Another essential step in the process of smoking a cigar is the cut… There are a lot of variables when it comes to cutting the head of a cigar. I know this may sound kind of odd to someone who is new to cigars but the further down the rabbit hole you get the more you will come to understand.
The first thing to consider is what type of cutter use. For the beginner I would suggest a simple guillotine cutter. This is the most basic and versatile of all the cigar cutters. The only limit to a guillotine cutter is a cigar’s ring size and if you prefer the larger ring size cigars they make specific guillotine cutters to handle them.
Most guillotine cutters are of the two finger variety. They can be made of a variety of materials from plastic to stainless steel and come in either a single or dual blade configuration.
Don’t Discount Cheap Plastic Cutters
While it may be easy to overlook a basic plastic guillotine cutter, these tend to be great for beginners. They are cheap, reliable and plentiful. Most cigar shops and online retailers have these available for just a couple of bucks.
Don’t get me wrong, I have other types of cutters like this stainless guillotine and even Xikars. And these are great cutters, but I always have a couple plastic ones laying around as backups or to take places with me in case I were to leave it behind.
Blades Matter
Another thing to consider is the number of blades the cutter has. Most of the cheaper, plastic guillotine will only have one blade. While this is sufficient and will work, the cutters with two blades are the ones to look for. The will proved a cleaner more effortless cut.
Also keep in mind that the blades on cutters will begin to dull with use. This may be faster with the cheaper plastic cutters. So either plan on keeping multiple cutters on hand or upgrading to a better quality cutter. One that I have found and really like is this fairly cheap stainless steel guillotine cutter is the Alaska Bear Cigar Cutter available on Amazon.
Like in the Movies
I know what some of you are thinking… “Do I really need a cutter? Can’t I just bit off the end?” I know that this is something you see some times in the movies, but it is a horrible idea. A good clean cut is vital to a good smoke.
If you bite off the end or try to cut it with a knife, chances are it will not be a good clean cut and the cigar will begin to come apart as you smoke it. Trying to enjoy a cigar that is coming apart in your mouth is not a fun experience and you will end up focusing more on picking the bits of tobacco leaves out of your mouth when you should be enjoying the smoke.
What type of cutters do you like? There are many others like punches, cigar scissors and even table top cutters.. I am looking to broaden my horizons and buy and try out more types of cutters… especially the table top one (it looks really cool – see some here).
