How to Make a Heart-Shaped Joint Filter

Crutch designs have taken leaps and bounds forward over the past years. A heart-shaped joint filter is a cool, easy trick that you can learn to impress your stoner friends while providing your joint stability, ensuring you don’t suck herbs right to your mouth by accident. 

This unique filter design is slightly more challenging than the classic W, but nothing that a real stoner engineer can’t do. Keep on reading to find out how to make a heart-shaped joint filter in five easy steps. 

• 1 Filter tip or any crutch material, such as a cardboard or business card 
• 1 skewer
• 1 Pin

First, begin to fold back about 1cm of the end of the filter paper. Do it like you were rolling a standard, circular filter. In case you don't have any filter tips, create your own filter by cutting a small rectangular shape of your chosen crutch material. You can use thin cardboard, stiff paper, or even a business card. Keep in mind that painted cardboards can be toxic when exposed to heat.

Use the skewer to roll the filter paper around a little on either side of the fold, creating small arcs on both sides. These are going to form the top of the heart.  Then, with the help of a pin or needle, push the crutch's inner layer down to the middle. 

Now, fold the end down to complete the heart shape. Start rolling the crutch using your thumb and forefinger to create a circle around the heart. 

Keep rolling the rest of the filter material around the heart, the same way as the standard “W” filter. Continue moving and squeezing the filter until the material stays rolled up on its own.

If the top part of your heart collapsed at any point, don’t panic. With the help of a pin or needle, simply push the arcs into the right shape again. 

To secure the crutch and hold its shape you can optionally cut off the sticky part of a rolling paper and use it to wrap it around the filter joint. This way, you can properly save your new filter to use later. 

Congratulations! Now all you have to do is roll a fresh joint around it. It might take a few tries before making a decent heart-shaped joint filter, but this design deserves you to give it a try.