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Here you will learn how to become a Joint Rolling Master! Papers Papers come in all shapes, sizes,colours and designs. Novelties aside, the best skins are the ones which stick where and when you want them to. There is nothing worse than spending half an hour on your masterpiece only to have it fall apart at the crucial moment. Rice or wheat straw are recommended - the thinner and finer the better. Most of these designs are based on using standard size papers but work just aswell with king size. Paper never got anyone high so the aim is always to use as little as possible. Try tearing your papers down to size. Some judicious trimming can also makethe joint easier to roll. The wider, squarer types of pa per give you more scope for creating tailor made skins of different shapes. If things start go bit pear-shaped the humble skin can save the day. Gummed strips torn from a spare paper make execellent bandages for tears, leaks, gaps and other emergencies. The strips are also ideal for cr eating joints between spliffs and roaches. The Mix Getting the mix right is half the art of joint-rolling. The're plenty of scope for choice but quantity is never a substitute for quality - Don't waste your lungs on inferior ingredients. The females flower tops are by far the most potent part of the cannabis plant. Thanks to growers all around the world ther are tousands of strains and varieties - the quality, strength and nature of whic h can differ enormously. This has lead to the rise of the weed 'connoisseur' who will say things like: "Oh my, what a subtle sativa!" or "Talk about 'bouquet' and 'body'. Avoid these people if you possible can. Imported bud is often forced-dried and compressed for storage/transit purposes, this can simply be broken-up and crumbled into the mix. Better quality bud which has been properly cured and stored is more delicat e. The flower heads should be handled with care to protect the delicate THC glands. Use sharp scissors to break-up the bud and store the remainder in a cool, dark place. Discarde any seeds or stems as they contain little THC and are harsh to smoke. Fr esh bud may develop mould if stored incorrectly and (painful as it maybe) this should be thrown away as it can damage the lungs and cause infection. Bud really needs to be combined with tobacco, leaf or an other herbal smoking mixture to allow it to 'breath' in the joint. The Hybread varieties whaich are genetically bread for extreme potency should used spar ingly until the user is familiar with, and can predict, their effects. Cannabis leaf is a common ingredient in commercial weed. If you can stand the slightly acrid taste, some leaf, - especially that from the top of a flowering female plant - can by surprisingly potent. On ly use well-cured leaves and remove any stems bofore crumbling them into the mix. The larger 'sun' leaves from around the lower part of the plant are too harsh for use in joint-rolling and are best left for the water pipe. Hshish comes in many different forms from hard and rocky Lebanese to soft and oily Nepalese. As with all Cannabis there is a huge variation in quality. There very best Hashish is made by rubbing the sti cky resin from flowering-tops. Most however, contains processed plant material and binding agents and the worst is adulterated with chemicals. Hash is normaly heated with a flame, crumbled into a powder and then mixed with tobacco or herbal smoking mixt ures. Good Hashish should catch ligth and crumble with ease. Alternativley, very soft Hash can be rolled into thin 'sausages' and placed along the legth of the joint. Never over-fill joints with Hash, or uses large chunks - it will burn badly and much will be wasted. A brief spell in the microwave will give you a perfect Hash and tobacco blend. Genuine resin oil is very hard to come by but, if you can get it, thre real Mcoy is incredibly potent. It comes in the form of a black, brown or transparent oily fluid which is smeared across the rolling papers or blended into the mix. Tobacco is the main ingredient in virtualy all joints rooled in Europe. When used with Hasish or strong bud it allows the cannabis to burn properly and improves the taste of the smoke. The down side of addiction and respirtory disesae have lead increscing numbers to reject tobacco entirely. WARNING: THIS SUBSTANCE IS HIGHLY ADDICTIVE! Legal highs have come a long way in the last few years. Although claims of effects comperable to the 'real thing' are usually false there are many genuinly psycho-active and therapeutic herbs which can be used as ingredients in a smoking mix. Legal smoking mixtures can make a good alternative to tabacco and are the only option for smokers seeking a buzz under cannabis prohibition. There is some evidence that certain herbs can amplify the effects of more psycho-active substances. Rolling Most people reading this will be well practised the art of rolling a decent, smokeable joint. However, for those with morethumbs than fingers and a zero rating on the Kudos scale, here are few basic tips The mix is perhaps the most important part of the joint. Make sure the consistency is even and break-up or remove any lumps or 'woody' bits. The sahpe of the finished joint is decided by how you distribute the mix over the papers. Many of the numbers here are cone-shape. Cones tend to smoke more smoothly than straight joints, but are slightly harder to ro ll. Puting the roach in before rollingis recommended and saves time and hasle. You're also more likely to get a perfect fit. Now for the 'tricky' bit. Pick everything up and start in the middle, rolling outwards. Let your thumbs do most of the work and give support and pressure with your forefingers. You should start to feel the mix firm ing inside the paper. When you have an even consistency tuck down the facing paper edge with tips of your thumbs, wrap the excess paper around the joint, wet the and seal that baby! The best joints are firm but so tight you have to bust a lung drawing smoke. Loose joints taste rough, burn too fast and have a nasty habit of setting light to clothing and furniture. The Roach Roaches don't filter the smoke but they do allow it to flow, and smoke condenses in cyclinders. A good roach also stops the joint from dissolving in your mouth or burning your lips when you chase that last elusive toke. Here's how to make a good one. The shape and size of roach is down to personal taste. Wide roaches can make smoke rough whreas tight ones tend to clog, so somewhere in the middle is probably best. Plain, unprinted card is healthier as some printing inks can emit poisonous fumes when burnt. An excellent roach can be made from a 2cm by 7cm strip of thin card. Tightly roll the card at a slight angel so that the end of the roach is conical. Roll your joint with the roach already inside (conical end facing outward) and let the card spring out a little to allow the smoke to flow. Some smoker prefer to insert the roach after making the joint (I do), Others find that putting the roach in before rolling is less fiddly and makes for a neater fit and a speedier roll. Go with what suits you. Check o ut the joint pages for some roaches that do more than just act as mouthpieces. Knee Trembler Perfect for skining up in awkward situations, the Trembler is speedy, simple, uses only two papers and comes highly recommended. A classic quickie. Stick two papers together at 45° angel as shown. Add the mix and the roach. The layout of the papers makes the Trembler perfect for a cone shaped creation. When the rolling the joint, stick down the first paper... before wetting the second and wrapping it around to seal the smoking end of the joint. Voila! Saturday Night Special An undisputed classic well known to most smokers, the special is easy to roll and tolerates clumsy fingers. Everyone has a favourite way of rolling the special - This is just one of them. Stick two papers together with the gum strips forming a straight line. They should over-lap by about a fifth of their lenght. Stick a third paper to the back of the first two, centering it in the middle of the number. Add the mix and the roach, the paper shape suits a slender cone or straight joint. Roll as normal and enjoy! Magic Carpet Fly into fantasy on the axminster of your dreams! Popular in North Africa, where a cigarette segment is substituted for the roach, the Carpet is ideal for those that like 'em short and fat. Stick two papers together to form a square with a gummed strip along one side. Take a third paper and stick it, face down, to the end of the first two. There is plenty of space for mix so you can trim away any excess paper. Roll the joint as normal then twist the end to secure the third paper. Grip that pile and prepare for take-off! Secret Agent Joint-smoking often demands a little discretion. If you're in need for a clandestine toke, roll yourself a Secret Agent and rember to stay downwind. Stick two papers together to make a square with a gummed srip along one side. Take a cigarette and remove the filterby squeezing at its base and rotatingbetween finger and thumb. Eventually enough of the filter will show for you to pull it out. Replace the filter with a roach of the same size and shape. Cut the cigarette in two, as cleanly as possible about 1cm from the roach. Make up a mix to replace the tabacco that was in cut away and add this to a paper. Form it into shape of the cigarette. Roll the joint with the 'filter' protruding from the end. You may need to secure the bogus filter with a gummed strip torn from another paper. Remember the walls have ears! Joker A Mumber that seems to last forever, the joker is a big, fat, juicy cone guaranteed to spread a grin from ear-to-ear without straining the finger muscles. Stick two papers together with the gummed strips forming a straight line. Take a third paper and fold it in two, leaving the gummed strip on the outside. Wet the glue and and sandwich the folded paper firmly between the other two as shown. Before the glue dries pull the paper out. It should have left enough glue to stick the others together. Stick a fourth paper to the lower, righthand edge of the joint as shown. Add a fifth paper to the end of the joint as shown. Create a more triangular shape by tearing the fourth paper diagonally in half. Refolding the papers along the centre of this triangle will also ease rolling. To support the extra length use the whole of the forefingers when rolling. Prepear for top-notch enterainment! Crossroads Three way heaven! Okay, okay, it's fiddly to make but you can use it again and again. Best of all, it'll hold three of your favourites. Make a roach the length and diameter of a thick pencil and seal it with papers or tape. Cut two large, circular holes either side of the roach, about 3cm from the end. Make a second roach, half the length of the first and slightly narrower. Cut the biggest posible hole you can make through the centre of the second roach. Join the two roaches by inserting the second tube through the hole you made in the first. Rotate the smaller tube untill the central smoke hole is in line with the larger tube. If you can see through all the tubes then you've cracke d it. Carefully seal the roahes with tape or gummed strips. Keep bandaging untill your sure it's airtight. To use the roach simply add your choice of joints to the protruding ends. Any joints will work altough it helps if they burn at the same rate. Bingo! Flaming Backflip Guaranteed to impress with it's pyrotechnics, the Backflip makes use of the minimum of paper and is easy-going on the lungs. Prepare for instant kudos or instant embarassment, This is a tricky one. Stick two papers together with the gummed strip forming a straight line. Take a third paper and fold it in half, leaving the gummed strip on the outside. Wet the gum and sandwhich the folded paper firmly between the other two skins, as shown. Before the gum dries carefully pull out the third paper. It should leave enough gum behind to stick the other two papers together. Gently 'roast a cigarette over a moving flame until the papers goes brown. This should 'burn-off' some of the tar and nicotine. Add the mix to the REVERSE of the papers, keeping the gummed strip facing DOWN and AWAY from you. Roll the joint in reverse with the glue on the OUTSIDE. Seal the joint, leaving the excess paper on the outside. N.B. This takes some practise. Now for the finale. As soon as you have sealed the joint, light the excess paper at the roach. Hold the joint upright and let the flame burn away the unwanted paper as it travelsup the joint. If you are lucky the joint should self- ignite. Bud-a-bing! Kudos is yours! Diamond Once mastered, the joint rolling technique opens a realm of possibilities for weird and wonderful creations. The Diamond is a good place to start and when made with care smokes surprisingly well. Roll a straight, fat joint with a sturdy roach and carefully cut it in two using a pair of scissors or a knife. Roll two identical joints, without roaches and slightly thinner than the first. Put slightly less mix in their centres so that you can bend them later on. Consistency is important here, the joints must burn at the same rate. Carefully trim away any excess paper from all four joints, leaving the mix flush with the paper. Cut the gummed strips from ten spare papers (the wide strips from king skins are best) and put to one side. Now for the tricky bit... Join the two identical joints to the segment of the first joint containing the roach. Use some of the gummed strips to bandage the join as shown. It is best to do this on a flat surface. Keep bandaging unt il you are confident everthing is airtight and secure. Very gently, bend the two joints at their centres until they meet to form a dimond shape. Finally, bandage the joint to the remaing to the end of the diamond, using the gummed strips as before. Pat yourself on the back, you're officially a diamond geezer! Tulip An Amsterdam specialitity, the tulip is often found (usually half-smoked) in the hands of uncoscious tourist. A good tulip is deceptively smooth to smoke and easier to roll than it looks. Make a roach about the length and diameter of a pencil and seal it with a couple of large papers. Take two more large papers and stick them together to form a square with gummed strip running along one side. Fold corner A over to corner B to form a triangle, leaving the gummed strip uncovered. Wet the strip and fold it over to seal the triangle. You should now have something resembling a flatenned paper cone. Open up the cone and tightly pack it with layers of carefully blended mix. Gently crimp together the excess paper at the end of the cone. Place the roach in the centre of the cone, using the crimped paper to hold it in position. Finally, secure the roach by tying thread around the crimped paper, (a rubber band works well too) keeping everything as tight as possible. Blooming tulip-tastic! Nose Cone The bigger, badder, bastard brother of the Tulip (try saying that after you've smoked one). It takes some effort to roll, but a good nose cone is a king size chunk of truly cosmic proportions. Lightweights need not apply. Stick two kingsize papers together to form a square with a gummed strip running along one side. Fold corner A over to corner B to form a triangle, leaving the gummed strip uncovered. Wet the strip and fold it over to seal the triangle. You should now have something resembling a flatenned paper cone. Open up the cone and tightly pack it with layers of carefully blended mix. Take two more kingsize papers and stick them together at a 45° angle as shown. Add loads of mix to the papers, forming it in to the shape of a cone and use a large, sturdy roach. Roll the papers and mix into a big, fat joint with the same end diameter as the cone you made earlier. Carefully cut away any excess paper from the fat joint and the cone leaving the mix flush with the paper. Join the two together with gummed strips torn from spare papers. Windmill A smoke-cooling chamber and multiple joint holder, the Windmill is designed to get you spinning in the breeze. Although it's tricky to make, the holder can be used time and time again. Roll a wide cone from a 10cm x 10cm piece of cardboard. Secure it with tape then trim the end to form a perfect cone. Seal the cone with large papers, leaving 3cm of excess paper at the end, as shown. Carefully make four cross cuts at regular intervals around the end of the cone. Make a long, narrow roach, about the length of a pencil, and seal it with papers or tape. Cut the roach in half, then remove a section from the centre of each segment. Insert the two segments so that the cut-outs are completely inside the cone and facing it's narrow end. Seal any gaps with tape or gummed strips. Seal the end of the windmill with the excess paper, using thread or tape. To use the windmill, roll the numbers of your choice around the protruding roaches and enjoy a four-way smoke of quixotic proportions. Cannabis Cigar A pure cannabis cigar is perhaps the ultimate joint and a must for the rich, famous and well connected. Using exotic, hard-to-get ingredients this can be a hard one to get together. First, find yourself a thai stick, (cured buds tied around a bamboo sliver) Remove any thread and carefully coat it with liquid cannabis resin oil. Wrap the coated stick with small, uncured, 'top' leaves, taking care to remove any stems. Secure the leaves with thread and coat with more liquid resin. Leave the cigar to dry in a dark, dry and warm place for a day or so. Remove the thread and repeat the entire process. Use progressively larger cannabis leaves until the cigar is suitably fat. Use large 'sun' leaves to seal the cigar, add a final coat of cannabis resin and secure with more thread. Leave the finished cigars to dry. In two to three weeks it should be ready to smoke. When drying is complete, remove the thread and carefully pull the bamboo sliver from inside the cigar to create a smoking tube. Store your cigars in a dry air-tight container - the longer you leave them, the better (and stronger) the y will get. This, to me is the best. Peace!!!!