Levi Gross
Well-Known Member
I just got this in the mail today, at a very hefty price. Has anyone else got one? I am going to make a brick and try it this evening.
Cuthof Swedish Tobacco Shredder
- Thread starter Levi Gross
- Start date
- Status
Levi Gross
Well-Known Member
I made my brick and let it set for two hours. When I got back on here to post a picture of the progress I noticed I had never posted the first post. Anyway here it is. It’s going to take a little tweaking. It makes an almost shag like cut.
Flying Dutchman pipe tobacco used to sport a fine shred like that. It's probably ideal for cigarette stuffing.
Bob
Bob
Levi Gross
Well-Known Member
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
That's cool. Fastest way to shred a plug. Do you have to wet the tobacco first? How durable do you think it will be?
Orson Carte
Well-Known Member
Only because you asked, okay ...
I've got one of these - I know it intimately, and hate every facet of it.
If anyone asked me what I think of it I'd tell them, honestly, it's a complete waste of money - overpriced, badly designed and essentially useless after the first pound or two goes through it.
When starting any new 'hobby', in the absence of good advice it's easy to make plenty of mistakes when buying the necessary equipment. Buying this junky Swedish plastic 'thing' probably stands as my biggest blunder.
I've got one of these - I know it intimately, and hate every facet of it.
If anyone asked me what I think of it I'd tell them, honestly, it's a complete waste of money - overpriced, badly designed and essentially useless after the first pound or two goes through it.
When starting any new 'hobby', in the absence of good advice it's easy to make plenty of mistakes when buying the necessary equipment. Buying this junky Swedish plastic 'thing' probably stands as my biggest blunder.
unfortunately I agree with the previous speaker. had I known that you wanted one, you could have my as a thanks for the seeds and the new testament you sent me Levi. I don't like it and use other stuff the few times I cut my tobacco.
The company Cuthof does not exist after they have been losing a conflict with the Swedish tax authorities...
Unfortunately because even this is not something for me, Sweden needs companies that push down the prices..
So even if you perhaps will not be happy with it you can keep it and hope it one day will be something for colectors..
Levi Gross
Well-Known Member
Yes the tobacco has to be pretty wet I shared a video of Cuthof doing a demo. At this point I am not really sure about it.
Levi Gross
Well-Known Member
@Hasse SWE and @Orson Carte
I wish that I would have consulted with my fellow tobacco men before making this purchase. My wife hates this machine and we only used it once. I think that it will be good for making oral snuff as it makes a shred just like the American tobacco Sloan. I’m not sure about it yet. I’m wondering how well it will do my Perique and my Latakia. My two toughest Tobacco to shred without turning to dust or bending the combs in my other shredder
I wish that I would have consulted with my fellow tobacco men before making this purchase. My wife hates this machine and we only used it once. I think that it will be good for making oral snuff as it makes a shred just like the American tobacco Sloan. I’m not sure about it yet. I’m wondering how well it will do my Perique and my Latakia. My two toughest Tobacco to shred without turning to dust or bending the combs in my other shredder
Levi Perique, hum I think it can make it with good result. You can easily connect it to a drilling machine and drive slowly. It saves a lot of force in the arms. I'll check if I find the mail where I was recommended to buy this. then I can ask a satisfied customer. But I have hard times to find old mail in my mail boxes. And in this case it can have been written on some of all forums I have been member at..However, I have seen it as a very bad buy. But cuthof cigarett roller are something my wife loves mutch more.. so the company had somthing good.. bad tobacco seed, bad shredder mashine but good cigarett stuff.
I really hope you will find some useful thing for it..
I really hope you will find some useful thing for it..
A common problem with many of the tobacco shredders introduced around 2010, and for a few years after that, is that they were not self-cleaning, and were indeed difficult to manually clean. Some folks have used various spirits (vodka, etc.) to clean such shredders immediately after each use, and felt that they performed better for longer.
The Cuthof seems to have been designed from the concept of a common cheese grater from 50 years ago. If the cutting drum is metal, then frequent, thorough cleaning and perhaps lightly lubricating the metal with a cooking spray (like PAM with canola) may keep it going for much longer.
The only shred that I've seen that fine is from a commercial Japanese guillotine knife (with one side of the blade--toward the tobacco block--perfectly flat, and only the opposite edge sharpened), made of the finest Japanese culinary steel.
If you decide the Cuthof is not to your liking for tobacco shred, try using it for an ultra-fine cheddar shred.
Bob
The Cuthof seems to have been designed from the concept of a common cheese grater from 50 years ago. If the cutting drum is metal, then frequent, thorough cleaning and perhaps lightly lubricating the metal with a cooking spray (like PAM with canola) may keep it going for much longer.
The only shred that I've seen that fine is from a commercial Japanese guillotine knife (with one side of the blade--toward the tobacco block--perfectly flat, and only the opposite edge sharpened), made of the finest Japanese culinary steel.
If you decide the Cuthof is not to your liking for tobacco shred, try using it for an ultra-fine cheddar shred.
Bob
Levi Gross
Well-Known Member
That is one thing I don’t like about it. The blades were gummed up immediately and I tried to clean it with alcohol. The alcohol did no service or magic for me. My wife is up my rear end. Oh the trials of finding a machine that will work
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
I suspect that the video only looks like a pipe tobacco style brick. The plug maker they sell doesn't look like it would be capable of the kind of concussion capable bricks that I make, and have bought from commercial pipe tobacco makers. It's like a hand turning allen key apparatus.
So I wouldn't wet it too much. I would also try to keep the bricks to a more reasonable density.
I never clean my cheapo hand crank shredder. I let it dry out between shreddings. Before the next batch I give it a good dozen turns and a major portion of the crusted on gum comes off.
So I wouldn't wet it too much. I would also try to keep the bricks to a more reasonable density.
I never clean my cheapo hand crank shredder. I let it dry out between shreddings. Before the next batch I give it a good dozen turns and a major portion of the crusted on gum comes off.
Levi,
Try shredding a folded mass of white paper, to clean it. If needed, try moist white paper followed by dry white paper.
I think CV makes a good point. A solidly pressed block should shred in low case.
Bob
Try shredding a folded mass of white paper, to clean it. If needed, try moist white paper followed by dry white paper.
I think CV makes a good point. A solidly pressed block should shred in low case.
Bob
Levi Gross
Well-Known Member
I do the same thing with my cheep shredder ones it dries out a few turns and it’s all clear. I have watched the video several times trying to judge the density of the plug.
Orson Carte
Well-Known Member
Firstly, Levi, I'm sorry to have been the one to deliver the bad news. Take some comfort though, in the knowledge that I also made the same mistake in buying one of these damned things.
Part of the 'mechanism' is a plastic 'slide', secured by the wing-nut on the front. I think that this is supposed to regulate the width of the cut as the blade makes its way through the block.
However, (at least on my 'machine') the plate isn't in any way adjustable and the only way to change the thickness of the shred is to push the pressed block of tobacco either harder or softer.
The 'theory' is that the rotating blades only 'miss' the slide by the width of the desired shred.
The major difficulty lies with the cutting blades; there are two and they are mounted so they curve around the drum. These have to be kept dead-tight, but the primitive way this is done (with three small threaded screws) makes this very difficult to achieve. They are also held in a curved shape by a small plastic 'protrusion' in the middle of the drum (let's call it a 'spigot') - and this is where the big problems start.
After a very short time these spigots simply wear out/off. They have to be small (not much thicker than the blade) in order to have clearance with that plastic 'slide'. So, they don't last long. And once they've gone the blade can move as it cuts. When this happens tobacco traps itself between the blade and the drum. This expands the blade. And when the blade is expanded enough by trapped tobacco it contacts the plastic 'slide' and it starts shaving the slide! If the contact is too great it will simply jam the whole thing and you won't be able to wind it at all.
This happens before you even realise it.
And having tried it, I definitely don't recommend mixing plastic with tobacco if you're in pursuit of the perfect blend.
Levi, it will work okay for a while. But keep an eye on the state of those spigots. If you take the blades off (and sooner or later you'll need to) make sure they go back dead-tight.
It is definitely an advantage to have the block quite moist. If anything feels a bit different as you wind it, stop and check it out. This is the whole difficulty with the damned thing - it's not user-friendly and there's just too much to think about.
Part of the 'mechanism' is a plastic 'slide', secured by the wing-nut on the front. I think that this is supposed to regulate the width of the cut as the blade makes its way through the block.
However, (at least on my 'machine') the plate isn't in any way adjustable and the only way to change the thickness of the shred is to push the pressed block of tobacco either harder or softer.
The 'theory' is that the rotating blades only 'miss' the slide by the width of the desired shred.
The major difficulty lies with the cutting blades; there are two and they are mounted so they curve around the drum. These have to be kept dead-tight, but the primitive way this is done (with three small threaded screws) makes this very difficult to achieve. They are also held in a curved shape by a small plastic 'protrusion' in the middle of the drum (let's call it a 'spigot') - and this is where the big problems start.
After a very short time these spigots simply wear out/off. They have to be small (not much thicker than the blade) in order to have clearance with that plastic 'slide'. So, they don't last long. And once they've gone the blade can move as it cuts. When this happens tobacco traps itself between the blade and the drum. This expands the blade. And when the blade is expanded enough by trapped tobacco it contacts the plastic 'slide' and it starts shaving the slide! If the contact is too great it will simply jam the whole thing and you won't be able to wind it at all.
This happens before you even realise it.
And having tried it, I definitely don't recommend mixing plastic with tobacco if you're in pursuit of the perfect blend.
Levi, it will work okay for a while. But keep an eye on the state of those spigots. If you take the blades off (and sooner or later you'll need to) make sure they go back dead-tight.
It is definitely an advantage to have the block quite moist. If anything feels a bit different as you wind it, stop and check it out. This is the whole difficulty with the damned thing - it's not user-friendly and there's just too much to think about.
Levi Gross
Well-Known Member
For the price I was expecting a steel machine and drum... they never showed the curved blades. Had they done so I would have scratched it immediately. I was expecting the blade to be fixed straight across the drum. As soon as I got it out of the box I took it all apart and the first thing I noticed was those little plastic nipples in the center of the blades. Then I thought to myself yep this things going to crap on me in a week and my wife is going to kick my ass. The plate in the side of mine is also non adjustable and I really dislike that. I love my hobby and my fine Tobacco but I don’t want to be a slave to tobacco milling. I am just trying to get a good quality product and pick up on my production. I love my budget manual shredding machine from WLT but it just can’t handle the volume and the density of some of the tobacco I am trying to push through it. My top 3 toughest leaves for shredding is Latakia, Perique and Fire Cured.
I’m going to play with it and give it hell but I don’t see this machine lasting long.
I most say that I am sorry to hear that I ain't alone to hate this mashine.. From the start I actually was thinking that my dark (often with rubber feeling) thicker tobacco was the biggest problem for the mashine. And it still can bee one of the problem because Also N.Rustica can have little more rubber feeling (hope you understand me).
I have trying to find my mashine but I or my wife most have been moving it.. I can tell you how it shall work but mine did not make me happy (as I already have told you).
I have been thinking about Perique and to wet tobacco is close to impose to get a good result with in a meat grinder.. so.. hum..
I have trying to find my mashine but I or my wife most have been moving it.. I can tell you how it shall work but mine did not make me happy (as I already have told you).
I have been thinking about Perique and to wet tobacco is close to impose to get a good result with in a meat grinder.. so.. hum..
Levi Gross
Well-Known Member
I don’t hate it
I don’t hate it yet but probably will in about 48 hours. There were just to many noticeable design flaws right from unboxing. I think the machine itself can be redesigned as for the drum and cutting blades but will it really be worth the time and effort...
Orson Carte
Well-Known Member
In my opinion, for the small-time tobacco hobbyist you really can't go past something like the one offered on this site for $125. https://www.wholeleaftobacco.com/product/new-heavy-duty-shredder/
These aren't perfect but are certainly more trouble-free than the 'Cuthof'.
Personally, I have four like this and the beauty of these is that spare parts are readily available and when you renew the only things that can wear-out (the rollers, the combs and bushes/bearings, at a cost of around $50) you have a 'like-new' machine.
Those small 'budget shredders' similar to this seem to have quite a limited life, though you can also buy parts for these too.
Although this continues to work, with a little maintenance, very well for me I nowadays use a 'slicer' that a friend and myself built along these lines.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRyfuk0ydrU&t=67s
It certainly didn't cost the 'thousands of dollars' declared in the video and the beauty of it is that with my whole-leaf tobacco I lose nothing to waste. I press the stems into a block and shred them, gaining about an extra 30% of what would normally be wasted - and the stems are actually more aromatic than the leaf. I then put the shredded stem once through the shredder (shown) and mix it with the shredded leaf.
These aren't perfect but are certainly more trouble-free than the 'Cuthof'.
Personally, I have four like this and the beauty of these is that spare parts are readily available and when you renew the only things that can wear-out (the rollers, the combs and bushes/bearings, at a cost of around $50) you have a 'like-new' machine.
Those small 'budget shredders' similar to this seem to have quite a limited life, though you can also buy parts for these too.
Although this continues to work, with a little maintenance, very well for me I nowadays use a 'slicer' that a friend and myself built along these lines.
It certainly didn't cost the 'thousands of dollars' declared in the video and the beauty of it is that with my whole-leaf tobacco I lose nothing to waste. I press the stems into a block and shred them, gaining about an extra 30% of what would normally be wasted - and the stems are actually more aromatic than the leaf. I then put the shredded stem once through the shredder (shown) and mix it with the shredded leaf.
- Status
