[dude_man]

I've flirted with rolling my own before. And, if I do say so myself, roll a pretty damn good one by hand, quick too....But, its tough to stay consistent...And without the filter, you fingers really stink nasty towards the end. And the lips too.

I live in the great state of NC.....where even though you can't smoke underneath the F&$King LUCKY STRIKE water tower in downtown Durham!!!!!! Which is OUTSIDE...... You have yet to pay over $5/pack........until wednesday. Cartons, with you shoppers card, at the grocery store were right @ $30.00 for the longest time, until recently. So, we here haven't really been affected by the taxes. Well, as we all know that's going to change. (Which I just remembered the taxes going up)


So, with that said......I'm now looking to roll in bulk. I've checked out machines (the topomatic looks like the best) I'm going with RIZLA tubes (best rolling paper I've ever come across will hopefully transfer to tubes) and either the Golden Harvest or Farmer's Gold - the additive free blend. I really like the american spirit blends a lot, but I think they're a bit pricey - that was my roll of choice. Cause I could get it in the pouch and I never trusted TOP or Bugle because you just had to figure that stuff had been sitting on the shelf forever.

Thing is.....I'm hearing conflicting reports on how much a pound will roll out to. First I heard 2 cartons, then 3 cartons.....Which is it? Anyone know?

I had pretty much always rolled by hand....the only "machines" i ever saw were the little hand held ones....Now i see you can get a manufactured cigarette yourself... Didn't know that.

I'd love to hear your take on your favorite blends, online retailers, and anything related to rolling your own. Hopefully this thread will be a "catch all' for RYO folks....There's gonna be a lot more of us very soon.

[jlong]

I roll my own with a Topomatic. I've had it for 4 months and roll an average of 1.5 packs a day and it has held up really well. Just clean it after rolling. Leaving tobacco in the chamber can lead to corrosion. Lubricating the mechanism with light oil helps. Just a light single dab at each pivot and slide point with sewing machine oil on a tooth pick and no more. Over lubrication attracts dust and can jam the mechanism.

The number of packs per pound depends on the cut of the tobacco and how tight you pack the machine. Packing the chamber too tight can damage the injector and the cig is hard to draw on. A fine or shag cut is denser and it naturally packs tighter. Coarse cuts do not inject as well as fine and medium. Of the fine cut blends I've tried, Bali shag, Peter Stockkeby, and Drum are best tasting. They are most expensive. Gambler, Top, Premier, and Bugler are medium cut and you use less packing. Mc Clintock and Midnight special are coarser cut and do not inject so well. I do not pay attention but it seems I average 2 cartons a pound using medium cut tobacco.

Some rolling tube filters are denser than others. The dense filters are hard to draw through. Premier full flavor tubes seem denser than Gambler full flavor rolling tubes. Top or Gambler tubes are what I like best.

Taste buds vary so you need to experiment. It's hard to recomend a brand or blend. What I like can taste like crap to the next person. Experimenting with 3/4 OZ pouches is best. Burleys and Turkish blends are my favorite. I have settled on Gambler full flavor red or turkish and Premier full flavor for everyday smoking. They are inexpensive, inject well in the machine, and taste pretty good. For occasional premium smokes, I like Drum best.

Pipes and Cigars is a good on line dealer. I have been buying tobacco from them and they ship promptly. They sell a large variety of RYO blends.

The recent "buy before Apr 1st" rush has caused shortages throughout the industry so you have to make compromises when out buying. Also be prepared for a shorted internet order with a back order notice.

I also smoke a tobacco pipe and the blends with high nicotene curb my cigarette craving.

[dude_man]

Thanks Johnny!

Yeah, I've read a lot about Bail - seems very popular. I used to roll drum, back in the day, by hand, and because it was so moist would almost always roll it too tight to draw. But loved the flavor...But, ultimately, it was just too tough to get consistency by hand.

I was wondering about the rougher cuts..........anyone ever try putting a handful of it in a coffee grinder (specifically for tobacco)? I imagine that would make the coarse cuts easier to manage.

But, I ordered a 6oz of the golden harvest additive free for a test run. We'll see.

Anybody try 3 castles? Sounds tasty. Think I might swing by the cigar shop and try it out.

[jlong]

I have never heard of putting tobacco through a coffee grinder. I imagine it would clog being moist. If anything, I think it would pulverize the tobacco and clog the injector on the machine much like powdered shake from bulk tobacco does.

[Max420UK]

You guys have got your stuff figured out. I have been considering rolling too as you do save money this is true in the UK too and rolling tobak is nice and slow burning. I enjoy the whole act of rolling by hand its verys satisfying altho annoying when you get caught out in the wind/rain desperate for a smoke. The only obstacle I'll have to overcome is that when I roll it always ends up nicely coned "spliff" style as the only time I used to roll was to make a joint. But once I get used to rolling straight Ill give RYO a try.

[Smokey1981]

Bali shag can be hard to get working with some of the tube stuffing machines. I have a Top o matic that i use every once in a while. It doesnt like the very fine cut shag stuff, tends to jam up easily.

best with this machine is the American blends. Either that or my machine is out of whack, and needs adjustment..which is possible.

The good stuff works well and taste pretty good with light filter tubes

[Max420UK]

Ive moved mainly onto rollies with filters now, and find them to be great. I smoke mainly Amber Leaf nd Cutters Choice which I don't think are sold in the US. Ive saved aload of cash this way and my throat and lungs feel healthier, altho how much healthier rollies are is debatable.

[NicotineFiend]

Well you guys make RYO cigarettes seem pretty damn attractive.
I understand that there are special make your own blends, and quality tubes. And I agree with the whole spiritual relaxing feeling of making your own cigarettes. Sounds like a really good idea. You guys just may have inspired me.


A friend of mine uses the zigzag equipment, zigzag container full of zigzag tobacco, a zigzag rolling machine, and zigzag tubes.

I just don't know how he got a hold of them. I mean, I know he got it from the website, but there are no ordering options on the website, well, there weren't any when I last checked.

I'll give it a shot.


JUST SMOKE

[cooldude]

I've been rolling my own since wipeout told me about the Good Stuff from smokers outlet online back in September. I made the switch. I have only bought 1 pack of pre-made cigarettes since then. I am saving $6 a day by RYO. I am still experimenting with it but, I roll and smoke about 30 cigs a day. I just do one pack at a time. Smoke that and then roll another pack. I am using the Premier Supermatic Injection roller and Premier 100mm Light tubes. I also have Zen Menthol tubes (with the menthol crystals in the filter), zen strawberry and zen blueberry flavored tubes. I have some Premier FF tubes too. I'm rolling only pipe tobacco - the Good Stuff - it's $14.99 a pound. I got a pound of the cigarette tobacco with my starter kit and I blew through that pretty quickly. It's not worth it to me to pay $42 a lb for cigarette tobacco when the pipe tobacco is just fine for a lot less money. I re-use pre made cigarette packs to hold my RYO cigs. I have people saving their cig boxes for me. These RYO cigs have a bigger circumference than pre made cigs so, I can only fit 18 of them into any pack. I put in an order a couple nights ago to beef up the supply. I'm very glad I switched to RYO. I use the LibertyStix e-cig when I run out of cigs until I can roll some more.

I was so glad to see all the different posters on here today. I hope you all have a happy Christmas season.

[NicotineFiend]

Any suggestions for a soon to be RYOC smoker?

I mean, is it time consuming? Is it as tasty?

Pipe tobacco seems a bit harsh, yeah, it's good quality and aromatic, but I never though you could inhale it without getting sick.

I'm pretty interested in this RYO thing going on. I'm just worried that it'll be time consuming, and I wont be satisfied with the cigarettes I make.