Arguably essential to rolling the perfect joint, a crutch (or filter or tip) adds stability, helps you avoid burning your fingers, creates better airflow, and prevents cannabis from falling directly into your mouth. Plus, a crutch is surprisingly easy to make—once you’ve got the method down, it will only add a few extra seconds to your process.
Here is a step-by-step process to level-up your abilities by making a perfect crutch and roll yourself a stellar joint:
SUPPLIES NEEDED
- Cannabis
- Rolling Papers
- Crutch
- Grinder (optional)
- Pen, or similar (optional)
STEP ONE: GRIND CANNABIS
To avoid sticky hands, a grinder is key and something we definitely recommend. That said, if you don’t have a grinder, you can certainly use your hands, scissors, etc.—as long as the cannabis is adequately dried, it should be fairly easy to break down.
STEP TWO: MAKE CRUTCH
You can make a crutch with just about anything. Business cards have been historically popular for this purpose, index cards also work well, and now many joint papers include crutch materials in their packaging. Here’s what you do:
- A. TEAR Evenly tear off a piece of cardstock or index card paper at roughly half an inch wide. (Note: if you’re using longer papers, you might want to increase to about three-forths of an inch.) This is by eye; no need to pull out a ruler. We recommend folding a crease before you rip the paper, so the tear is as even as possible.
- B. FOLD Starting at one end, fold the paper into a zig-zag shape, or “M” shape. In other words, make four creases, folding back-to-front, until the paper looks like an M. You’ll want to make sure there is enough length remaining for wrapping in the next step. If there isn’t enough, unfold and try making the zig-zag smaller.
- C. WRAP Wrap the remaining length of paper around the zig-zag shape, essentially surrounding it with a circle. Done!
STEP THREE: FILL JOINT
Place your newly made crutch at the end of the rolling paper. Fill the paper with about half a gram to one gram of ground cannabis, and evenly disperse along the inner crease. Using your fingers, start to shape the joint.
STEP FOUR: PACK JOINT
It’s time to start rolling! Catch the bottom edge of the paper in the cannabis, and roll to secure the cannabis inside. Pinching the paper between your fingers, roll it back and forth.
STEP FIVE: ROLL JOINT
Take the non-glued side of your rolling paper and tuck it into the roll. Using just a small amount of moisture and starting at the crutch end of the joint, tack down the glued edge. Work your way down the rest of the joint, creating a seam and sealing as you go.
STEP SIX: FINISH JOINT
Last, pack the end of the joint using a pen (or other similarly shaped item). This ensures an even burn, and just an overall better experience. If you aren’t going to spark the joint right away, twist the tip to close.
STEP SEVEN: ENJOY
What we’ve all been waiting for! Spark that joint, sit back, and relax. Once you have this method down, the world is your oyster. Feel free to experiment and find the perfect joint rolling method for you.