This is it exactly!! Maybe not fresh from the table but the joy of creation right there in front of you!I've always wanted to roll like hamlet. Bunch and wrap, no mold. Smoke it fresh from the table
Why do we want to be conformists and force the cigars to be a certain size and shape? So our cigars can look like what the big factories produce?
We want them to be "pretty" just like factory. I know I had a feeling of satisfaction when someone would say to me... "Dude, this looks like factory cigar!" No doubt this gave a sense of accomplishment that many home rollers seek to achieve but is this good advice when trying to produce the best smoking cigar you can? Maybe not.
They can still be 'pretty' but why not let them be what they want to be as far as size and shape. Forcing them into a mold and then cutting them all the same length so they 'conform' to the dimensions to fit in a box makes them as un-unique as it gets. Don't get me wrong, there's certainly nothing wrong with wanting to make a good looking cigar but by making them conform into the perfect mold causes some of them to have compromised performance as far as draw being too tight or loose which could affect flavor and overall enjoyment.
Molds were not invented to produce the best quality cigars but rather to aid the torcedore to produce 'uniform' cigars as fast as possible. Most of us have the time to produce cigars without the aid of such a restrictive, conforming device that could ill effect the draw and overall performance of the cigar.
The best example I can use is the six cigars I just rolled. The formulae was exactly the same but due to variations in the thickness of each leaf each cigar turned out a little different. You can see that some would be slightly tight or loose if they had been compressed into a mold. Using paper to hold the bunch takes a few seconds longer to perform but fortunately I have no production deadlines to meet.
We have the wherewithal to make our cigars unique and completely 'hand rolled' to our own likes but we lose that goal when we intentionally conform for the sake of appearance.
Thoughts to ponder.