Re: Rolling your own
 

So wait... you returned a product and the dude refuses to return your money? I'd contact the better business bureau and the authorities... I don't care if it is $3 you are owed. That's just plain sh*tty business practice. Stuff like that really fires me up... :sl

Re: Rolling your own
 

I just can't get over how awesome this pigtail is! Amazing work Andrew!!!

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I opened a dispute in payfail and he refunded the money... all is good.

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working on a box for a brother. will be doing 20 like this for him

http://i781.photobucket.com/albums/y...8/IMG_1162.jpg

Re: Rolling your own
 

Those look sweet Andrew!!

Re: Rolling your own
 

So I have been rolling more and more of my own. It certainly is time consuming, but it's been fun. I don't have any molds, but after watching a slew of videos on youtube (Hamlet, La China, Reynaldo, etc.) I am getting better and better. I have even done a lancero without a mold and I am getting pretty good at lonsdales.

One thing that is of upmost importance is when you get the leaves in, make sure to go ahead and sort them and flatten them out. This bit of prep work helps immensely when going to roll.

Any of you that are rolling have any tips about sorting and flattening?

I also wanted to add, that while the leaf I have now is not the best quality out there. ( I may get some better variety next time) the flavor has been very good. I would put it up there with any $5-$8 smoke.

Re: Rolling your own
 

any one know where I can find a tuck cutter?

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Check on eBay every now and again under the search terms "antique cigar" or antique cigar cutter. A new one costs about 175$ I will keep my eyes open as I've seen a few.

Re: Rolling your own
 

thanks. The only ones I've found have been $200+

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Have any of you home rollers tried the Nicaraguan Viso from otoaocigars? If so, how does it compare in taste/flavor to the '98 Ligero?

Re: Rolling your own
 

how has the tobacco been from Otoao? i noticed earlier that you had posted something about opening leaves. do you have to open and flatten your filler? or are you just referring to the wrappers?

Re: Rolling your own
 

I haven't bought any from Otoao, but that Viso has me wanting to buy from him.

I have only bought from leafonly. I have had to flatten and partially unroll the leaves I was sent of the aged Nic Seco and aged Nic Ligero. And I have been using the havana 7 as a binder and doing prep work by de-stemming it and flattening them as well. Then there is the Havana Prime I use for my wrappers and I de-stem and flatten them out as well. So when I go to roll it's a easier and less time consuming.

I flatten the filler because I find it easier to bunch that way. I get a good spiral.

Re: Rolling your own
 

i found that using the Havana 7 as the binder and the Havana prime for the wrapper works very well. the prime is very easy to work with.

I did notice some of my seco and ligero had bunched up or rolled. now that i know what you mean i have had to open some up but i am able to do that when bunching.

as far as Otoao, i think you have to call and place an order or do it through email, i do not know how secure his transactions are with a credit card and honestly that is the only thing holding me back.

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:r

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This is correct and the purchases I have made so I have not had any issues months after. Great guy to work with. Very friendly and makes you feel like a part of the family.

As for the Viso I'm not sure what to think on it. It is more of a mellow out Nicaraguan but with some body. As far as the '98 Ligero Nic goes it is a completely different tasting lave. More spicy. His fillers and seco are great tasting and the Ecudorian sumatra binder is yummy. All have that nice aged taste after letting rest a few months in the humi rolled.
I really only shop at leaf only now till I find a better priced tasting wrapper out there. It'd be nice to find a few farms from the country of origin to purchase from and go that route to save $$ but I don't usually buy over a lb of binder,lb of wrapper or so forth of the other leaves at a time . To even get ins to some of the big name cigar companies leaves would be nice as well.

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So blkdrew, what sizes are you rolling now? I enjoyed the last 5er and thinking about trying another size if you make them.

Re: Rolling your own
 

I am doing a 42x 5.5ish

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I want some of the 42's! Do you have stock?

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I will get on it this week, I currently have 5 which are spoken for. I will have stock next week.

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Andrew, did you ever find any boxes to box your own?

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Nope not really, DBall gave me a couple boxes which are good for the 5x52. It'd be nice to find some for fivers of the 42's. I think I may look into something like Viaje did with the super shot and go cardboard.

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Could always go the newspaper route like the WLP series :2

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looky what i got.....


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7179/6...6f745e47_c.jpg
DSC_3670 by thestemens16, on Flickr

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Quick bump, about to place an order through leaf only. I remember you saying you could ask the guys there to pre-open the leaves Andrew, are they still doing that?

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yeah, call and ask Rich or John. might cost a tiny bit extra. i have not made a purchase in a month or more, i actually will be buying again soon.

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Those look tasty.

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Alright, thanks. So you just place the order and then call in? Or do you call the order in and ask while placing it?

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i just call and place the order with one of them, that way it is all clear.

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Called, but no pick up, and since it isn't a big enough deal to me, I just went ahead and placed the order online. Since this is my first time dealing with them, opening the leaves could be half the fun, just for the smell. :dr Went with some samples to try my hand at making some milder smokes:
1x Dominican Ligero
2x Dominican Seco
1x Broadleaf Scraps(just to mess around with, at $2.49 its worth it to me)
2x Havana 7(for binder)
1x Connecticut Shade
1x Capper(since I hadn't gotten one before)

All I'm hoping for is 20 smokes with that, but I feel like I may be able to get more.

Any tips you have for dealing with Connecticut would be helpful since I know its a delicate leaf.

Re: Rolling your own
 

If you got the shade leaf, it is more forgiving than most. Just remember to hydrate the wrapper leaf slowly and only hydrate what you are going to use. the filler should be ready to go right out of the box.

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Just got my order in, and mmmmmmmm :dr It smells gooooood. No complaints about leaf quality or anything like that, but the capper tool I ordered was not shipped and I received no notification, so I'm a little irked about that, but I'll just assume someone had a brain fart somewhere along the packing process and forgot it. Not a huge deal, I'll find something to use in the mean time(I'm thinking bottle cap and a knife)

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Andrew...gifted a robusto Roxy Maduro to a friend at this weeks VCM Thursday Herf and he really enjoyed it. :tu :tu

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Nice good to know they are still getting around. I should have a website built by the end of the summer.

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go to lowes or home depot and get a copper union and sharpen it..... thats what i do

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alright, got some new leaf in. PA Oscuro. this stuff smells amazing. rolled 6 with it today, cant wait to let them rest a little bit.

http://i781.photobucket.com/albums/y...8/IMG_1353.jpg
http://i781.photobucket.com/albums/y...8/IMG_1352.jpg

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Them look tasty....:dr

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+1 oh man!:dr

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alright, here is some havana ct bound goodness, five will have Premium ct shade leaf wrappers and 5 will have the PA Oscuro (the single one on the far end) these are 5x42

http://i781.photobucket.com/albums/y...8/IMG_1358.jpg

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Those are some good lookin smokes. My hats off to ya.

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Damn those look good Andrew!!

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I just found this thread and read the whole thing while sitting at home sick today. Now I want to start rolling my own. This is awesome. Perhaps I have a new hobby for after the kiddos move out.