Rolling your own

[BlkDrew]

Originally Posted by DaBear

Gonna be placing my own order for some leaves in the next few days. Waiting on molds as my boss may have some that he's willing to part with. As for a cheveta I'm thinking of getting a Xikar Cigar Knife(http://www.xikar.com/products/cutters/cigar-cut-knife), cuz yay for multipurposing and its super sharp from prior experience, but if a true cheveta has more merits to it for cutting then I'll go with that.

Oh, and has anyone tried using a plastic cutting board as opposed to a wooden one? I don't have a wooden one at the moment and would rather save the extra cash, but I already have plans for a trip to Target shortly after I get back down to Raleigh.

If you can't get or use a cheveta, use a pizza cutter. Make sure it's brand new do there are no chips in the blade

[DaBear]

Originally Posted by BlkDrew

If you can't get or use a cheveta, use a pizza cutter. Make sure it's brand new do there are no chips in the blade

Alright, thanks for the advice!

[Shawn hines]

Originally Posted by BlkDrew

If you can't get or use a cheveta, use a pizza cutter. Make sure it's brand new do there are no chips in the blade

Thank you for the tips, This is what I have got

[irratebass]

Yo Andrew, I'd like to be placed on the list for some more tasties if ya don't mind, I have been busy and away from the boards, what wrappers do you have again?

[BlkDrew]

Alright, so I had a maduro today and I have noticed some big draw issues. Maybe it needs some more rest, or it was too tight to begin with.

That being said, if anyone is dissatisfied with a purchase they have made please lete know through pm. I will gladly work out a deal.

I am just very bummed by it today.

[BlkDrew]

Originally Posted by irratebass

Yo Andrew, I'd like to be placed on the list for some more tasties if ya don't mind, I have been busy and away from the boards, what wrappers do you have again?

sent you a pm.

[Shawn hines]

So I got my order in the other day and I was missing filler and glue, Sent a email and John from Leafonly is sending me another box ASAP said he would make it worth my while.

Andrew, storing in a large tote be ok with everything? My room has never smelled so good.

[DaBear]

Oh yea, what is the best way to store them? Big ol tupperware container? And would it be best to invest in two and use one for dry storage and the other to wet the wrappers and binders?

Gonna finally place my order tonight so I'm there when it gets in as its only making the short trip from Ohio.

[Shawn hines]

Originally Posted by DaBear

Oh yea, what is the best way to store them? Big ol tupperware container? And would it be best to invest in two and use one for dry storage and the other to wet the wrappers and binders?

Gonna finally place my order tonight so I'm there when it gets in as its only making the short trip from Ohio.

If you are going though Leafonly.com, you should talk to John Wallace, he will get everything out to you fast and will make sure that it is right.

[DaBear]

Originally Posted by Shawn hines

If you are going though Leafonly.com, you should talk to John Wallace, he will get everything out to you fast and will make sure that it is right.

I found a different place to go through, but just from the email response I got I can tell he's gonna be a stand up guy.

http://www.wholeleaftobacco.com/

Got the Cigar Sampler which comes with 2+ lbs of tobacco, 1/2 of a seco, 1/2 of a ligero, 1/2 of some wrapper graded broadleaf, and 1/2 of a fire cured leaf(there's also supposedly a wild card extra thrown in but I'll be happy with just whats known). Asked for the fire cured to be swapped with the other seco he offers and to swap the ligero for the other ligero(just since "dark air cured" sounds better to me than "TN90") and he had no problems with it.

I can't wait to just bury my face in the broadleaf.

[chaase321]

Originally Posted by BlkDrew

Alright, so I had a maduro today and I have noticed some big draw issues. Maybe it needs some more rest, or it was too tight to begin with.

That being said, if anyone is dissatisfied with a purchase they have made please lete know through pm. I will gladly work out a deal.

I am just very bummed by it today.

Sorry about the draw issue Andrew. I'll let you know how mine are..but you are probably right, letting them sit for a while may help! Don't beat yourself up too much yet.

[BlkDrew]

Originally Posted by DaBear

Oh yea, what is the best way to store them? Big ol tupperware container? And would it be best to invest in two and use one for dry storage and the other to wet the wrappers and binders?

Gonna finally place my order tonight so I'm there when it gets in as its only making the short trip from Ohio.

Binders should not be too moist. They should be on the edge of moist and dried out.

Exactly on the storage. The wet stuff only has to be moist. And I wouldn't keep it moist for an extended period of time, two weeks max.

I am using plastic storage containers. When I moisten wrappers I usually place them in a plastic shopping bad for a day or two to even out.

[DaBear]

You use wet paper towels to moisten the leaves right?

The guy I ordered from claims the broadleaves are so large you can get 2 wrappers and 2 binders from each leaf(1 each from each half), but I can't just visualize how that would work in my head. Would you use the half oval shape cut out to make a wrapper as a binder?

Also thanks for the tips!

[BlkDrew]

I use a damp terry towel.

As far as using the broadleaf for binder and wrapper you'd have to us the outer portion for the wrapper and the inner for the binder, but I cut the wrapper when I'm going to use it. You'd have to set some aside to use on the next batch for the binder.

[Homebrewer]

Originally Posted by BlkDrew

Alright, so I had a maduro today and I have noticed some big draw issues. Maybe it needs some more rest, or it was too tight to begin with.

That being said, if anyone is dissatisfied with a purchase they have made please lete know through pm. I will gladly work out a deal.

I am just very bummed by it today.

Don't get discouraged. Are you keeping them in an over-humidified environment by chance? Try taking them out for a day or two.

I rolled my first two cigars yesterday. I was able to roll them and press them without much difficulty. The wrappers went on well, but my capping was a mess. I used the CT broadleaf as a wrapper and it had a lot of big veins. They look rough to say the least, but the shape was there. I tried to smoke one immediately and it tasted "interesting." Not bad at all. The burn was not good with a run down the side after the first 1/2. Although the wrapper was moist, it burned faster than the filler. My draw was good, but I need to put more tobacco in the cap-end. It was looser down there. All-in-all I think I did a decent job for the first time. I went back and watched more videos. Now I see more of the subtle nuances. I ordered from Leaf Only and my order was not right. I had no ligero, so I just used nic and dom. seco as filler with some Havana 7. The guy at Leaf-only was cool and made it right.

[Sam Leccia]

Originally Posted by DaBear

You use wet paper towels to moisten the leaves right?

The guy I ordered from claims the broadleaves are so large you can get 2 wrappers and 2 binders from each leaf(1 each from each half), but I can't just visualize how that would work in my head. Would you use the half oval shape cut out to make a wrapper as a binder?

Also thanks for the tips!

on large broadleaf, with the leaf de-veined and turned sideways, the top of the leaf would be your wrapper and the bottom (towards the vein) could be used as a binder...if it is not too veiny you could potentially use it as a wrapper as well getting 4 wrappers out of 1 full leaf.

***just note that maduro does not typically make for a good binder as the binder is key to the burn of a cigar, and maduro is notorious for it's less then perfect burn qualities.

[DaBear]

Originally Posted by Sam Leccia

on large broadleaf, with the leaf de-veined and turned sideways, the top of the leaf would be your wrapper and the bottom (towards the vein) could be used as a binder...if it is not too veiny you could potentially use it as a wrapper as well getting 4 wrappers out of 1 full leaf.

***just note that maduro does not typically make for a good binder as the binder is key to the burn of a cigar, and maduro is notorious for it's less then perfect burn qualities.

Ah, thanks for the tip! I was planning on trying each of the fillers as a binder as well, just to see any differences.

[BlkDrew]

Originally Posted by Sam Leccia

***just note that maduro does not typically make for a good binder as the binder is key to the burn of a cigar, and maduro is notorious for it's less then perfect burn qualities.

well that answers most of my issue. Never used it as a bind and I was almos going to. It was prob over packed.

[boxmonkey]

Originally Posted by BlkDrew

well that answers most of my issue. Never used it as a bind and I was almos going to. It was prob over packed.

I'm currently using the DW2 as a binder and wrapper. so far the burn has been fine for what I consider rough cigars to begin with. but we will see how it turns out when I get better.

[BlkDrew]

So my new binder of choice will be the QB-52, got a pound of it for 21.99, it is darker in color so it should be great for the 42x 4 double maddie