Roach clip
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A roach clip is a clip, or holder, that is attached to a cigarette (usually a marijuana cigarette). Its purpose is to let the smoker smoke the last piece of the cigarette ("roach") without burning the lips or fingers, and to facilitate passing around the roach without dropping it. (See also the folk song La Cucaracha.)
[edit] Types
The classic, most familiar roach clip is the hemostat, a surgical tool resembling a lightweight needle-nose pliers with loop handles and a locking mechanism, originally intended to clamp blood vessels closed during surgery. Their size (usually four to six inches in length) and shape (available with straight or bent tip) make them ideal for holding the burning end of a marijuana cigarette to the lips without burning them. They are popular enough as "roach clips" to be sold at "head shops", purveyors of drug paraphernalia.
Another popular type of roach clip is the alligator clip. These are generally smaller in size (one to three inches in length) than hemostats, but feature a spring to hold onto the roach without any sustained effort on the part of the smoker.
The actual word "Roachclip" was granted as a registered trademark of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to Matthew Leitz on December 27, 2005. The official registered use is a "Toy roach with a clip attached so it may be worn as a pin or used as prank to scare a friend."
Some choose to go the makeshift route and use very common household items such as paperclips, tweezers and keys, often when the better alternatives listed above are unavailable. In outdoor settings, pine needles, twigs, or other items with the right flexibility can be employed. Some of these objects are flammable and care should be taken. A very simple roach clip (used widely in the 1960s) can be made by tearing the end off of a book of matches and tightly rolling the cardboard into a cylinder that can hold the joint all the way down to the very last toke of the roach, thereby making an advantageous use of every part. It is a sort of mock attempt to mimic a cigarette filter. This is most often termed a "crutch" and allows the entire joint to be smoked without worrying about burning any fingers (which can lead to accidentally dropping a 'hot' roach).
Most naturally fitting the bill as a roach "clip" is a real cigarette holder.
An Amish Clip is a wooden clothespin that takes on a secondary role similar to that of the roach clip; however, they are employed to hold the whole joint as well. The clips can be fabricated from any type of clothespin, except plastic, although non-pine wood is preferred. Some Amish clips are fashioned with Dremel tools to have a more ergonomic feel, sometimes making it easier for ones lips to create a seal. This clip's naming, since usage was already common, is believed to have originated in Beaumont, Texas and is considered locally to be the area's only drug culture contribution since Janis Joplin.
[edit] Alternatives
Some users prefer dovetail joints, which can completely eliminate the need for both the roach clip and the filter as holding devices. The dovetail joint has a flattened end that is curved slightly, usually between one and four centimeters. Although this joint-rolling style is mainly for aesthetic value, it also provides room for the smoker's fingers to hold the joint after most of it has already burned.
Alternatively, a buffer can be made by rolling another smokable material (most commonly tobacco) in the mouth-end of the joint to create what is, technically, a spliff. The use of tobacco in cannabis smoking is, however, contested in some circles and regions.
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