Joint Rolling Pro: Learn How to Roll in 5 Easy Steps

Nothing is more embarrassing when you are sitting with a bunch of friends and it’s time to pass the ceremonial herb, but not a soul knows how to roll.

Start practicing to roll right now with these 5 steps and become a joint rolling professional that will have your friends praising your skills. Not only will you feel proud of your accomplishment, but you can bet that you get invited to more events with your new skillset.

TL;DR

• Break it up nice and evenly.
• Fold up your paper filter tightly.
• Lay it out evenly in the hemp paper or rice paper.
• Hold the paper or glass filter tip steady
• Twist slowly from the top to bottom and seal the paper

WHY LEARN TO TWIST ONE UP?

Learning how to roll a joint is incredibly important because if you are clueless, then you could be left with no good way to enjoy your herbs. Every smoker typically has a pack of rolling papers or hemp wraps kicking around, but if you don’t know what to do with them, then what’s the point?

Before you even start to roll, you need to make sure that you are choosing the best rolling papers. The options are truly limitless! Just kidding. Choose rolling papers that are unbleached, made of rice, or made from hemp so that you can keep things pure and natural.

Some papers are easy rollers and others tend to be more challenging, so definitely practice with a couple different brands before giving up on your rolling education.

Personally, I like RAW Brands. I put together this little RAW rolling bundle for whoever is reading this post to enjoy and practice with.

Once you become a seasoned professional, then you can move to bigger rolling papers like kingsize and hemp wraps.

For now, let’s get into it and teach you how to roll the perfect joint.

Step 1: Grind it up.

If you want to learn how to roll then the first thing that you need to do is break the herbs down. Consistency is key here. Ensure that everything is broken up to about the same size and if you are using a grinder, pulverizing it is 100% okay.

No sticks. No stems. No seeds.

The best thing about using a grinder is that it will provide you with a consistent structure. 

No grinder? No problem. Time to get the fingers all sticky and turn to the hands. The original grinders were hands, so going back to your roots never hurts. Some how, some way a good ol’ hand breakup before the roll brings a whole different level of satisfaction.

Ready? Okay. Let’s get moving onto the next step. 

Step 2: Get that filter tip tight.

The paper filter tip is a glorious smoker-hack. Whoever discovered the idea of putting a cardboard filter at the end of a joint was a sheer genius. No more gross, sopping wet rolling paper, no more particles on your tongue and no more resin on your lips and fingertips. 

The paper rolling tip is easy:

1. Take any piece of cardboard
2. Rip off a RECTANGLE piece that’s about the size of your big toe (really).
3. Fold it over 3 times and then roll it.
4. It should look like the letter “W” in a circle.

Below is a perfect machine rolled one.

Your filter tip probably doesn’t look like this at all, but you get the idea. It just needs to act as an air filter.

Glass filter tips are next level and not for everyone, but for the discerning smoker who only likes smoking out of glass, mastering the glass tip roll elevates your smoking experience to a whole new level.

Now that your tip is ready, it’s time to lay it all out.

Step 3: Spread evenly on the rolling paper.

Since you are an amateur joint roller, we are only going to focus on the easiest, most basic way to roll, which is the classic tobacco-stick look, and not a cone shaped joint.Quick steps for preparing to roll a joint:

1. Remove a piece of rolling paper from the package.
2. One side of the paper has a thin (vegan) glue strip. Keep that side facing up.
3. If you are left-handed, place the filter tip on the right side of the paper.
4. If you are right-handed, place the paper filter tip on the left side of the paper.
5. Add an evenly distributed amount of your herbs to the rest of the rolling paper.
6. Pick up the joint in your opposite dominant hand, holding the filter tip and rolling paper between your forefinger and thumb.

You will definitely lose a small amount of herbs by trying to balance the paper in your hands.

Hopefully it lands your rolling tray, but don’t worry about it either way. This is one of those “practice makes perfect” scenarios and it’s inevitable that some spills out. 

My Pro Tip: Try and overstuff your rolling paper, or keep some on your rolling tray to stuff down the top of the joint later.

More on that below, but now it’s time to tuck and roll.

Step 4: Start Tucking and Rolling Slowly

Everything is ready to go and now comes the tricky part. This part of the rolling process is where most people just give up. Herbs are flying everywhere. The filter tip falls out. The herbs are no longer even in the paper. You name it, it happens.

Don’t get frustrated! Like we said earlier, it takes practice and this is part of the joint rolling process.

Here’s how to minimize the frustration:

• Fold the bottom of the rolling paper towards the top of the paper.
• “Roll” the bottom down slowly allowing the paper to move softly between your hands.
• Feel the herbs compressing and getting tighter.
• Repeat these steps until it looks like you can tuck the bottom of the rolling paper down and then roll it up to the top.

Complicated, I know. It should look a little like this:

Notice how the bearded model is pushing down and rolling at the same time.

Don’t roll it all the way up, because it’s time for the final step.

Step 5: Lick it, then Stick it.

There is that little vegan glue strip at the top of the paper where you stopped rolling. Give it a gentle little lick from one side, all the way down to the tip

Be easy and don’t oversaturate with saliva. 

Give the paper one last spin and seal it shut. If there is some space at the end of the joint, feel free to take some of the leftover herbs and stuff them down the top with the end of pen cap or poker from your RAW lighter.

And now it’s complete!

Admire your work and light your masterpiece.

Hey, let’s be honest here. Your new joint probably isn’t the prettiest thing you have ever seen, but it’s yours. You did it. As long as it smokes, then you are your own hero. Practice does make perfect here with joint rolling, but there are other options!

The smart inventors of the rolling paper business also know that most people will never roll a joint.

This is also the reason why I told you earlier that we put together the RAW rolling bundle. It has cones. Pre-made cones that make your life so easy.

Here is what’s inside my custom bundle:

• 1 Metal Rolling Tray
• RAW Hemp Wick
• RAW Clipper Lighter
• 1 Smell Proof Storage Tube
• 1 Pack RAW Paper Tip
• 1 Pack of RAW King Size Slim Papers
• 1 Pack of RAW Classic Cones with Paper Tips
• 1 Large Plastic Grinder

Occasionally, we have to substitute some products based on availability, but you get that, right? 

Snag a rolling bundle while they are cheap and share your best and worst tries at rolling a joint with us. If we get a chuckle, we’ll send you something special.