Cigar cutter

Last updated
Illustration of a nineteenth century cigar cutter, published in 1859. Cigar cutter.JPG
Illustration of a nineteenth century cigar cutter, published in 1859.

A cigar cutter is a mechanical device designed to cut one end off a cigar so that it may be properly smoked. Although some cigars are cut on both ends, or twirled at both ends, the vast majority come with one straight cut end and one end in a "cap" which must be cut off for the cigar to be smoked. Most quality handmade cigars, regardless of shape, will have a cap which is one or more small pieces of a wrapper pasted onto one end of the cigar with either a natural tobacco paste or with a mixture of flour and water. The cap end of a cigar is the rounded end without the tobacco exposed, and this is the end one should always cut. The cap may be cut with a knife or bitten off, but if the cap is cut jaggedly or without care, the end of the cigar will not burn evenly and smokeable tobacco will be lost.

Contents

Types

A semi-airtight cigar storage tube and a double guillotine-style cutter Cigar tube and cutter.jpg
A semi-airtight cigar storage tube and a double guillotine-style cutter

There are three basic types :

Straight cut

The straight cut is the most common, usually used on cigars with a smaller ring gauge. This cut uses a quick straight cut causing both ends of the cigar to be exposed. The double blade guillotine is preferred by many aficionados over the single blade, because it usually makes a cleaner cut. Cigar scissors are also used to make straight cuts, and may be the best choice for cutting the cigar with exactness. However, the guillotines are usually the most practical, the least expensive, and can be easily and safely carried in shirt or trouser pockets. Most prefer this cut because the entire cap end is exposed allowing for maximum smoke to exit with only minimum buildup occurring around the edge.

Punch cut

There are three basic types of cigar punches, a bullet punch, Havana punch, and multi-punch. The bullet punch is a bullet shaped device that fits on a keychain. The punch can be twisted to expose a circular blade, used to cut a hole in the cigar cap. This cut is preferred by some, as it exposes less of the filler and binder and reduces the chance of tobacco ending up in the mouth. Critics of this cut maintain that the smaller hole does not allow as much smoke to come out and the hole is often clogged with a saliva and tobacco buildup. One problem associated with these otherwise handy, durable and inexpensive devices is that the unscrewable top is easy to lose, leaving the blade exposed in the user's pocket. "Havana punches" offer some of the same convenience but with more safety. Rather than an easy-to-lose top, the blade is recessed and springs out at the push of a button. Multi-punches offer different-sized punch holes for different sizes of cigars. Not Considered a Cigar Cutter, as it does not cut (action) but rather cores or punches.[ by whom? ][ citation needed ]

V-cut

A rosewood-sided dual-ended cigar cutter by J.A. Henckels capable of making both straight cuts and V-cuts Henckelscigarcutter.jpg
A rosewood-sided dual-ended cigar cutter by J.A. Henckels capable of making both straight cuts and V-cuts

The last of the most common type of cuts is the V-cut. V-cutters look like guillotine cutters, but cut a wedge into the cigar cap rather than completely removing it, creating a clean-looking gash. The V-cutter was originally designed for pyramid-shaped vitolas. This type of cut allows the smoker to get a deep cut into the V-shaped cigar. Good V-cutters penetrate deeper into the filler than straight cutters, and some smokers prefer them for thicker-gauge cigars too. However, cheap V-cutters can result in sloppy cuts too deep into the cigar, which result in an uneven burn.

History

Frederick William Fairholt, in 1859, describes an early cigar cutter as follows:

In Berlin, a few years ago, an ingenious pocket- knife, entirely of steel, was fabricated for the use of cigar-smokers, of which we here give an engraving.
It had all the strength of the usual knife, but the spring was so constructed that it did not shut down to the edge of the blade; the cigar-end being placed through the aperture at the end, the point of the knife, on being pressed down by the finger, cut off the end of the cigar. [2]

Fairholt also describes a variation on the cigar cutter watch fob:

Another simple little implement, to act as cigar-cutter and holder... The double cutter at one side takes off the end of the cigar, and, when closed, acts as a hold for the finger and thumb, the opposite arms closing round the cigar and securing it very firmly. A small loop on one of the cutters allows it to be attached to the watch-chain if desired. [1]

Danger of injury

It is possible to receive a severe injury from a poorly handled cigar cutter. In 1999, basketball star Michael Jordan injured a finger with a cigar cutter which some believe led to his second retirement. [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utility knife</span> Knife used for general or utility purposes

A utility knife is any type of knife used for general manual work purposes. Such knives were originally fixed-blade knives with durable cutting edges suitable for rough work such as cutting cordage, cutting/scraping hides, butchering animals, cleaning fish scales, reshaping timber, and other tasks. Craft knives are small utility knives used as precision-oriented tools for finer, more delicate tasks such as carving and papercutting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knife</span> Tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade

A knife is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools. Originally made of wood, bone, and stone, over the centuries, in step with improvements in both metallurgy and manufacturing, knife blades have been made from copper, bronze, iron, steel, ceramic, and titanium. Most modern knives have either fixed or folding blades; blade patterns and styles vary by maker and country of origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobacco pipe</span> Instrument for smoking tobacco or other products

A tobacco pipe, often called simply a pipe, is a device specifically made to smoke tobacco. It comprises a chamber for the tobacco from which a thin hollow stem (shank) emerges, ending in a mouthpiece. Pipes can range from very simple machine-made briar models to highly prized hand-made artisanal implements made by renowned pipemakers, which are often very expensive collector's items. Pipe smoking is the oldest known traditional form of tobacco smoking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bong</span> Device used for smoking tobacco, cannabis, or other herbs

A bong is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the smoke flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cigar</span> Rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be burned and smoked

A cigar is a tobacco product made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of shapes and sizes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder leaf which holds the filler together, and a wrapper leaf, for appearance and flavor, which is often the highest quality leaf used. Often there will be a cigar band printed with the cigar manufacturer's logo. Modern cigars can come with two or more, highlighting special qualities such as age and origin of the tobaccos used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scalpel</span> Sharp bladed instrument used for surgery

A scalpel, lancet, or bistoury is a small and extremely sharp bladed instrument used for surgery, anatomical dissection, podiatry and various handicrafts. A lancet is a double-edged scalpel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese kitchen knife</span> Type of knife used for food preparation

A Japanese kitchen knife is a type of kitchen knife used for food preparation. These knives come in many different varieties and are often made using traditional Japanese blacksmithing techniques. They can be made from stainless steel, or hagane, which is the same kind of steel used to make Japanese swords. Most knives are referred to as hōchō or the variation -bōchō in compound words but can have other names including -kiri. There are four general categories used to distinguish the Japanese knife designs: handle, blade grind, steel, and construction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolling paper</span> Paper used for making cigarettes

Rolling paper is a specialty paper used for making cigarettes. Rolling papers are packs of several cigarette-size sheets, often folded inside a cardboard wrapper. They are also known as 'blanks', which are used to encase tobacco or cannabis. It may be flavoured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vacuum forming</span> Thermoforming of plastic material

Vacuum forming is a simplified version of thermoforming, where a sheet of plastic is heated to a forming temperature, stretched onto a single-surface mould, and forced against the mould by a vacuum. This process can be used to form plastic into permanent objects such as turnpike signs and protective covers. Normally draft angles are present in the design of the mould to ease removal of the formed plastic part from the mould.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitchen knife</span> Knives intended for use in the process of preparing food

A kitchen knife is any knife that is intended to be used in food preparation. While much of this work can be accomplished with a few general-purpose knives – notably a large chef's knife, a tough cleaver, a small paring knife and some sort of serrated blade – there are also many specialized knives that are designed for specific tasks. Kitchen knives can be made from several different materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paper cutter</span>

A paper cutter, also known as a paper guillotine or simply a guillotine, is a tool often found in offices and classrooms. It is designed to administer straight cuts to single sheets or large stacks of paper at once.

<i>No Smoking</i> (1951 film) 1951 animated Goofy short by Jack Kinney

No Smoking is a cartoon made by Walt Disney Productions in 1951, featuring Goofy. This cartoon is another short of the "Goofy the Everyman" series of the 1950s. This cartoon begins by tracing the brief history of smoking, including how Christopher Columbus brought tobacco to Europe from the Native Americans, and then moves on to Goofy, as "George Geef" in this cartoon, trying unsuccessfully to drop the smoking habit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis smoking</span> Inhalation of marijuana fumes

Cannabis smoking is the inhalation of smoke or vapor released by heating the flowers, leaves, or extracts of cannabis and releasing the main psychoactive chemical, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is absorbed into the bloodstream via the lungs. Archaeological evidence indicates cannabis with high levels of THC was being smoked at least 2,500 years ago. As of 2021, cannabis is the most commonly consumed federally illegal drug in the United States, with 36.4 million people consuming it monthly.

The Guillotine is a magic trick where it appears that a blade of a guillotine passes through a person's neck without harming them. Variations on the theme have been performed for hundreds of years, with documented examples appearing in print in the 16th century. The most common modern variation is the finger guillotine or finger chopper, a pocked-sized version that appears to chop off the magician's finger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sliding knife</span>

An OTF Knife, also known as an out-the-front knife, sliding knife, telescoping knife, or angel blade, is a pocketknife with a blade that opens and closes through a hole in one end of the handle. This design contrasts with the majority of utility knives, which are either standard folding knives or are "fixed blade" sheath knives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheese knife</span> Type of knife used for cutting or serving cheese

A cheese knife is a type of kitchen knife specialized for the cutting of cheese. Different cheeses require different knives, according primarily to hardness. There are also a number of other kitchen tools designed for cutting or slicing cheese, especially the harder types. These include the cheese cutter, cheese slicer, cheese plane, cheese scoop for soft cheese and others, collectively known as cheese servers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SARK</span> Folding Knife

The SARK or NSAR is a folding knife designed by knifemaker Ernest Emerson for use as a search and rescue knife by the US military. It has a hawkbill with a blunt tip in order to cut free trapped victims without cutting them in the process. There is a variant with a pointed-tip designed for police, known as the P-SARK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobacco and art</span> Depictions of tobacco smoking in art

Depictions of tobacco smoking in art date back at least to the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, where smoking had religious significance. The motif occurred frequently in painting of the 17th-century Dutch Golden Age, in which people of lower social class were often shown smoking pipes. In European art of the 18th and 19th centuries, the social location of people – largely men – shown as smoking tended to vary, but the stigma attached to women who adopted the habit was reflected in some artworks. Art of the 20th century often used the cigar as a status symbol, and parodied images from tobacco advertising, especially of women. Developing health concerns around tobacco smoking also influenced its artistic representation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Llaneza</span> American businessman

Frank Anthony Llaneza was a tobacco blender and former executive of Villazon & Co. who is regarded as a pioneer in the resurgence of the premium cigar industry at the end of the 20th Century. Llaneza is best known for the creation and manufacture of a number of popular cigar brands in the years after the 1962 Cuban Embargo, including Hoyo de Monterrey, Punch, Bolivar, and Siglo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cigar cutter watch fob</span> Tool

A cigar cutter watch fob is a decorative and utilitarian pendant that is attached to the opposite side of a chain as a pocket watch. It is used to cleanly cut the end of a cigar so it burns evenly. 

References

  1. 1 2 Frederick William Fairholt, Tobacco: Its History and Associations (1859), p. 224.
  2. Frederick William Fairholt, Tobacco: Its History and Associations (1859), p. 223.
  3. Jordan wants out of sponsorship business (22 March 2000)
  4. Elliott Harris, "Fickle finger of fate: MJ clumsy with cigar", Chicago Sun-Times , (January 14, 1999), Sports, pg. 109.