De-veining/stemming methods

[BristolBaccy]

Had a bit of a search around the FAQ, but nothing conclusive came up..

What's your preferred method for removing the main vein/stem and why?

As a newbie working through 8 kilos, I found that with medium-ish case leaves (my Burley & Oriental), pinching the stem at the tip & pulling up gives me minimal waste - it comes away like a zipper. Very neat.

Harder to do with overly-dry (my Virginia), but I see several 'how to' videos that use three-fingered force to rip down the leaf regardless of case.

I guess it depends on how many you have to get through..?

 

[furryfreek]

The main thing for me is simply bringing the leaf properly into case beforehand. By that I just mean being patient and waiting for the stems and veins to absorb moisture so they're reasonably flexible. The precise moisture level doesn't matter too much so long as it's over a certain threshold.

I can't say I've developed a fancy technique or anything. I just pinch a bit of stem out through the upper/flat side of the leaf near the tip, hold the stalk still with one hand and pull the leaf away at a fold with the other.

 

[cincydave]

I mainly use an Ulu Knife I bought as a souvenir in Alaska on a wooden cutting board. Very sharp and gives a nice clean cut.

 

[GrowleyMonster]

I mainly use an Ulu Knife I bought as a souvenir in Alaska on a wooden cutting board. Very sharp and gives a nice clean cut.

I cut mine, too. When I try to rip it out, it leaves a little bit of the stem fibers. I found a GOOD pizza wheel cutter to work pretty good and then when it started wearing out and getting wobbly, I ran across this, which I like better:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CD62S8T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I also use the Olfa cutter instead of a chaveta, as often as not. An ulu works pretty good as a chaveta, too, actually. I guess it's all about whether you like a handle or not.

One thing I decided early on, after learning the "official" and accepted way of doing things, is that there actually are very few rules, as long as you get a good smoke in the end.

 

[deluxestogie]

I believe that the late @MarcL used an OLFA rotary cutter, which seems to appear in many of his photos. I don't know if he used a 28mm or 45mm.

Bob

 

[burge]

I take scissors and scrape the pieces off the midrib. I take the top part of the leaf I want to shred cut that part of the rib and pull . I also have wire cutters that work that adjust to the thickness of the rib but I find it quicker by hand.

 

[burge]

I believe that the late @MarcL used an OLFA rotary cutter, which seems to appear in many of his photos. I don't know if he used a 28mm or 45mm.

Bob

Just finding out Marc passed away

 

[burge]

This is the colour I will shred while the black colour I won't

 

[Controlled Chaos]

Taking out the mid rib is quick and easy with a rotary cutter. I've used it for making rough cut shredded leaf but lately I've been using the table mounted hand shredder, likely soon to upgrade to the heavy duty hand shredder

 

[Laredo]

I pretty much strip the main stem as the OP does. Get it into a good case, turn the leaf so the bottom side is up (where the leaf veins are protruding more), a few inches away from the leaf tip, I pinch and pull the main stem. Usually comes out like a zipper. If the leaf is kind of trashy and busted up, I do the three finger pinch and rip off the lamina. I don’t get too much leaf left on the main stem.

I do all my processing in my 5x5x8 grow tent where I have the humidity set to 69%. Some leaves need a higher case, so I keep a small spray bottle of RO water in the tent for those leaves. Give them a misting, go have a cigarette break, and comeback to work in the tent. It gets kind of steamy in there, but it works well.

I have processed 18 pounds of whole leaf using that method. If the leaf was not compressed in bails, it takes me about 30 minutes to process a pound of tobacco. Takes me quite a bit longer when processing the Virginia Bright Leaf that I bought from LO. That stuff comes from the farmer in compressed bails, and man, some of those leaves are quite the puzzle to get unfolded and spread out. It took me about 30 hours to process 12 pounds of the compressed bright leaf. It was a bit of a chore. Lol.

On edit: here is a picture of the stems. A bit of leaf left on some, but not much. This is a bin that has the stems from the 18 pounds of tobacco mentioned earlier.

 

[burge]

At the end I take kitchen scissors to scrape the remailing leaf off the vein. At least with the vrginia and get approx on a pound and extra 20 cigs. Also the scrapings will taste a little different and add some flavour.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I leave it in. I cut across the ribs so they are just small little bits. If they're really thick and I am at home with lots of time, I might even roll them flat.