I figured I would start a post in regards to the King Rollers “cigar roller” that is out there.
Disclaimer: I’m not affiliated with the company and purchased one on my own free will. I will provide any feedback that I can regarding my experience with it. In addition, if there’s any suggestions that anyone out there has to attempt with it, I would be open to suggestions.
Background: I’ve been home rolling for a little over 2 years now. I’ve tried multiple versions of rolling up filler leaves and have settled on the “entubado” style and using cigar molds &/or paper strips to form the bodies of cigars. In my opinion, the entubado style helps with the burn and airflow in the finished cigar. Once again, this is my opinion up to this point.
For prepping filler & binder leaf I first tried spritzing the leaf and putting them in ziplock type bags, or emptied bags from WLT. Since then, I’ve tried the “poor man’s casing chamber” aka cooler with a Tupperware container filled with distilled water and baking drying racks. Racks stacked on top of each other, where each level I stacked binder, Ligero, Viso, or Seco leaves on separate racks. Sometimes, I’d stack Ligero & Viso on the same rack or Viso & Seco on the same rack, depending upon what the blend was that I was working on during that session. Within the last couple months, I’ve reverted back to spritzing and bagging up the binder and filler leaves and only using the “casing chamber” for wrapper leaves to prevent water spots.
Review: So far, I’ve used the roller about a dozen times and will update accordingly with any sort of tips or tricks I find out along this journey. I have found that once you get a rhythm and method going in what works for you, you can increase the amount of output the better you get with the method that works for you.
Pros & Cons:
-Fantastic for scrap filler leaf where you want some consistency in the body of the cigar. You have to be careful though and not over do it, as the roller will not want to budge if there’s too much in there. A little bit of a learning curve. My suggestion here is to attempt @deluxestogie ‘s method with an empty WLT bag first, before pulling the trigger on one of these.
-Cogwheel adjuster- 32 ring gauge to 64 ring gauge sizes. Great range of ring gauges to roll with. However, the cogwheel on the right hand side of it, can catch your fingernails if you’re not paying attention it. I’ve had a few fingernails get trimmed up just buy using the wooden cylinders on the sides to compress the leaf inside. There isn’t any tick marks or marks in general to designate ring gauge sizes. In their video it mentions to use a dowel. Which would be awesome if you have the dowel sizes you’re looking to accomplish. I’ve been using other cigars in the ring gauge I’m looking to roll as the guide in the cigar roller. So far, this has been working ok for me.
-Binding- The body of the cigar will bind up nicely, typically running it through twice, based on my style and how long your binder leaf is… and as long as you get your filler ratios right. However, I don’t feel that you will need any sort of cigar mold, as long as you get your filler ratios right. So far from what I’ve bound up, they go straight to paper strip “molding” afterwards.
-Binder leaf- Veins facing up. I’d make note of where the foot of the cigar is and line up there, if not a little over. That way your foot is adequately covered.
-Construction of the roller- Very well done. American made. Strong (but I’d almost suggest putting rubber feet on the bottom to help with grip on the bottom). The wood is gorgeous and is the best looking roller I’ve ever seen. Well constructed.
-“Other Things”- If you’re trying to use this for things that are the color green… I’d suggest using molding first before putting into the roller. Then bind away…. I’d personally use one of the other King Rollers rollers that they offer. Don’t forget to use a crutch & ensure that airflow!
