Smokers Corner

A Big Debate - The Proper Cutting of Your Cigar

We all have our favorite way of snipping the ends of our cigars. Is there really a right way or wrong way? Does one method over another provide better smoking characteristics? Or is it all snobbery and just an upgrade from biting the end off the cigar like western heroes of an age gone by once did? I certainly have my preferred manner of cutting my cigars, but does it really matter? So what are the advantages of one method over another?

Some of the most common ways to cut your cigars are:

Cigar Scissors – Provides a clean cut and is an excellent method of cutting any cigar of almost any ring gauge. The scissors probably provide the most clean, uniform cut of all the cutting methods. Even the cheap ones seem to be rather well made. This is an excellent all-around cutter if your cigar habits are varied in regard to several shapes and ring gauges.

Guillotine Cutters – Most common method of cutting cigars. Many are made cheap and disposable and really dull quite quickly. A quality guillotine will last you years. Ideal for most all cigars, but may have a hole too small for larger ring gauge cigars. If you are fond of large diameter cigars then make sure the cutter is made to accommodate your preferred ring gauges.

Cigar Punch – Punches come in two styles, a ring punch and a pin punch. The ring punch (also known as the tube punch) is a tube with one end beveled razor sharp and is pushed into the end of a cigar. Benefits to this method include the formation of a clean uniform hole and limited filler on the tongue during the smoke. The pin punch (or nail punch) is simply solid piece of metal tapering to a point and driven into the end of the cigar to create a simple hole. A drawback to all punching methods is the compression of the filler (less with the ring punch). This may lead to a harder draw. Use of the ring punch may not be desired on smaller ring gauge cigars or torpedo designs. A very loosely filled/wrapped cigar may actually see better smoking characteristics with the punching methods.

V-Cutter – The idea behind the V-cutter is to provide more surface area to draw through. Those who like the V-cut swear by this cut. There is probably some merit to using this cut on small ring gauge cigars to increase the air flow through the cigar. One note of caution, if you are going to use this type of cutter get a good one. Cheap V-cutters will damage the end of your cigar.

Regardless of the type of cutting method you prefer remember not to cut below the cap of the cigar. The cap is there to prevent the unraveling of the tobacco. If you have never noticed the cap, head to your humidor and pick a cigar. Look closely to the wrapped end and you will see a small tip wrap known as the cap.