The Home Blending/Flake Making Thread

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Originally Posted by Bruck

Was that question directed to me, @Tobias Lutz , or someone else? Tobias uses a low pressure method (weight); I use a hydraulic press.

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Hey now, I upgraded to oak press plates and 6" C-clamps :)

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Originally Posted by Tobias Lutz

Hey now, I upgraded to oak press plates and 6" C-clamps :)

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I stand corrupted :)

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Originally Posted by Haebar

It was directed at either one of you. I remember someone on here or on the old Puff site who built a press using a hydraulic jack; was that you @Bruck ?

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That would be moi. Here's a thread with pix:

http://www.cigarbum.com/forum/the-do...lake-4658.html

I got about 6 pounds of whole leaf tobacco from Larry Butcher (The Tobacco Butcher) in Kentucky. I've stripped so many leaves this weekend that my fingers are sore, especially the tips of my thumbs. He gave me a substantial Christmas discount, so if you are thinking about ordering some, now would be a good time. This particular batch of tobacco is destined for making flake. Below is some dark fired KY:

http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/...psi1novul0.jpg

If you want to order some from him, just email him and tell you what you want and he will send you a Paypal invoice with the shipping costs on it. His email address is: ldbutcher@windstream.net . Be sure and email him first and get his list of tobaccos available; they are cheaper than what he has on his website: Larry, the affable Tobacco Butcher, out of bucolic Owingsville Kentucky. He also may have other items not listed on his website and the prices are cheaper than what's on his website. When you get the tobacco be sure and check on the moisture of the leaves as they are sometimes on the moist side, especially the leaf tips. You will need to pull them out of the bag and separate some of the leaves to assess whether or not you need to leave then out for a while to dry a little bit. The first order I got, I postponed doing this for a few days and ended up with a little mold on some of my Red Tip Burley. Had to cut those parts out and lost about 6-7 leaves worth, but it was my fault.

@Haebar - I'm really glad I found Larry. His stuff is great, and cheap! Limited selection, though, compared to the other online distributors. I guess you can't expect a guy in KY to grow Dominican viso and Nicaraguan ligero. :) He mainly grows stuff for cigarettes and pipe tobacco. Hope we can send some more business his way.

I also bought a pound of Turkish Yenidje; it has very small leaves and there are lots of them. Do I need to strip every one of these little leaves or just the ones with thick stems? The mid-ribs of these are much smaller than the lateral ribs of VA and Burley leaves that I leave on the stripped leaf halves. @Bruck

http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/...psbqlqbqox.jpg

http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/...psbkx0mxds.jpg

Re stripping the mid-ribs on Yenidje - I don't go thru and strip every leaf of my orientals per se, but when I'm putting together a flake blend I'll pull out and discard the ribs that are thick enough to feel. Reason: the thicker ribs tend to mess up the consistency of the flake. Note, this is for the small, delicate oriental leaves. With the big, robust Virginias and Burleys, I always remove the main vein.

OTOH, you don't _need_ to strip them out - the veins are perfectly smokeable, and contain the same basic flavor and slightly less nicotine than the lamina. If they don't bother you, and go through the cutter okay, you can leave them in.

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Originally Posted by Bruck

Re stripping the mid-ribs on Yenidje - I don't go thru and strip every leaf of my orientals per se, but when I'm putting together a flake blend I'll pull out and discard the ribs that are thick enough to feel. Reason: the thicker ribs tend to mess up the consistency of the flake. Note, this is for the small, delicate oriental leaves. With the big, robust Virginias and Burleys, I always remove the main vein.

OTOH, you don't _need_ to strip them out - the veins are perfectly smokeable, and contain the same basic flavor and slightly less nicotine than the lamina. If they don't bother you, and go through the cutter okay, you can leave them in.

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Thanks! That's just the answer I wanted to hear from an experienced source. Really enjoyed smoking some of the flake you sent. Although I probably should have let it sit out longer, it had rich, deep flavor that wouldn't quit and didn't change all the way to the bottom of the bowl. It was also very N rich and I had to put it down mid-bowl and pick it up 30 minutes later. The second light was just as good as the first and it finished without a trace of wetness. Did you treat it with Rum?

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Originally Posted by Haebar

Thanks! That's just the answer I wanted to hear from an experienced source. Really enjoyed smoking some of the flake you sent. Although I probably should have let it sit out longer, it had rich, deep flavor that wouldn't quit and didn't change all the way to the bottom of the bowl. It was also very N rich and I had to put it down mid-bowl and pick it up 30 minutes later. The second light was just as good as the first and it finished without a trace of wetness. Did you treat it with Rum?

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Yep - here's my log entry:

"Hydrating Batch 38, some cigar scraps, mostly red and bright VA, a bit of Imzur, and some cigar scrap cavendish. Topped w/ rum and vanilla. This is a psuedo-navy flake for Haebar."

I'm not real scientific with proportions :)

What would be the ideal dimensions for an open box frame for a kake press? I want to make a tobacco kake and wondered if any of you have experience with this.😐?

My brother and I built a box press for making tobacco kakes. The box is made of pine and the lid is made of cherry. The box is approximately 9" long and 5" wide and will employ two C-clamps for pressure. I can't wait to start pressing my first kake!

http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/...psytpus5tn.jpg

http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/...psjwts5wui.jpg