A Cut Above

At long last, a post about cutting cigars!  At the request of several people, I will now take the time to give a little background on common cigar cutting methodology and some of the benefits and drawbacks of each method.  When cutting a cigar, there are essentially two things you want to consider: ensuring proper air flow; maintaining the integrity of the cap.

The way you cut a cigar is almost directly related to the draw once you start smoking.  If you cut too much off, your draw will be really light and the cigar may smoke hot or you'll draw too much smoke.  If you don't cut enough off, the opposite is true.  To be honest, nothing impairs my enjoyment of a cigar like a draw that is too tight.  If I have to go blue in the face to get any smoke from a cigar, I'm generally not a happy camper.  

On to the second consideration: the cap.  For those who may not be familiar with cigar anatomy, the cap is the part of the cigar that you put your mouth on, and it keeps the cigar from unraveling.  If you accidentally cut the cap off, you'll notice that the wrapper will start to peel off or flake.  This can be really unpleasant, especially if the whole cigar starts to fall apart.  The cap is usually easy enough to identify and you want to make sure that when you cut into it that you leave some behind to keep the cigar together.  You also want to avoid squishing the cap, by using a cutter that is appropriate to the individual stick you are smoking. Certain cigars, such as those that are box pressed, are not round, and as such using a rounded cutter would likely cause the cap to deform slightly, and so a different cutting method may be more appropriate. Some oft used cutting methods are detailed below.

To start, one of the most common methods of cutting a cigar is by using a straight guillotine cutter.  These cutters can be either single or double bladed, and consist of a razor blade making a straight cut across the cap.  These cutters tend to give decent air flow and can be used to cut most cigars including tapered cigar sizes such  as a torpedo.  Some double guillotine cutters, such as the one shown below, have rounded razor edges and as such aren't easily sharpened, nor are they ideal for square or box pressed sticks. 

Another common cutter is the wedge-cut or V-Cut.  This cutter takes a "V" shaped slice out of the cigar while keeping the cap intact.  Wedge cuts tend to allow for more airflow and the controlled depth of the cut makes taking the cap off nearly impossible.  Wedge cuts can be used to cut a box pressed cigars if they are of small enough ring-gauge, although other methods may be preferable. 

The last method I'll detail here is the punch method.  A cigar punch is inserted into the cap of the cigar, and it makes a small hole in center of the cap.  Multiple or overlapping holes can be made on larger sticks for increased airflow if necessary.  This is, in my opinion, the ideal method for cutting box pressed cigars, because it keeps the cap from being deformed and allows for a more customized draw. 

Source: famous-smoke.com

So there you have it, a short and sweet post on cigar cutting for those just getting their feet wet in the world of fine tobacco.  Enjoy your smokes!