Cutting your Cigar with a Knife

Ok so about 2 maybe 3 months ago I mistakenly gave away my last Palio at a herf to a guy that didn't have one. So now I am without a cutter for my cigars. Not one to be thwarted by such a thing I decided to use my pocket knife, I am never without my Kershaw Onion, or my Boker Magnum Gentlemens pocketknife.

I did this one night and actually found it was a good way to settle into the enjoyment of my cigar, kind of a little ritual. I mentioned it too Al that I do this and he suggested that I post up the technique.

This I imagine will not work for Torps as they need to be clipped but I could cut the end of with my knife I am sure, it is very sharp enough.

Anyway, this is how I go about it.

Clearly the first step is to have the right equipment, I would never use anything but a very sharp knife.






Most cigars I smoke are triple capped (the cap is the round piece of tobacco that is at the head of the cigar the foot is the open end) as you can see by the three seams just a few mm past the rounded edge towards the band.

Here is a closer look where I am indicating approximately where the cut line will be. Be sure not to cut below the last seam or it is likely that your cigar will unravel.



Grasp the Cigar firmly in your one hand and place the knife on your cutting edge with your thumb on the otherside to add pressure. Apply just enough pressure so that the knife cuts the cap leaf but does not penetrate the binder. You can feel this quite easily.



Continued in next post

Then proceed in a circular motion fully around the cigar meeting your starting cut on the other side taking care to apply even pressure and not to cut yourself.

Once you are fully around the circumference of the Cigar I use the knife to gently pry up the cap away from the head of the cigar and remove.

As you can see I get a perfect piece of cap with no damage to the Cigar and no removal of binder or filler which I like.


This may not be the fastest or most efficient way to cut the Cigar but like I said I find it to be an enjoyable little ritual that sets the tone for a great smoke. The next part would be lighting the cigar. Maybe I will post up a thread on that…………………..Later. Hope this was useful or you at least enjoyed.

[Pat1075]

Very cool, and different thank you for this I will have to try this tonight.

[Bax]

You're about an hour late! I just destroyed 2 cigars trying to cut with a knife.I hate losing my cutter!!!!!

[14holestogie]

That is kinda cool. Thanks for posting it.

I may have some concerns with someone trying this after a few, I don't know, glasses of scotch? Perhaps an addendum on some first aid techniques would be in order. Just sayin....

That looked great Shawn.

I was once stuck without a cutter and used a knife, but a little differently than that. I didn't trust the sharpness of the knife to try a straight cut, and didn't think to try what you did. Instead, I used the point of the knife to cut a circle in the cap, similar to what a punch would do.

It certainly wasn't as clean a job as what a punch could do, but it worked well enough in that situation.

Well done.

PS Nice looking knifes you have, and SHAWN NEEDS A NEW CUTTER!!!!

Originally Posted by SilverFox

Ok so about 2 maybe 3 months ago I mistakenly gave away my last Palio at a herf to a guy that didn't have one. So now I am without a cutter for my cigars. Not one to be thwarted by such a thing I decided to use my pocket knife, I am never without my Kershaw Onion, or my Boker Magnum Gentlemens pocketknife.

I did this one night and actually found it was a good way to settle into the enjoyment of my cigar, kind of a little ritual. I mentioned it too Al that I do this and he suggested that I post up the technique.

This I imagine will not work for Torps as they need to be clipped but I could cut the end of with my knife I am sure, it is very sharp enough.

Anyway, this is how I go about it.

Clearly the first step is to have the right equipment, I would never use anything but a very sharp knife.

Most cigars I smoke are triple capped (the cap is the round piece of tobacco that is at the head of the cigar the foot is the open end) as you can see by the three seams just a few mm past the rounded edge towards the band.

Here is a closer look where I am indicating approximately where the cut line will be. Be sure not to cut below the last seam or it is likely that your cigar will unravel.

Grasp the Cigar firmly in your one hand and place the knife on your cutting edge with your thumb on the otherside to add pressure. Apply just enough pressure so that the knife cuts the cap leaf but does not penetrate the binder. You can feel this quite easily.


Continued in next post

Originally Posted by kayaker

That looked great Shawn.

I was once stuck without a cutter and used a knife, but a little differently than that. I didn't trust the sharpness of the knife to try a straight cut, and didn't think to try what you did. Instead, I used the point of the knife to cut a circle in the cap, similar to what a punch would do.

It certainly wasn't as clean a job as what a punch could do, but it worked well enough in that situation.

Well done.

PS Nice looking knifes you have, and SHAWN NEEDS A NEW CUTTER!!!!

Both very good suggestions! Thanks gentlemen!

[gvarsity]

Beautiful knives. I have cut cigars with knives for years. I just make a vertical slit in the cap. It takes a minute or two to open up sometimes but it works very well. I often just use my little swiss army knife which is a very useful little cigar tool. Just don't let the nub burn down to far if you have it speared on the toothpick.

[JPH]

Nicely done... I always admire the step by step posts.

A quick little nibble with the teeth is also a pretty good way to do it...Rotating the cigar and carefully nibbling.

[Genetic Defect]

I get a similar result in "biting" the cap off.

[Volt]

That Boker Magnum Gentlemens pocketknife is gorgous and using a RA, just makes a man drool. Thanks for the "how to", great reading.

[Snake Hips]

I'll have to remember this, and try it sometime. Whenever I'm stuck with just a knife, I always just made a v-cut.

[duckmanco]

I have been using my middle finger nail for a while in the same fashion. It seems to not mash the filler together which I think can sometimes tighten the draw.

Are we all overthinking this...... yes, but still, its good to know when you are without a cutter. Nicely done.

[Cigarcop]

Just great Shawn, now I need a Boker Magnum Gentlemens pocketknife

[groogs]

Great Post, I will keep it in mind if I ever find myself withought a cutter, because I am never withought a pocket knife.

[dunng]

Great post! I've used a stanley blade in a pinch!

[WyGuy]

I used to use that technique before I got my Palio, works great!

[hotreds]

Nice!

[JE3146]

Very cool Shawn


But what you're really saying is that you need a palio

[brigey57]

Nice clean cut. When I first started reading this post I thought Oh No you're going to butcher the cigar. Nice surprise with the clean cut of the cigar.