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Cigar cutter

TexLaw

Fussy Evil Genius
What you're hearing, here, is that it doesn't make a whole lot of difference what you wind up with. The only exception is that a punch is somewhat limited in what it's good for.

To be very honest, even the keychain throw-aways aren't bad at all, as long as they cut cleanly, which just about all of them do.

Get something that feels good in your hand.
 
Aloha,

Xikar punch is the most compact way to go for all cigars. Placed on your keychain it is always ready. Xikar also means guaranteed for life.

To use a punch on a figurado just punch the side of the cigar close to the end. As you would an a chisel cigar. This will redirect the smoke to the top of your palate. Some claim that it intensifies the flavor of the cigar. I don't know about that but, it works.

Mahalo,
 
To use a punch on a figurado just punch the side of the cigar close to the end. As you would an a chisel cigar. This will redirect the smoke to the top of your palate. Some claim that it intensifies the flavor of the cigar. I don't know about that but, it works.

Doh! I never even thought of that when last confronted with a torpedo. I just compared the taper and the depth of my punch and gave up. On the up side, there is something cool about cutting Montecristo No2 with a straight razor.
 
An Opinel carbon steel folding knife works great too.

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Do any cigar smokers prefer a punch?

I like a punch. I currently have a punch that I had to remove from my key chain. It slips on and doesn't securely fit. If I shake the keys to say untangle them the punch will fall apart and I could loose them. It is off and now is stored near my humidor.
 

The Count of Merkur Cristo

B&B's Emperor of Emojis
ShaverGN:
If all else fails in your quest for a cutter...;

I once wrote, "I prepare my cigars by cutting a small hole in the cigar (thus preserving the cigar cap...but with Perfectos or Figurados vitola's...I use my teeth to 'snip' [i.e., using my incisors...like many people in/from Cuba], to 'snip' these formats), with my 14K small (CBJ engraved), cigar cutter".

But after reading June's 16 Cigaraficionado, I'm not the only one to use one's teeth. :001_rolle

In this very interesting article about José Orlando Padrón, who just happens to turn 90 Yrs (after nearly 52yrs as a 'Tobacco Man'),...one of the cigar world's greatest talents (and "Master of Tobacco") , [...]".

Awesome expose in which I'll quote a few passages:

Q. "What if you could get Cuban tobacco right now? Would you want to make a blend, some Cuban, some Nicaraguan?

A. That's the interesting part of the situation. If we''re able to get Cuban tobacco, you could make a 'all-Cuban Padrón', [and a] 'all-Nicaraguan Padrón' [...], and another that's a combination of the two"[...]. If we were given an opportunity to go back to the farms [in Cuba], we would go back".

Later on (confirming my suspicion that many Cubans use their teeth)...:

"[...] "in the early days, all the people who bought cigars were die-hrad Cubans. None of them used cigar cutters. None of them. They used their teeth.

One day I had American customer here who asked for a cigar cutter. There was a Cuban next to him [FONT=&amp]─[/FONT] I said ask him for a cigar cutter. The guy took [out] his dentures
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and showed them to him".
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Q. What about you, do you ever use a cigar cutter?

A. No! Never.

Q. Always your teeth?

A. Always.

Q. That's a lot of cigars you've cut with those teeth.

A. In Cuba, I used to smoke H. Upman No.4 [a corona].[...]".

Read Full Interview: http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show/id/An-Interview-With-Jose-Orlando-Padron-Chairman-Padron-Cigars-Inc_6195
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"Gentlemen", said the Count…as he entered…"will you return to the [smoking room]? You will find good cigars [in] the center table [humidor]”. "The Count of Monte Cristo"
 

nikonNUT

The "Peter Hathaway Capstick" of small game
Have a Xikar... Meh. Not what they were when they had German steel blades. My go to these days is my Cuban Crafter perfect cutter (fire and forget but it does require multiple snips with a torpedo/pyramides) or a punch...
 
I very very rarely smoke, but decided to have some cigars on hand for an infrequent splurge and for the guests. I'm looking a full-proof cigar cutter that would work well for a petit corona. Nothing too fancy, but not a keychain throw-away either.

Any recommendations?

If by foolproof you mean hard to screw up the cut. Then a V cut or cutter that the hole is closed on one side like the Cuban Crafter is the way to go. I have several Xikar's and love them, but you can definitely cut off too much of the cap with one of them. However you can always lay a cutter down on a flat surface, insert cigar into cutter, then make the cut with the cutter still flat on the surface. This is a foolproof way to make a good cut.
 
I bought an expensive Xicar guillotine cutter, but I find that I use the spring loaded scissor type that was a freebie in a sampler box most of the time. Works perfect, easy and I'm not worried about losing it. These are about $20, or if you buy a box of cigars, you can get them thrown in.

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That's what I use, especially since it was gifted to me. Great cutter & stylish. Double guillotine acting works well. Tried punch and v-cuts, and damaged to many caps, so went guillotine-works best for for me.
 
I use the cheap ones tobacconists sell for $2-3, as long as they are a guillotine with a razor blade. Nothing sharper than a razor blade, IMO.
 
I know a couple of guys recommend a Xikar V-Cut cutter. I recently bought one and a I am very disappointed with it. When I cut a size 60 band cigar it doesn't always cut deep enough. I haven't tried it with a smaller cigar but it does not seem to work well with a 60 band size.
Anyone else notice this?
 
Back in the mid 70's when I first started smoking cigars, I used to have my cutter my wooden matches and it was like some kind of ritual the lighting of a cigar. Well I gotta tell you that didn't last too long. I soon came to find that in the case of smoking a cigar the ends truly do justify the means. I started to use my pocket knife to make my cut on the cap. Fire it up with whatever I had handy at the time and just basically enjoy my cigar. Albeit back then I used to smoke on average 4 cigars a day. Now I smoke one and I more times than not spend more time "chewing" on them rather than actually smoking them. Just a view from the cheap seats....
 
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