A confession of sorts and newbie mistakes.

[gracebowen]

Ok this might be a little long but please read especially if you are new to making your own cigarettes. I first found this site because I was looking to accomplish 2 goals.

Find a healthier way to smoke.
Find a cheaper way to smoke.

I read a few posts and decided to order a cigarette sampler pack from FmGrowIt. I got lots of good advice. Some of which I ignored.

Buy a good injector and buy a good way to shred tobacco. I ignored this advice because I thought I could not afford an injector or an easier way to shred my tobacco. I started out with a Gembler manual stuffer and shredding by hand. (Shredding with a knife works well for some but not me.)

I got my tobacco and began hand processing and manually stuffing each cigarette and that worked for a while. Then I got tired of doing it the hard way and frustrated with learning what tobacco type tastes best to me so I began purchasing premade cigarettes again. I did this even though after switching to ryo I did not wake up coughing and hacking anymore.

Well last month I realized there was no way I could afford to buy store bought cigarettes anymore so I resolved to smoke the rest of my sampler pack. I am still doing it the hard way but I am going shopping tomorrow or Saturday for a good injector.

I started out smoking the tobacco I liked (Bright Leaf, Turkish, Burley blend). The other flavors that came in the old sampler pack I did not like but I am smoking it now. I found a small bag on Monte Carlo Yellow that someone was generous enough to send me to try. There was not enough to mix it in with the tobacco I had prepared so I sprinkled a little on the bottom, covered it with my blend and sprinkled a little more on top. It tastes much better now.

The moral of this story is don't give up.
Keep experimenting untill you find what you like best.
And more importantly there are many experienced people here and they give great advice. Don't ignore it like I did. In the long run it will pay to purchase the supplies to do it properly so you don't get frustrated and give up like I (temporarily) did.

 

[BarG]

Thats heartbreakin. I have a used double premier injector if you need it. You have to buy tubes for it. I get a kick out of rolling my own, I always have. I have grown enough to last the rest my life, but, I like to enjoy what I smoke. Thats why I supplement it with tobaccos I could never do myself thru the resources on FTT.

 

[gracebowen]

How much do you think shipping would be. I would be glad to take to off of your hands and pay for shipping. Thank you for your kind offer.

 

[BarG]

I'm in texas also so if you want I'll pm info.

 

[webmost]

When I was a kid we used to roll cigs for Dad outta Bugler. We just used papers and a little bitty Lieberman machine. Dad didn't need a machine. He could roll one handed while driving. As I grew up I learned to roll by hand also; tho not Bugler. Never even heard of an injector until I stumbled onto this site. What's with injectors ... nobody roll by hand or with that little cloth strip thing any more? Why not? It's cheap.

 

[DonH]

When I was a kid we used to roll cigs for Dad outta Bugler. We just used papers and a little bitty Lieberman machine. Dad didn't need a machine. He could roll one handed while driving. As I grew up I learned to roll by hand also; tho not Bugler. Never even heard of an injector until I stumbled onto this site. What's with injectors ... nobody roll by hand or with that little cloth strip thing any more? Why not? It's cheap.

Hand rolling can be way more expensive than injecting into tubes because for some reason good cigarette papers are more expensive than tubes. Papers come in packs of 50 and tubes come in boxes of 200. And a box of tubes usually costs only a bit more than a pack of papers. Plus some of us like filters.

 

[AmaxB]

I see this a lot, I run a small store and we sell RYO at times people come in an say they would never make their own. OK. Than others will buy a good injector or a get-by and some tobacco and tubes about half laps back into buying ready-made crap. Most return to making their own after their laps due to high cost some realize how bad ready-made really taste and return. Most all smoke the Pipe Stuff because they can't get past shredding.
What I find interesting is most do not do the math, an average smoker is at a pack or so a day. If Husband & Wife smoke with what is saved a month they could have that second car they need,,,
I started with an injector and a bag of RedCap (terrible stuff) after smoking a number of different pipe types (cig bacco) I moved on to leaf. Been making my own 4 years now and refuse to smoke anything other than leaf.

It does require a few tools to make it fast an easy when making your own, but that cost is soon returned with the money saved. For leaf I feel a good shredder is a must have and yeah the few hundred bucks in cost will make ya gag. But again it comes back to you. In money, time, plus quality smoking.
I think it is a shame that young smokers have no idea of what a smoke was 40 years ago.

 

[Chicken]

i agree with a lot that has allready been said,

the shredding is the most complicated process, of doing whole-leaf bacca....

and putting that shredded bacca into a tube, sometimes can be a complicated procedure,

......................................................................................................

allthough buying whole leaf bacca will save you a lot of money in the long-run,,, and definatlly be a healthier smoke,

I WOULD STRONGLLY advise you to make a 320$ INVESTMENT AND YOU'LL BE READT TO MAKE MANY '' thousands'' of cigg's very easily,

for 250$ it would be wise to get a powermatic shredder,,,,, to professionally shred your whole leaf bacca....

70$ for a electric powermatic cigg. injector,

.....................................................................................................

both are trusted and tried machines,,,,, ive run pounds thru the shredder, and made many thousands of cigg's with the injector,

if your serious about coming '' off the grid'' and no longer relying on BIG-TOBACCOO for your smokes,

you'd be wise to make a '' investment'' that will pay off in the long run,

 

[janetta007]

Thank You Grace for the advice for I am a newbie also. I am reading posts and looking at grow logs to help me with my first grow. These guys are VERY knowledgeable cause maybe they have tried and failed and succeeded which is good for us newbies.

I am also in your same boat on spending money on the shedder. My grandfather had one back in the 70's he used, well he made us use to roll his. Since his passing I am trying to locate which relative ended up with it.

I have my seedlings in the ground but I may not have enough time for drying due to my frost date is in Dec. So I have to rely on store bought filtered cigars like Seneca. They run about $12 a carton.

But I will not give up

 

[Chicken]

^^^^^^^

my heart goes out to you,

but at least your making a move to become independant, on big-tobaccoo.

 

[gracebowen]

Janetta you don't have to buy premade cigarettes. BigBonner and FmGrowit sell whole leaf. I have not tried BigBonner's but FmGrowIt I have gotten. I smoked about half of it before taking my break and I am now smoking the rest of it. I have been smoking it exclusively for 6 weeks and I still have about 11 days worth left. Fm's new sampler looks great and I ordered some a few days ago. I can't wait to try it. So far my favorites are Bright leaf, Turkish, Burley blend.

Even if you have to do it the hard way don't give up. I have smoked for about four months total off of the 3 1/2 lbs I bought. I figure in the long run and on the conservative side I have saved over $400. It is worth it and it is healthier.

 

[janetta007]

Unfortunately the cash flow is not enough to buy the whole leaf, I have been unemployed for 4 1/2 years and this little town my parents live in is not very promising. So many people employers can pick and choose who they want to hire.And being 51 doesn't make it easier. I have been doing odd jobs here and there but that's just enough to get a cold beer and a pack of filtered cigars.
Times are very tough that's why I joined the forum to grow my own.
Thanks to workhorse and leverhead with seed donation it helped me get started.
But I will not give up.

Janetta

 

[leverhead]

....It is worth it and it is healthier.

I don't know that I'd go so far as to say it's healthier. I do take some comfort knowing some of the things that aren't in my cigarettes. Getting over the "hump" for leaf, supplies and equipment is difficult at the beginning. The return on investment can be hard to see until you add it up later. What gives me a warm smile is knowing that I'm stiffing some big tobacco suit out of a payment for his kids new car.

 

[Southern Planter]

The return on investment can be hard to see until you add it up later. What gives me a warm smile is knowing that I'm stiffing some big tobacco suit out of a payment for his kids new car.

Years ago I bought an airplane. The old geezers I hung out with could not understand how I could afford it. I said "add up what you spend on beer and cigarettes in a months time." They were flabbergasted to learn that it was about the same as I spent in a month to own and fly an old airplane.

I may have $50 at most in the 16 or so pounds of bacca I grew this year.

 

[janetta007]

Years ago I bought an airplane. The old geezers I hung out with could not understand how I could afford it. I said "add up what you spend on beer and cigarettes in a months time." They were flabbergasted to learn that it was about the same as I spent in a month to own and fly an old airplane.

I may have $50 at most in the 16 or so pounds of bacca I grew this year.

Well I don't get paid in cash for the odd jobs I do it's sort of a trade off. Setting up deer feeders and game cameras cutting limbs mowing for pack of smokes or a beer is good with me.