Just started stuffing my own smokes

[Scout26]

Former smoker here (quit 15 March 2000) and jfruser's post made me go search for the machine my grandpa had. 

It was something like this.....only built like a (or out of an old)) Sherman tank.

http://www.ryotobacco.com/page/ryot/PROD/hroll/hump

(watch the video !!)

We were only like 5-6 years old, and as I distinctly remember, it was heavier then heck. 

Yep, I really miss Grandpa.

[Dntsycnt]

Wow!  That's pretty cool.

I remember my uncle had a roller that he showed me how to use when I was little.  I remember thinking, "With stuff that cool, why doesn't everyone smoke?"

Oh, the innocence of childhood. 

[Brad Johnson]

*  But, I can if you want.  I have very reasonable browbeating rates.  Nothing kinky, though.

That's ... kinda creepy.

Brad

[mfree]

Soo.... I just put in an order for some tobacco, a tabletop injector, and a box of tubes.

Now, I'll practice a bit (one a day, tops. no weekends, as usual) and see if I can't keep myself into something better than commercial... no plastic gums, no filler, etc. Maybe I'll find some nice *dark* turkish blends and see what the galoises were all about :p

It's a counterpart to the beer snobs, I gather. Some drink PBR 3-4 cans at a shot every night, some have a slug or two of some obscure microbrew made carefully with angel's tears and hops grown on top of a plateau in Kashmir. Nifty.

[Manedwolf]

Soo.... I just put in an order for some tobacco, a tabletop injector, and a box of tubes.

Might want to have bought that stuff OTC, cash. By ordering it, you are now in a BATFE database as a possible drug dealer, you realize.

[mfree]

That's ok. I probably went in when I got the pocket digital scale off eBay, or when I bought the 100 21x100mm test tubes and stoppers off eBay, or when I... maybe that crate of matches should have been in cash.

(Just kidding. It was one box of matches.)

Seriously, thoughts on tobacco blends?

[Vodka7]

That's ok. I probably went in when I got the pocket digital scale off eBay, or when I bought the 100 21x100mm test tubes and stoppers off eBay, or when I... maybe that crate of matches should have been in cash.

(Just kidding. It was one box of matches.)

Seriously, thoughts on tobacco blends?

Well, I can't recommend the D&R Wingate highly enough for a menthol.  If I weren't a menthol smoker I'd be trying out the rest of their line (and will probably get around to it eventually.)

You mentioned wanting a darker smoke, try the Bali Shag Halfzare (blue tin, I think).  Supposed to be good and you can find it just about everywhere.

[xavier fremboe]

Soo.... I just put in an order for some tobacco, a tabletop injector, and a box of tubes.

Now, I'll practice a bit (one a day, tops. no weekends, as usual) and see if I can't keep myself into something better than commercial... no plastic gums, no filler, etc. Maybe I'll find some nice *dark* turkish blends and see what the galoises were all about :p

It's a counterpart to the beer snobs, I gather. Some drink PBR 3-4 cans at a shot every night, some have a slug or two of some obscure microbrew made carefully with angel's tears and hops grown on top of a plateau in Kashmir. Nifty.

Kashmiri hops are SO overrated!

[jamz]

It's like reloading, for your lungs! 


<-- smoking a Don Pepin blue label right now, man it's strong!

[mfree]

Well, according to USPS' web site it's all sitting on my doorstep waiting for me.

I can't wait... mostly because I get to use a new gadget, but still

I wonder if anyone ever figured out what's in the "sauce" that goes in the kreteks... now there's something you could save a bundle making your own on.

[yesitsloaded]

I would think that the smoke you make yourself taste more like tobacco because your not stuffing with all the crappy filler the cig companys do to make a buck.

[BridgeRunner]

Well, according to USPS' web site it's all sitting on my doorstep waiting for me.

I can't wait... mostly because I get to use a new gadget, but still

So?  Too busy playing with your new toys to let us know how it's working out?

[cosine]

I would think that the smoke you make yourself taste more like tobacco because your not stuffing with all the crappy filler the cig companys do to make a buck.

The taste of tobacco. I've always wondered what tobacco tastes like, or what the smoke from burning tobacco tastes like. I don't want to smoke to find out, but does someone think they could describe it?

[Desertdog]

Many years ago I would use a cigerette roller that made decent cigerettes after very little practice.  On Google or Yahoo search for Cigerette Rollers and you will find many makes.

Cheaper and better is just quit smoking.  If I could quit after 35 years I believe anybody can quit.  Cigs were $3.50 a carton when I quit, but it was already too late for my lungs when I did quit.

[mfree]

Cripes, the starter kit I bought came with a pound of tobacco and 250 tubes. It'll go bad before I even make a dent in it!

EDIT:

Yeah, this'll take some getting used to. I produced one, which packed down to half a tube... the second one, which is tomorrows, is much more full. I did try the first one though, which was a little easy draw (obviously) and dry, but tasty. The bag is a pound of Smoker's Outlet "full flavor" and is bone dry, I may put a dot of moist paper in my case to moisten up tomorrow's smoke.

I also grabbed a pouch of Drum shag... heh, it'll be wednesday till I find out how that tastes.

This is much better for me, overall. I try to stick to one a day, but once in a blue moon work will stress me out or I've lost a night's sleep and I roll through 3-4 just for effect. That's also usually when I go "bleh" and drop 'em for a week or three, and just try and get better sleep. Making one at a time not only gives me some manner of ceremony, but it is better tobacco and removes the "man, what a crap day, gimme another" impulse.

Cosine:

As far as what it's like? Hrmm. A good one, the draw is hot and the taste is earthy. How to describe earthy... I'm drawing blanks. The effect is very selective... if I'm stressed I appreciate going throguh the motions, if I'm tired I appreciate the little head rush. What I don't appreciate is aftertaste and odors, which is why I can't smoke Nat Shermans and why I will *only* smoke outside on the porch or in the truck... Nats for some reason I can taste and smell them for hours, nothing else does that.

I did snag a pack of the American Spirit organics in the maroon box today, after running across a review. I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head... that pack will probably sit until it crumbles into dust. Good smoke, just way too damn powerful.

If you must, go pick up a pack of lucky strikes, open it, and just breathe. Imagine that smell as a taste and a little "burning leaf" smokier and you'll about have it. And whatever you do don't smoke them

[Balog]

Cosine; try a pipe. A corncob is ~$3 and works well for a while, a 1/4 oz of a good, properly humidified tobacco is even less. Non-habit forming, no nasty cancer-causality. Just don't inhale. To try it once is <$10.

[mfree]

Well, I went ahead and packed a cigarette with the Drum shag this morning because I couldn't wait to try it, it just looked and smelled so much better in the pack than the bulk stuff did. Smoked better too, on the way to work this morning.

The machine does it's job well; it's a premiere (somethingorother) II, and once I figure how hard I can press without overpacking or rupturing tubes, it'll rival commercial smokes.

As far as the tobacco goes, the SO stuff was just the same, still a little dry, kind of harsh actually. The Drum... whoah. I'm using full flavor tubes and the stuff was just plain mild, with just a hint of sweetness.

Unfortunately that "bleh" I spoke of earlier may have struck, and I doubt I'll use the machine again before next week.

Any tips for humidifying the pound bag of SO?

[Desertdog]

Any tips for humidifying the pound bag of SO?

I don't know about humidifying tobacco, but I do put small pieces of apple, orange, about 1/8th,  or a few grapes in a bag of brown surger that has hardened and after a few days it is as good as new.

I know they use Humidors for cigars, but don't know if they would work with cut tobacco.

[Brad Johnson]

The machine does it's job well; it's a premiere (somethingorother) II, and once I figure how hard I can press without overpacking or rupturing tubes, it'll rival commercial smokes.

It will take a little experimenting and somegetting used to, but you'll catch on pretty quick.

One thing I do is to push the cig back up on the stuffer, then hold the end to keep the tobacco in before pulling the cig off.  It ensures the tobacco is all the way in the tube, and keeps it from falling out as you removed the tube.

Also, you'll find that different cuts stuff differently.  Humidity makes a big difference, too.  Even the best tobacco is just plain nasty - harsh and foul - if allowed to get overly dry.  Keep your tobacco humidified slightly.  It's much better.

Brad

Brad

[Balog]

Do not put cut fruit in an enclosed space with tobacco. It will mold over and ruin it.

[ilbob]

A guy I used to work with rolled his own. he was a cheapskate and did not like paying store prices for cigs (this was back in the mid to late 80s). he had some kind of tool to help him roll them. I think he said they were about a penny a piece.

[Vodka7]

Like Balog said, you don't want to use fruit, it will mold your tobacco.  And you do not want to inhale mold as a general rule.

Brad's tip about putting a damp paper towel in a pill bottle with holes in the top is what I'm doing, works nicely.  Put it in before you go to sleep and by the next day it's about where it should be.

I've read that other people will put a very small cap of water on top of the tobacco.  Since it's a small cap, there's only a little bit of water actually exposed.  That method works best if you're using another container, though, like a double sealed plastic box.  I wouldn't try it with a bag.

If you have a humidor or an accurate hygrometer, you want the tobacco to be at around 63-70% humidity.  Me, I just wing it.  You'll get a feel for what's too dry and what's too damp pretty quick.