The need to measure the winding process of a roll of paper or plastic film is critical to the quality of the finished product. The Smith Needle test or Smith Roll Tightness tester was developed to measure the tightness or hardness of a wound roll structure of paper, paper board or plastic film. The Smith Roll Tightness Tester is a hand-held device which measures the force required to penetrate a needle between the wraps of a wound roll to a maximum depth of 7mm. A series of measurements are taken between the center core and outer edge of the roll structure. A force gauge based on Smith units measures the frictional force to penetrate and separate the individual layers providing an edge tightness profile.