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Smokin Buffalo

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Hello Pipe smoker!
i have been in the RYO Cigar forum and growing forum so now I'm visiting you fine gentlemen. I just started a pipe last week. I bought a few aromatics. So far they smell better than they taste. I have tried a vapor and an English non aromatic and have enjoyed them. I'm still learning the terminology so please bear with me.
Today I'm smoking Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture from my Peterson Shannon B10.

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ProfessorPangloss

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That's a gorgeous pipe. Welcome to the fraternity. If you are going to be trying a billion varieties and variations of blends, you might be interested in Missouri Meerschaum's grab-bag of factory seconds. It's a good deal, and you can devote a fresh cob to each mixture for maximum clarity. I love my cobs and you will too.
 

deluxestogie

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Welcome to the same jaded group of FTT members who have eagerly followed your other posts.

On pipesandcigars.com, buy some "John Cotton No. 1 & 2". Mild-medium English-style blend from yesteryear. Better yet, if you have a way to shred some leaf, go to WLT and pick up the "Balkan Sobranije" blend of whole leaf. The result is a higher quality than most commercial English blends.

Bob
 
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deluxestogie

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Nope. It's a wonderful, smooth and enjoyable English mixture. But Balkan Sobranie also contained Latakia, which does not seem to be in Don's mixture. Just add Latakia to the order, then play with its blending proportion. The real deal actually changed its own Latakia proportions over the years (usually reflecting a change in the Latakia source), ranging from ~30% to maybe ~40%. I would suggest starting with 20%, then increasing it until you find your sweet spot using WLT Cyprus Latakia. My own take is that 1/3 Latakia to 2/3 of the WLT blend, is about as close as my olfactory memory can get.

When I mix up a blend, I use a cooking tablespoon measure, and go by volume. One batch is 16 TBSP of tobacco (makes about 1-1/2 oz. of blend). So I break down the blend into 16ths, sometimes into 32nds. During the winter, that size batch lasts me 4 to 7 days. I posted a print of my Latakia blending matrix on my kitchen cabinet for easy reference. (I seldom follow it precisely, but it keeps me in the ballpark.)

LatakiaBlendingMatrix.JPG


Don's blend is genuinely enhanced with a specially developed casing.

Bob
 

SmokesAhoy

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I love that blend, then realized I could get a pound of it for the cost of 1.76 ounces. Not identical but damn close. Hit up Larry for the perique and Don for the va red and something like 85:15 vaper is real close to elizabethan.
 

Smokin Buffalo

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Bob, I think I read in here somewhere to cut the tobacco by rolling it in a crude cigar and then cut it up with a Cheveta or ulu. It that good enough or do I need a special machine to do it. Or is there anyone one here that is able to do some cutting for a fee if that is not considered producing a taxable product?
I would love to buy some leaf and mak my own mixtures. I know it produces great cigars so I'm sure it'll do the same for pipe tobacco.
 

Jitterbugdude

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I'm not Bob... but I've always wanted to play him on TV... :rolleyes:

Anyways... Rolling a "cigar" and making thin slices will certainly work but it gets old real quick. You can buy a pretty nice shredder from WLT. It cuts more of a cigarette shred (.8mm). A pasta maker with an angle hair attachment works pretty well but they break fairly easy. If you wanted to get the Cadillac of pipe shredders I'd recommend getting the 1.6mm Polish Shredder from Lucas (via Ebay). It makes the perfect pipe shred and will last a lifetime.
 

deluxestogie

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Kuhn-Rikon Kulu 6":
KuhnRikon_kulu.JPG

Purchase the 6" Kulu, not the smaller size.

This is the only thing I have used--for years--to shred my pipe tobacco. I hold it by the riser opposite the handle (and ignore the handle), which allows a fair amount of pressure to be applied.

I roll a crude, but tight "cigar," slice it as thin as I can, then cut the resulting coins in half or thirds (to shorten the shred length). Sometimes it's tedious, but I make up only a couple of ounces of each component for blending. Each ingredient is kept in a separate Ziploc bag, with all of them stored in a poly-nylon vapor-proof bag (from WLT) cut down to a practical length. When I set about making a batch, I usually need to shred more of only one or two ingredients.

I have not seen a commercial (affordable) shredder that will make the wider shred that I prefer for pipe tobacco. Finer shred burns hotter.

I also use the Kulu for slicing press blocks into flake, which can be smoked as a crumbled flake, or can be lightly rubbed-out into a Cavendish cut.

Cavendish20120307_084_rubbingOut_1bowlful_300.jpg


Bob
 

ChinaVoodoo

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Bob's kulu there looks really good because a thinner blade helps to make a straight cut through the tobacco which may be important to you depending on how narrow and consistent you want the ribbon to be cut, how solid your "cigar" or plug is, and how much moisture is in it. Fat blades push away as the bevel blade gets deeper and makes an uneven cut. The kulu blade is held at both ends so it doesn't flex either. Normally a thin blade will flex sideways as it gets further from the handle.

That said, i don't own a kulu. I primarily use some quality Lamson kitchen scissors, or my work scissors for cutting small amounts, and a Grohman hunting knife for cutting large amounts. Scissors are nice at work because I don't need a cutting board.
 

ChinaVoodoo

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I have recently started using a Finnish leuku for cutting bricks. I like how the long straight blade makes really good contact with the cutting board. Downsides are that it requires a bit more strength as you can't put your weight into it, and you have to work so the handle is off the cutting board.
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deluxestogie

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I shred the leaf in fairly low case--just enough moisture to prevent crumbling. I store it that way, and smoke it that way. If it is as springy as commercial blends, but lacks the commercial chemical mold inhibitors, it will mold.

Bob
 

CobGuy

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No more shredding for me ... I've come to prefer the ease of plugs, ropes and crumble cakes.

Any scraps from my pipe tobacco projects are added to my cigar leaf scraps and used for making snuff.
 
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