobacco in my cellar and i feel it's time for sharpening my knife.
I prefer flakes and crumble cakes but it all depends on pipe selection as @ted stated earlier
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