Does anyone use a manual meat slicer for tobacco?

[bubu]

I just bought a manual meat slicer (similar to this) and tried it on my homegrown tobacco I pressed using a pasta press, and it did a pretty good job at making a fine cut. Then I tried to cut my whole-leaf tobacco with it, but it didn't work. The piece behind the blade that's supposed to adjust the thickness pushes down the leaves because the leaf bundle is too flexible, making the blade unable to slice properly. I tried rolling and squishing the leaves as hard as possible, but it was still too flexible for the slicer. The slicer is definitely capable of making a fine cut, it just can't handle soft leaves.

I am sadly unable to produce a fine cut using a regular knife, which makes it impossible to roll a cigarette (and to keep tobacco lit in a pipe), so I am looking for recommendations from anyone used a similar slicer successfully.

 

[deluxestogie]

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum.

For my pipe blending, I use a manual, curved blade (a Kuhn-Rikon Mezzaluna). I roll the leaf tobacco into a solid "cigar", then slice it into coins, and subsequently split the coins, to shorten the shreds.

Others may have comments about using a meat slicer, which is intended for slicing dense, compact material.

Bob

 

[bubu]

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum.

For my pipe blending, I use a manual, curved blade (a Kuhn-Rikon Mezzaluna). I roll the leaf tobacco into a solid "cigar", then slice it into coins, and subsequently split the coins, to shorten the shreds.

Others may have comments about using a meat slicer, which is intended for slicing dense, compact material.

Bob

I have done that with a regular knife a few times before, the issue is that I'm really bad at any task that involves a tool in my hand so I can't cut fine and consistently enough (not too bad for pipe ribbon, but not good enough for rolling tobacco). Hoped the meat slicer with the assisting piece would solve that problem. Is there any benefit to using a curved blade as opposed to a knife? Would it help to make a finer cut?

You are right about the density, didn't even consider that until I tried the slicer. I guess I could press and then cut, but then the shreds would be too short for rolling because of the small diameter of the pasta press.

 

[deluxestogie]

A curved blade allows me to simply rock it, rather than drawing the blade. Best tool for the job is a sturdy tobacco shredder.

Heavy Duty Shredder 0.8mm cut

Cut your tobacco with the powerful and reliable Heavy Duty Shredder 0.8mm cut, modeled after the Powermatic S. Shredder.

wholeleaftobacco.com

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Mezzaluna:

https://www.amazon.com/Kuhn-Rikon-Mezzaluna-Knife-Red/dp/B00HSDXP40/ref=asc_df_B00HSDXP40/?th=1

Bob

 

[Controlled Chaos]

Where did you find that meat slicer? Depending on the price that might be an investment I'd make for slicing the occasional whole leaf plug

 

[HillDweller]

Where did you find that meat slicer? Depending on the price that might be an investment I'd make for slicing the occasional whole leaf plug

I've seen those on Amazon and eBay. Been thinking about getting one myself, as I like to make plugs. Wasn't sure if they worked so I was thinking I'd wait til I see one cheap at a yard sale or thrift shop. If I knew the would work I would just buy a new one.

 

[deluxestogie]

Search for "tobacco plug cutter".

Bob

 

[Old Gasman]

I think the whole idea of a fine fine shred for cigarette tobacco is misleading, sure if you hand roll your ciggies then a fine shred is essential. However I tried using my old hand rolling machine the other day with a coarser cut tobacco and it worked and smoked just fine. Obviously it's slower than a shredder but for me I just roll a crude cigar, cut it into thin slices then a couple of cross cuts and I'm good to go.