What's it cost to roll your own?

[webmost]

Recent discussion in the Olor thread got me to wondering, so I logged in to my WLT account and added up the orders. Since January 2013 (boy, I had no clue I've been rolling so long) I total $1277.19. That includes shipping. LO shows bucks by item but no order total. Summing items in my head, I get around $400. That doesn't include shipping. So I've spent under $1700 in 4 1/2 years. My mentals tell me on the order of $375 per annum. Thirty bucks a month isn't bad. In fact, it looks too low to believe, as tho some of my orders may not be reflected on my account history page.

A lot of that leaf has been stashed, though. For a long while I was stocking up against the inevitable nanny state tobaccolypse. I keep piles on hand. My latest inventory spreadsheet shows 10 lbs in the wrapper stash cooler, another 10 lbs in the filler stash cooler, 16 lbs in the overflow tub, and I'd estimate there's around 4 lbs in my ready stash coolers kept handy for present use.

I also show 256 gars in the aging cooler. Falling behind my goal to maintain 300 gars aging; but I have almost completed my 50 quickies project, which will hopefully go in there soon. I keep smoking quickies, so been backsliding.

Figure in also that some of that WLT is stuff which I never received -- chiefly starter kits sent directly to other people. Also I send out a fair amount of leaf, chiefly as starter kits to beginner rollers. And I do send out about half the cigars I roll. On the other hand, I also get substantial leaf from Butcher, from time to time, who measures with a large hand; and I've had home growers send me small batches of leaf from as far away as South Africa and Slovakia, & as near as Virginia. Finally from time to time I score substantial wrapper at FXSS. Top of my head, I can think of eight pounds wrapper from Butcher and FXSS between the tub and the wrapper cooler.

So a guy could do this prolly for a hell of a lot less -- especially if he wasn't stashing for the tobaccolypse.



Anyone else keep records?

 

[blisscigarco]

$2988 in 2.5 years from WLT, LO, Jorge, Butcher. About 1/3 of that is shipping. Much of that (bad wrapper and filler from WLT, bad filler from LO) was money out the window, dumpstered pounds with values up to ~$70 pound including shipping.

 

[Gdaddy]

I don't keep track that closely of money spent but it's far less expense than buying boutique cigars. I've come to prefer the draw and construction of my own cigars. The prolific use of the Lieberman machine throughout the industry has led to such variation in the quality of the draw. The end cap and flag coming loose is another reason. I make mine wider so it's bullet proof.

A few ways to get the most out of your tobacco and cut costs...

The biggest tobacco cost, by far, is the wrapper. Much of it gets thrown away. You can get two quality wrapper strips by carefully cutting the leaf in half. That's 4 cigars per wrapper instead of two. Instead of throwing away most of the wrapper rolling one cigar per side, you can use the leaf in such a way as to to make a very presentable cigar.

Another way to cut waste is not cutting down cigars to conform to a specific length. Why roll a cigar and then chop off perfectly good tobacco? Smoke it whatever length it turns out. If your not fitting them in a box there's no reason to throw away perfectly good tobacco by chopping off the end. So what if they're all a different length. Enjoy the tobacco you paid for instead of throwing it in the trash.

One other way to extend your product is to save the scraps. Eventually bunching and rolling a 'short filler' cigar instead of throwing it away. They come out tasting and looking just fine.

This is how the wrapper leaf gets divided for 2 cigars per half leaf (two flags are cut before dividing in two)...

 

[webmost]

$2988 in 2.5 years from WLT, LO, Jorge, Butcher. About 1/3 of that is shipping. Much of that (bad wrapper and filler from WLT, bad filler from LO) was money out the window, dumpstered pounds with values up to ~$70 pound including shipping.

Wo. I forgot all about Jorge. Couple hundred there. Didn't like his stuff at all.

Can't get Butcher to charge me. Have tried; he won't.

You must be a rollin maniac, Bliss. Whattaya do with all those gars?

 

[webmost]

I don't keep track that closely of money spent but it's far less expense than buying boutique cigars. I've come to prefer the draw and construction of my own cigars. The prolific use of the Lieberman machine throughout the industry has led to such variation in the quality of the draw. The end cap and flag coming loose is another reason. I make mine wider so it's bullet proof.

A few ways to get the most out of your tobacco and cut costs...

The biggest tobacco cost, by far, is the wrapper. Much of it gets thrown away. You can get two quality wrapper strips by carefully cutting the leaf in half. That's 4 cigars per wrapper instead of two. Instead of throwing away most of the wrapper rolling one cigar per side, you can use the leaf in such a way as to to make a very presentable cigar.

This is how the wrapper leaf gets divided for 2 cigars per half leaf (two flags are cut before dividing in two)...

View attachment 98798

You're absolutely right on the bigger flag and better draw.
Far as cutting to length, that's not an issue when rolling a molded perfecto, cause both ends of your mold are closed to excess. Not much waste at all. Most of my stash are perfectos.

Far as cutting two strips from one half, I do that a lot -- except I use the inner part for binder.

 

[blisscigarco]

You must be a rollin maniac, Bliss. Whattaya do with all those gars?

Smoke'em, give'em away, sell the occasional sample pack (if asked by the cops, I'll say this was a lie), chuck'em if they turn out to contain shitleaf (which doesn't happen much anymore now that I puro everything before blending). Lots of that leaf got tossed instead of rolled. I also sold a few hundred $ worth of leaf a year ago when I wasn't rolling for half a year because of health issues.

 

[blisscigarco]

My first-ever LO tobacco order, March 7, 2015:

Samples - Aged Dominican Seco Criollo 98 Long Filler
Samples - Aged Nicaraguan Ligero Long Filler
Samples - Aged Nicaraguan Seco Long Filler
Samples - Pennsylvania Oscuro Wrapper
Samples - Aged Dominican Volado Piloto Cubano
Samples - Indonesian Bezuki Wrapper
Samples - Ecuadorian Seco Shade Wrapper
Samples - Cameroon Wrapper (16in)
1LB - Dominican Binder
Samples - Aged Nicaraguan Viso Long Filler
Samples - Brazilian Mata Fina Wrapper
$119.50

My first WLT order, from a few weeks earlier, was a kit and a chaveta.

 

[Marc L]

On average sixty eight cents per cigar.

 

[Dominican56]

The upfront cost isn't too bad. But the more I look at leaves, the more of 'em I want.

I ordered a cigar mold from WLT today. I hope I'm not going to be an addict. .

 

[TheFlask]

The upfront cost isn't too bad. But the more I look at leaves, the more of 'em I want.

I ordered a cigar mold from WLT today. I hope I'm not going to be an addict. .

Too late.

 

[Marc L]

No regrets.

 

[TheFlask]

No regrets.

True.