5 Unique Ways to Roll a Joint

Everyone has their preferences when rolling joints. Some want it simple with the classic cone, pinner, or cigarette-style joint. Others want to bring out their creativity by rolling a triple braid joint, a scorpion joint, or a plumber’s joint.

If you are tired of the regular joint or the typical joint, remember that the process is an art form every time you roll a joint. You can create a masterpiece that you can show off to your friends. However, just like any kind of art, you have to practice until you master the technique.

This article will discuss how to roll a joint and five unique ways to do it.

The Joint Rolling Process

First of all, you need the proper supplies. These include the following:

• Quality rolling papers
• Herb grinder
• Crutches or rolling tips
• Your favourite cannabis

Place the Crutch on the Rolling Paper

The rolling tip or the crutch is a cylindrical filter that you put at the tip of the rolling paper. It makes it easier to roll a joint and hold on to it as you smoke. Place it at the end of the rolling paper and let a third of it stick out.

Arrange the Bud

Grind the cannabis bud and arrange it evenly inside the rolling paper. Make sure that the bud is distributed on the surface of the paper before rolling. Arranging the ground bud makes it easier to roll the joint.

There are two ways to arrange the bud depending on the joint shape you want to achieve. If you want to make a pinner joint, arrange the buds evenly across the length of the paper. 

If you want to make a cone joint, you should have fewer buds at the side of the paper near the crutch. The buds should gradually increase towards the opposite end to form a cone shape.

Roll the Bud and Paper

Rolling the bud is a challenging step that requires the right pressure control. Do not worry if you do not get it right the first time. Constant practice is necessary. The key is to move the paper with your fingers back and forth until you achieve a straight cylinder (pinner) or cone shape.

You have to keep rolling to compress the bud into the proper shape. When the bud can hold the shape on its own, You’re ready for the next step. Now, roll the paper to form a straight cylinder or cone. Both these steps are crucial to forming a perfectly rolled cannabis.

Tuck and Glue

Start tucking at the crutch and onto the opposite end of the paper. Focus on making a tight roll. The compression of the joint will determine how slow and how smooth the cannabis will burn. As soon as the paper’s tightly tucked, lick the glue strip on the flap and stick it immediately. You have to seal the paper to hold the final shape of the joint. It’s challenging, so keep on practicing.

Lock the Rolling Tip

Remember that you have left a third of the crutch sticking out of the paper. Lightly push it in towards the bud to seal the gaps in between. This will compress the bud further to make it burn smoothly and evenly. Give the crutch a lick to make it stick to the rolling paper. Doing this locks the crutch in place to avoid it slipping out accidentally.

Pack the Buds

As soon as the joint rolls perfectly, you need to pack the buds to compress it further. A packed bud is more likely to burn smoothly, slowly, and evenly. An unevenly packed bud will have an irregular burn and will negatively impact your smoking experience. There are three ways to pack the bud.

Shake It

If you have some paper left at the tip of the joint, pinch it with your fingers to keep the buds inside. Make sure the glue strip is properly attached to the paper. Gently shake the joint with your wrist back and forth. The centrifugal force created by the shaking motion will compress the joint and pack it. Do not shake too hard, though. The paper may come off, and you have to start again.

Drop It

If there is not much paper left at the tip of the joint, you can use this technique. Drop the crutch tip on a hard surface and let the impact of gravity pack the bud. Do this a couple of times until the bud is compressed fully. You may have to use your fingers to apply a bit of force to intensify the impact. Do not drop from a high elevation, though. Just a few inches from the surface is fine.

Muzzle Load

You can increase the size of the joint further by adding more ground buds at the end of the joint. Use a packing tool such as a dabber or a pen to push the bud further in until it compresses tightly. You can add more bud if there is more space to fill.

Seal the Joint

Make sure that there is still some paper left at the end of the joint so you can seal it tight. If you accidentally placed too much bud, remove some of them at the tip. With a slight twist on the paper, seal the end of the joint, and you are done.

Five Creative Ways to Roll a Joint

The Inside Out Joint

The inside out or ‘backroll’ is a European technique. It is primarily designed to get rid of excess paper. Too much paper increases the combustion speed of the joint and will result in having more paper taste. The primary difference between this technique and the normal way to roll joints is the orientation of the paper. As the name suggests, the paper’s flipped inside out.

For this technique, it is best to use thin and tasteless rice paper. If your objective is to smoke less paper, the rice paper will refine this technique even further. Also, rice paper allows you to make a more precise roll.

Flip the Paper

Flip the paper inside out. Make sure that the glue strip is facing downward and is close to you when you place the crutch on the paper.

Arrange the Bud and Roll the Paper

Arrange the ground bud on the paper evenly, as usual. Roll the bud and the paper, too. At this point, you roll with the glue strip side of the paper first. Roll for one complete rotation until the bud is covered with the paper.

Tuck

Since the paper is inside out, you will seal the entire roll where the tuck is located. If you make a mistake, you will have less leeway to correct it. Make sure that the paper is tight and slack-free. You may use your lips to help pull any slack away from the roll. As soon as you make a perfect tuck, hold on to the joint firmly.

Seal Immediately

Give the glue strip a quick lick and seal the joint immediately. If you commit any mistake at this point, the only option may be to grab a new piece of rolling paper and start the process all over. Practice is the key.

Remove the Excess Paper

The last step in the process is to remove the excess paper. The traditional method is to tear the paper off the joint or cut it with scissors. This is a more practical and precise technique, but you can burn the excess paper to make it look cool if you want to show off.

Whether you tear the excess or burn it off is your choice. Torching the excess paper may end in disaster, though, so proceed with caution. Whatever technique you use, the result should be joint with as little paper as possible.

The Tulip Joint

Creating a Dutch tulip joint is a fun way to use your free time. The idea behind this creative joint is to combine two joints, a thin joint and a fat joint. The thin one becomes the tulip stem, and the fat one becomes the tulip bud.

For this endeavour, you need at least four king-size rolling papers, a crutch, your favourite weed, and an herb grinder.

Roll a Thin Joint

You need to roll a thin joint and place the crutch at one end to form the stem. You need to make it as firm and tight as possible to hold the tulip bud later on.

Roll the Cone

To accentuate the shape of a tulip bud, make sure that you roll a fat and stocky cone. One end should be tightly closed shut and the other end open. You will later connect the open end to the stem. Pack in as much weed into the cone as possible.

Combine the Two Joints

Combine both joints to form a tulip stem and bud. Insert the stem at the center of the cone and crimp the excess paper to attach them both. Use a thread to fasten the stem and the bud together. You may also use gummed paper tape instead of thread.

The result should look like a tulip that is ready to blossom. Form a smoking circle with your friends, light the cone’s closed tip, and pass the joint around. Use the tulip for a social smoking experience.

The L Joint

If you want to make a joint that is a bit longer than ordinary, you need to master how to make an L joint. The L does not stand for ‘long’ but for the letter L formed by the orientation of two rolling papers combined to form a long joint. If you want to invite people around for a pot session, you need to know how to make an ‘L.’

Prepare the Rolling Paper

Prepare two papers and place them on a flat surface with the glue side facing up. Rotate one paper and orient it to form a perpendicular angle with the other, thus forming an L shape.

Lick a portion of the glue strip on one of the papers and attach it to the edge of the other paper. You should now have an L-shaped rolling paper.

Arrange the Bud, Roll, and Seal

Place a crutch on the paper and load it with ground buds. Make sure to arrange it evenly. Arrange for the shape you want and begin to roll the bud and paper. Compress the bud as firmly as possible. When the paper’s rolled tightly, excess paper from the second paper will form a flag.

Note that there are two separate glue strips. Lick both glue strips and seal the joint. Roll the flag as well and seal it. Once both papers are fully sealed, you can now enjoy the joint with your friends.

The Triple Braid Joint

If you are feeling fancy, then give the triple braid joint a try. This is not an easy process so expect many trials and errors along the way. It is challenging but filled with a lot of fun.

Roll Three Joints

You should know how to roll a joint at this point. Joint rolling is a process you must master. To make braided joints, you have to roll three regular joints. Each should be uniform with the others. The ground buds should be arranged evenly among each of them, as well.

Bind the Joints

Take another rolling paper and cut it in half lengthwise. Take the half that contains the glue strip and use it to bind the joints together. 

Hold the three joints together on the crutches. The tips should form a triangle. Lick the strip and wrap the rolling paper around the tips of the joints. As soon as the joints are secured in place, you can start braiding.

Braid

Braiding is a skill you need to learn. The pattern is simple. Number each joint from one to three. Take joint one and cross it over joint two. Take joint three and cross it over joint one. Take joint two and cross it over joint three. Repeat the process until the joints are fully braided.

If you cannot follow the pattern, try checking out videos on how to braid. It takes a bit of practice, but you will get there. Practice the craft until you master it.

Twist the Ends

The last part of braiding is to twist the ends of the joints to bind them together. This is the easiest part. Twist the three ends together with your fingers. If you followed all steps correctly, you should now have a beautiful joint in your hands. Show it off to your friends and enjoy it together with them.

The Cross Joint

If you want a weapon against vampires and evil spirits, this is the desired shape you want. To make a cross joint, you need a regular joint to act as the main part and a thin short joint to form the cross.

Make the Cross Part

The smaller joint should be rolled without a crutch. Roll it as flat as possible and distribute the ground bud evenly throughout the paper. As you finish rolling, twist the ends of the paper to seal it shut. The twisted portions will allow you to insert the joint into the bigger main joint.

When you are finished, you need to pierce a hole in the middle. It should go through the joint but should not tear it apart. The best way to do this is to use a 3mm screw. When you twist the screw into the paper, it will make a clean hole.

Make the Main Part

The main joint should be bigger than the cross-part. It does not matter how much weed you put in it as long as it is thick enough to accommodate the smaller joint. You need a hole through the joint at least two-thirds or three-quarters the way from the tip of the crutch.

The location of the hole will dictate how much smoking time it will take to burn the cross. It will be difficult to make both the cross part and the main joint burn out simultaneously. It will take a lot of practice to get the positioning of the hole correct.

To make the hole, use a 5mm screw to create a consistent bore on each side. Where you place, the hole will depend on experiential judgment. Since the cross part is smaller, it will burn out faster than the main part. Hence, placing the hole around two-thirds or three-fourths of the way from the crutch is a good estimate.

Combine the Joints to Form a Cross

Inspect the holes on the joints and make sure they are clear on each side. Insert the twisted end of the smaller joint through the hole of the main joint until it goes halfway. Align the hole in the middle of the smaller joint with the crutch on the main joint to allow air to flow through both joints.

Cut the glue strip part of a rolling paper and use it to wrap and seal the hole where the two parts cross together. You can also use gummed paper tape as an alternative. Once the hole is capped securely, you can now enjoy the joint.

To smoke the whole thing, you need to light the main joint and both ends of the small joint altogether at once.

How to Perfect the Art of Joint Rolling

Joint rolling is an art. If you want to master it, do not get discouraged every time you fail. You have to keep practicing until you roll the perfect joint. If you cannot roll a joint correctly, give it a rest and do it again when you have the chance.

The Difference Between a Joint, Spliff, and Blunt

A joint contains cannabis rolled in lightweight paper. It may include a filter called a crutch. The crutch helps in the stability of the joint. It also allows users to hold the joint easily as they smoke.

A blunt is similar to a joint because it contains pure cannabis. The only difference is the paper. A blunt uses tobacco paper to roll the cannabis. Tobacco paper is denser than joint paper. Users who love the taste of tobacco along with their cannabis often smoke blunts.

A spliff is more commonly smoked in Europe than in America. Spliffs contain a combination of tobacco and cannabis wrapped in a regular joint paper. A spliff may also contain a crutch for stability.

Where to Buy Pre-rolls?

On the one hand, rolling a joint is fun and fulfilling. It can bring your creativity out into the open. As long as you have the right tools and ingredients, you can roll a joint anytime and enjoy it solo or with friends.

On the other hand, not all people have the time or talent to roll the perfect joint. Thankfully, if you want to smoke and consume cannabis more conveniently, buy a pre-roll. It is a ready-made joint or blunt that you can light up at your leisure.

At Moonrock Canada, we sell pre-roll joints and blunts. Check out Cosmic Blunts Flavoured 13 Bundle – Bud-Oil-Kief for flavoured blunts and Moonrock Pre Roll – Assorted Bundle Every Flavour for flavoured joints.

Final Thoughts

Rolling a joint is a skill that requires consistent practice, even for experienced smokers. The cone and pinner shapes are the two most basic forms of joints that you need to master. If you do not have that much creativity, these two basic forms are manageable.

By the time rolling a cone or a pinner becomes such a common practice, you should challenge yourself to master other more aesthetic forms, such as the triple braid and the Dutch tulip. Both these forms are challenging to perfect, but they are worth your time and effort.

If you do not have time to roll a joint, you can always rely on pre-rolls. Get them now here at Moonrock Canada.