First Go At Making Rope

[brassmonkey]

I had a go at making some tobacco rope from whole leaf. They turned out ok but I think with a bit more practice I could get them looking better.
I used Maryland, Flue cured Virginia, dark air cured and some latakia. The Maryland was used for the outer wrap though next time I'll use the air cured as it is a thicker leaf.
I would welcome any tips If there are members who have made rope before.

 

[eltice]

Looks good! I’m sure it will smoke well, let the group know how it turns out!

 

[woodsroad]

No casing?

 

[brassmonkey]

I didn't use casing for this, but I do have some here. The tobacco I used was pliant but maybe a a little dry, I've not handled tobacco leaf before so not really sure how it should feel. The latakia was bone dry so I steamed it a little until the moisture level was such that it could be handled without crumbling.

I can use casing on the next batch, I have also seen vinegar and honey solution suggested.

 

[saltedplug]

Cosmic has made rope.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Looks like you did well. It’s hard to say from pictures. But, the key to getting a good squeeze is getting the leaves rehydrated enough to get stretchy again.

A few notes on stuff I have found:

Spritzing with water just gets the leaf too wet, without absorbing the water. Steam works best for me, openning up the pores of the leaf. You can even add the casing to the boiling water or a small humidifier. You want the leaf to be stretchy taking a lot of pull without tearing. Thickness isnt really all that important (so she says, ha ha). You will roll it tight enough to squeeze the juices back out, so it will be very wet after twisting. This is the whole point, squeezing the to accos together to get the flavors to meld. Either let it hang dry back to slowly get it back to about 70% humidity or add something to inhibit mold, because it will mold if jarred wet. You can also put them in a jar and submerge the jars in a crockpot and cook at about 170F for a few days to kill any mold spores. This also makes a cavendish, sweetening your twist naturally.
This said, it looks like you did a good job. Awesome!!!

 

[saltedplug]

Makes me regret I didn't make twist. Well, I guess I still could but the temptation to load a pipe with tobacco I'd grown myself might prove overwhelming

 

[davek]

I'm exclusively a whole leaf smoker. I'm much more rough than many here, liking a strong mix of a lightly stoved Burley with 10%/20% Bright Leaf. A very small amount of Perique is nice added as well.
I do a quick "roll up" which I've found works better for me than times I've tried to do a rope. Steaming indeed gets tobacco in shape nicely, but you can spritz if you put he 'baccy in an airtight bag for a day or three after (check daily). I just roll the leaf up into "cigars" as tightly as possible and then press it between two metal plates in a vise overnight. Fold a heavy ziplock around it first.
They ain't pretty, but the inside of the flattened rolls end up pressed quite nicely. You can see that the tobacco has blackened as the juices melded and they cut up into little chunks to be rubbed out.

 

[saltedplug]

You guys are inspiring!

 

[davek]

Here's a couple I'm working off of now. I work from the ends in to keep things drying. Whole leaf is a process trying to keep the tobacco at a good moisture to avoid mold. Anyway, even with the cell phone pic you can see the darker inside. It's the closest I've come to getting a plug type thing since you are rolling tightly and then pressing as well.
I also made a few new ones this morning with the end of a batch. Another advantage is that if you have less than perfect leaf at less than perfect moisture you can hold the whole thing together with binder clips till you can get it pressed and that helps it stay together.