making rope tobacco?

Once you've grown and harvested your tobacco, what do you do with it? Talk about it here.
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KurtHuhn
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making rope tobacco?

Post by KurtHuhn »

Has anyone found any info on how to make rope tobacco like Gawith and Hoggarth? I think I've got the basic idea, but have found conflicting reports on whether to cure first, or cure while it is rope.

Obviously, curing first would require a curing chamber, and means I need to get to Lowes for some styrofoam board.

On the other hand one recipe I read was to twist the leaf into rope, then coil that into the same coils you can buy in bulk, and then steam the rope under pressure (pressure cooker?) for 2-3 hours, then let it cool in the same cooker for up to 8 hours. Once done you set it aside to age.

Sounds simple, but....
How in the heck do you make the rope?

Steam cure the finished rope, or cure before making into rope?

Flavoring? I just saw the G&H sweet maple twist, and it got me interested - and I'm not an aromatic or sweet tobacco guy.

Anyone ever seen a rope made with a portion of latakia?
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pierredekat

Post by pierredekat »

I wish I could help you, Kurt, but it looks like you've gathered about as much information as I have found, snooping around the internet.

And I could tell you all about making cord-type rope -- the process of twisting two or more bunches of fiber to create a counter-twisted rope, that is -- but tobacco rope seems to be done quite differently.
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KurtHuhn
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Post by KurtHuhn »

Thanks, Robert. I figure I'll desect a section of Black XX or soemthing and see if I can figure out how it's "roped".

In the meantime, I think I'll cure the leaves as normal. That covers all the bases, I think.
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Smitty
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Post by Smitty »

From what I see I think the seperate bends are cured and flavored seperate then tightly wound up very much cigar-like. I would cut the leaves into thick strips and use them like a filler then narrower ones to hold them togetheron the outside. I have not tried this style before but seen pics of the rolls. The different colrs of the leaf makes me think that is how it might be done. The tobacco itself does not look any different than any other bend it is just the final step of making them into sausages! One company flavors them, then twists, then "cold presses" them to the final shape.
Here is a link to a pretty good site with some pics. If you look under the G and H part and click on rope and plug
http://www.synjeco.ch/pipesandtobaccos/ ... ccoall.htm
Last edited by Smitty on Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Alan L
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Post by Alan L »

There was an article in Pipes and Tobacco last year about Gawith and Hoggarth that had pics of the factory. Among the pics were the steam press used on flake, and the spinning machine used for ropes. It looked like they were loading it with cured, steamed leaf twisted like a hand of chewing tobacco at harvest, but with new leaves being added as the whole thing slowly spins. The pics of finished balls of rope made my mouth water uncontrollably! :drool:
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Re: making rope tobacco?

Post by Briarfox »

Kurt,

I got interested in making some rope tobacco so I googled it. And it brought me right back to the forum! Did you have any luck with making rope tobacco? Or could you share some of the resources that you have found?

Thanks
Chris Houser
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KurtHuhn
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Re: making rope tobacco?

Post by KurtHuhn »

I never did give it a try - but hopefully I can remember to give it a shot this year.
Kurt Huhn
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Re: making rope tobacco?

Post by TRS »

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Briarfox
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Re: making rope tobacco?

Post by Briarfox »

BeatusLiebowitz wrote:Here's a little information:

http://www.howtogrowtobacco.com/forum/v ... f=10&t=163

Thanks, I actually came upon that link browsing this morning. I'm going to give it a go.
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Bosaiya
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Re: making rope tobacco?

Post by Bosaiya »

This is a pretty old thread so I don't know if anyone is still interested. I've never made twist but I've made Perique-style tobacco for a couple of years now and it's a pretty similar method. Same basic end result, just a different shape. It's still brick-hard. I don't flavor it but that would be easy enough to do.

The recipe is pretty simple: Leaf + water + pressure + time.

The hardest part, as with most things in life, is the time. In other words patience. This is where my short attention span really comes in handy. Normally when I get distracted and forget about things the result is unsatisfactory, but when it comes to aging and fermenting the longer the better!

Which reminds me that I need to check on the progress of the batch I took out last weekend in order to check on the progress of last year's pressing. So many things to do and so little time to do them in...
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Re: making rope tobacco?

Post by Daniel Y »

Kurt, I also realize this is an old topic. But I just read a book on tobacco that was written in 1886 or there about. It did talk about making rope tobacco along with many other end product processes.
Here is the outline of what it describes. although machines make it easier to do it originally was done by hand. basically int eh same way you would make any rope. you are just using "Cured" tobacco leaves as the fiber of the rope. The result looked for in the process is to apply pressure to the leaves to the point they are actually squeezed of their juices and pretty much blend together. Nothing was mentioned about any process beyond making a rope and letting it dry but Steaming and pressure may be things that have developed in the past 120 or so years. Keep in mind this book was written about industrial practices so only cost effective methods would have been included.

I woudl think that if you search for info on rope making it might get you the majority of the way to where you want to be.
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