Roll your own smokes?

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L. Martino
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Roll your own smokes?

Post by L. Martino »

Hiya,

The subject of cigarette tobacco is probably not gonna be very interesting for most readers. There, that's fair warning.

As some of you may know, recently the price of the 'roll your own' tobacco went nuts. I'd stockpiled a small amount but ran out after about 4 months .As a result, I was forced to pay a LOT more than I was before the law went into effect.

Obviously, none of you readers know I've been rolling my own smokes since 1973. No reason to go into details why, but it's something I much prefer over ready made ones. I hated paying crazy prices wherever I went(this is a Federal law), and wanted some other options if possible.

I've since found some excellent alternatives, and am paying much less now. There's one type of tobacco I like that turns out to be even less costly than before the increase. There's another I've tried(which I may like even more) that's more expensive, but still very reasonable. There's even a lot more tobaccos that are very inexpensive that are supposed to taste ok.

I've made two online orders without a problem, and have been satisfied with the product received. Took me a little while to read up on what I was looking for and where to find it. Actually, I knew the type(or blend) of tobacco I wanted, but wasn't sure who sold it and where to order from.

So, in order to learn about things, I lurked in a RYO forum for a while. I made sure to see active posting, since there's no point posting in a dead forum. It's a quiet place, with maybe 10 posts a day or so, but it's alive and kicking. I finally actually joined and even posted there about a week ago.

I'd like to include the link for anyone interested in finding out more about this type of tobacco use. It may also come in handy for others who already use the same methods as myself(fat chance of that....heh).

Martin

www.ryorevolution.com
Last edited by L. Martino on Sun Jan 10, 2010 1:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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GA Russell
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Post by GA Russell »

Martin, I recommend Roll Your Own Magazine.

http://www.ryomagazine.com/

I also recommend D&R.

http://www.cigarettetobacco.com/

I've never been a cigarette smoker myself, preferring cigars and pipes. But Mark Ryan at D&R is a friend of mine, and I once met the guy behind RYO Magazine.
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Post by CMur12 »

Going by your portrait, Martin, I never would have guessed you to be a smoker! :P

- Murray
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Post by desertbadger »

GA Russell wrote:
I've never been a cigarette smoker myself, preferring cigars and pipes.
+1
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Post by L. Martino »

GA Russell wrote:Martin, I recommend Roll Your Own Magazine.

http://www.ryomagazine.com/

I also recommend D&R.

http://www.cigarettetobacco.com/

.
Hi there,

It's funny you should mention D&R, since that was the first place I ordered tobacco from. I tried a bag of the 'Ryback' blend, and found it to be good. Price was a fair bit less than the stuff from Custom Blends, and the tobacco arrived fresh and in nice smoking condition.

Right now I'm just sorta trying a few different items to see which one(s) I settle on as a daily smoke. Heh, I've got enough to last me a month or so now, so there's no hurry trying anything else at the moment. I would also like to sample the stuff from G-H sometime, but no hurry.

Thanks for the tip,

Martin
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Post by Janus »

RYO cigarettes, that's a stroll down the memory lane. Yes I used to, when I was still a smoker some 20 years ago. Picked the habit up one summer in Norway where ryo is still a big thing among smokers on account cigarettes being so heavily taxed and outrageously expensive there. Petteroe's blanding nr 3 was the most popular brand as I recall. Ladies seemed to be the most nifty "rollers", they put one hand in their handbags and produced the smoothest looking cigarettes in no time.
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Post by fallingwickets »

they put one hand in their handbags and produced the smoothest looking cigarettes in no time.
the perfect hand job??

clive
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Post by L. Martino »

CMur12 wrote:Going by your portrait, Martin, I never would have guessed you to be a smoker! :P

- Murray
Hiya Murray,

Yeah, this RYO thing was what made me start up again. I'd stopped smoking for a year before finally being tempted by all this luscious smelling halfzware tobacco that the people I was traveling with used. I was in Europe, and at the time hanging out in Greece with a bunch of German tourists(among others).

When I got back to the States, I started going to tobacco shops to find something similar. Been doing that for a looong time now.

Oh, you mentioned my portrait not being that of a smoker? You mean my avatar or something I'm not catching? Heh, although I have to admit my avatar does look a bit combustable.........

Type at you later buddy,

Martin
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Post by drmoss_ca »

Anybody remember the scent of Three Castles or Old Holborn rolling tobaccos from England? Takes me back, it does.

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Post by GA Russell »

drmoss_ca wrote:Anybody remember the scent of Three Castles or Old Holborn rolling tobaccos from England? Takes me back, it does.
I may be wrong, but I don't think that Three Castles is made anymore.

As I recall, Three Sails is a very close approximation of the Three Castles recipe.

http://www.smoke-n-chew.com/product_inf ... 8c2e2cdd25
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Post by CMur12 »

L. Martino wrote:
CMur12 wrote:Going by your portrait, Martin, I never would have guessed you to be a smoker! :P

- Murray
Hiya Murray,

...

Oh, you mentioned my portrait not being that of a smoker? You mean my avatar or something I'm not catching? Heh, although I have to admit my avatar does look a bit combustable.........

Type at you later buddy,

Martin
Hi Martin -

Yeah, I was referring to your avatar. Looks a little young and innocent for RYO. :D

- Murray
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Post by Squire »

Pipe tobacco will suffice, is still relatively cheap, and of the highest quality.
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Post by fatcity »

Squire wrote:Pipe tobacco will suffice, is still relatively cheap, and of the highest quality.
I have been rolling my own for a couple of years now, and bought a pound of the pipe tobacco when the price increase hit. No dice, for me - it was a bit too heavy.

Martin, I'd like to hear what brands you found for a good price. I smoked Bali Shag prior to the tax hike, and now buy Peter Stokkebye (which is essentially the same stuff/same brand).

I tried D&R as well - enjoyed the three sails (which is their version of
three castles), as well as the perroquet(sp?).

I have found that since I started rolling my own, I can't go back to packaged cigs - my ryo tobacco is much better quality.
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Post by Janus »

fallingwickets wrote:
they put one hand in their handbags and produced the smoothest looking cigarettes in no time.
the perfect hand job??

clive
:lol: Although I don't smoke anymore, I'd make an exception, if one of those nice Norwegian ladies rolled me a cigarette.
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Post by L. Martino »

fatcity wrote:
Squire wrote:Pipe tobacco will suffice, is still relatively cheap, and of the highest quality.
I have been rolling my own for a couple of years now, and bought a pound of the pipe tobacco when the price increase hit. No dice, for me - it was a bit too heavy.

Martin, I'd like to hear what brands you found for a good price. I smoked Bali Shag prior to the tax hike, and now buy Peter Stokkebye (which is essentially the same stuff/same brand).

I tried D&R as well - enjoyed the three sails (which is their version of
three castles), as well as the perroquet(sp?).

I have found that since I started rolling my own, I can't go back to packaged cigs - my ryo tobacco is much better quality.
Hi there,

Yeah, the taste of certain tobacco types is what kept me rolling smokes all these years. Once I tried some of the dark fired Dutch versions I knew the ready mades were crap. That type is somehow most suited to me....Bali Shag being one for example. Yeah, I also I liked smoking both the blue and the light versions. Oh, there's a rumour about it being available again, but I can't say for sure. Plus, as you probably know, most of this RYO stuff had little if any other chemicals added to the mix.

Before the increase, I'd often buy the PS Amsterdam shag........excellent stuff! I even ordered six pouches a while back, but that was the last time I bought that type of packaged product. I haven't bought a can of the stuff because of the $45+ tag on ten ounces.

I did try a pouch of the Norweigan version, but it didn't grab me. It's too bad, because a similar product is sold in bulk for MUCH less cash. Heh, if you like that blend, I can recommend a good vendor for that. I believe the Danish blend may also be available.

Best bang for the buck so far when buying tobacco has been the stuff from D&R called 'Ryback' on their site. It's listed as a European PIPE tobacco blend, and is sold in various sizes. Don't worry about the cut.....I believe you will find it's not a problem if you decide to roll a cigarette.

I paid under $30 for a 14 ounce bag.....that includes shipping. Heh, is that a reasonable price or what? Yep, just over $2 per ounce. The tobacco arrived fresh and promptly, plus I do like that blend.

I'll include that link to the site.

www.smoke-n-chew.com


The other stuff I recently got is from Custom Blends and is the #16 blend offered. It's billed as something very similar to Bali Shag, and it's pretty tasty. It ran me a fair bit more(like double) and with shipping a 6 ounce bag was about the same price as the D&R stuff. Yep, just over $4 an ounce is about right. Shipping was quick and the tobacco arrived in nice condition. When you think of it though, that price is almost the same as a pouch sized ounce would run before the increase. Not so bad really.
www.customblends.com


I like both of these tobaccos and I'm glad I tried em. I was lucky with both blind buys and find I do prefer one over the other. I have another couple samples coming from a member at that RYO forum I joined, which are also in a dark fired style. Those are some high end English ones that I'm anxious to sample.

Ok, I hope that helps somehow. If you haven't visited that RYO forum, it would be worth a look. There's lots of good info on the different types of tobacco being offered since the increase. You'll be surprised.

Martin

Oh......let me know if you'd like a sample of those. No problem sending that out.
Last edited by L. Martino on Sun Jan 10, 2010 1:58 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Squire »

HH, pipe tobacco doesn't have to be heavy, it can in fact be very light and some companies use the same blend for pipe and RYO.
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Post by KAV »

I think it was this forum ( I've been booted off so many lately) I mentioned seeing a underage bikini clad pair of girls waving signs for a marijuana dispensing center in my town. My town, with many others where lighting up in public can garner a citation.
I don't smoke. oh, I once smoked pipes and can roll my own too.
My only 'serious' use was pushing motorlifeboats on the Oregon coast in the service. I was gifted a quantity of PLAYER NAVY CUTS, 2 1/2" unfiltered shortys with the famous british tar of H.M.S. Hero on the logo.
I started carrying a pack inside my wetsuit. At first it was for people I rescued who sat in our forward turtle shaking under a blanket. After awhile I would light up also to calm down after a scary run. At best I only got maybe 5 drags before sea spray made the cigarette a limp mess. But looking at that confident tar and taking a brief respite meant more than just a nicotine fix.
I went looking for a pack yesterday after some bad news, my first desire in 30 years. Nothing, not even in the cigar shoppe or discount vendor. A friend in the UK is sending a pack and hopefully customs wont take it.
Maybe I can get a prescription for some medical marijuana, seeing as my diet with the recent California ban on transgendered fat or whatever is all wrong too.
Last edited by KAV on Sat Jan 09, 2010 1:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by L. Martino »

CMur12 wrote:
L. Martino wrote:
CMur12 wrote:Going by your portrait, Martin, I never would have guessed you to be a smoker! :P

Yeah, I was referring to your avatar. Looks a little young and innocent for RYO. :D

- Murray
Hiya,

I've been thinking of retiring this pic I use now......maybe I'll use the one I like the most. Heh, yeah, there's another one I use on a different forum that I much prefer. Yeah, I think this avatar may be due for a change soon. Thank you Murray for nudging me off the fence...

I know this dog pic I have now looks like there was some work done to it, but that's not the case. Seriously. Main reason I use it is because I was the one who took the picture. Really.

I was walking to my car one day and noticed a dog inside a car near mine....barking at me. As you might imagine, the thing was not what I was expecting a dog to look like. I was so taken with it's image that I took a couple of pics through the car window. Heh, I couldn't help myself.

Best thing was the dog's owner arrived before I left, and he told me what the deal was. It turned out to be his Pomeranian that had some sorta skin disease. The dog had been shaved in multiple places, including all around it's neck.

True story,

Martin
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Post by L. Martino »

KAV wrote:I think it was this forum ( I've been booted off so many lately) I mentioned seeing a underage bikini clad pair of girls waving signs for a marijuana dispensing center in my town. My town, with many others where lighting up in public can garner a citation.
I don't smoke. oh, I once smoked pipes and can roll my own too.
My only 'serious' use was pushing motorlifeboats on the Oregon coast in the service. I was gifted a quantity of PLAYER NAVY CUTS, 2 1/2" unfiltered shortys with the famous british tar of H.M.S. Hero on the logo.

I went looking for a pack yesterday after some bad news, my first desire in 30 years. Nothing, not even in the cigar shoppe or discount vendor. A friend in the UK is sending a pack and hopefully customs wont take it.
Maybe I can get a prescription for some medical marijuana, seeing as my diet with the recent California ban on transgendered fat or whatever is all wrong too.
Hi there,

I lived in Marin County during that whole deal about the indoor smoking ban. Even back then in the 70s, the smokers in California were known to be a wretched group that was to be shunned. Heh, being a smoker wasn't exactly something that made you more popular. Of course I DID smoke, but felt a litle guilty about it.

The bars were especially pissed as you might imagine. The legal battle went back and forth in court for a while about this law, and right now I don't know what the current law is regarding smoking in a bar. I'd imagine there's probably none allowed.....better than even odds most likely.

I usta smoke Players and those goofy black tobacco ones from France too. I also liked the English Ovals(so debonair). One thing I liked about the Players was the papers were sorta waterproof. Heh, those should give you a nice buzz when the package gets there.

Yeah, I'm sure it's a lot easier finding a place that sells dope, rather than imported tobacco where you live. Funny how things have turned out.

Martin
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Post by GA Russell »

L. Martino wrote: ...and those goofy black tobacco ones from France too.
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