Cigar Glue

[hawk45]

i was looking for guar gum, wound up with the xanthan gum. about a LB of it....i mixed a half teaspoon with water, wound up with about 1 fl.oz of glue, i rolled 10 garos, and could have diluted to 10 fl.oz. i threw out the rest, there was enough glue there for about 1000 cigars! no reports on longevity, i just rolled 'em yesterday!

Thanks everyone for the replies on this stuff.

@Juan and @GDaddy, what ratio would you recommend?

 

[Smokin Harley]

Hawk, If you go to your local grocery store and look in the canning section you should find a small container of fruit pectin, mine was made(packaged anyway) by the Ball company ,same folks who make the canning jars. a day before I roll a batch I mix up about 1 or 2 tsps of the powder with enough water to get it liquidy but not loose runny, almost a honey like consistency...but then I started getting mold in it if i didnt use it within a short period 4 days to a week. So, knowing that raw natural honey does not support mold and naturally adds a sweet taste to the glue, I started adding a 1/2 tsp to my glue batch...I backed off the water part a little to offset the amount of honey I add ,mix it up until its really thick then nuke it in the microwave for about 6-8 seconds , it'll get a little foamy ,but stir it around a bit then let it cool off to a nice stiff jello substance,then its ready to use. The glue isn't nearly as wet as I used to make , making it quicker to smoke afterwards . Just a little finger smoosh of it and dab the flag and cap .

 

[juan carlos]

with xanthan use a lot less powder than you think you would...as mentioned i put about 1/2 teaspoon in an ounce of water and stirred. by the time i was done wrapping 10 cigars, i had an ounce of pudding in the container. next time i'll try about a 1/10 of a teaspoon in oz of water and see what happens. I'd like it to stay more liquid, it gelled up quickly at that first try.
If you get the same results as me, i'd say that 21 packets you have will be close to a lifetime supply! the pound i have will definitely outlast me. i'd guess that 1/2 teaspoon would have done a few hundred cigars if i had mixed it with significantly more water.

 

[Birage]

So far, guar gum works the best for me, and is cheaper to use than all the others, takes a minuscule amount in water to make a paste. A few ounces has lasted me several years, I may buy new stuff soon just because I don't know if time will cause it to degrade, and then my stock will be fresher. Tragacanth is one I haven't used, and I will probably only use it if I have issues with the guar gum, but so far have not. I notice no off flavors either with the guar gum, however, I haven't noticed any off flavors with any other glues either.

 

[TravisNTexas]

I found this one on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Tandy-Leather-Eco-Flo-Tragacanth-4-4oz/dp/B003BCUYK0 .It's 4 .4 oz for the same money as the 2.7 oz from LorAnn and it's Amazon Prime so you don't have to pay the $5 shipping.I am concerned that the LorAnn may be food grade and this one might not be. Anybody have any idea?

 

[waikikigun]

Don't buy that stuff, man. I bought a bottle of that and it has an intense chemical smell to it. You could huff the jar (it really smells like airplane glue) but otherwise it's useless.

I found this one on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Tandy-Leather-Eco-Flo-Tragacanth-4-4oz/dp/B003BCUYK0 .It's 4 .4 oz for the same money as the 2.7 oz from LorAnn and it's Amazon Prime so you don't have to pay the $5 shipping.I am concerned that the LorAnn may be food grade and this one might not be. Anybody have any idea?

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I've used Gum Tragacanth before and it was no different than Xanthan gum. I used the powder and mixed it with water. The problem with a lot of these cheap chemicals is that they are coming from China and the Chinese don't care about quality/purity. Besides, I don't think I'd order anything from Tandy Leather Company that I intend to consume.

 

[Gdaddy]

I found this one on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Tandy-Leather-Eco-Flo-Tragacanth-4-4oz/dp/B003BCUYK0 .It's 4 .4 oz for the same money as the 2.7 oz from LorAnn and it's Amazon Prime so you don't have to pay the $5 shipping.I am concerned that the LorAnn may be food grade and this one might not be. Anybody have any idea?

Wiakikigun is right. It's a milky liquid. The MSDS for it and it says its made of xanath gum, water, and pine oil. NOT good.

You want the powder in the jar as shown. The price is cheap considering it will last for a long time if used correctly. Mix with DW in small amounts that will be used for one day of rolling. If you run short just mix a little more. I use my finger to mix into a paste/gel the size of my thumb nail. Easy breezy. I've been using it for almost a year and still have 3/4 of the jar left.

 

[Gdaddy]

On the surface the different gums are very similar in that they are colorless, odorless and tasteless. On the surface they look and seem to perform similarly. (The exception is pectin that I taste as extremely bitter.)

The difference is in the strength of the glue and how well it holds the cap in place. (10 times the strength of gum Arabic) The cell structure of Tragacanth makes a strong bond and has been used successfully by professionals for decades.

 

[webmost]

Moderators, please make this a sticky topic.

Thank you.

 

[MarcL]

I like this stuff. Gum Tragacanth, no bad smell or taste, a little goes a long way.

I'll take a half of teaspoon or so, to an once or so of distilled water and, bring it to a boil slowly in the microwave. stirring before and throughout boiling.

It only takes about 50 seconds or so.

I really need to make an exact recipe. I always just kinda mess with it.

This makes a thick paste that, I'll need to add a few drops of water to.

I'll cool it in the refrigerator before and after use.
It will thicken when cooled. and will thin out a little at room temperature.

And will need to ad water when it sits in the open air for too long.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gum-Tragaca...66685ab&pid=100011&rk=1&rkt=1&sd=230557002789

The recipe I came up with is 8 to 1 parts. that is, 1/2 teaspoon tragacanth powder and 4 teaspoons of distilled water. What I'll do is, using a 2 cup measuring cup, add the ingredients together and, with a stainless steel spatula work out the lumps before heating in the microwave for 40 or so seconds folding 2 or 3 times in between.

I will place the measuring cup on an ice pack and stir it to cool it some before putting it in a small jar. this comes out pretty thick like paste or polish. when in use, it dries fairly quickly. A half of drop of water is enough to bring it back if I leave the cap off for to long but, I tend to have a damp cloth on hand so, I use that instead if I'll need any dampening. I will keep it in the refrigerator when not in use.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Moderators, please make this a sticky topic.

Thank you.

I see what you did there...

 

[TravisNTexas]

Harley cracked me up again ! If figures that the leather products have pine oil in them and not just the gum t. Not sure what the gum T does for leather, but the pine oil alone will make it shine! Now pine oil on a cigar, no thanks!

 

[hawk45]

I found this one on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Tandy-Leather-Eco-Flo-Tragacanth-4-4oz/dp/B003BCUYK0 .It's 4 .4 oz for the same money as the 2.7 oz from LorAnn and it's Amazon Prime so you don't have to pay the $5 shipping.I am concerned that the LorAnn may be food grade and this one might not be. Anybody have any idea?

I use that on leather work when doing my knife making. I don't think it's food grade.

 

[Cigar]

I know this thread is very old..but wondering what glue did most of you find best of all the different ones to choose from?

 

[Smokin Harley]

I still use fruit pectin but I mix it with water 50/50 with raw honey . zap it in the microwave for a few seconds until it gets liquid then stir while it cools then it turns into like a half set loose jello . Someday I'm sure I'll get some Gum Tragacanth . I can only do things so long before I finally do it a "traditional" way.

 

[ArizonaDave]

I still use fruit pectin but I mix it with water 50/50 with raw honey . zap it in the microwave for a few seconds until it gets liquid then stir while it cools then it turns into like a half set loose jello . Someday I'm sure I'll get some Gum Tragacanth . I can only do things so long before I finally do it a "traditional" way.

I'm not sure what WLT carries as far as glue, but I like it.
Harley, I'll send you some of what I carry. Just mix it with a little water, and put it in the fridg. It comes out sticky like honey (have a wet towel handy). It's gum Arabic (Acacia fiber, same thing). You may hate it, and that's ok, or you may like it. I like fruit pectin IF it's the "no acid" kind. The kind with the acid seems to sour on me in the humi, unless you smoke them without rest.

 

[Smokin Harley]

sounds good Dave. I haven't looked at my pectin to notice if its acid free or not. I guess I never knew there was a choice. Now you have me wondering ...

 

[waikikigun]

Gum bermocoll.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...TF8&condition=all&qid=1451248561&sr=8-1-fkmr0

 

[Ben Brand]

I still use fruit pectin but I mix it with water 50/50 with raw honey . zap it in the microwave for a few seconds until it gets liquid then stir while it cools then it turns into like a half set loose jello . Someday I'm sure I'll get some Gum Tragacanth . I can only do things so long before I finally do it a "traditional" way.

Thanks for that Harley, I also use pectin, never with honey, tried it with molasses, will give the honey a go.