When you have to tug hard on a cigar...

[Robusto]

I enjoyed my Ramon Allones today - just finished third light up of necessity - and it was quite hard to smoke.

Am I possibly cutting the cap in the wrong place?

I picked up from etiquette readings years ago that you should guillotine below the line of the cap. This I did as ever today and the cigar was rammed to capacity with sweet smelling tobacco. There was no room for another slither in there. With great cigars, that always impresses me.

But it was work... And it got me thinking about whether I had sliced it too low.

It wasn't dry, because it worked well at each toke, and I didn't have to relight it. It slept beautifully between draws.

What do you folk think?

I know with Partagas D4 there can be a great difference in tugability between different sticks.

I was not at all dissatisfied. It was a beautiful and enjoyable moment except for the draw issue, and I have never made a second cut to a cigar.

[cohibaIV]

Hi Bry

I am in the thinking that because cigars are hand rolled you are not alway going to get 100% perfection...Not only with the draw but with the taste too...

I now and again get a bad burning cigar, but just put it down to quality control...

C4

[smokiejoe]

Hey bri ive come across this many of times with cigars,this might help or you may not be brave enough to do it,i have a very long pin and what i do is push it through the centre of the cigar as far as you need to go,this allows you to get to draw on the cigar again,its worked for me..

[did64]

All you can really do is what SJ says above and shove an uncurled papar clip down the length of the cigar and see if that works. Cutting further up is a bit risky in temrs of making the cigar unravel.

Sometimes a 'plug' can be massaged out by rolling the cigar firmly between thumb and forefinger.

[SmokinCohibas]

Robusto,
cigars -machine or hand rolled- can be plugged...
That's just the way it is.
I had a Partagas D4 recently which was so tight that I had to push a thin metal skewer all way through the cigar a couple of times...That helped a bit, opened up the cigar for a while but then after a few puffs got tight again so eventually I gave up on smoking it.

Anyway I come across plugged cigars time to time and I am sure everybody else does.
Does not happen often but they are definitely there waiting to be picked and fired up.

Can be a bit annoying but it's part of the hobby...

[Robusto]

Thanks, men. Useful advice.

I'll have a go with a pin or paper clip if this happens again. Definitely didn't want to cut too high up because of the unravelling possibility.

I get so pissed off when the wrapper curls away!

[Montesmoke]

Never cut past the cap line, or it will unravel cut within the cap line.

[Dean]

Never cut past the cap line, or it will unravel cut within the cap line.

Hey all, with the above quote in mind is there a thread about, to advise us newbies who are new to the scene. on cutting, lighting, chossing etc,etc, i did have aquick search on etiquette, and it lead me to Zino Davidoff's essay on etiquette, , does anyone follow this chain of thought on smoking, ie never smoking more than half, only one puff per min etc etc.
so if anyone wants to hold a master class, ??????

Dean

[larrysputnik]

Hey all, with the above quote in mind is there a thread about, to advise us newbies who are new to the scene. on cutting, lighting, chossing etc,etc, i did have aquick search on etiquette, and it lead me to Zino Davidoff's essay on etiquette, , does anyone follow this chain of thought on smoking, ie never smoking more than half, only one puff per min etc etc.
so if anyone wants to hold a master class, ??????

Dean

Never smoke more than half???? More like never smoke less than half. In fact, I'm not satisfied unitl my fingers burn, and even then I want to stick the nub in a pipe to finish it off!

[RhiannonBW]

I usually use a bullet cutter, unless I'm smoking a torpedo shape, in which case I usually try and leave just under 1mm of cap. I always draw on a cigar unlit, just to check that the air flows smoothly through it. Some purists think that bullet cutters are the devil's work, but I prefer it, maybe because I have smaller lungs than you gentlemen out there?

In the past, when faced with a plugged cigar, I have gently pushed a cocktail stick into it, but I don't think this really fixes the problem.

Cigar etiquette does seem to make a real difference when it comes to lighting a cigar. A well-lit cigar is a real pleasure, whereas a hastily lit one (often forced by weather conditions) can ruin a good pleasure.

Rhiannon

[Drewmidorn]

Lighting, cutting and smoking cigars is all personal.... I think etiquette is something else... being told "never hold the cigar between your teeth" is like being told to hold your little finger out when sipping tea at a victorian garden party. Mind you chomping a cigar to death seems extreme.

However.... for maximum enjoyment I do the following

1) Use a good cigar cutter and cut quickly and firmly. The xikar is worth the money. Always cut below the cap line.

2) Unless I am outside I always light with long matches and usually use three or four matches to very slowly light the cigar without drawing on it...if you're patient you get a very even light and don't end up with a "hot" cigar

3) The pace for smoking a cigar is dictated by what you're enjoying. If the cigar gets too hot its not pleasant, but the whole "one puff a minute" thing is nuts, I'm supposed to enjoy it and loose myself in time...not sit with a stop watch.

4) The time to lay a cigar to rest is when you feel you're done...although burning your lips seems a little daft.

5) Part of me would like to take the band off before I smoke for modesties sake, however I leave it till i am about an inch short of the band, this way the glue and cigar are warmed and softer and you don't end up wrecking the wrapper. (Sometimes you can craftily slip the band off something like a belicoso or salamones before it is lit if you're careful)

There is a great deal of snobbery surrounding cigars and a lot of the etiquette is about being seen smoking a cigar... if you're waiting to see who is watching before you light a cigar you need to get over yourself. I think the best time to smoke is in a quiet moment with a good book and a cup of tea, or in good company with a drop or two of something stronger! You never see pictures of Cuban folk worrying over the whole teeth/holding/lighting thing.

Mind you I do my shopping at tesco in the early hours of the morning in my slippers and pyjamas! What do I know about etiquette?

[cohibaIV]

Mind you I do my shopping at tesco in the early hours of the morning in my slippers and pyjamas! What do I know about etiquette?

HAHAHAHA what an image!!!!!

Good tips there mate

[RhiannonBW]

My husband and I met up with some friends at one of the local, slightly more hardcore, gay pubs, pre smoking ban. He was busy enjoying his cigar when one of them said "my that's a big cigar", to which I responded, without thinking, "Yes, he needs a couple of puffs a minute to keep it going".

Time for a sharp exit

Rhiannon

[cohibaIV]

HAHAHAHAHAHA

[Montesmoke]

Lighting, cutting and smoking cigars is all personal.... I think etiquette is something else... being told "never hold the cigar between your teeth" is like being told to hold your little finger out when sipping tea at a victorian garden party. Mind you chomping a cigar to death seems extreme.

However.... for maximum enjoyment I do the following

1) Use a good cigar cutter and cut quickly and firmly. The xikar is worth the money. Always cut below the cap line.

2) Unless I am outside I always light with long matches and usually use three or four matches to very slowly light the cigar without drawing on it...if you're patient you get a very even light and don't end up with a "hot" cigar

3) The pace for smoking a cigar is dictated by what you're enjoying. If the cigar gets too hot its not pleasant, but the whole "one puff a minute" thing is nuts, I'm supposed to enjoy it and loose myself in time...not sit with a stop watch.

4) The time to lay a cigar to rest is when you feel you're done...although burning your lips seems a little daft.

5) Part of me would like to take the band off before I smoke for modesties sake, however I leave it till i am about an inch short of the band, this way the glue and cigar are warmed and softer and you don't end up wrecking the wrapper. (Sometimes you can craftily slip the band off something like a belicoso or salamones before it is lit if you're careful)

There is a great deal of snobbery surrounding cigars and a lot of the etiquette is about being seen smoking a cigar... if you're waiting to see who is watching before you light a cigar you need to get over yourself. I think the best time to smoke is in a quiet moment with a good book and a cup of tea, or in good company with a drop or two of something stronger! You never see pictures of Cuban folk worrying over the whole teeth/holding/lighting thing.

Mind you I do my shopping at tesco in the early hours of the morning in my slippers and pyjamas! What do I know about etiquette?

Good pointers there Drew