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I was talking with Greg Pease recently about his JackKnife Plug before it was yet released. My initial question was how he preferred to process the tobacco. For some, getting a plug of pipe tobacco can seem daunting, if not downright terrifying. There is nothing to be afraid of, but different techniques will yield different results. I first tried JackKnife in a shag cut, which is how Greg really likes it. You can read about JackKnife and how to process it on Greg's “The Briar & Leaf Chronicles".
For our own experiments I headed down to the store and removed a small piece of Samuel Gawith Cob Plug from its holding jar and attempted to attack it with different techniques - and a big knife. For starters, the knife should be sharp (this is moist leaf, after all). The plug should always be kept in a sealed jar for extended periods of time because trying to cut dried tobacco ends up being like trying to shave wood. The tobacco we used was perfectly moist and my knife was an inexpensive, yet effective accessory from a sushi kit I purchased at the grocery store.
The knife was sharpened, the wooden cutting board was on a very sturdy table, and the first cut was made by placing the cutting edge about 1/16" from a side of the square plug and carefully slicing back and forth before applying downward pressure. Off came a perfect flake with just the slightest curl. After this, I made the exact same cut but it was about 1/8" wide. The thicker flake proved very easy to cut into match stick sized pieces, that were later cut into cubes. Lastly, gripping the plug and setting the edge of the blade about 1/32” from the edge and pushing down in a slicing motion - like slicing paper thin strips of a tomato - left behind little chocolate curls that rubbed out to a shag with very little effort.
The shag burns very easily all the way down, while the cube cut burns slower with a noticeably deeper taste. The flake can be folded as is, or rubbed to a perfect ribbon.
The rules for best results: sharp knife with no teeth, cutting board on a solid surface that doesn't wobble and very careful slicing. I like to only slice off as much as I need for a bowl or two because the tobacco stays moist in a solid plug and I seem to derive great satisfaction from making the cuts. To me it can be as much fun as preparing a delicious dinner. Have fun!
Comments
Very interesting, I hadn't thought about all the possible options with a plug tobacco. Now it doesn't seem so daunting. Thanks for sharing!
@Eric G Glad we could help Eric! Thanks for Reading.
Can you use chewing tobacco leaf and or plug in your pipe for smoking just wondering because I enjoy smoking a pipe Cigars and chewing tobacco the brand of the plug tobacco would be days work plug chewing tobacco and the leaf killing tobacco would be Lancaster brand and Levi Garrett chewing tobacco?!
Been smoking pipes for 60 years and never learned this much about them as I do on the internet in my part of the country there are no pipe shops only gas stations and smoke shops who sell cigs
The article says the tobacco in the picture is Gawith Cob plug; is that right? It looks *really* good.