Cutting: guillotine, punch, V-cut, and what each costs you
Cut too little and it is tight; too much and the cap unravels. Both are recoverable, one barely.
Cut just above the shoulder — the line where the cap ends and the body begins. That single landmark is most of the technique; everything else is choosing which tool suits the cigar in your hand.
Finding the line
Look for the seam where the cap was applied, usually a few millimetres from the tip. Cutting below it removes the structure holding the wrapper down, and the cigar unravels as it warms. Cutting above it takes off too little and the draw stays tight.
The three tools
- Guillotine: the default. Fast, works on everything, needs to be sharp. A dull one tears rather than cuts.
- Punch: removes a circle and leaves the cap intact. Concentrates smoke, restricts airflow, and is not suitable for figurados or very thin cigars.
- V-cut: a wedge. Bigger surface with less structural damage, and it can rescue a slightly tight draw better than either.
Do this: cut less than you think, draw cold, then cut more if needed. Nobody has ever put a cut back on, and a cold draw takes five seconds.
When it goes wrong
A cracked cap can often be stabilised: a lick of the finger and gentle pressure will hold long enough to get through the first third, and cigar glue exists for the patient. An unravelling wrapper is harder — smoke it faster than you would like and accept the ending.
Keep it sharp
Most bad cuts are blunt-blade cuts. A cheap sharp cutter beats an expensive dull one every time, and double-blade guillotines stay usable longer because they cut from both sides at once instead of pushing the cigar against a single edge.
The draw belongs in the note
A note field next to the score is where "cut too deep, unravelled at the halfway mark" belongs. It is what stops you blaming a blend for something you did to it, and it is the kind of detail nobody remembers a month later.
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