Write to James Leavey

Kinky Friedman, the politically incorrect jewish Texan singer/songwriter, thriller writer, and close friend of social outlaws such as Willie Nelson, is a dedicated smoker who often gets through twelve large Havana cigars every day.  He actively detests what he calls, “all that anally-retentive crap”  about the right way to cut, ignite and enjoy fine cigars.  “Just slice 'em, light 'em and  smoke 'em,” he once told me, over an overflowing ashtray in London, “the rest is history.”

That said, some smokers who are new to cigars need to be reminded about the basics; it's rather like telling a computer-illiterate senior citizen that before you actually play with your PC you need to know how to switch it on. A couple of years ago, one of London's leading tobacco merchants told me the story of a Japanese customer who returned his cigars to the shop he had just bought them from, complaining that the draw was so tight he couldn't extract the slightest whiff of smoke. The salesperson looked at the cigars, smiled and said, “Well the thing is, sir, handmade cigars need to be cut at the 'head' or closed end before they can be smoked.”

There are various ways of doing this. Cuban smokers usually bite off the 'cap' of their Havana, or flick it off with their fingernail; others use a sharp knife.

The rest of us prefer an easy life, and use a proper, sharp, cigar cutter.

Cigar cutters, made of precious metals, steel, iron, tin, rubber (not the blade!) or wood, have long been the ubiquitous accessory of every cigar smoker or cigar retailer, but they are often hidden out in the open and taken for granted. A good, sharp, reliable cutter is perhaps the most important accessory a cigar smoker can buy for a fine cigar can be destroyed with a poor cutter.

The basic types include:

Guillotine Cutter – which uses one or two sharp blades to cut the end of the cigar. Some say the two bladed variety is by far the best. A self sharpening feature is also very good, if you can find one.  There are hundreds to choose from including elegant pocket-sized versions that are a joy to use, and magnificent desk-top guillotines that resemble something from the French Revolution.

Scissor Cutters – many aficionados swear by this type of cutter – for the scissors-shape puts more uniform pressure on the cigar and gives a more even cut.

Cigar Punch - rather than cutting anything off, you punch a hole in the end of the cigar. While not practical for small ring sizes or cigars that don't have a rounded end such as a torpedo, punches are usually the only answer for really large ring gauge cigars. They are also smaller and easier to carry – many of them are now already attached to keyrings. 

V Cutters - rather than pushing into the cigar with a punch or cutting off a large area of the cigar, some people cut a small V at the end of the cigar.  The only drawback if you are a 'wet' smoker, i.e. one with a high saliva count, is that this type of cut may end up closing  and cause uneven burning.

Screw Cutters – bit like a Cigar Punch, except you twist them into the head of the cigar.  Not sure this is such a great idea, though.

Whatever cutter you use, the idea is to remove the leaf from the closed end of the cigar you are about to smoke.  The 'cap' is that small circular piece of tobacco leaf stuck on the head of an Havana cigar to secure the wrapper. Cigars from the Dominican Republic and other countries are often secured with a twist of the wrapper which is then gummed onto the uncut end, or tied off as a pigtail and known as a 'flag'.

The objective is to leave a little of the cap or end of the cigar so that the whole thing holds together . If the the hole is too small - and compressed by the cutter - the cigar may overheat.  If the cut's too large or uneven, the end of your cigar may unravel. And there's nothing as frustrating as  the cigar you are really enjoying falling apart.

The thing to remember about guillotine cutters, especially those cheap plastic ones often freely given away by cigar retailers – with details of their name, address, phone number, e-mail address and website printed on them, and by the marketing departments of cigar companies, is that, ideally, the blade should be bevelled on both sides so that it won't matter which side you use it.  Using the non-bevelled side of a cigar cutter often results in a badly torn cigar, which you may just as well shred and smoke in a pipe.

Some cigar smokers prefer to use a bullet cutter, which removes a small section from the head of the cigar, but this is not recommended for a beginner, unless they've been shown how to do it properly.

A fairly fool-proof way ot cutting a cigar is to lay a hand-held guillotine cutter flat on a table, place the head of the cigar in it like an upright pillar on a stand, and gently but firmly – snip!

The other thing to remember about cutters is that well-made ones are fun to play with, and very tactile.  Table-top guillotine cutters are usually extremely reliable and also very attractive.

Whatever you use it should be very sharp and capable of making a quick, clean and level cut. Some people say there should be around ¼ to 1/8 of an inch or a couple of millimetres of cap left after you've cut a Cuban cigar, which can only come with practice.  Better to make a smaller cut, than a large one, for then at least you can always cut it back.

But if you do insist on using your teeth, do remember to spit the cap out.  Or you could grimace with the taste,  and find yourself seriously considering buying a decent cigar cutter.