Packing Escudo: Tips and tricks?

[Phil S]

So I've got 2 tins of Escudo, one open to smoke, and 1 in my cellar. I really like it so far, it's the first Va/Per I've tried, though I've only smoked 2-3 bowls of it. It seems a bit tough to pack for me, I've tried 3 different ways so far.
1) Tearing the coins in half and packing them in
2) putting whole coins in.
3) tearing the coins into little pieces and packing those in.

Any tips and tricks for packing these strange coins? How do you pro's do it?

[aeroswat]

I usually fold 2 coins and place them one at a time into bowl and then rub out another coin which I sprinkle on top and tamper, Must be getting better at it cause now it takes less relights per bowl.

[dls]

I'm a fan of "rubbing" out flakes/coins. Basically I tear them into little pieces like you mentioned, get the pieces into a mound and kind of agitate the mound until it's fine enough to pack. It's usually difficult to get small enough pieces to pack using the frank method, but I've never had problems with the standard "three tamp" method.

[JAK]

I have smoked other coins and I don't rub them out, I just fold and stuff. I like the really slow burn this provides

[fireman43]

I usually rub a couple of coins out and pack then pack using the 3 step method. That seems to be the way that works best for me.

[kvm]

Originally Posted by fireman43

I usually rub a couple of coins out and pack then pack using the 3 step method. That seems to be the way that works best for me.

Only method I've tried so far but works well for me.

[IHT]

i take a coin, fold it in half, then rub it out. folding it in half ensures that i don't get super-long ribbons.
i normally use 1.5 to 2 coins to fill up a pipe.

[paperairplane]

I break / fold 1 coin and rub it into balls - pack this in first. The second coin I rub out lightly and pack on top of the first. I generally reserve about 1/2 the second and rub it out somewhat fine and pack this on top. I find this makes lighting easier, and the larger bits below burn nice and slow.

[JohnnyFlake]

Obviously, there are many methods that can be used to pack flake tobacco. For whatever reason, I use two different methods. For the round coin shaped tobaccy, such as Escudo, I take two coins, lay one on top of the other, and the roll them up into the shape of an ice cream cone. Then I stuff the tobaccy into the pipe with the wide end down, tamp a little and then fire it up. With flakes that come in strips, I like to shred up the slices, tearing them into strands and then rub them out, real good. Afterward, I pack as I would a ribbon cut.

Try a few different methods that will come up in this thread and see which works best for you!

[physiognomy]

I think I have treated Escudo differently every time I've smoked it. This is probably why I haven't experienced consistent flavors/burn... I tried folding & stuffing, but it didn't work well for me, so I have been rubbing the coins out to varying degrees lately.

[carbonbased_al]

I normally take two coins, fold em, and stuff. Nothing fancy.

[Sawyer]

I place 2 coins on top of each other, fold and stuff. Easy to do on the go and no mess.