Trimming: do you snip guard leaves before or after drying?

Hey guys, so I started with my first grow by trimming completely before hanging them to dry. Since then I've started to just trim the fan leaves and any leaf with a long petiole (or at least a partially exposed petiole) and have been leaving the guard leaves on until after it dries. I swear it seems like it keeps its smell and holds flavor better this way. I was wondering what everyone else did, or what their school of thought was on the subject.

I trim off anything without trichomes, leaving me with close trim that wraps around the buds as it dries...protecting it from light and regulating the moisture loss, keeping in the aromas, allowing it to happen slower thus increasing the taste and reducing harshness.
Then I snip the buds off the stalk when the stem snaps but there is still enough moisture to keep the stem somewhat intact. Some people will disagree and say to wait until it snaps cleanly...this is too dry for me to start a proper curing process. It also depends on your bud density, I tend to grow sativas so they dry quicker.

It is a pain in the ass to do but...if you are able to trim and dry the whole plant without breaking it down into smaller pieces, do it. This seems to help the finished product dry a bit more evenly and slowly. Its also more difficult since you cant work with smaller sections....

when dried adequately....then trim the remaining leaf and use it to make oil or your preferred concentrate.

I do 2 passes after I cut off a branch. The first pass is just fan leaves and they go into the compost.. the second is sheared right up to the bud and the cuttings are kept for oil. I trim mine close even though it's really dry here because I hate shaggy looking weed. My RH is usually 20, so I'm extra careful slowing down the drying process. I stretch it out to a good week to get down to 65% RH before putting it in jars.

Glaucoma said:

I do 2 passes after I cut off a branch. The first pass is just fan leaves and they go into the compost.. the second is sheared right up to the bud and the cuttings are kept for oil. I trim mine close even though it's really dry here because I hate shaggy looking weed. My RH is usually 20, so I'm extra careful slowing down the drying process. I stretch it out to a good week to get down to 65% RH before putting it in jars.

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pretty much how I do it...I've tried the smoke with leaving on more sugar leaf but I think it taste to "green"....
anymore I trim off the sugar leaf on the lower more popcorn type buds and don't bother so much with those fat-assed large top colas where the bud sorta hides those small leaflets