Written by Crick&Watson
I thought that I’d share a popular rolling technique which is prevalent in the UK and indeed much of Europe - the ‘Backroll’. This style of rolling involves the reversal of a paper, or ‘skin’, so that instead of the joint consisting of multiple rolls of paper, it is constructed from a single one. This is favoured predominantly because it excludes the unnecessary area of paper employed in a conventional joint; this makes the burn rate smoother, the toke softer and the taste of the cannabis more pronounced. In short, it’s great!
Tools of the Trade
Below are the tools which are used to construct a perfect joint - having all of these is ideal, but even a few will greatly aid the roll.
From top to bottom :
American spirit - excellent rolling tobacco with a relatively neutral taste, soft smoke, great shaping characteristics and a very consistent burn rate. Now I’m sure plenty of US smokers will disapprove of the use of tobacco, but it is entirely necessary for hash consumption in joint form - this technique is also perfect for pure herbal varieties.
Toothpick - Great little implement for making a consistent roach (end of the spliff) time after time
Roach card - Ideally a thin, stiff card with no printing ink or adhesives. This happens to be from a pack of skins, but purpose built ‘roach cards’ are sold produced from hemp and other pleasing substances.
Skins - These were the only ones available at the time - King Size Rizla Slim papers. It is crucial to have thin skink for a backroll as the moistening of the adhesive gum involves the liquid passing through a layer of the skin, which means that if it’s thick, the adhesive may not stick, resulting in a time wasting, frustrating disaster. Besides, it defeats the point of a backroll - to have as little paper as possible! I highly rate Rizla Experts/OCB King Super Slims - both very thin but excellent skins.
Rolling Tray - Anything which comes to hand - usually a folded train card but a purpose-built one is always nice. They are a luxury in terms of rolling as they provide a helping hand during complex procedures.
Left - Swiss Knife / Multitool - one of the most useful implements. With patience there’s not much you can’t craft with a good one.
Right - Top grade Nepalese Charas (Sticky black hash) wrapped up in grease proof paper (which, incidentally, it tore due to how sticky it is!)
Procedure - Let’s do it!
1. Start with the skin supported in the conventional position.
2. Turn the skin ‘inside out’ - flatten it out and turn it the other way - as demonstrated below the gum is now on the outside of the closest leaf of the skin.
3. Cut a uniform rectangle or square of roach card according to your preferences. The roach is by far the most important part of the joint, as it provides the seal which prevents air leakages, support for skin and, of course, helps to cool the smoke; I prefer long, thin roaches.
4. Use the toothpick to make a perfect roach.
5. Place the roach on the left side of the skin.
6. Put a first layer - half the thickness of the final joint - of tobacco, if it’s a hash joint. otherwise, add herbal cannabis here and ignore steps 7 & 8.
7. Crumble the hash very finely (the finer the better, as the increased surface area results in more release of THC)
(Some very nice charas - look at how it sticks to your fingers!)
8. Add the top layer of tobacco, ensuring the distribution of tobacco and hash is even and conical.
9. Roll the spliff without too much pressure - don’t compress the tobacco.
10. Ensure that there are no protruding pieces of tobacco which could interfere with the seal between the skin and the adhesive gum, and roll it tightly around the tobacco mixture until the gum is no longer exposed.
11. Turn the joint over and, as you can see, there is a darker area to the left and a lighter one to the right - this is the area where the skin gum meet.
12. Stick the gum by licking the lighter area of skin covering the gum - it soaks through. Use your thumb to ensure that it is evenly distributed and stuck properly.
13. Allow to dry for a few minutes (or speed up proceedings with a lighter - beware of burning the whole thing down!). Gently peel back the excess paper until the extremity of the gum line can be seen. Fold it back so that the paper sticks out from the joint at right angles as pictured.
14. Cutting off some of the paper now means that when your burn of the excess, it lessens the danger of burning the whole joint, but it’s really not essential.
15. Carefully light the excess.....
16. The flame removes the excess.
17. Nearly there.
Nice.
So there it is, a decent joint! Reward yourself by sparking it.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed this guide - I hope it’s not labouring the point, but I thought it would be helpful for everyone, new to smoking or hardened veterans; now you have no excuses for a poorly skinned up J! If it's of no use - just enjoy the pictures.
This may make a useful sticky; have fun with this - it's always a satisfying smoke.
Rolling a flaming backflip
