How to Properly Cut a Cigar

A cigar is not a cigarette, and that is why you need to learn how to properly cut a cigar before you can enjoy your smoking hobby. Yeah, that is the fun part of cigars; you just have to learn to cut like pros! Cutting a cigar, like the black and mild, might appear complicated, but it’s not; it takes knowing the procedure and using the right cutting tool.

At Windy City cigar, we delight in educating our audience to learn more about smoking so you can adequately understand your past time. In this short guide on how to properly cut a cigar, we will introduce you to a process that will make even the uninitiated in cigar be able to cut a cigar neatly and fast. But first, permit me to introduce you to the tool you will need for cutting; different types of cigar cutters.

Introducing cigar cutters

If it’s your first time visiting Windy City Cigar smoker’s resource page, you can pay a quick visit to our cigar tools page to see the various cigar cutters we have. I know you will love it as we bring the industry’s best cigar cutters for your easy pick. Always remember that if it’s not quality and desirable, we will not bring it to you.

The type of cut you want will determine the cutter to use. There are three major types of cuts that require the right kind of cutter to achieve. You will often hear of Straight cut, Punch cut, and V-cut and the following cutters to get the type of cut you want. The most available cutting tools include the following:

• There are two types of guillotine cutters called a single blade and double blade. These are by far the commonest of all cigar cutters, and you will find them from real cigar aficionados. Guillotine cutters cut a cigar from both sides to give a clean, no skimp cut.
• Cigar Punch. This cutter is like a bullet and will punch a hole at the end of the cigar. This mode of cut is less destructive to a cigar as it allows a smoker to attach a chain key to the cigar to prevent accidental drop off the finger. This is the best cutter for black and mild cigars and Parejo (Rounded) Cigar.
• V-Cut. Not so much around, although a few cigar enthusiasts still use it. This cutter features a wedge of the blade which cuts a V out of the cigar head. This shape is also called a cat’s eye.
• Cigar Piercer. These are special scissors made from high-grade steel that cut cigars very neatly. However, this cutter needs learning and is not so easy for most cigar smokers.

There are several other cutters out there, but it is beyond the scope of this discussion to list all. While the above list should suffice for our discussion on how to properly cut a cigar, let’s proceed.

The right way to cut a cigar

You have to cut your cigar the right way otherwise a bad cut will destroy it irrespective of the quality of your cigar. This is why you need to learn the proper way o snip your priced smoke to prevent any bad event from happening. Aficionados regard cigars with all reverence, knowing it’s a living thing. Yes, cigar lives and you need to treat it right; otherwise, it won’t treat you well either.

So, how do you cut your cigar so that it won’t feel badly treated?

The answer is so easy! There are three things involved, and these include:

1. Choose the right quality cutter. It may appear to you that a cutter is a cutter, but it’s far from it. You need the right cutting tool to have a sweet clean cut of the cigar. You can check our cigar tool section to know more about the cutters and read a couple of reviews to choose the best cigar cutter. Once you have the right best cigar cutting tool, proceed to the next item.
2. Locate the head of your cigar. For the uninitiated, a cigar is just a long stick of tobacco, and anywhere can be the head, but that shouldn’t be you. You need to find the part that is covered, meant for your mouth that is the part to cut off. But you don’t just cut; you will see a ring-like mark, a piece of tobacco glued to the head part of the cigar. Take a closer look to see the end of the ring marking; it’s a distinct line.
3. Cut below the cap. From the anatomy of a cigar, you know the wrapper is the outer part that binds the tobacco making up the cigar together. The cap of the cigar connects to the wrapper around the ring area. For you not to ruin your cigar, you must cut about 3-4 mm below the ring marking. Otherwise, the wrapper will be cut off, leaving your cigar unwrapped. And for the best cutting result, get the right cutter and cut in one swift cut.

Let’s give our cigar a straight cut:

Step 1: Moisten the head of your cigar before cutting. The wrapper leaf is delicate; it needs dampening to prevent getting torn during cutting. Therefore, put it in your mouth to slightly moisten by licking to increase the humidity.

Step 2: Get your best cigar cutter and hold the cigar on the bottom (the light area) in one hand exposing the head towards the label area for the cutter in the other hand.

Step 3: Hold the cutter on the other hand; to have a straight cut, use a guillotine, single or double, cutter.

Step 4: Position the head of the cigar about 3 mm inward of the ring against the blade of the cutter. Slowly close the blade toward the cutting position of the cigar.

Step 5: With a firm hold and consistent movement, push to close the cutter blade completely to cut the cigar head off.

Step 6: Complete the cutting by lightly brushing off the cut area to let off any dust, ready for smoking. After a clean strain cut, you are ready to light up your cigar and enjoy your smoke.

Types of cigars

As additional information for the newbie, please note that there are two types of cigars called Parejo (Rounded) Cigar and Figurado cigars. The difference in both is the shape, and they require different cutting. The above cutting steps describe the Parejo cigar. See below for how to cut Figurado cigars:

1. Position the cigar close to the head.
2. Choose the cutting area closer to your preferred tip.
3. Position your cutter over the cutting area.
4. Slowly close the blade on the cut line.
5. In a firm movement, completely close the blade to cut.
6. Lightly brush off the cut area to get rid of dust.
7. Put the cut area to the lips to test the draw.
8. If the draw is tight, cut slightly higher for the perfect draw.
9. Light your cigar and smoke with bliss.