Cigar Cutters

Cutting your cigar tip has evolved quite a bit from the "old days" when some smokers would just bite off the tip.  In old movies, they were more creative, using things like knives to get than nice v in the cigar and nails to pierce the smoking end of the cigar.  But that just won't do in the 21st Century.

A bad cut will ruin a cigar, and even if you are not a cigar aficionado you are going to want to make a clean cut.  Biting off the end will just make for a ragged smoking end, and the cigar will not burn down evenly.

There are plenty of brands out there like Xikar, Visol, Patel and Wolf. They range in price from very inexpensive (10 bucks) to extremely high end, like the Davidoff cutter pictured above (around $295).  So, have a look at the cigar cutters below and decide which one is right for you.

Although most cigars now come with one capped end (the end that needs to be cut) and one straight cut end, some are produced with both ends cut or both ends twisted closed.

There are four basic types of cigar cutters:

• Guillotine (or straight cut) -- This is the most common type of cutter. Because it will make a cleaner cut, a "double blade" guillotine is preferred by many cigar smokers.
• Punch cut -- There are three types of punch cutters: bullet punch, Havana punch, and multi-punch, but they all do basically the same thing -- punch a hole in the smoking end of your cigar.  Some aficionado don't like these cutters because they believe the smaller hole that is produced by these cutters don't allow enough smoke to be drawn and the hole is more easily obstructed with saliva or tobacco build-up.
• Scissor cut -- This is similar to the Guillotine cutter, but they are shaped like scissors and are more expensive because they are made from surgical quality steel.
• V-cut (a.k.a. notch cut, cat's eye, wedge cut, English cut) -- This is just what it sounds like.  A cutter that slices a "v" shape into the cap.  While this is a very popular choice, a cheap v cutter can ruin the cigar by producing a sloppy cut -- which is the same result you'd get from biting off the cap...an uneven burn.

A quick word of caution:  cigar cutters are extemely sharp, so handle with caution to avoid injuring yourself.

 

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Here's a good video explaining the various types of cigar cutters.  He does do a little sales pitch at the end, but I recommend getting a cigar cutter from the above links as they have a MUCH wider selection than this smaller store carries.