How to Roll Your Own Cigarettes

There are two methods how to roll the perfect cigarette. The traditional hand rolled method -time tested and easy to do - needs a little practice, or by using the more automated home cigarette rolling machine. Both can create the “just right” smoke you are used to - smooth and satisfying, fresher and better tasting, with the benefit of costing being much cheaper.

Roll your own cigarettes by hand!

This process is a time-honored tradition, harkening back to the days when smoking was in its glory days - roaring 20s, Hollywood - in fact, it almost marked a rite of passage into adulthood. Everyone smoked, and many rolled their own smokes.

Whether you roll by hand or by machine, it takes just a few steps to make a cigarette with costs around only 7 cents one and is much fresher and more satisfying.

• Begin on a flat surface. Cigarette papers are made with folds and when opened create a dish to put the tobacco into. Open your paper. You will notice a glued edge (to seal the cigarette) after it's open. Position the glued edge furthest away from you, facing in.
  
• Pinch out a small amount of tobacco. For the beginners this may be a little hard to judge, start with a little less than a tablespoon. You can always add more, depending on how you like the smoke. Lots of tobacco, very packed is hard to draw, too little tobacco or very loose and you will be sucking air.
  
• Place the tobacco in the paper. Spread it out evenly letting it extend out about half an inch on either side. Then roll, try to roll evenly. This may take a few cigs to get just right, but if you tend to always squish it in the middle, just compensate by adding more in the middle. If you tend to squish it at the ends, just add more there.
  
• Carefully pick up your fledgling cigarette in both hands—two fingers on the far side and thumbs on the side closest to you. Position your hands in a 45 degree angle, without touching fingertips. Begin lightly packing your tobacco into shape by rolling the front fold of your paper up and down with your thumbs. Do this a couple of times to form it into a cylinder shape.
  
• Roll the paper over the cigarette. This might be the trickiest part, but begin by rolling your thumbs downward until the edge of the paper is close to your cylinder of tobacco. Then, use your thumbs to roll it over the top of your cylinder and start to roll it up. Continue rolling, until the top half inch, where the glue is, is exposed.
  
• Seal it. Lightly moisten the glued edge, you want it to stick. Let it set for a moment, and you've got a great little cigarette. Pinch off the excess tobacco sticking out of the ends and throw it back into your pouch. Then, if you want to get fancy, choose the best end to smoke, and with your fingernail, bend in the very tip of the cigarette paper. This creates a little rim to keep the tobacco in, and makes the cigarette a little more stable.

Roll your own cigarettes using a cigarette rolling machine

Cigarette rolling machines or kits can make the process of rolling your own cigarettes much faster and easier. The basic concept is the same, regardless of manufacturer. You begin, usually by using cigarette tubes (with or without filters) and you simply fill the machine's chamber with tobacco and push it into the cigarette tube. They can be as simple as manual units, with little plungers to push the tobacco into the tube, or they can be made of wood or steel and will have little mechanisms to inject the tobacco into the tube. Kits are great as they have everything you need to make several packs of great tasting smokes. Keep in mind that it takes a little practice, but the benefits are a much cheaper smoke, more tailored to your tastes, and often much fresher.

Rolling your own cigarettes has been largely a thing of the past. But, with the costs of commercially made products that are subject to taxation, the art of rolling your own is really making a comeback. Try it! You'll save money, have fresher, better smokes, with very few additives. "Roll-your-own-cigarette" Tips

Roll Your Own Magazine: tobacco reviews, tobacco legislation, smoker's rights, cheap cigarettes, tobacco taxes and lots more.
More info on How to roll your own cigars

back