Why do cigars have to be cut?

[Niela]

Sounds like an obvious question, but what I mean is, why are cigars closed on one side in the first place? Why not simply leave them open on both sides?

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[TonyN]

You cut the top cap off of it but you leave the rest on to keep the wrapper from unravelling.

[sheppsea]

They cap the cigar to keep it from unravelling, that's why you only cut a small part of the cap.

I have also read that the cap help the cigar retain humidity, but I'm not sure on that.

[tippexx]

Why not simply leave them open on both sides?

Because Cuba doesn't have 100% confidence in newbee's knowing which end to put in their mouths.

[SHAMZ84]

Because Cuba doesn't have 100% confidence in newbee's knowing which end to put in their mouths.

if there was no cap, how would one tell which ended is what??

[PeeJay]

A guy on FaceBook claims that he just cuts a cross in the cap with a sharp knife and leaves the cap intact, gets a perfect draw every time apparently

[Budgie Smuggler]

No different to the shuriken cutter I imagine.

[smokey joe]

There's a type of cutter that scores the cap in 8 places rather than cut it. I'll see if I can find it to share...

[Budgie Smuggler]

Google "shuriken cutter" [emoji23]