Handrolled cigarettes

created by DataJunkie

(idea) by DataJunkie (7.9 mon) (print) ? (I like it!) 1 C! Mon Dec 25 2000 at 13:44:44

Here we go:

What you need:

tobacco (comes in those flat packets or in cans)
cigarette paper (try to get sturdy paper, you won't regret it)
optional: filters

How to put it all together:

Take an amount of tobacco about the length and width of your pinky finger. Lay it on the paper and roll it between the thumb and forefinger of your left and right hands. Keep rolling until the tobacco has the approximate form of a cigarette. Make sure it isn't packed too hard (practice makes perfect). Now wet the filter with your tongue and stick it on one end of the cigarette paper (clear it of tobacco first). Now. Roll the side nearest to you forwards, over the tobacco/filter and under the flap of the other side. Wet that side (make sure it has the sticky strip) and roll it tightly together.

Smoke.

Note:The filter takes some of the bite out of a rolled cigarette, and makes it more sturdy. Of course, you might like the strength of a non-filtered cig.

(idea) by mkb (7 min) (print) ? (I like it!) Tue Jun 04 2002 at 12:35:53

There are quite a few different techniques for rolling cigarettes. Here is another one. Once again, filters are completely optional.

Take some handrolling tobacco (tabac à rouler in France, where I learned all this). I recommend Amsterdamer. Other brands include Drum and Old Hornsby.
Get a rolling paper. Place it flat on the table in front of you, with the glue side up and the strip of glue facing away from you.
Take a chunk of tobacco that is approximately the length of your paper and half of its width.
Roll the tobacco between your fingers for a little while as described above.
You should now be able to fold the bottom edge of the paper up to the fold in the middle. Do this, then flip the glue edge over the bottom edge and under the cigarette. Then, flip the edge back up behind your cigarette.
Lick the glue and press the edge down, making sure not to leave any air pockets. If you do, that part of the paper will burn right away, giving you an unsmokable cigarette with giant holes.
It's a good idea to either let the cigarette dry, or to dry it with your lighter.

This will leave you with a slightly flat cigarette that smokes very easily. If you do this in public, expect odd looks. Some people will think you're rolling a joint, which is much more involved.

(thing) by loquacious (5.3 mon) (print) ? (I like it!) 7 C!s Sat Dec 07 2002 at 9:17:36

There are a number of reasons, as a smoker, to smoke hand rolled loose tobacco. Quality is one reason. Good hand rolling tobacco is generally vastly superior to the majority of pre-packaged cigarettes. Price is another. I can pick up a 40 gram packet of tobacco for around $2.50-6.50 US, and a packet will make 40-60 cigarettes. A pack of 20 manufactured cigarettes in my area runs $3.50-$5.50 US, and is usually an inferior product. Hand rolling allows a smoker to remove stems and other trash from your tobacco, and also allows you to choose the paper, size, and density in your cigarette. Most pre-packaged cigarettes are impregnated with thousands of chemicals, but notably, sulphur and salt peter in the paper to ensure that it burns whether you're actually actively smoking the cigarette or not. This ensures that you smoke and buy more cigarettes, and makes saving a portion of a cigarette unpalatable. Many brands of cigarettes also use sheet tobacco which is comprised of reconstituted factory floor sweepings and other trash. This is not to say that hand rolling or loose tobacco is chemical or additive free. Nearly all cigarette tobacco uses artificial or natural additives in the curing proccess. Uncured, unaged tobacco is nearly impossible to smoke due to the moisture content and harshness involved.

The most important thing about rolling a cigarette is the tobacco used. For this I will mainly be discussing commercially available hand rolling tobacco. However, there is a startling array of unbranded hand rolling tobacco available at finer smoke shops. House brands, one offs, custom blends, and so forth. I leave these up to the reader to decide upon.

The second most important thing is the rolling paper used. The papers included with better hand roll brands are usually adequete, but some people prefer to buy specialty papers. Rolling 'leaves' made of rice or hemp paper are a good start. I usually keep a packet of Zig-Zag whites or Rizla papers handy for when I want a smoother smoke, but I usually just use the ones included. There are more brands of rolling paper available than there are brands of tobacco, in an amazing array of sizes, colors, shapes, and materials.

I smoke primarily Halfzware Shag. According to alt.smokers.* "Zware" is Dutch for "strong". "Halfzware" is basically "half as strong". All the Halfzware Shag I've seen is very finely cut, practically an eighth as thin as the tobacco used in manufactured cigarettes.

For the purposes of this How To, I will only review Halfzware I've actually smoked. However, a quick search via google and memory reveals at least a dozen or so different brands: Bali Shag, Drum, Jakobs, Lion, Samson, Gauloises, Lookout, Jester, Arbo, American, Mynheer, Norwegian Shag, Pirat, Turner, Jason, Bison and more. I will not be reviewing Top, Bugler, or any of it's ilk, and these instructions are not geared for this sort of crap. If you are desperate enough to smoke that junk, you'll surely be able to figure out how to roll it. (These brands are composed of thickly cut, dry, crumbly sheet tobacco and are notoriously difficult to roll. Avoid.)

In order of my personal preference, with accompanying review, manufacturer, and distributor (as available):

Bali Shag
Blended by: Peter Stokkebye
Distributed by: C.W. Obel

Almost always moist and fresh. Usually pricier. Bali Shag uses a step in processing that removes "bird's eyes" (Thin cross section slices of tobacco leaf vein and stem) in the manufacturing process. This yields a smoother smoke, and less time making it.

Drum
Original European Blend
Blended by: Douwe Egberts
Distributed by: Imperial Tobacco

US Blend
Blended and distributed by: Republic Tobacco

Drum is the tried and true, and used to be the defacto standard of quality for widely available packaged Halfzware. There seems to be some confusion about the current status of availability here in the United States. I've heard conflicting reports about whether or not Drum is being actively distributed here any more. The fact that I have found many, many stale packets in stores at clearance prices over the last year or so seems to support this. However, I have noticed that various Rite Aid locations in my area seem to have very fresh stock. The original Douwe Egberts European blend is almost impossible to find in retail locations. Also, you will frequently find the Republic Tobacco version of Drum labeled as "European Blend". Apparently this is still not the original Douwe Egberts blend, as it is lighter and less robust. This is not necassarily a bad thing, as the original blend is quite strong.

Samson
Blended by: Lane Limited

Stock is frequently stale or dry, but cheaper. Better than most Drum look alikes, but not nearly as good as Drum or Bali Shag. It has more stems and trash then either of those as well.

Lookout
Blended by: Kretek International

Almost always dry and stale, in my experience. Good in a pinch.

Jason
Blended by: Mac Baren
More frequently stale or dry than even Lookout. Sometimes awful. Always better than Top or Bugler, though. Also good in a pinch.

All of these brands reviewed are the normal European Blend "full strength" flavor, in blue packets. I have smoked the "light" varieties of some of these, but I do not prefer them. If you find the blue labels too strong, give the "golden" or "light" varieties a try.

How to hand roll the perfect cigarette.

For the purposes of these instructions, "right hand" means "dominant hand". You may obtain better results switching the directions around to use your dominant hand.

Inspecting the tobacco

Inspect your tobacco. It should be moist and springy to the touch, but not wet or musty smelling. If it is musty or moldy smelling (or looking!) you should avoid smoking it. It should not be brittle, and resist crumbling to powder when being handled or rolled. If your tobacco is too dry, you may add one to a dozen droplets of water to the pouch (or can). For best results, allow the moisture to be absorbed by the tobacco. Wet tobacco is obviously difficult to smoke, and will soak the rolling paper and make it tear far too easily. Dry tobacco burns too fast, and will result in a very harsh smoke.

Pulling a plug from the pouch

Depending on the density of the tobacco, you want to pull a fairly loose, springy ball or plug of tobacco from the pouch with your right hand, about 3-6 centimeters in diameter. Palm this plug of tobacco loosely, and pull out a rolling paper.

Laying out the tobacco in the paper; preparing to roll

Hold the paper with your thumb inside the crease, and supporting the underside with whatever fingers feel comfortable, glued edge facing you from the far side. I generally support it with my middle and ring fingers, as it leaves my pointer finger free to assist smoothing out the tobacco. Put one edge of the plug under your left thumb between it and the paper, in the crease of the paper. Properly held, the paper will easily support the tobacco because of the crease in the paper, and the supporting fingers underneath. With your right hand, pull and smooth out the tobacco to fill the bottom of the crease. What you are looking for is an evenly distributed cylinder-esque bead of tobacco, about the size of a pinky finger, like a fuzzy caterpiller. It should be about one third to half as wide as the paper being used, and equally or slightly longer than the paper. A bit of overhanging tobacco will actually make it easier to roll.

Rolling

Fold the paper up into a "U" shape around the tobacco. With your thumbs near the center-front, and one or two fingers from each hand on the back, begin rolling the paper back and forth around the tobacco. As you roll the front down, put pressure down into the rough cylinder of tobacco, with a slight amount of lateral tension between your hands, as though you were trying to gently pull the paper apart. Too much force and you will tear the paper in half. No lateral force at all, and you'll end up with a lumpy cigarette. When rolling the front paper up, transfer the pressure from your fingers in the back down and in towards the tobacco. As you roll, any stray or loose strands should be integrating themselves more and more into a cohesive, but not too tight cylinder, as though you had a cigarette with the paper taken off. You may need to pause in between rolling motions to help guide strands into the roll, or pull strands off that are too long or rebellious to integrate. Once you have a nice, smooth cylinder laying in the paper, you're ready to close and seal the paper.

Sealing

Roll the front part of the paper down until it's about even with the tobacco, and the back paper up. Keep the pressure and tension steady. Moisten the glue with your tongue, as you would an envelope. Try and keep the moisture only on the glue, and don't use too much. If the paper becomes too moist, it will tear. There are a number of ways to get the unglued edge of the paper to tuck up under the glued edge, but for me the following works well. Maintaining gentle pressure between the thumb and fingers of one hand, grasp the almost completed cigarette between the length of your first and second fingers, and apply pressure, just holding it. Repeat for the other hand to mirror the first. Squeeze the first and second fingers of both hands slightly together towards the top to help guide the unglued flap underneath the now moistened glued flap, and push up and in with your thumbs, while mainting gentle lateral tension. The unglued edge should wrinkle slightly, and tuck neatly into the open seam between the tobacco roll and the glued edge. With your second fingers, flip the glued edge over towards your first fingers in the center, still maintaing slight lateral tension, and smooth the glued edge down from the center toward the end. You should now have a more or less cigarette-like object with tobacco sticking out each end.

Finishing

I smoke my handrolls filterless, as good tobacco doesn't need a filter. (Halfzware shag is usually milder, less acrid, more flavorful and more robust than manufactured cigarettes.) If one end of the unfinished cigarette is more narrow, pull the loose strands of tobacco from that end. It helps to hold the end pinched in one hand while you pull or break the stray strands free. Twist the end down to a point.

Smoking

Light as normal. People used to filtered cigarettes often complain about loose tobacco ending up in their mouths. While this is sometimes unavoidable, it doesn't happen all the time. I find that this is usually due to the fact that people used to filters flick the filter of the cigarette to ash it, or otherwise abuse the unlit end. Try and keep the unlit end dry, and don't chew on it. To ash, tap the side of the cigarette, or keep an ashtray handy and allow the ash to fall off. Also, people used to 'normal' cigarettes ask "How do you know when you're done?". The cigarette is finished when it is no longer palatable, or becomes too hot to hold. I frequently smoke mine right down to a roach, not unlike the end of a marijuana joint. The form factor and concept of a hand rolled cigarette is practically the same.

Enjoy.

Sources:

Roll Your Own Magazine
ryomagazine.com

Usenet
alt.smokers

My hippy cousin-in-law Dave that taught me how to roll tobacco one spacey evening, my cool dad, and a decade of smoking things.

Everything Quests - Smoking

Note to gods/editors: If a better place can be found for this, or a better node title can be made, please feel free to do so. (In the interest of the deprecated "How to" format for node titles.) Perhaps Handrolled cigarettes? Integrate your writeups.

(idea) by j3nny3lf (3.7 wk) (print) ? (I like it!) 1 C! Fri Jul 08 2005 at 1:53:52

Another way to roll your own cigarettes is using a tobacco injector.

Using loose tobacco, filter tubes, and a small tobacco injecting machine that fits in the palm of your hand and costs around US$3, you can create "tailor mades" in no time flat.

To make your own tailor mades

Purchase an injector, tobacco, and filter tubes from a tobacconist. There are many with online stores, a simple Yahoo! or Google search should lead you to a good one.

Loosely press about a tablespoon full (this will vary depending on injector and how tight a roll you want) of loose tobacco into the injector. Slide the tube onto the metal or plastic cylinder at the end of the injector. Close the lid, slide the mechanism to the side, and your finished cigarette pops off the end of the injector, beautifully finished.

Loose tobacco can be purchased in many different blends, strengths and flavors, and filter tubes are available in standard length, 100mm length, and even unfiltered. They are also available in light and menthol variations.

In about a half an hour, you can roll up an entire pack's worth of cigarettes, store them in an Altoids tin, and head out the door for an approximate cost (after purchase of the injector) of less than US $2 per pack. Your cigarettes will taste better, have less chemicals in them, and cost considerably less than you pay at the corner store.

These are the only thing I smoke anymore.

(idea) by maxClimb (47 min) (print) ? (I like it!) 1 C! Fri Jul 08 2005 at 15:43:45

Currency-Assisted Cigarette Rolling Method

Materials:
1. Smokable plant material
2. Dollar bill or other currency note
3. Cigarette paper

Method:
1. Hold dollar bill with long sides perpendicular to fingers and a depression in the middle of the bill, between thumb and fingers of one hand.
2. Place a reasonable amount of plant material in the depression and spread evenly across the width of the note.
3. Bring the ends of the banknote together and work your fingers and thumbs up and down in opposite directions, gently rolling the plant material into a compact cylinder.
4. Carefully spread your thumb and fingers a little and place a cigarette paper between the far side of the cylinder and the bill, gummed edge up and facing you.
5. Reclose bill and smoothly roll upward with your thumb(s) until the cigarette paper has gone completely around the plant material.
5. Lick the gummed edge of the paper and resume rolling until it seals with itself.
6. Remove cigarette from bill, tamp or twist ends as desired, and store or smoke.

Notes:
Somewhat 'used' bills work better than crisp new ones.
You might want to wipe residual plant material from bills used for this purpose, depending on local community standards.

(thing) by SlightlyMadman (3.7 y) (print) ? (I like it!) Mon Feb 05 2001 at 22:29:34

When I used to smoke, I smoked handrolled fairly often (but not exclusively, since it's a pain sometimes, especially when driving or anything else that requires your hands). When I first started smoking them, I didn't use filters, but, after I started coughing up nasty shit in the mornings (mine was red and brown, though, not green), I went out and bought a bag of cotton filters.

The filters are pretty cheap, especially when you consider that you're wasting less tobacco (since you're not throwing a butt full of it into the ashtray). I never tried boiling them, but I suspect this would not work, at least with the ones I had, as they were kept together with a thin paper wrapping.

The only disadvantage of the filters is that you can end up wasting a lot of tobacco if you usually roll thin cigarettes (since you have to roll it the same width as the filter), and it can be a bitch to roll them until you get used to it.

As an interesting bit of trivia, I first learned about these filters from a junky friend of mine, who used them in place of a cotton ball when he shot up. He said they're more efficient at sucking up the precious h in the spoon, since they're much tighter.

printable version
chaos

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