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ras_oscar

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My registered name is ras_oscar. I'm a cigar and pipe smoker, and I brew beer. I am a member of another cigar forum and have recently become interested in rolling my own. Another member of that other forum recommended I hang out here. I plan to lurk for a while.
 

ras_oscar

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Welcome to Fair Trade Tobacco. what do you need at this moment?​
er..... Since you asked, I am a rolling virgin. I'm looking for a cigar blend that will be easy to roll, flavorful and relatively inexpensive. I want to start by concentrating on the mechanics of producing a stick that has the correct mechanical properties. If the subject were cooking, I'd be asking for a grilled cheese. If the subject were beer brewing I'd be asking for a blond ale. Beyond that "starter" blend I'd also like to get a sense of how, in general, to approach the wide selection of leaves available. Which leaves are the " meat and potatoes" of the cigar world, which are the " spices and condiments"? Should I attempt to sample a wide variety of leaves by purchasing and rolling single leaf cherroots, or should I first select 3 or 4 fillers, a binder and a wrapper, and concentrate on blending those components before branching out?
 

deluxestogie

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Welcome to the forum. Your questions will garner as many answers as respondents.

My suggestion is to just ignore blending and nuance and condiment questions for now.

The most forgiving wrappers (easiest to apply without going nuts) are (pick one):
  • PA Binder
  • Honduras Habano Wrapper
  • Besuki Wrapper
Use any relatively intact half-leaf of wrapper or filler as your binder. A double binder (2 leaf halves laid one on top of the other, then used to bind the filler bunch) is much, much easier to get right for a beginning roller.

For starters on filler, I would suggest buying any one seco. Add any one viso or ligero for flavor/strength.

Leaf case (moisture content) for rolling:
  • wrapper: high case (floppy and stretchy, and silent to handle)
  • binder: medium case (very flexible, but not floppy; sounds like handling thick vinyl)
  • filler: low case (may crack a little when squeezed, but does not crumble; noisy to handle)
If your filler is truly in low case, and you use a double binder, you can roll it as tightly as a double-binder will allow, yet it will still draw.

After you've rolled enough cigars to reliably get a solid stick with a decent draw (usually at least 30 or so tries), then you can expand your horizon. Who cares what it tastes like, if you can't smoke it.

All the sophisticated blending recipes that you'll find in this forum are wonderful, but every one is a matter of personal preference. (I love Honduras Habano puros!)

Good luck, and happy rolling.

Bob

EDIT: Bob's admonishment--roll one; smoke one. Don't roll multiples, until you are good at rolling a single, reliably smokable cigar.
EDIT 2: Don't roll a cigar for a friend or your brother-in-law, until you've rolled at least 100 stogies.
 

Charly

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Welcome on FTT Ras_oscar :)
As always DeluxeStogie gave some very usefull answer (at least for me :D ) !
 

ras_oscar

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And I didn't get banned for breaking my promise to lurk for a while first :) Thanks.
 

Hasse SWE

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Welcome to FTT, I am sure that you have found one of the best forums in the world (if not the absolutely best). So again Welcome
 

ras_oscar

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Placed my first order for leaf and a chaveta. Already picked up a cutting board. Need to get some large Tupperware containers for leaf storage once the packages arrive and I see what6 size suits best. I plan on concentrating on crafting a smokable cigar, then will add a mold and wrapper. I'm stoked!!!
 

Gavroche

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Placed my first order for leaf and a chaveta. Already picked up a cutting board. Need to get some large Tupperware containers for leaf storage !


I always left my tobacco leaves in the bags of WLT and no concern

J'ai toujours laissé mes feuilles de tabac dans les sacs deWLT et aucun souci
 

deluxestogie

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I always left my tobacco leaves in the bags of WLT and no concern
I agree. Carefully cut away one end of the poly-nylon bag (assuming it is from WLT) to open it. Replace the leaf in the bag, express the excess air, roll the end, then keep it closed with a clothespin or a piece of packing tape.

Bob

Garden20170905_3027_rolledWLTbagEnd_600.JPG
 

ras_oscar

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ok. Perhaps I'll just get one of 2 bins to adjust humidity of the binder and wrappers. Thanks.
 

ras_oscar

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rolled my first stick this afternoon. The pressure is off. I'm going to spark it up in a moment and see how it burns. Statistics:Filler: 2 leaves corojo visio 2 leaves corojo seco Binder: 1 half leaf corojo visio glue: fruit pectin mixed 50/50 with water (didn't seem thick/sticky enough. I'll see when I spark it up) I'll post the photo when I figure out how.
 

ras_oscar

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thanks for the photo tutorial. I'll post up the picture when I get home this evening. After posting #15, I stepped outside with a lighter and cutter. The head was soft and did not retain any structure. The foot refused to develop a cherry despite persistent encouragement from the torch. However, the aroma from the barely smoldering foot was encouraging, and the draw was flawless. Cut off the charred bit off the foot and spread some pectin over the head, kinda forming a kinda dome shape. Will let this one rest in the open a few days and see if it dries out. Placed some PA obscuro binder in the casing bag with the filler leaves. Tomorrow I'll try bunching with untempered (out of the WLT bag) filler and see if I can get something that will smoke ROTT. I'd really like to get to that point before moving on to molding and wrapper. Lessons learned: 1.) more scrap bits under the head to provide more firmness to support the cut 2.) let the pectin glue set up an hour or so after mixing. 3.)drier filler leaves ( do I need to even case them at all?) Question: for those of you that have smoked right off the table with binder only, how do you treat the head? full cap? cut off the pigtail only? something else?
 

deluxestogie

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Damp filler will not light.

I nearly always smoke my cigars immediately after rolling. The filler has to be in low case (may crack, but not crumble). The long filler should extend solidly into the head. I use no glue at all. I use a reinforcing cap only if the wrapper has torn near the head, and apply it (lightly misted with water as the only adhesive) so that it wraps completely around an inch or so of the head, and holds itself in place. If I've messed up, and the tip of the head is soft, I clip it farther down, where the head is solid.

There are many ways to do all this. You'll find your own way with practice.

Bob
 
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