Thread: Any fellow brother of the leaf in here?

Another thing. As a beginner, don't fall into the trap of buying a mold and trying to roll a cigar of a precise length, shape, gauge, etc. Just grab some bakky and roll, and try to get the tension correct and get a good draw and an even burn. Trying to make a conformal cigar and getting the burn and draw right is just overwhelming when just starting out. If you end up with a 42ga instead of a 34ga, who cares? Correct the filler amount and thereby the bundle size on the next one, and see what you get. I don't even own a mold and I don't want one. My stogies come out purposely in an old school double perfecto shape, mostly because some early attempts just came out that way. I find my personal shape to be easy for me to roll and get right. I don't shoot for a particular gauge or length, just a particular draw and burn, and overall shape. I like the big fat middle for the mighty volume of excellent cool smoke. I like the pointy foot because it lights easily with a single match, even a big fat bomber. I like the tapered head so I don't have a massive sausage like stogie clamped in my jaws. The bite is much easier when it tapers down to about a 40 to 44 gauge. It just works for me. Lately I roll a bit shorter than before, so my smoking session can be a bit shorter and not leave a depressingly large and wasteful butt in the ashtray. I dislike relighting a cigar that has been out for long enough to cool and the smoke and vapors condense inside. The tapered head also reduces waste. The discarded butt contains less tobacco. But many rollers find a parejo, or straight sided cigar easier to roll and more convenient to store and age. Parejo rollers often use a mold so that a rolled box looks more like a factory box, and in fact factory rollers almost always use a mold. Once the bundle is in the binder, it is too late to add or subtract filler, and when it goes in the mold, the mold can change the draw. Skilled factory rollers get it right 99% of the time and when not, they smoke their mistakes. As a home roller you can disassemble and re-roll but I prefer not to do that.

You might well intend to roll a Corona and end up with a Robusto or a Toro. Smoke it and enjoy it! Don't worry about the CSLD. (Chicken Stuff Little Details)