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Rolling Scraps into Cigarillos

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waikikigun

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So it's like a spiral on the inside?
Yeah, often it is. The structure of it is kinda determined by the rigidity of whatever I use for the binder. Stronger binders, I try to tuck stuff up in there without worrying about continuously blowing out the binder. I don't add any moisture to my scraps and if there's a delay between the cigar roll and the cigarillo roll things get fragile like with this scrappy shade. I always smoke a cigarillo same day, no draw issues.
 

Jvergen

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Could you tell us how you cut the scrap before you roll. And why then roll it in paper? And for how long before final wrapper?

Thanks
Jeff
 

waikikigun

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Could you tell us how you cut the scrap before you roll. And why then roll it in paper? And for how long before final wrapper?

Thanks
Jeff
I just chop the hell out of it with my chaveta on my board. Basically a rolling chop motion against the board until it's the consistency of "short filler." I roll it in paper because I really care about the aesthetics of cigars: I find smoothness and consistency more pleasurable to look at and feel than bumpiness and unevenness, and it's a fun challenge to make a quickie hand-rolled short-filled cigarillo seem like a smooth molded pro cigar. Also, to wick off any remaining moisture from the wrapper. In this case it was maybe ten minutes in the newspaper before the wrapper. In other cases it could be several months. Each step of my cigar rolling in general happens at some random interval dependent more on mood than technique.
 

tullius

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A note from my limited experience doing these: I have to be careful not to crank down too much when rolling short filler, as compared to the compression normally used for long filler. First couple of mine had all the draw of a solid wood dowel. Helps to let the filler get crispy and the binder lapse into lower case than normal.

Great vid, thanks again, good way to make smoke out of scraps.
 

waikikigun

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A note from my limited experience doing these: I have to be careful not to crank down too much when rolling short filler, as compared to the compression normally used for long filler. First couple of mine had all the draw of a solid wood dowel. Helps to let the filler get crispy and the binder lapse into lower case than normal.

Great vid, thanks again, good way to make smoke out of scraps.
You're welcome. Of course every method requires a different sort of compression. Hand rolling requires more than molding, short filler less than long (as you said), etc.
 

waikikigun

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Thoughts on binder case when you do short filler cigars ? My guess is filler is almost completely dry?
It's pretty darn dry when I do it. Realistically, everything is completely dry when I roll cigars. That is to say, "case" is not "moisture" or "dampness" or "wetness," it's how flexible the thing feels in your hands. So I try to get my binders just flexible enough not to break for the given roll job.
 

Jvergen

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Ok a bit off topic what causes the wrapper not to completely burn even, is it how I wrapped it? Or the combustion quality of the binder ?
 

tullius

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This should probably be its own topic, but I'll give it a go. I'm sure others will help out better than me.

Uneven wrapper burn is caused by, in order of greatest impact to least impact:
  • filler air gaps/inconsistent filler density/inconsistent compression
  • differences in filler burn rate (this may be #1 cause)
  • differences in filler hydration
  • differences in binder burn rate, hydration, and bind tension
  • differences in wrapper burn rate, hydration and wrap tension
I think the first two causes are the real culprits.
 

deluxestogie

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If you smoke a cigar outdoors, even a slight breeze increases the risk of a lopsided burn.

I agree that your number 1 is number 1. If all of your filler is in proper rolling case (low case), then filler hydration is never an issue. If you are converting your "scrap" into shred, then just blend it well.

Wrappers and binders need to be matched as
  • good burner / slow burner
  • slow burner / good burner
  • good burner / good burner
but never slow burner / slow burner. Hydration issues need to be dropped from all these considerations. If you make it soggy, then of course it needs to be re-dried. I prefer to roll with filler in low case, binder in medium case, and wrapper in high case.

Most of these hydration troubles arise from prioritizing aesthetics over function.

Bob
 
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